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Posts Tagged ‘bookbinding’

  1. Coming Soon: Hannah Brown // Dianna Frid

    January 1, 2013 by Erin Fletcher

    hannahbrown_diannafrid

    Starting in February I’ll continue featuring bookbinders in my Bookbinder of the Month column, starting with the incredibly talented Hannah Brown, who masterfully adds embroidery work into her fine bindings. Another spectrum of binding I want to focus on are artist books, beginning with the ingenious work of Dianna Frid, whose soft fabric books whimsically explore philosophical themes concerning the nature of reality. 

    Every month dive further into the binding community with another artist and craftsman. Don’t miss a post, it may inspire something in you!

  2. Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 30, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    asimov_sobota

    I’m finishing off this month of Jan Sobota bindings with another miniature book that was created in collaboration with his wife Jarmila. Inside the hand-sculpted robot lives an accordion book of sixteen panels. The text explores the birth and usage of the word “robot”, which is first used by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek in 1920 (the word “robot” derives from a Czech word meaning forced labor or serf). The term “robotics” was coined by the Russian writer Isaac Asimov.

    The accordion-fold panels fold ingeniously into a compartment in the back the 2 3/4″ tall metal robot. A metal panel is held in place with a magnet affixed to the back of the robot’s head, securing the pages inside the robot. The robot is made with the use of A+B EpoPutty plasticine and metal parts and finished with an application of patina, the front is engraved with three lines: Karel Čapek / I, Robot / Isaac Asimov.

    This binding was created in 2007 in an edition of 30, each copy is signed by both Jan and Jarmila Sobota. The book object is housed in a suede-lined clamshell box. 

    asimov_sobota2resource: J. & J. Book Arts Studio

  3. Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 23, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    rachlik_sobotaIn the spirit of Christmas, I offer this binding by Jan Sobota that appears like box within a box. In 1986, Sobota completed this layered book object of Frantisek Rachlik’s Komedie plna lasky (Comedy Full of Love), a story about the life of Jindrich Mosna, a famous Czech actor during the nineteenth century. Each layer of the book object represents three different costumes from his most important roles. 

    The book object lives inside a box sculpted out of board to mimic a newspaper reporter’s jacket. It is covered in natural sheepskin and includes buttons and a pocket with document, with details outlined in blind tooling. The second layer of protection is a slipcase modeled after a soldier’s uniform. Also sculpted out of board, the slipcase is covered in blue calfskin with onlays of various colors embellishing the jacket. Blind tooling is also used to finish off the details.rachlik2_sobota rachlik3_sobotaFinally, the boards of this box-binding are sculpted with board to represent the costume of a Czech peasant, covered in white goatskin and natural cowhide. Relief onlays, gold and blind tooling complete the design. 

  4. Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 16, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    rimskalyrika_jansobotaThis book object and stand were crafted by Jan Sobota in 1987, the book is Rimska Lyrika (Lyrics of the Roman Empire). The book is covered in natural calfskin with blind tooling, decorative edges and headbands. The stand is made of binders board and balsa wood covered with natural goatskin and dark red onlays. The overall design is a canopy bed with slightly erotic elements inspired by the old Roman lyrics. 

    resource: The New Bookbinder: Journal of Designer Bookbinders. Volume 10, 1990.

  5. Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 9, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Over the course of 10 years, Jan Sobota participated in four Helen Warren DeGolyer Triennial Competitions. Every three years the Bridwell Library on Southern Methodist University’s campus chooses a book from their collection to be rebound by an individual binder. Each participant offers a proposal binding for the chosen title in addition to an example of their work. The winner of the Helen Warren DeGolyer Award receives a commission to bind the selected book according to their design proposal.  Two other prizes are awarded for excellence in fine binding and design. 

    The first time Sobota entered this competition was in 2003, creating a proposal for Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His design was given the Judge’s Distinction of Interpretation award:

    An example of his work submitted for the 2003 competition:

    This binding of Les Chansons de Bilitis by Pierre Loüys is translated from Greek and includes illustrations by G. Barbier engraved on wood by François Schmied. This edition was printed in Paris in 1922. A triple cover board binding structure bound in brown Harmatan goatskin for the top layer, gold leather for the middle and dark blue goatskin for the doublures with blue suede leather flyleaves. The same gold leather was used to create wrapped headbands, the top edge was gilt. 

    For the Fourth Helen Warren DeGolyer Exhibition in 2006, Sobota presented his proposal for Jorge Luis Borges’ Ficciones:

    Sobota proposed a triple cover board binding structure, to be covered in dark blue paper made of leather-maché, light blue French box calf (title in relief outlined in gold tooling) and batik suede pigskin. A brass plate on the spine engraved with the author’s name along with a brass clasp along the foredge engraved with the author’s portrait. The middle board would be covered with gold leather and doublures of batik suede pigskin. The flyleaves would be light blue paper of leather-maché. Double core leather-tooled headbands and silver multi-metallic gilt top edge.

    “The design depicts the ‘fictitious’ soul of the text and the illustrations, which the author also suggests in the title of the book”. The 1987 edition of Ficciones includes illustrations by Gabriela Aberastury, Julio Pagnao, Mirta Ripoll, Raúl Russo and Alicia Scavino.

    An example of Sobota’s work included in the 2006 submission was a binding of Jules Verne’s Le Tour Du Monde En Quatre-Vingts Jours:

    John Grave’s Goodbye to a River: A Narrative was chosen for the Fifth Helen Warren DeGolyer Competition in 2009. Here is Sobota’s proposal submission: 

    read more >

  6. My Hand…Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    December 3, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    This is the last week to view my work on Buy Some Damn Art!!

    The sixth and final book in my Roald Dahl series is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which may be his most well-loved story inspiring several adaptations such as the 1971 film with Gene Wilder (that we all love), the 2005 Tim Burton version (that we all might not love), various live theatrical performances plus one theme park ride. As I read through this book again, I found myself scribbling note after note from the abundance of imagination and imagery sprouting from the text. I needed to settle on an idea and I knew that I wanted to incorporate Art Deco elements into the design. And so the inspiring words are those that make up the detailed description of Willy Wonka’s appearance: black top hat, tail coat of plum-colored velvet, pants were bottle green, gloves were pearly gray, and a gold topped walking cane.

    Working within the limitations of my chosen color palette I created a stacked design of shapes according to their position on the body. The cane became the center point of the design and the binding and so I chose to use Peter Verheyen’s variation on the German case binding, which is the same structure used for Fantastic Mr. Fox, so that I could cover the spine separately from the boards. The spine is covered in black Hahnemuhle Ingres with Ferro gold as the tip. The headbands are wrapped with paper corresponding to the black Ingres or Ferro gold. The boards were initially covered in smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres before adding the paper onlays one at a time. Carefully measuring to make sure the design would remain square and that both boards would successfully mirror each other. I used various papers for the design because my main goal was to match the distinctive color palette. All of the black elements are Hahnemuhle Ingres; I choose purple Lokta, lime Cave Paper and Echizen ribbon Japanese paper for the other elements. 

    The edges were painted with a mixture of light gray acrylic paint, water, wheat starch paste and airbrush medium. This mixture creates a fluid pigment that can be applied as an even, thin coat, which prevents the paint from flaking. The made endpapers could only be gold as a homage to the golden ticket.

    The book is housed in a clamshell box, the trays are covered with smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined with light gray Ingres. The case is covered in full black Iris bookcloth.

  7. Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 2, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Jan Sobota produced several miniature bindings, which were included in various exhibitions. This binding of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Black Cat was published in a small edition of 20 by Jan and Jarmilla in 2009. This book-object was designed as a ‘Jack-in-the-Box’, the book is permanently attached to a spring that jumps forward as you open the lid. The black cat silhouette on the front cover is laser cut and finished with hand painting and tooling in white foil.

    The box is covered in black binders’ cloth and the lid is hand tooled in a pattern resembling a brick wall. The box measures 2.75″ x 2.75″ and the book measures 2.3″ x 2.3″.

    resource: J. & J. Book Arts Studio

  8. December // Bookbinder of the Month: Jan Sobota

    December 1, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Jan Sobota grew up engulfed by books, about 20,000 to be exact. His father was an avid collector of literature, most specifically children’s literature, filling their small house to the brim with books. Every available square inch of wall space was covered with bookcases leaving only the windows and doors untouched; before dinner books were cleared from the table and chairs. Eventually his father’s collection was moved to the barn after being converted into a library and office. Several books suffered from the passage of time and needed to be repaired. Sobota accompanied his father to trips to the bindery, eyeing the machinery and craftwork of the binders. One particular binder who peaked Sobota’s interest was Karel Silinger, working in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia as a designer bookbinder. At the time Pilsen attracted several artists creating a cultured and literate community. 

    Sobota began an apprenticeship with Silinger in 1954, learning binding techniques while conversing with artist, writers and actors. Sobota was accepted to a bookbinding program in Germany, but was unable to attend due to the Communist occupation at the time. Instead, he studied at the School for Applied Arts in Prague, where he was exposed to drawing, painting, sculpture and restoration of materials such as wood, metal, glass, ceramics, glass, paper and books. In 1957, Sobota completed his studies with both Silinger and at the School for Applied Arts.

    Left on his own to work, Sobota struggled with developing his own style of binding. His first bindings matched the style of Silinger’s bindings and other artists he found inspiring. For a time, Sobota did not have access to foreign literature from restrictions put forth by the Communists and therefore it became difficult to further his studies of bookbinding until the mid-1960s. During this time he concentrated on the techniques of Czech early Gothic-style bindings, being introduced to Gothic box bindings. He began to consult with Czech bookbinding professor such as Emil Pertak and Vaclav Vladyka. 

    In 1966, the Communists began lifting restrictions on art, allowing more bookbinding exhibitions and lectures to enter Czechoslovakia exposing Sobota to master bookbinders such as Jindrich Svoboda and Jan Vrtilek. Sobota continued to develop his personal style of binding though he found experimentation to be a struggle from the confinement by deep-rooted techniques of standard bookbinding, believing that binders were being held back from innovation and future development. It wasn’t until 1977, after reading Philip Smith‘s New Directions in Bookbinding did Sobota find the courage to produce more sculptural bindings known as book-objects.

    Sobota’s book-objects are sculptural box-bindings or flat bindings with a sculptural or relief box; the text is completely housed inside the sculpture keeping it safe from dirt and exposure. The construction of his book-objects are quite complex, but the books can be opened easily and read comfortably. Sobota never considered his work to be experimental. His intentions were to create something new, while serving the book by expressing its contents through his artistic and technical abilities. In 1979, he received the title ‘Meister der Einbandkunst’. 

    In 1984, Sobota was directed to Cleveland where he began working in the conservation lab at Case Western Reserve University; his latest position was as the Director of the Conservation Laboratory in the Bridwell Library of SMU in Dallas, Texas. Sobota was active in various bookbinding communities. As one of the initiators of the Society of Czech Bookbinders, he was elected their first president in 1997. Beginning in 1969, Sobota exhibited his bindings in 137 group shows and 32 individual shows, in addition to winning over 30 prizes for this work as a craftsman and educator. 

    In May of 2012, Jan Sobota passed away, months later at the Standards of Excellence conference, his wife Jarmila accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Guild of Book Workers in which he was an active member. Sobota was gifted as an artisan and craftsman with a deep knowledge of conservation for both contemporary and historical bindings.

    The design binding in this post is a compilation of works by Charles Perrault completed by Sobota in 2011. The box is styled after the location where Perrault lived and worked, the Chateau de Breteuil, a 17th century castle located near the Chevreuse Valley. The Chateau is well known for its elegant interiors and majestic brick and stone exterior.

    The main text was published in conjunction with the 9th Biennales Mondiales de la Reluire d’Art in France in 2007 in an edition of 1,000 copies in which this is number 414. The additional 12 miniature books were published by Jan and Jarmila Sobota in Czech in 2007 in an edition of one. The box-binding (the tower and building exterior) are covered in both goatskin and calf in five different colors. Windows were cut from hologram glass and cover the ‘hollow boxes’ that house the 12 miniature books. The miniature books are covered in a gray goatskin with silver stamping and hologram silver gilt edges. The main text edges are gilt with hologram gold.

    Blue silk doublures lined the inside covers of the box, which also include portraits of Charles Perrault and Louis de Breteuil (the original owner of the Chateau).

    The tower is hollow with two floors connected by a wooden spiral staircase; on the first floor is an image of Puss in Boots (a character created by Charles Perrault) and on the second floor is a scene from Chateau de Breteuil lining the walls with a replica of the famous Teschen table (also known as the ‘Table of Europe’).

    resources:

    1. The New Bookbinder: Journal of Designer Bookbinders. Volume 10, 1990. pg. 3 – 11
    2. Guild of Book Workers Newsletter. Number 203. August 2012, pg. 9

  9. My Hand…The Twits

    November 26, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Only 2 weeks left in my exhibition at Buy Some Damn Art. 

    I found the pranks between the terrible couple in The Twits to be wicked yet entertaining, which is why I read the book so much as a kid. One particularly gruesome trick that inspired the design for this binding was the worm spaghetti that Mrs. Twit served Mr. Twit. This devious couple live in a cement windowless house complete with a rotting garden, caged monkeys and a big dead tree where Mr. Twit captures birds for pie. The couple get what they deserve in the end as the monkeys and birds play their own clever trick on them, turning their home upside down.

    I bound The Twits in the millimeter Rubow style with white buffalo skin lining the head edge and flanelle buffalo skin lining the tail edge. The color of the leather wrapped headbands correspond to leather edge. The paste paper was a simple design of free forming squiggles painted on with a long bristled brush. The initial layer was a mixture of titanium white acrylic, water and wheat starch paste. For the next two layers I added a bit of bone black and cerulean blue acrylic to create a blue gray ending with a match for the flanelle buffalo. The title was stamped with Centaur handle letters in carbon.

    The edges were painted with a light gray acrylic mixture.  The book opens to reveal smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres paste downs with light gray Hahnemuhle fly leaves before reaching the text block. I wanted to keep the book to be as gray and drab as possible, representing the sad existence of the Twits inside their cement home.

    The book is housed in a clamshell box. The trays are covered in smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres and lined in light gray Ingres. The case is covered quarter-style with black Iris bookcloth and smoke Hahnemuhle Ingres.

  10. Bookbinder of the Month: Edgar Mansfield

    November 25, 2012 by Erin Fletcher

    Moby Dick by Herman Melville is the classic novel possessing the iconic white sperm whale, whose image graces the cover of this binding by Edgar Mansfield. Following the design of Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (1952) and A Rage to Live by John O’Hara (1952), Mansfield created this design for Moby Dick in 1953. Tooling in black, Mansfield creates movement and depth with variations in tone and line width.  The book is bound in a native dyed red morocco.

     Les Fleurs du Mal by Baudelaire (The Harvill Press. 1952), bound in yellow morocco inlaid in red and black, tooled in blind

    A Rage to Live by John O’Hara (Random House. 1949), bound in orange-red morocco tooled in blind

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  • My name is Erin Fletcher, owner and bookbinder of Herringbone Bindery in Boston. Flash of the Hand is a space where I share my process and inspirations.
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