Herringbone Bindery
Erin Fletcher : Fine Binding & Edition Binding
Open view of Birds of Village and Field on a white backdrop. Front cover of Birds of Village and Field on a white backdrop. Close-up of front cover of Birds of Village and Field on a white backdrop. Close-up of front cover of Birds of Village and Field on a white backdrop. Close-up of back cover of Birds of Village and Field on a white backdrop. Close-up of endbands on Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop. Close-up of endbands and front cover hinge for Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop. Front cover interior for Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop. Back cover interior for Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop. Close-up of back cover interior for Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop. Close-up of signature label on back cover interior for Birds of Village and Field binding against a white backdrop Spine of clamshell box for Birds of Village and Field binding on a white table. Close-up of spine of clamshell box for Birds of Village and Field binding on a white table. Interior view of clamshell box for Birds of Village and Field binding on a white table. Close-up of interior view of clamshell box for Birds of Village and Field binding on a white table.
Birds of Village and Field: A Bird Book for Beginners - by Florence A. Merriam
The Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1898, Houghton, Mifflin and Company


Collection of Williams College, US

French-style fine binding with laced-in boards. Bound in Prussian blue buffalo skin with back-pared onlays in kelly green, grass green and forest green goatskin and handmade papers in pale mint, mint and neon pink. Onlays are embellished with embroidery using various shades of green. Background embroidered and stamped using matte and metallic green foils. French double-core endbands sewn with bands of Prussian blue, kelly green and strawberry pink threads. Edge-to-edge doublures in handmade paper with thread inclusions and handmade paper onlays. Forest green leather hinges. Handmade pink abaca fly leaves and endpapers from Morgan Conservatory.

Book is housed in a clamshell box covered with Prussian blue buffalo skin and wheatstraw red handmade paper from Hook Pottery Paper. The trays are covered in handmade pink paper from the Morgan Conservatory and lined with nutmeg Novasuede. Author’s name cut from neon pink handmade paper from Atelier Retailles and embellished with embroidery.

19.3cm x 13.4cm x 3.9cm - Completed in 2025



Artist Statement
In Birds of Village and Field , Florence A. Merriam passionately describes the joy in bird watching. She lays out the details of how to begin a journey into discovery and documentation. As it seemed inappropriate to select just a few bird species from this field guide, I chose to illustrate the patience required for bird watching. Therefore, within my design, I’ve treated the title of the book as a flock of birds hidden amongst a dense forest.