Simple Gothic Book

 I was asked to make a book as a prize for an SCA event.  I considered doing a quick and easy Coptic but instead I went with a Gothic binding.  I kept it simple, using PVA instead of wheat paste, thought I did use a packed stitch instead of the simpler straight stitch. 

Materials are the usual: modern "velum" paper cut in half and folded to get correct grain, 1/8th inch thick craft plywood, unwaxed linen thread, linen cord, silk thread for the endbands, handmade decorative paper for the pastedowns, veg-tanned yellow leather, and PVA glue.

Here are some pictures:

Could I have just done a straight stitch instead of a packed stitch? Yes. Did I? No.

Spine rounded and backed and glued and in the finishing press.

Silk wrapped endband.

And another endband.

Bead on edge endband.

Covers ready to be attached.

Endband on finished book

Cover of finished book.

Back of finished book.

Laurel Vigil Book

I was asked to make Laurel vigil book for a lovely lady who was being elevated.  There is nothing new about this binding.  It is a Gothic Binding covered in blue veg-tan leather.  I did blind tooling on both the front and back.  

Here are the pictures:

Blind tooled cover.

Bottom of the book.  Endbands are blue and gold silk.

Head of the book.

Spine of the book.

Inside back cover.  You can see the Latin book curse.

Inside cover.

Back cover of the book.  Should have waited until the leather was dry to take the picture.

Another Girdle Book

There is an SCA event called Ducal Challenge where to get into the tournament you need to submit a homemade item.  These are often made by the fighter but sometimes fighters are sponsored by an artist.  Of course, I just make something as my entry pass and this year I decided to make girdle book. 

This girdle book is a mix of traditional and modern.  The leather is a chrome tanned deer skin split (so it has a soft suede feel to it).  I also used PVA glue instead of wheat paste because I am running a bit low on wheat paste and I want it for another project I am hoping to do in the near future (there is a worldwide shortage due to supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine).  I used 1/4 inch quarter sawn oak for the book boards.  The boards were hand sawn to size and I carved and shaped them by hand as well.

A quick list of materials: machine manufactured paper, linen thread waxed with beeswax, linen cord, ¼ inch quarter sawn oak boards, real parchment (for spine lining), PVA glue, wooden toothpicks (to peg the sewing cords in to the holes on the cover boards), 14 gauge brass wire (for the clasp), two small brass nails, and chrome tanned dear skin split leather. 

Anyway, here are the pictures of the process and the finished book. As a note, I forgot to take picture of text block on the frame but it looks like any old text block on a frame. 

Parchment spine linings dying on the spine.

Bead on spine endband #1

Bead on spine endband #2

More parchment spine lining to cover the endband tiedowns.

Front cover with sewing cords laced in.

Back cover with the sewing cords laced in (note the channel carved into the fore edge for the book clasp).

Front cover all glued and neatened up.

Back cover all glued and neatened up.

Leather cover and clasp on the book and read for a press.

Back cover read for press.  Note that I added a nail to the strap to help keep it attached.

Turk's head knot for the tail.

Front cover of the finished book.

Spine of the finished book.

Top edge of the finished book.

Back cover of the finished book.

Fore edge of the finished book.

Pastedown on the front inside cover of finished book.

Pastedown on the back inside cover of finished book.

Endband at the bottom of the book.

Carolingian Binding

I was asked by a friend to make a vigil book for her husband's upcoming elevation to the Chivalry. When asked what kind of book she wanted for him, she said to me, "Make something that will take you further down your bookbinding path." It was a great gift to me, as lately I have been feeling a little stuck in my bookbinding journey.  After some thought, I decided to create what JA Szirmai calls a "Carolingian Binding". This style is considered the first with a supported stitch binding and was the common binding from the late 8th century C.E., to the end of the 12th century C.E. (Szirmai, p. 100). Here is a link to the documentation for this binding:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_A7MrXbr8GVw2c83GkfrmMrt7m3iwAjdnMPKK4oFdFI/edit?usp=sharing

In his studies of Carolingian bindings, Szirmai found the following traits were common among the bindings (Szirmai, passim):

1. Double support cords of vegetable fiber (very few leather tongs)

2. Herringbone sewing pattern 

3. Supports threaded through side of cover board

4. Thick cover boards with little shaping

5. Text block flush with cover boards

6. Endbands sewn through a leather tab which then is sewn to a matching tab on the cover

7. Pastedowns under turndowns 

8. Flat spine

This book was bound with 20 8.5in x 5.5in quires of Domtar/Cougar Signatures 70 lb Text Paper; 3/32in, 4-ply linen cord for the support cords; 25/3, unwaxed white linen thread approximately 0.50 mm thick conditioned with bees’ wax for the sewing thread; 18/3 unwaxed black linen thread conditioned with bees’ wax to sew the endbands and spine tabs; 3/8in thick quarter sawn white oak boards for the book boards; vegetable tanned goat leather (pre-dyed white) approximately 0.65mm thick for the spine tabs, cover, and closing strap; 14 gauge brass wire for clasp; brass nails (1.2x12mm) for the closing pin; wheat paste to attach leather, secure support cords onto book boards, and to attach the closing strap; and wooden toothpicks as wedges to help secure support cords onto book boards.  I also used black Angelus Leather Paint to create the belt motif on the cover.

Here are the pictures:

 

Text block an bookboards.  The boards have been shaped but not drilled.

Practice drilling

Boards drilled obliquely through the side to the top face.

Top face for boards with drilled holes

Lacing holes drilled from top face to bottom face of boards

Channels carved between the lacing holes.  This is the front cover as you can see the markings for the channel for the cover strap on the right of the picture.

Channels carved on the back board.

Finished back cover board.

Finished front cover board

Starting to sew the text block.  I thought I was doing the sewing pattern correctly but it turns out I was not.

Finished text block with front cover laced on the sewing supports.  The sewing pattern is not the herringbone it is supposed to be but a later period straight pattern that I then chain stitched.  I will do it right on the next book.

Lacing on the inside on the back cover

Front cover laced, glued with wheat paste, and pegged with toothpicks

Endband tabs glued to the spine with wheat paste

Endband tabs sewn on

Herringbone endband

Leather added to the text block. Note the tabs extending off the spine. 

Pastedowns (endpages) are pasted with wheat paste and then the turndowns are pasted over them

Leather is attached with wheat paste, as is the leather strap

Claps finished with a small brass nail inserted into the side of the back cover board

I used a pencil to create carbon paper to add the motif to the cover of the book.

Motif penciled in

Painted motif

Finished Front Cover

Finished Back Cover

Finished Spine

Finished Tail

Finished Head

 

Herringbone endband and finished spine tab

Back of the spine tab