Artist Book

Custom Leather Green Book

Custom Artist Book

About the Project

Working with an artist is always a treat! My client contacted me and wanted to commission a book where she can focus her artistic vision in one place – which is something I am acutely aware of. In my life, I’ve found that it’s hard for me to just have one journal for everything I think of or want to express. Thus, this client wanted a place where she can just draw, paint, write, etc. Anything that helps her grow as an artist. 

We started with that mission statement and evolved from there. Using the highest quality Morocco leather (emerald green) I decided that a cuir-ciselé approach would give us what she was looking for. Capturing of the fine details and giving an esoteric, tactile experience. For the spine I decided to try something new in a free-placement of stamps. Since the tower design emphasized “decay” (renewal), I found stamps that give a look of a flower wilting and the petals gathering at the bottom of the book.

The Process

Bapa’s Journal

Bapa's Journal

About the Project

A long overdue visit with my father turned into a lovely adventure and creating a book for him. We had a great time working together and it was wonderful to share my world with him for a few days. What sets this book apart is that he had a hand in it’s construction! Sewing the signatures, rounding and backing, even hand-picking the color motifs for the final product. 

Overall, it was a time we both will never forget.

The Process

Working with my father on this was a blast. I shared the inner workings of book construction, recreating the classes I teach with Arbutus Folk School on Introduction to Bookbinding.

Bible Recovery 2024

Bible Recovery

About the Project

A client contacted me about their father’s beloved bible and how it needed some restoration work. As with most bibles, it was well used and well-loved;  showing signs of wear in common places, with surprises we would discover along the way.

The Process

Saving the book was a pretty straightforward process. Essentially, we needed to deconstruct it completely to build it back up with quality material. As we broke the book down it was clear that it was a loose-leaf binding (stack of papers glued along the spine). Thankfully, I know a technique that reshapes the book and reinforces it with string/thread, which replicates the structure and functionality of a traditionally bound book.

The client said they wanted to save as much as plausible, which is completely understandable. This book had been in their family for many years, so saving it’s character was the top priority. I began by removing the covers to process them for an inlay (both front and back). The front fly-leaf also had some hand written notes on it, so I repaired it and reattached it to the new endleaf. 

Another challenge came from the stamp on the spine. It was a standard USPS stamp, with the original adhesive still on it. I carefully removed the stamp, neutralized the adhesive, and reapplied it with ph Neutral glue (PVA). It came out nicely and the stamp works well with the overall feel of the spine layout.

American Indian Medicine

American Indian
Medicine

About the Project

From my personal collection. My wife gave this book to me as a birthday gift and it’s always held a special place in my heart. One day, many years ago, my Uncle sent me some skins from his adventures in Arizona – he is a hunter/trapper and sends me things regularly. This particular gift was a large Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (complete with the rattle attached). I was, of course, blown away by its beauty and his generosity – and I immediately began planning how to incorporate it into a binding.

The book itself was a modern “perfect binding”, so I disassembled the entire block to rebind it with archival materials, giving it structure and functionality. The snake skin was also surprisingly translucent, so to adjust from my typical methods I strengthened the backing of the skin so it wouldn’t wear out with repeated use. Half-bound with a fine Morocco “copperhead brown” goatskin.

Recipe for Life

Recipe for Life

About the Project

The author contacted me over the summer to print and bind two volumes of a book he’d written, intended as a gift for his daughters and designed to be an heirloom for his family and future generations.

Methods

Overall, we decided on a fairly simple design structure to allow the beauty of the materials shine. Due to the size of the final printed volumes, I suggested we work with fine sheepskin leather. It’s one of my favorites and I love any chance I get to use it. We opted not to decorate the spine too much, as it might detract from the overall design intentions. Black Morrocco was used for the title and author panels and hand-lettered with 24k gold leaf. 

The endleaf material is a marbled paper sourced from France and is unparalleled in quality and design. I personally love using this paper and try to incorporate it into most of my bindings. The head/tail bands are wrapped silk thread and a red silk ribbon was used for the page-marker on both volumes.

Gallery

Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone

Harry Potter
&
The Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter
&
The Philosopher's Stone

About the Project

I was contacted by a private collector about two years ago asking if I’d be willing to rebind their first edition set of the Harry Potter series. At first, I was a bit nervous, as rebinding a first edition is considered taboo in the bookbinding/book collecting world. The thought behind this is many collectors desire to have the first edition as it was originally published and sent out into the world, providing a window through time of the experience one has when first encountering a particular literary work. I provided some options that we could do to honor this practice, such as a clamshell box or even a slip case. But they were not deterred and insisted that I rebind it. They’d seen my work in the past and desired to have their collection rebound by Boston Harbor Bookbindery. I was of course flattered and thankful for their kind words. Thus, I began the process of designing the binding we’d go with.

The original book was very attractive and I found it difficult to redesign. I ultimately decided to take the original layout and inlay all the necessary pieces to the leather covers. It worked perfectly and the collector loved the idea. We’d essentially created a leather version of the first edition, with traditional methods proven to last much longer than modern publishing practices. 

The front illustration and title were in excellent condition and were not at all difficult to remove and replace, which was the same case for the signature on the back cover. 

The spine was decorated with a fine Morocco and treated with 18k gold tooling to accent the panels and raised bands. The title and author panels were onlayed with a lovely, rich “orchid” purple leather (one of my favorites to use).

Gallery

House of Leaves

House of Leaves

About the Project

This book is a personal addition to my own collection. I wanted to do something fun that both challenged and excited me, utilizing the skills I’ve collected thus far in my binding endeavors. 

Design

Methods

I began with the design to be featured on the front cover. After reading this book I almost instantly knew what wanted to accomplish, and set about scouring for artists. The book itself is an enthralling journey, taking readers on a fantastic journey that is both engaging and mystifying. The premise, without giving too much away, is exploring a home that is larger inside than it is outside. Rooms measure bigger, walls are longer, and doors open to rooms not seen on the exterior. To accomplish this custom design I chose Cuir Ciselé as my preferred method. In order to do this properly, vegetable-tanned sheepskin was needed, and water-based coloring dyes.

Thus, I found some sketch work that caught my attention. I’ve long appreciated the geometric shapes containing a “world within” and felt. it would be a perfect way to capture the story, without detracting from the book itself. As with most custom work I do, I combined several different pieces to make my own design, the first of which is the picture of the diamond river backgrounded by mountains and a starry sky. However, I wanted the mountains to feel a bit different, so I chose another drawing from a map that I enjoy. The trees, too, were not detailed enough. So for this, I decided to do them free-hand.

The result turned out better than I’d expected. The leatherwork went well and the coloring took to the material superbly. Bordering the design I chose a 4-inch fillet with geometric patterns, to match the motif of the overall image.  

Gallery

Bijbel Restoration

Bijbel Restoration

About the Project

Family heirlooms are particularly special in my workshop and this bible is no exception. A Dutch ‘Bijbel’ printed and bound in 1910, survived the long journey across the Atlantic with the Kuiper family (now the Cooper family) and needed some work to bring it in to the new century.

Design

Methods

The original book laid in tattered form, as often many books from this age are these days. Sadly, I didn’t take any photos of the original condition. But suffice to say it was barely being held together. Thankfully, all pages were accounted for and repairs soon began on the rebinding of the Bijbel. 

To repair paper there are many products that exist these days and are widely available. The best, however, is a Japanese product called Kozo Washi paper. Its malleability, wet strength and long fibres make it an excellent choice for binders and conservators alike.

The leather selection was another matter entirely. One of the most popular choices for design binding is Morocco, a fine goat skin that is thin and beautiful to look upon. When I spoke with the family of the Bijbel, we decided to go in a different direction. Sheepskin is less used but no less beautiful. Much thicker than Morocco, 0.8 cm vs 0.2 cm (approximately) it adds weight and thickness to the finished product, not to mention the amount of paring needed to bring it to folding levels. Its grain and hair follicles are much wider, too, as adult sheep have thick fur and live a bit longer before slaughter. Sheepskin has often been seen in the binding world as less desirable to work with, for there are two layers of skin to contend with that can sometimes play off each other, making it difficult to tool and work with gold leaf.

Last, but certainly not least, are the raised sections of the design. A simple cross bordered by in-turned corners brings this design home with a simple and elegant look, intended to last generations. This was achieved with an ‘underlay’ of thicker boards and tooled after coloring was complete. 

Gallery

Monaco Sailing Journal

Monaco Sailing Journal

About the Project

I’ve been asked to make a few sailing journals and this one was a fun project to complete. Commissioned as a gift for a dear friend, the client wanted to capture the recipient’s love for Monaco and the Sea. 

Design

Methods

The stamp design centered around the name of the recipient’s vessel, Tobi, with the addition of a star and the Monaco subtitle. While the binding is full leather, it is quartered white with red panels, simulating the official colors of the Principality of Monaco.

Gallery

Darth Vader Comic Book

Darth Vader

About the Project

This is a first for me and what a fun project it turned out to be! The entire collection of the Darth Vader 2015 series, written by Kieron Gillen and Illustrated by Salvador Laroca and Edgar Delgado, is now compiled into a single leather-bound volume. 

Methods

I decided to keep the design to a minimum and showcase the fine Morocco leather used to encapsulate this tome, with a shined finish meant to evoke the terrifying suit of armor that encases the Dark Lord of the Sith. For the spine decoration, I used 24k gold leaf for the title and year while using a blood red metallic leaf for the raised bands. I’ve never used colored metal before and it turned out wonderful.

Gallery

This book is both beautiful and formidable at the same time. The classically elegant style of traditional bookbinding brings these comics together in one place, yet the size and look are reflective of Darth Vader himself. This is only the first volume I’ve done but I suspect I’ll be doing more of these. There are three series in total and I can’t wait to begin bringing the full set together.

Until then, enjoy!