Siegfried 2025

The Story of Siegfried

Restoration and Rebinding
with Original Art Inlay

“... The same paper, identical printing. Isn’t it a wonder?”

A. Pérez-Reverte, The Club Dumas

About the Project

Rarely do I get a chance to work on a book I’ve done before. Even more so when it’s a book from the same year, same printing, same edition.

When my client contacted me with her book, my heart skipped a beat. The Story of Siegfried is a book I’d rebound for myself many years ago, from an edition I’d picked up at a local estate sale. It was a chance for me to showcase a set of design features that has been employed frequently this year – original artwork inlay, endleaf reconstruction, paper mending/restoration. When I suggested that we replicate the work I’d done for my personal copy, she was happy to move forward with my proposal.

With my copy in-hand throughout the process, I immediately set to work on the restoration and rebinding of this beautiful edition. What brought me a bit more joy was a chance to improve on my original design. While I enjoy the work I’d done for myself, I’ve always had this feeling of “if I had the chance to do this again..” and now I do!

For instance, reprinting the endleaf sheets to keep with the original printing. Additionally, having a different layout for the spine stamping and tooling was a definite improvement.

I am very proud of the result and happy that her book has a new lifespan, one that will last generations.

The Process

Deathfire

Deathfire

Custom Rebinding with Original Art Inlay

About the Project

Another paperback conversion!

Using the same methods for the Vengeful Spirit project, we extracted the front cover art and reprinted the endleafs to produce an upgraded version of the original book. I ended up taking more pictures of the process, as compared to the finished work. It was a lot of fun making this book, and I’m excited to do more in the future.

The Process

Vengeful Spirit

Vengeful Spirit

Custom Rebinding with Original Art Inlay

About the Project

A paperback conversion with some added flare!

This is actually the second project I have done with this client, and I will be uploading the first book we made together soon – I just forgot to do it when we finished!

We essentially wanted to ‘upgrade’ her book without losing the overall feel and aesthetic of the original paperback copy. So, I suggested we extract the original front cover and place it on the new case with a recessed window (inlay), thereby protecting the art from any friction and preserving it. The endleafs of the book were the expanded version of the painting done by Neil Roberts, so we scanned them in adn sized them appropriately for the new endleaf sheets. 

The leather we worked with is a fine goat/kid leather from Siegel Leather and is some of the best I’ve worked with. It has a rich, dark blue-gray color and is supple to the touch. The book feels great in your hand and feels comfortable to read. For the spine decoration, we decided to work with a blue-gold foil with silver for the title panel on black leather. 

The result is quite wonderful. I had such a great time making this book and it feels good to work with new material. Plus, exploring with different color foil is always a treat.

The Process

Gallery coming soon..

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

Norse Journal

Norse Journal

$275 USD

Before Taxes and Shipping

About the Project

A journal infused with tradition, intricacy and durability. 

How to Purchase

There a couple ways to purchase this book. You can send me an email by clicking this link or check my listings on Etsy:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1485160396/norse-journal-green-morocco

Methods

One of my specialties of design is Cuir-ciselé and I wanted to work with some of the fine leather I have in my shop that I acquired from another well-respected bookbinder. Using Russell’s Oasis Goatskin as the base cover I recessed two panels for inlays of vegetable-tanned sheepskin with intertwined Norse dragons in the Urnes style of Viking art and design.

Gallery