Hana, a Daughter of Japan

This repair had three parts and several challenges. The silk threads had broken at both ends of the book. Although I have done the Noble Binding sewing pattern when making new books, I didn't want to disturb these 112-year-old pages, bound in 1904. The pages would probably have expanded, so then the brocade fabric headcaps wouldn't have fit... and so on. I tied on silk threads and re-sewed just the head and tail sections, tucking the knots into the holes. The folding case had done its job--protecting the book--but was showing the signs of wear. (Also, the red sun and black ravens seemed harsh compared to the delicate and beautiful silk-screened covers.) I replaced missing ribbons, re-made the loops for the bone clasps, and inserted new Moriki hinge strips under the original paper at the joints. Then I made a new slipcase, with an inset photo of the repaired cover.

Repaired book and folding case, with new slipcase. I lined the interior of the folding case with acid-free tracing paper, which protects the fragile silk covers from further acidic deterioration.

Before repair: Folding case with bone fasteners taped to the cover, missing ribbons, and book with frayed silk threads.

The new slipcase protects the restored folding case and displays the clasps. The silk-screened cover of the book is fragile, so the photo inset into the slipcase displays its beauty without extra handling and wear.

Heritage Book and Bible Repair: Catalog for Life Along the Potomac

Hope I can link my blog to my Facebook page. Heritage Book and Bible Repair: Catalog for Life Along the Potomac https://www.facebook.com/tawn.oconnor

Catalog for Life Along the Potomac

I find the Keith Smith books useful when I feel like playing. The photos and artists' statements from the winter Life Along the Potomac exhibit were online, in single-sheet format. After having them printed at FedEx Office, I made them into a long accordion fold, with a concertina sewn onto the back folds to give them backbone. Then I followed the "Piano-Hinge Collapsible Star" directions, more or less.

Midwest Geographies exhibit at Michigan State University May 2016

To my surprise, they included my "distressed" Mackinac Bridge box and collage of the process. I packed in a lot of stuff for this entry, and really appreciate how they displayed it.

Book of Cards

If you don't know what to do with that box of cards you've saved over the years, here's a way to keep them, re-read them, and enjoy them for years to come: I will bind them into a book for you!

The grizzly bear card roared until the battery wore out. We gave it to Darryl on our trip to Alaska.

For Father's Day 2013 I bound anniversary, Father's Day, and birthday cards given to Darryl over the years into a hardcover book.

Beauty and the Beast

Now I can show the project, safely delivered yesterday!

I didn't realize the margins of the box lid would fade against the tablecloth in a photo. But they're there.

It just looked better to sew in the original dust jacket.

This is What a Shortcut Looks Like

Lovely mess, isn't it? I used a book's original cover boards for a rebinding in leather. I had assumed the covers were the right size because, after all, they were the originals. But no: they were 1/8" narrower than the pages. The covers had been cut so skimpy that the heavy cotton back liner I used added too much bulk and the pages protruded beyond the covers. By the time I discovered this, I'd already covered the boards in full leather and had no inclination to waste them. So, I pulled off the new sewn endpapers and the extra back liner. I peeled away paper layers from the flex-board spine. I lifted the pasted leather headcaps and back-cornered the spine edges. I swapped out thinner mull. Finally, I trimmed 1/8" from the foredges, which fortunately had wide margins. (I triple-checked the spine width, so that the text block wouldn't gape when everything was cased back in.) I felt guilty about trimming, but it had to be done. This one time. The book looks good and none the worse for wear. I won't show photos of the completed work until after I hand it to the person, because it's a surprise gift.