The Bookshelf "St. Lydwine of Schiedam"

One of the things I will try to frequently post about will be my bookbinding projects. I'm a bit traditional when it comes to the medium i use in reading. I prefer a well bound book for many reasons. The most important of these reasons to m would most likely be the comfortability of holding a book. The texture of the leather, feel of the papers and smell all make a difference.
So what is a well bound book? Well, I would say one that is sewn, so that it opens well and you do not have to fight to keep it open. Secondly it must be made of leather or a very good quality book cloth. This makes the book feel real and comfortable in the hand. A good quality book cloth also protects the text from moisture and or any other damages. A book may also have decorative end-sheets or decorative paper covering all or a portion of the case. This makes the book appear very elegant and adds a certain charm to the book. Another aspect may be the paper used in the text block. Book paper generally is smooth and off white in color. There are numerous textures and colors to choose from depending on your tastes.
There are many more styles and features a bookbinder may employ when making a book, it is primarily how he was trained and his personal preference. I haven't been book binding for a long time, but I already do have my preferences. I love Marbled papers and half bound books. My sewing techniques vary based on the type of book i'm binding.
OK, so I'm obviously a book worm and I wont bore you too much with the details. But I will just say that I love books and I think there will always be a need for bookbinders in the future. Bookbinding is an art form that is dying. There aren't many more bookbinders around, due to the increase of digital media and hand-held devices. A lot of people are scanning books into digital format for archival purposes too. This is fine, but what are you going to do when your hard drive fails, or the on line storage company goes out of business. I also think there is nothing more attractive than a bookshelf full of well bound classic works.
So lets look at my most recent project.
This book is "St. Lydwine of Schiedam Virgin"  It was written by Thomas A. Kempis. It is a mystical exposition of her life. One of my passions is to read the lives and works of the Saints. It is often very difficult to find their works and most of the time, they are old or poorly bound. I plan on bequeathing my library to my children when I die, so I plan on having a good one for them.

 So what I did here was a half bind in green goat skin leather. The leather was pretty old. I got it for a great price from a lady at paper shop in Dallas. It turned out to be usable and I think it looks really nice. The paper you see is one of my designs that I marbled a few months ago. It contrasted pretty well with the green.

 In this shot you can see the spine titled in gold leaf. It didn't come out as well as id like, due to the graininess of the old leather, but it kind of gives it a nostalgic look.

 These are the end sheets made from the same paper as the cover. Due to the books small size, I was able to use the whole sheet of marbled paper for the cover and end sheets.

The text block was sewn with a lock stitch method and rounded and backed to create a French groove on the covers. The headbands were sewn with a yellow silk thread that I think contrast the green well. This is one of the better books I have made recently, but there were still a number of things I would have liked to have done differently. Overall though, I think it came out good and I cant wait to start reading it. 

There was a sermon on Audiosancto not too long ago that described the life of St. Lydwine and that prompted me to purchase this book. 

Let me know if you have any questions on my work or if you have any ideas please let me know. I would also like to encourage anyone out there to read the old fashioned way. 

Pax Tecum