November 2002 Bookbinding Journal

I’ve been asked for information about the fan book that is pictured on the book journal list page. The cream colored cover is bleached Siberian iris with a pinch of well beaten wheat straw. The hinge cover paper, which folds around and forms the inside pastedown sheet, is Indian hemp bast and stalk. The fan papers from the top are: black willow bast, red mulberry, Japanese knotweed, bleached Indian hemp, horse dung, Siberian iris, pokeweed stalk and Boston fern. With the exception of the bleached Indian hemp, these are all the natural colors of the plant fibers. There are eight signatures of three pages each made from abaca with hosta stem inclusions. The binding stitches are — kettle, tape over suede hinge, three Coptic, tape over suede and kettle.

11-5-02 Shifting from papermaking to bookbinding has turned out to be more of a task than I expected. All my work spaces are set up for paper. Every nook and cranny is stuffed with handmade paper and the workroom is cluttered from floor to ceiling...well, almost. It took the better part of the morning to shift junk around and find all the bookbinding materials. Only, I didn’t find them all. I’ve lost my book of measurements. I think I remember most of them, but it will be fumble through at the beginning. Or maybe, just maybe the book of measurements will crawl out from its hiding place. I still have hope. **I’ve never done a book from handmade paper with the deckles trimmed, but I have four I want to do for a special project. The problem is that I only have paper for those four and no extra, so I don’t have room for error. Rummaged through my papers and found some hmp of about the same thickness and character and did a test run with those. It’s a quarterbound book with brown cotton cloth spine and outside covers from a cattail head/hemp paper. There are five signatures of four sheets each made from a strange mixture of leftover pulps — Shasta daisy, field thistle, coreopsis, bluegrass, butterflyweed, velvet leaf, kudzu, beardtongue, swamp thistle and pigweed. Hey, don’t laugh. The pulps worked well together. Folded, the signatures measure 4.25”x5.5”. Three of them have an outside sheet of a parchment like paper made from bleached Johnsongrass. The end sheets are agrimony. The signatures are tape stitched and finished with a super over the block. Again, this was a test book to work through the bugs. The four books I’m planning won’t look like this, but the format will be essentially the same.

11-6-02 I have a bound book commission due in July of next year, and winter is a good time for fooling around looking for the best binding that will allow me to glue things onto the pages of that book. Today I did a mockup book that used one of the simple Keith Smith stitchings that go through the spine. I wasn’t especially concerned about the appearance of this particular book because it is only a trial run to work through potential problems and give me some idea of measurements. I found some cloth that I’d backed with paper last year and used that for the cover. The book has six signatures of six commercial pages each. Though the commissioned book will have signatures that are 8.5”x7” and this one is only 5.5”x4.25”, it still gives me an idea of how the internal spacing will work.

11-7-02 A few weeks ago I was shown how to do a different type of tape binding in which the tapes go through the covers and are secured by tying on the outside. On casual inspection, this produces a lovely book and does so quite easily, however, the technique that secures the signatures to the cover bothers me. It requires that slits be cut through the two papers that hold the spine to the covers so that the tapes can pass through. Raw cuts in paper disturb me, but I’m bothered even more that the weight of the signature block falls solely on those two sheets. Not good. I think there is a work-around that would preserve the outside tapes, which is a striking way to bind, by sewing through the spine to secure the block. At some point, I’ll try it. All the books that I saw bound by the tape-through-paper technique were stitched on ribbon, then the ribbons passed through the paper and tied in three bundles, one for each set of stitching. I opted to sew onto 1/2” suede strips, each of which I then cut into three equal widths. I flat six-braded the top and bottom groups of cut suede toward the middle of the book, then secured them under the middle tape by tying each of those suede strips over the braided ones with a square knot. This left all the ends to fall in varied lengths from the middle. The rust colored paper on the cover is a commercial paper; the spine cover is hmp from beaten hosta stalks and cooked but unprocessed hosta leaves. The signature block is commercial paper. **Far too lovely to stay inside all day, so I went foraging for papermaking stuff.

11-8-02 Several weeks ago I found two cotton cloths at Wal-Mart that will make gorgeous book covers. Most of the time it’s impossible to find anything with a print suitable for books, so I snatched up both bolts and bought a yard of each. (Big spender.) One is rust with darker mottling, the other is a blurred dark green print on a lighter green background. Also, bought some mahogany colored cotton to use for spine covers. This morning I used wheat paste to attach 70 weight linen paper to the cloth back.

11-11-02 I’m back to working on the four books I mentioned on the 5th. (FWIW, I don’t usually pile into projects, but am more of the “let’s mull this over a while before committing to anything” type person, particularly when I’m working with handmade paper. That stuff is too hard to come by to make a mistake.) The books will have five signatures of four sheets each. The paper for these books is a 50/50 blend of hemp and cotton rag with a pinch of agrimony for contrast (top sheet). Three of the signatures will have cover sheets of bleached cattail leaf with a pinch of agrimony (bottom sheet). The pastedown and end sheets will be pure agrimony; the covers will be cattail head fluff paper. All the signature sheets were pulled thin, the approximate thickness of 20 weight copy paper. (To give some perspective to the thinness of the handmade paper, here are two stacks of 20 sheets of paper each — copy paper is on the right, the hmp on the left.) The spine will be the mahogany cotton cloth. I’ve been fumbling around with ideas for an insert in the front covers, but I’ve not come up with anything yet. They need something to keep them from being so plain. Mind you, plain isn’t always bad, but these need something special. I spoke with Jimmy Lou Jackson, a glass bead friend, about doing a very flat oval bead in a contrasting or complementing color to the covers, but I’m not set on that yet. **Today I gritted my teeth and cut the deckles from the signature sheets for the books, trimming them to 5.5”x8.5”. I don’t like trimming the deckles! Slicing the lovely edges off the sheets was almost physically painful. Such a loss. But these particular quarter bound books require exact measurements, something that I can’t achieve using a deckled paper.

11-12-02 I finally decided what I want to mount on the front of the four books — a round slice of polished deer antler with cattails scrimshawed onto the surface. I’ve never done scrimshaw, but it was worth a try. Nothing much would be lost in the effort. Many years ago a friend from New York gave me a box of deer antlers to use in basketmaking. I tried a couple of them, but was never satisfied with the results, so I just stuck the box back in a corner. Dug it out this afternoon and bandsawed a few thin disks from one of the antlers. The slices were sanded on a belt sander, then rubbed with fine sandpaper, emery cloth and finished by polishing vigorously against the back of a legal pad. This created a smooth glossy surface. In the process of all this, I shortened two of my fingernails considerably and buffed off a bit of flesh. Art requires sacrifice. Etching (scratching is the proper term) the lines on the rounds was...interesting. The antler disks are about 3/16” thick and slightly smaller than a quarter. It was hard to pin them down securely. Cutting in the cattail leaves was no problem, but the heads proved difficult, particularly since I have ancient glasses and a delightful case of astigmatism that doubles some lines and totally eliminates others. I really do need to visit the optometrist. The results, while not professional, are quite acceptable for my purpose. I’ll recess a place for them in the lower right hand corner of each cover before pasting the cover papers on.

11-13-02 Still working on the four books. Punched the stitching holes, sewed the signatures together, attached the super and left them to dry till tomorrow. Now is as good a time as any to introduce my punch cradle and sewing frame. For twenty some odd years I farmed. Because of the economics of farm living, you learn “make do.” I’ve never gotten beyond that way of thinking. The punch cradle is a three piece make do affair — the cover from my high school diploma supported by two 3/4” blocks of wood with a “V” cut in each block. The center seam is covered with Duck Brand duct tape. (The adhesive on this brand of tape does not come off on the punch needle.) The wood blocks are self supporting because of their width, and there is no need to secure them to the cover. The sewing frame is even more make do. It’s simply a 3/4” white pine board and a coat hanger wire that is inserted into holes drilled in the wood. Rubber bands and clothespins hold the tapes to the coat hanger wire and give tension, while thumbtacks secure the tape to the board. Excess tape runs underneath the board and out the back, so that it isn’t necessary to pre cut the tape. (There is a sheet of chipboard on top of the wooden board. This isn’t really necessary, but is handy for marking the position of the tapes before attaching them with thumbtacks.) The signatures in the picture are the four sets for the books I’m working on. Each block of five signatures is stitched, tied off, then the next signature is independently stitched onto the tape above the previous one. When all the blocks are attached to the tapes, they are removed from the frame. The tape is slipped through each until the blocks are properly separated. Then the tape is clipped between each block. The blocks are placed, one by one, in a clamp and a super of unbleached muslin is attached to the spine of each. They are left to dry overnight. **The rest of my day was spent fooling with a new digital camera, which came in the mail. The shots on this site were done with a two year old Sony MVC-FD73. I truly love its ease of use and the fact that it shoots onto 3.5 floppy disks, so easy to pop in and out of camera and computer alike. For web quality shots, I don’t think the camera can be beaten. However, it won’t shoot print quality pictures, at least not those of any size. My 35 mm kicked the bucket a few months ago, and rather than replace it with another 35 mm, this week I bought a Sony MVC-CD400 digital, which will shoot pictures up to 4 mega pixels onto CD disks. I have just finished reading the instruction manual. At this moment, I am feeling rather inadequate and, to put it bluntly, dumb. I am not a professional photographer...the booklet was not written for the layman. This learning experience is going to be...interesting?

11-15-02 Did the covers for the four books today. (I’m not going to tell you I had to do two sets of the covers over again because I attached them on the wrong paste line and didn’t discover it until they were dry.) The spine cover is mahogany colored cotton cloth backed with 70 weight linen paper. I carved recesses in the davey boards for the scrimshaw pieces, then used wheat paste to attach paraffin buffed cattail head paper to the boards. Gently finger smoothing the paper down into the recessed area brings the paper into contact with the paste and allows its dampness to soften the paper so it will stretch without tearing. Then a bone folder can be used to finish easing and pressing the paper into the edges of the recess. After all four book covers were assembled, they were placed in the press with thin chipboards between each to absorb moisture. They will be left to dry for 48 hours or so under pressure. The chipboard will be changed twice during that time. FWIW, guarterbound books do not provide instant gratification. It’s do a step and wait, do a step and wait. Failing to wait can offer some rather interesting results. These are the edges of the junked covers that I mounted wrong. They were only in the press for a few hours and provide a very good lesson in what happens when you don’t WAIT. I’ll also acknowledge, while I’m at it, that the covers were laid off with the davey board grain running the wrong direction. Not sure exactly how that happened, but that was corrected for the replacement covers. I may still try to alter and use these covers, if only for some wild haired scheme. Won’t be much lost.

11-17-02 Attached the signature blocks to the covers this morning. There is a very specialized setup for this. The block and covers are left in the jig for thirty minutes or so, till the glue sets up. Before it is completely hardened, I flatten the edges of the muslin with a bone folder to help keep it from showing under the pastedown. This time after the muslin was securely attached and more or less dry, I used Yes to attach the pastedowns sheets the inside covers. I would rather have used wheat paste, but these sheets are extra thin agrimony handmade paper, and because I sometimes find it necessary to reposition pastedowns, I wasn’t anxious to introduce any more moisture than necessary. As it turned out, the blocks were so perfectly positioned, it wasn’t necessary to adjust the sheets at all. At this point, I put plastic sandwich bags between the covers and the signature blocks, and placed the books back in the press to dry overnight. (Plastic bags seem to work better than Saran Wrap because they are more manageable, and the bags work far better than waxed paper because they offer more protection from the dampness.) I’ll probably take the books out for a look-see before bedtime, though if anything were wrong at this point, nothing could be done about it. Glue, no matter what kind, tends to become irreversible very quickly. I’m sure there is a Murphy’s Law about this.

11-18-02 (Did I cheat and look? Of course.) This is probably the first time I’ve ever done four books that I could not tell apart, other than from the scrimshaw designs. Usually, there will be some minor difference, a small flaw here or a slight difference in measurement there, but it’s not the case this time. The books are identical. There is little credit to my craftsmanship in that statement. Perfect quarterbound books require the blessing of bookbinding angels. There were four of them on my side this time. FWIW, this picture of a single book and the other of the four books are the first two I’ve shot with the new digital camera. Our friendship is extremely tentative right now. We’re still negotiating.

11-19-02 Fooled around with quarterbound miniature books today and learned that there are no shortcuts. If you want a miniature book to work — to open and close properly and like a full size book — it has to be constructed in the same manner. The signatures must be stitched and a super and “cords” used to attach the block to the covers. Just using the pastedowns to secure the block won’t work. They will eventually pull loose at the spine. And forget the “gee, this cover is so thin, it should bend and let the book open without having to do hinges.” Nope, and it only took doing one book the wrong way to find that even miniature books must be hinged in order to open properly. Though the two books are almost identical from the outside, only the one on the right will open and lie flat. The other must be forced open, then it is difficult to close. Both books have 5 signatures of three pages each made from 20 weight copy paper; the pastedowns are bleached Johnsongrass paper; the covers are bleached Kentucky bluegrass; the spine protector is lemongrass paper. All three handmade papers are super thin. Both the Johnsongrass and bluegrass are very much like parchment — see-through and crinkly.

11-20-02 I wanted to do one more mini book while the methods were fresh in my mind. This one has a cloth spine and signatures from 50% hemp/50% cotton rag handmade paper. The cover is lemongrass paper. I was afraid the cloth might prove too thick, but it worked well. The handmade paper for the signatures was the approximate thickness of the commercial 20 weight paper, so that proved no problem at all.

11-30-02 I’m still here, plodding away. This journal has been neglected, in part, because each entry would be a duplication of the previous day’s. I have been pulling together a commission from last April. The book required many, many different handmade papers, and much of this past summer was spent collecting and processing the plants. Now I am at the stage of writing it, keeping in mind how the words and pictures will work with the papers and actually assemble into a book. Even by my own standards, the stack of handmade papers is fairly impressive, not so much in numbers as in variety. For the past week or so, I have been involved in format negotiations with Microsoft Publisher. I’m writing in Word, then importing the file into Publisher, and the automatic format changes are interesting, to say the least. Word has a nasty way of concealing certain formats, which suddenly become obvious in Publisher. Good thing I love a challenge.