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Book of the World

About the Project

Late in 2020 I enrolled in an online course offered by Atlas Obscura about Facts Based Worldbuilding and taught by Moiya McTier, an astrophysicist and folklorist. I was immediately enthralled by the content and loved being a part of building my own world. Since space and other planets are so varied, it was a lot of fun building something completely new and populating it with species specifically adapted the the harsh conditions being set by my fellow students. The challenge was both fun and creative.

At the beginning of the course, I was pretty confident that I’d want to make a special journal to take notes in and continue my own set of worldbuilding creations. I am an ardent fan of J.R.R. Tolkien and have loved his work since I was a small child. I knew when I was very young that I’d wanted to make my own world and write stories about it and this journal will probably be the place I centralize those ideas. 

Methods

I decided to keep the design and structure as simple as possible, all while using the extent of the skills I’ve learned over the years. Fine Morroco leather cases in this book, decorated with 24k gold leaf on the spine with decorative stamps and a fillet. A ‘forest green’ title panel was stamped with the book’s title and volume number (knowing that I will make more in the future). Since this book is meant to contain creative material, I felt it best to keep it simple so as to focus my creativity on the contents within, rather than the outside of the book. A silk blue ribbon, the signature color of Boston Harbor Bookbindery, is attached to the inner-spine to mark the pages of progress.

Inspiration

As I mentioned above, one of my main inspirations is Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, however, I’ve encountered many worlds over the years that have captured my attention and they all have inspired me in some way. The maps you see below are only the latest, of hundreds, I’ve drawn over my life and are the foundation of the world being built. The first map was made using Wonderdraft while the second map was drawn by hand. All the calligraphy in the second map was done by me, after taking a college course in calligraphy in 2017. I created it for my final project of the course.

Gallery

The final result turned out spectacularly and I’m very happy with it. The thick paper is very comfortable to write on and I love having a single place to compile my ideas. I can often flip to a previous entry to ensure continuity, but I mostly use this as a place for notes and drawings. It’s starting to get full already and I suspect Vol.2 will be coming soon!

We are excited to begin working with you. Boston Harbor Bookbindery is experienced in designing custom, one-of-a-kind books for each client.

Whether you’d like to restore a family heirloom, re-bind a personal favorite, or print a book from scratch; we have just what you need to make your dreams a reality.

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The Book of the World

WHAT WE DID

Full leather binding | Printing Service | Gold stamping