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2020.07.08 - Bookish Talk #1 - Worm-Eaten Books

Archival Work, Book Repair and Restoration/ Bookish Talk/ History/ Manuscripts

Bookish Talk #1 – Worm-Eaten Manuscripts

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Pavel and I decided to try a different format. In this podcast series, we are not inviting any guests and just talk about some bookish topics. This time Pavel went to the Russian State Library to see some worm-eaten books. Well, the book he saw wasn’t eaten by warms, but it has evidence of worm damage. How is that even possible?

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2020.06.24 - iBB Podcast #8 - Sophia Siobhan Wolohan Bogle - Save Your Books

Archival Work, Book Repair and Restoration/ iBB Podcast

iBB Podcast #7 – Sophia Siobhan Wolohan Bogle – Save Your Books

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Our seventh guest is Sophia Siobhan Wolohan Bogle, a bookbinder and book restorer from Ashland, Oregon. With her project Save Your Books, Sophia is also spending a lot of time educating people about book repair and restoration!

Our next guest is Mark Cockram, a book artist and bookbinder from London, UK. I’m always impressed by Mark’s videos where he shows his bookmaking process. They are both inspiring and educational!

You can post your questions to Mark in the comments below, or send them through our social accounts and email.

See the timestamps below if you want to skip to some particular part of our talk.

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Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

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To follow Sophia’s projects use the links below:

For Book Repair Courses, Supplies, and Student Forum
http://saveyourbooks.com/

For Photos, News, and Live Events
https://www.instagram.com/saveyourbooks/
https://www.facebook.com/saveyourbooks/

For Book Repair Videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/DIYbookrepair

Table of Contents

00:00 – Introduction
00:56 – On the difference between restoration and conservation
05:23 – On ordering the supplies during the lockdowns
06:26 – Sophia’s workload during the lockdown
07:18 – Who are the clients of the Save Your Books project? How Sophia began her career in book repair?
08:31 – On importance of finding a niche
10:23 – Sophia’s teaching experience
11:21 – Working in a used books store and the value of that experience
13:31 – Collecting books doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot of money on books
17:41 – Talking about Sophia’s book Book Restoration Unveiled
25:28 – Courses Sophia offers on her website
28:42 – Paperbacks and their quality (or lack of the quality)
30:41 – On the difference between bookbinding and book repair courses
32:26 – Facebook groups dedicated to rare books
35:09 – The process of writing the book
37:16 – The difference in conservation and restoration approach for books and ephemera / Ethical aspects of book restoration
43:21 – Undoing previous repairs
45:07 – Is there any future for bookbinding and paper books?
49:28 – Sophia’s introduction to books and book repair
51:32 – The first project Sophia was proud of as a professional
56:41 – Workshop tour

2020.05.25 - iBB Podcast #6 - Ingeir Djuvik - Award-Winning Hobbyist Bookbinder from Norway

Design Bindings/ iBB Podcast

iBB Podcast #6 – Ingeir Djuvik – Award-Winning Hobbyist Bookbinder from Norway

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Our guest this time is Ingeir Djuivik, a graphic design teacher, and an award-winning hobbyist bookbinder from Norway. We have already talked to Ingeir not once on our website, but this is the first video interview we made with him.

During the podcast, Ingeir shows and discusses several of his design bindings, including some of his old works. We also talk about his teaching experience, his tools, and his workspace arrangements (he makes books at his kitchen table!)

 

Our next guests are:

  • Sophia Siobhan Wolohan Bogle, a bookbinder and book conservator from Ashland, Oregon. The owner of the Save Your Books studio.
  • Luise Blackbird, a graphic designer, letterpress worker, and owner of the Trigger Press, a smart and sarcastic print shop in Scotland.

You can post your questions to Luise and Sophia in the comments below, or send them through our social accounts and email.

See the timestamps below if you want to skip to some particular part of our talk.

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Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

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Ingeir is happy to answer your questions on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ingeir.djuvik

Table of Contents

00:00 – Introducing Ingeir
02:00 – Ingeir’s experience of being a bookbinding teacher
02:35 – Finding the mood of the book and its design binding
03:19 – Amateur bookbinder as in “not earning money from selling bindings”
04:41 – Ingeir’s ambition for the future
05:29 – Polishing the skills vs. trying something new
07:00 – Experimental book structures vs. traditional bookbinding
08:34 – Does the design binding improve the experience of the reader? Ingeir’s favorite books to make design bindings for.

Show and Tell

09:12 – Vinterfugler (Winter Birds) by Lars Jonsson – two versions
11:47 – Leather inlays and onlays
12:19 – Preparing sketches and final designs for the bindings
14:57 – Where Ingeir gets inspiration for his bindings?
16:46 – Ingeir first bookbinding tutorial he’s got when he was 12 years old
21:57 – One of the early design bindings Ingeir made – a book with illustration by the Russian painter Ivan Bilibin. This book has panels made with an ancient bog oak embedded in its cover
23:53 – Another of Ingeir’s first bindings – The White Nile by Alan Moorehead. A book with papyrus embedded in its cover
25:22 – How Ingeir decorates book edges
26:21 – When and how Ingeir started doing bookbinding as an adult
20:10 – Being a bookbinding teacher
30:27 – Ingeir’s favorite bindings
30:54 – Walden – livet i skogene by Henry D. Thoreau – three copies Ingeir made for his children
33:10 – Which parts of the bookbinding process demand the most from Ingeir?
34:24 – Current Ingeir’s projects and participation in competitions
35:20 – Ørret by Lars Nilssen – a story of a trout from the egg to a frying pan
36:16 – Making a design binding for a book about flowers
37:25 – Importance of making boxes for design bindings
38:00 – Have any of Ingeir’s books ended up in collections?

Tools and Workspace

39:11 – Plans to teach online
40:08 – Ingeir’s tools
41:19 – Ingeir’s workshop

2020.05.25 - iBB Podcast #5.2 - Katy Savelyeva - Katy Ebru - Q&A

iBB Podcast/ Paper Marbling

iBB Podcast #5.2 – Katy Savelyeva @KatyEbru – Paper Marbling Q&A

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For the fifth episode of our podcast, we invited a marbler from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Katy Ebru showed us several marbling patterns right during the recording – you can see them in the first part of the video. This part is dedicated to Q&A.

Currently, I’m editing the sixth episode, where we talk to Ingeir Djuvik, an award-winning hobbyist bookbinder from Norway. I suppose it will go live later this week.

This Wednesday, we are recording another episode of the show, and my co-host Pavel Voronin decided to make me a guest. It’s a bit strange role for me, but I’m sure it should be fun!

We will talk about my more than twelve years of being a bookbinder and my story with iBookBinding. About making, designing, and 3d-printing tools for bookish people. I will show around my workshop. And we will answer some questions.

So, if you have anything to ask about 3d-printed bookbinding tools, iBookBinding, or bookbinding as a craft in general, please comment, send us a message through our social accounts, or write an email!

But, back to the episode with Katy Ebru =)

You will find the timestamps below.

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Q&A

00:18 – Working with major Russian libraries
01:28 – Recreating existing patterns

03:17 – Question from Karen @indigo_craftroom: Katy’s favorite paper to work with
04:33 – On the thickness of the paper

07:35 – Question from Eva and John Baines: Do you ever do tiger eye or sunspot patterns? What recipe do you use to get it?

10:53 – Question from Eva: Do you use oil or turpentine for certain patterns? How does that work?

11:16 – Question from Shannon O’Blenes: I would like to know what type and brand of paint the professionals use to get such bright colours.
11:44 – Making tiger eye pattern with acrylics

13:26 – Some differences between Turkish and Western marbling
14:16 – Marbling objects different from paper / Marbling fabrics
15:14 – Books covered with marbled cloth

16:03 – Question from Itzmalli Coca: How to fix color once printed?

18:21 – Question from Susan Burrows @susie_kitchens: Have pretty much tried every size and type of paint and just can’t get a satisfactory result. Really wish I could get it right!

19:07 – Video tutorials and other videos from Katy

20:10 – Question from Janet Mente: Some days when I am marbling, things just do not work. I know there is a German book by a 19th-century marbler entitled in translation “My struggle with Oxgall,” so I know these things happen.
So my question is: what do you do on those days? Do you give up? Start from scratch? Or try to fix the mix and, if so, how?

2020.05.23 - iBB Podcast #4 - Rita Udina. Paper and Book Conservation, Studio Tour, and Q&A

Archival Work, Book Repair and Restoration/ iBB Podcast/ Paper Repair and Restoration

iBB Podcast #4 – Rita Udina. Paper and Book Conservation, Studio Tour, and Q&A

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Our podcast’s guest is Rita Udina, a book and paper conservator from Barcelona, Spain. Rita shows her fantastic studio, we talk about her projects, and answer questions that were sent by our followers!

See the timestamps below if you want to skip to some particular part of our talk.

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Become a patron (and get more content): https://www.patreon.com/ibookbinding

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Follow Rita’s projects:

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Table of Contents

02:08 – Beginning of the career

Studio Tour and Current Projects

03:12 – Beginning of the tour
06:01 – It’s good to have lower and higher tables for sitting and standing work
06:49 – Lying presses and a plough
07:35 – Folded map in repair
09:30 – Pencil drawing after restoration
10:21 – Wet area
12:13 – Dry area
12:20 – Ledgers in restoration
14:14 – Book with a folded map that was restored
16:18 – Working on vintage and antique books with cheap paper covers
18:37 – Older spine found under a newer spine
19:39 – A way to reattach fragile paper covers to that type of books with Japanese tissue
20:56 – Covers waiting for paper pulp filling
21:49 – Vellum cover book with sever insect damage after restoration
24:56 – Making a book accessible for future use and research
26:01 – New cover with a cat’s paw pattern inspired by an old cover and ethical issues that come with that project

Q&A

30:47 – Question from Janet L. Mente: Do private clients ever ask you to “restore” a rare book in a way that is against the modern philosophy of restoration?

33:38 – Question from Tzvi J. Liberman: How do you restore gaps in pages using paper pulp?
34:18 – A bit of demonstration
38:13 – Leaf casting machine
40:13 – Japanese paper

41:40 – Balancing conservation, restoration, and introduction of new elements
44:04 – Routine and repetitive aspects of conservator’s work
46:39 – Maintaining ritaudina.com in three languages
48:34 – On English words replacing terms and professional language in local languages

51:27 – Question from Piotr Wieteska: What are the proper ways of paper mending in restoration of torn pages?
I’m especially curious about the „state-of-the-art” methods for mending and the ways for determining the paper type for filling the losses (I’m just assuming that filmoplast R is not the only method and it’s also not the best one 😉

53:37 – Question from Hans Christoph Ruber: I’m pretty allergic to it (breathing) & I often run into books that are slightly mouldy at the spine, just barely noticeable from a slight smell. Reading them at home is impossible, I have to go to a park. Is there anything I can do?
55:41 – Always test before using solutions on your materials

56:37 – Question from Hans Christoph Ruber: Our National Library in Vienna uses a recent technology, non-invasive, with vacuum bags with humidity indicator, wherein the book is placed for a few weeks. Unfortunately, they refused to tell me about the system, respectively, where to get the bags from. Is this already a known technique?

1:00:32 – Question from Ivan Gulkov: I have a relatively new book (about 5 years old) that has started developing some serious molding, that sticks pages together and shows as multiple yellowish spots. Is there anything that can be done to stop the spread?

1:04:07 – Question from Boris Horemans: Often with old books on history or geography, you find elaborate maps that are bound with the rest of the signatures, often resulting in torn and damaged maps. When rebinding these books, how would you incorporate these maps?

1:06:01 – Keeping and storing books that are not going to be repaired
1:07:52 – Cancelled courses and events and plans for the future

2019.07.25 - Intricate Folds Steal the Show in Matt Shlian’s Latest Paper Sculptures

Blog

Intricate Folds Steal the Show in Matt Shlian’s Latest Paper Sculptures

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What is most unexpected about his intricate, captivating, folded-paper sculptures, is that until he finishes them, Matt Shlian doesn’t know exactly how they’re going to turn out. 

Matt Shlian began by cutting up posters and folding them into works of art. Over the years of his creative exploration, he’s slowly started making more intricate sculptures of repeating forms and shapes. Recently even using color to accentuate the intricate folds that characterize his work. In each and every sculpture, he is guided by the piece. As he describes it in his artist statement, he begins with a “system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over.” The result are works of art that mesmerize. All sharp lines and recurring patterns, they twist in front of your roving eyes, seeming to move even as their precise, carefully placed pieces remain as they were, static and beautiful.

While all of his work deserves attention, I’ll highlight two that stood out to provide a sense of what makes his work unique. 

Unholy 153, a work from 2019 featured on his website, is a forest of subtly shifting yellow in which dainty peaks play a symphony of misdirection, leading you to cast your eyes every which way, discovering subtleties and intricacies in what seems to be a simple repeating design. 

 

In Omoplata 5, what seems to be a four by eight block of uniform swirling peaks colored in a pleasing soft palate of gradient blues, pinks, and orange, turns out to be a collection of 32 distinct swirling forms that, together, contain an infinite depth of minute variation and major beauty.  

Check out his website for more examples of his stunning artwork, as well as a fascinating FAQ in which he provides a glimpse into his life, work, and artistic approach!

 

iBookBinding was granted permission to feature photos by Matt Shlian

2019.02.21 - Amazing Century-Old Book Industry Ads

History/ History of Printing/ Typography

Amazing Century-Old Book Industry Ads

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Wow! What a mustached bookbinder! I just posted some images of decorated initials from Het drukkers jaarboek 1906 recently, but there is much more interesting in this series of books. And amazing book industry ads is one of these things.

Het drukkers jaarboek (The Printer’s Yearbook) is a four-volume edition that was published in Amsterdam in 1906-1911. There is a lot of interesting stuff in the books, even if you can’t read Dutch. All the issues are massively illustrated. But today I’d like to show you some examples of the book industry advertisements included in each of the tomes. And they occupy at least 30 pages every year!

I’m curious, how many of these firms are still working today? For example, Van Gelder Papier was established in 1685. But in 1982 the factory was closed to be relaunched in 1983 by other people as Crown Van Gelder. Here is only an image of their paper (with watermarks visible) reproduced in Het drukkers jaarboek, but in an earlier volume, they decided to include a proper sheet of their paper.

Then, there are type foundries here. It seems they know something about book industry representatives having a mustache.

Genzsch and Heyse type foundry from Hamburg was quite persistent in their advertisement. But, then what diversity and beauty!

Another German type foundry, J.G. Schelter and Giesecke, had survived WWII only to be nationalized by GDR government in 1946.

Oh, I love these initials!

And here is an ad of Dirk Schnabel’s cliches. Interesting combination of font and picture.

The mustached bookbinder from the top image was advertising the bookbinder Elias van Bommel year after year. Is that Elias himself on the ad? It may well be so. The design was created by a Dutch painter and designer Theo Molkenboer.

And that’s another bookbindery:

 

Electric machines! Wow!

What specially warms my heart is that H. Berthold offered Russian type. Was there a demand for them in the Netherlands 100 years ago?

I wanted to add this last one just because it was printed on different paper, compared to most of the other ads. Just like the Van Gelder Papier advertisement. Unfortunately, my photos will not give the best representation of it, but I tried.

Where to find such beauty in our digital age?

Life, Paper, and Calligraphy

Video

Life, Paper, and Calligraphy

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I was mesmerized by this short video earlier today. I’ve seen some photos in the Viktor’s Facebook feed before, but that’s even more impressive.

Often when something new is created as a result of the synergy of ideas coming from absolutely different arts, crafts or areas of knowledge, the result is astonishing. And here is an example of that:

Please follow Viktor Pushkarev on Facebook and Instagram to be notified of his future projects and evolution of this piece of art.

2017.02.03 - The Anatomy of Restoration thumb

Archival Work, Book Repair and Restoration

The Anatomy of Restoration

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Until the 2nd of April an amazing exhibition is open in Bucharest, Romania. Anatomia Restaurării (The Anatomy of Restoration) is dedicated to 25 years of conservation and restoration conducted at the the Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României  (National Museum of Art of Romania).

If you think that theme is stretch for a bookbinding blog, I hope to prove you wrong.

Exhibition is divided into seven or so rooms. Each of them dedicated to one of the areas of conservation work: paintings, paper objects, cloth, metal, etc.

I bought the ticket only because there was a nice package that included Anatomia Restaurării and the main exhibition of the National Museum of Art of Romania (where you can find 20 or 30 pretty old books displayed). However, I was astonished by the work curators did presenting restoration processes.

The only downside of the exhibition is that it is Romanian language only. All the description notes, titles, etc. are in Romanian. Luckily, I had internet connection on my phone and been able to Google Translate things I didn’t understand.

However, all the materials are organized in almost self-explanatory order. There are series of photos accompanying every art object, showing stages of restoration.

I was so overwhelmed by the exhibition that went for a go-around. A thing, that rarely happens to me. Even if you are not interested in restoration of metal, wood, and stone, other parts of the exhibition (cloth, paper and canvas) should be of a huge interest for a bookbinder and book lover.

Unfortunately, the photography prices at the Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României are insane. I have no images to share with you besides this scan of the exhibition catalog (which is also pretty amazing).

The exhibition is open until the 2nd of April, 2017. If you are visiting Romanian capital city or may have a detour there, I would definitely encourage you to pay it a visit. It is one of the best tributes to the work of conservators I have ever seen.

 

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