designer bookbinders contemporary book arts | 194 | summer 2021 02 introduction www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Lectori Salutem...

Right, straight down to business, has anyone mentioned we have a new President? You might have heard of him, he was recently described as ‘the myth, the legend that is Lester Capon’. Get in touch with him, say hi, give him all your ideas, tell him what you think... actually, don’t do that last bit! Let him know how much you admire him instead, update your contacts and email the [email protected]

Having mentioned admiring, in this role I’ve had the great pleasure of working with several Presidents, grateful as ever for their support, I know I can always call on them if needed. Therefore, ‘Thank You’ to Rachel Ward-Sale for her time. Rachel was always on the end of the phone, had my back, made sure that with everything going on, that we were all okay. I’ll never forget meeting Rachel for the first time. We knew of each other, the odd email here and there and that was about it, I didn’t think of it much more than that? Then one evening at another well organised and presented awards evening, Rachel was hanging out not too far away at the back of the room, as you do, then cool as you like, she rocked up, smiled and said ‘Hi Troy’. That knowing smile kinda threw me, no introductions, nothing... I could’ve been anyone? It didn’t matter, as, with all the Fellows, Rachel is approachable, warm, friendly and listens.

I highly recommend having a look at the recent Designer Bookbinders Fellows Friday Features on Instagram that Hannah Brown has put together of Rachel’s work, some pretty cool bindings. The Fellows may seem unapproachable or pretend to be grumpy, but as Peter Jones will tell you in his answers to the 20 questions, he’s working on it! Eminem though? Grumpy, but down with the kids! You can also see Peter’s Fellows Friday Feature on Instagram, very different in style to many Fellows, therefore very interesting. We also have Fellow Mark Cockram guiding us through the binding process of ‘London Scenes’, while Lester talks about the binding of ‘Epithalamion’.

In the postbag this quarter, I received a poem from a binder I met a couple of years ago. If you’re aware of a modern series of work where the bindings are tested to the limit by the extremes offered by nature, this poem will make perfect sense, if not, make of the poem what you will, it is after all very Quixotic in its romantic scene-setting. I also received a tip-off of a new library of interest, a little research and I’ve jotted down some notes with links for you. Tom Frith-Powell from the Paper Foundation got in touch to tell me about the Foundation, to which he expanded upon by putting pen to paper. Then out of the blue, a copy of the 1955/56 City & Guilds syllabus arrived?! The ‘bookbinding’ section provides a lot of food for thought.

The results of the dbUK Bookbinding Competition are in with 2020/21 prizewinners featured. There are lots of new courses and workshops with the expansion of the education section. Have a great summer...

Troy [email protected] www.instagram.com/troy_of_london An Honoré Daumier illustration as featured in Life’s Beautiful Days - ‘an entranced book enthusiast’ 1878

newsletter deadlines on the cover(s)...

autumn 01st August 2021 An Alphabetic Assemblage of Bookbinding (820 x 360 mm) winter 01st November 2021 Lester Capon

spring 01st February 2022 ‘My main influences for this project were cabinets of curiosity and Joseph Cornell.’ summer 01st May 2022 welcome 03

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Greetings to everyone in Designer Bookbinders.

I’m so glad you are a member of this society which tries to do everything it can to promote high standards in all aspects of bookbinding. I am the new president and my first message starts with a massive thank you to Rachel Ward-Sale. She has done a brilliant job keeping everything together during the most exceptionally difficult circumstances. All plans and exhibitions have had to be adapted so many times with the restrictions and changes that have beset us all. However, Rachel is never fazed and dealt with each new set back calmly and with a good humour. We are very lucky to have had her as president for the last two years.

Now, it’s me again! Those of you with long memories will recall that I was president from 2009 - 2011, and those with even longer memories will know that 2003 - 2005 was another tenure of mine. No, I’m not some sort of megalomaniac who has to be president on a regular basis! It’s just turned out that way and I’m happy to do my best to try and keep things going as smoothly as possible. Fortunately I have inherited a superb and trusted Executive Committee, as well as sub committees who freely give their time to promote our various interests and activities such as education, publications, exhibitions and the website. Huge thanks to them for their continuing work in these areas. Without them where would we be? (You know where we’d be).

Like all of us, I am really looking forward to being able to go to live events. The online exhibition we held last year, ABC (Art Book Craft), was brilliantly masterminded by Troy Moore and Mark Cockram who are again organising the upcoming exhibition DEF (Design Equals Function). There are several other exhibitions in the pipeline - the International Competition is emerging from the mists which descended on it courtesy of COVID. Stuart and Louise Brockman have everything in hand there. We will have a presence at London Craft Week with bindings on show, materials for sale and demonstrations given. Richard Beadsmoore is guiding us through that. Bibliotheca Wittockiana have invited us to exhibit at their gallery in Brussels. This will be later this year, in November. Did you know we have an Exhibition Committee? Angela James, Rachel Ward-Sale and Lori Sauer are organising that show.

The dbUK Competition, now bi-annual, actually happened! Despite all the difficulties which gradually closed in on the team, and also on the entrants, it was a triumph. Sue Doggett and Kate Holland acquired many new skills and handled the online judging and award ceremony beautifully. Thank you to them and also to the entrants - without you there’s no Competition.

The Education Committee are constantly attempting to fill the gaps left by the lack of bookbinding courses. There is of course excellent teaching available but nowhere near as much as there used to be. This must make it so difficult for up and coming binders. Please be aware that Fellows of Designer Bookbinders are very willing to help in any way they can. So thank you to all those on the committees for their hard work and also to Pippa Smith, who is doing a brilliant job as our new Secretary.

We would value any input from across the membership so please get in touch if you feel like being more involved. You would be welcome. Also – the Newsletter would love to hear from you. If you’re pleased or enthused about anything, or concerned and worried – write in.

The journal The New Bookbinder is flourishing and highly regarded everywhere. Sue Doggett is at the helm and produces a varied and fascinating journal every year. Our other publication, this newsletter, goes from strength to strength thanks to Troy Moore, and to prove this, I now invite you to read on...

Lester Capon [email protected] www.instagram.com/lester_capon_bookbinder 04 notices www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Executive Committee Notice

Lori Sauer is stepping down from the Committee and we would like to say an enormous thank you for the contribution she has made to the Society during her time on the Committee as President and as a member. Rachel Ward-Sale has kindly agreed to stay on the Committee, after handing the Presidency to Lester Capon, for one year in Lori’s place.

For the remainder of the 2020-2022 term of office the Executive Committee will be made up as follows:

Lester Capon (Chair) Richard Beadsmoore, Licentiate Sarah Burnett-Moore, Associate Stephen Conway, Fellow Nesta Davies, Associate Angela James, Fellow Peter Jones, Fellow Troy Moore, Associate Rachel Ward-Sale, Fellow

New Members

Felicity BRISTOW Vanessa HARDY Linda MILES Grace TOUZEL Melrose, UK California, USA Uckfield, UK London, UK

Terje ERLAND Melanie HEWITT Jennifer PELLECCHIA Mark WINSTANLEY Stavanger, Norway Washington, USA Massachusetts, USA Eardisley, UK

Ann-Marie FLEMING Thomas HOSKING Susan SCATTERGOOD Colorado, USA London, UK Sheffield, UK

Catherine GRIMES Rachelle KELLER Darryn SCHNEIDER London, UK Leiden Netherlands Queensland, Australia

Rene HALJASMÄE Tamsin LOVEDAY Olivia SCOTT Tallinn, Estonia Salisbury, UK Glasgow, UK

Introducing the New Web Manager(s)

We are delighted to announce that Hannah Brown and George Webb will be sharing the role of Web Manager for the forthcoming Designer Bookbinders website. Hannah and her husband George bring complementary skills to the role. Hannah is well known to the Society as a binder, as the Publicity and Events Manager through social media and the Designer Bookbinders Publications Administrator. Hannah will take responsibility for the content management 2021 meeting dates and keeping the news and content up to date with any relevant information. George is qualified in multimedia technology and is a software developer with Executive Committee extensive experience in building websites and in digital publishing. 12th June George will take responsibility for the functionality of the site and liaising with the website designers for the new website. Fellows & Licentiates AGM The new website is in the early stages of planning and content review. We are 24th July very grateful to Mel Jefferson who is continuing to manage Designer Bookbinders existing website until the new site is in place. Executive Committee Fellows & Licentiates Pippa Smith 30th October notices 05

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designer bookbinders Designer Bookbinders Spring Meeting 2021 - Incorporating the Annual General Meeting. Saturday 24th July at 2.00 pm at The Art Workers’ Guild 6 Queen Square London WC1N 3AT

Designer Bookbinders is pleased to invite members to the postponed Spring Meeting and AGM on Saturday 24th July 2021. It is always an interesting and sociable day. We will be following the Government restrictions of the time, the Lecture Hall size will allow distancing, and we will be asking members to register with The Secretary [email protected] before the meeting. Currently The Art Workers’ Guild cannot provide refreshments but the restrictions may change.

AGM AGENDA

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 06th April 2019 Matters arising President’s report Secretary’s report Honorary Treasurer’s report Changes to the Constitution of Designer Bookbinders (only Fellows and members of the Executive Committee present at the AGM may vote on this item) Introduction of the President elect for 2021-2023 Honorary Fellowship presentations Any other business

Following the AGM business we will have the pleasure of welcoming Martin Frost MBE, Book Craftsman and Fore-edge Painter, who will talk on the ‘Life and Crimes of a Fore-edge Painter’.

Fore-edge paintings are book edge paintings that vanish when the book is closed. Continuing an English tradition, that dates back to the 17th Century, Martin has been hiding his stylistically varied pictures under page edges for over 40 years.

Martin was awarded the 2017 Heritage Crafts Association Maker of the Year and in 2019 was awarded an MBE for services to Disappearing Fore-edge Painting. Martin will talk about the history and practice of this secret art and tell some anecdotes about the antiquarian book trade. www.foredgefrost.co.uk

The meeting will also include a bring and buy sale. If you have any tools, equipment, materials, books, etc. that you wish to sell, please make sure they are clearly marked with a price and your name.

The Lecture Hall of the Guild will be open from 1.30 pm onwards and the meeting will close by 5.00 pm. The hall must be cleared by 5.30 pm.

The following proposal for alteration to the Constitution of Designer Bookbinders is to be put before the Society at the AGM to be held on Saturday 24th July 2021 at The Art Worker’s Guild, London.

It is proposed to remove the sentence under Section 10 (d) which reads:

‘Honorary Fellows of the Society are invited to attend Professional Meetings and participate in discussion but may not vote.’

Background to the proposal:

This sentence was included for the first time in the last major evisionr to the Constitution in recognition of what had become a custom at Professional Meetings of the Society. It has since been realised that this is contrary to the correct conduct of Fellows and Licentiates meeting and that if or when it is desirable to seek advice on particular areas of information and expertise, it would be preferable to invite specific participation. This could be from Honorary Fellows, but equally from the further membership, or from outside of the Society altogether. The sentence therefore becomes redundant. 06 features www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Designer Bookbinders online lecture series

Introduced by Fellow Mark Cockram, President Lester Capon’s ‘a little too much is just enough for me’ talk was the first in the new Designer Bookbinders online lecture series to be broadcast live via Zoom on the 27th of April. Witnessed by a modest number of attendees, some close to home and others as far as Vietnam. With the lecture being recorded we have been able to edit and add to our YouTube channel, with the talk having been viewed over 450 times.

‘a little too much is just enough for me’ can be viewed via the Designer Bookbinders YouTube channel youtu.be/W5tXcozhnkU

If you have anything you think needs to be added to our YouTube channel, let us know.

The online lecture series team Richard Beadsmoore, Lester Capon, Mark Cockram and Troy Moore are now contactable via the email address [email protected] features 07

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Jeff Clements - A Reflection

As you will have read in the last newsletter, Jeff Clements has decided it’s time to retire from being an active Fellow of Designer Bookbinders.

He is already an Honorary Fellow so we haven’t lost him. It’s sad to realise, however, that we won’t see any new bindings from him. Still, I think he deserves a rest. He’s been contributing to our exhibitions since the early 1950s, before most of us were born. Certainly before we knew what a bone folder is.

He is our link to the origins of Designer Bookbinders, when it was the Guild of Contemporary Bookbinders (arguably a better name). He is one of the ‘heavyweights’ of the 20th Century helping to transform bookbinding into an artistic visual expression of the book, whilst still maintaining the highest standard of craftsmanship.

He has always presented resolved tensions in his bindings, with lines and shapes, structured boards and a terrific sense of reserved colour. There always seems to be a sense of musicality in his abstract designs. He speaks so eruditely about his work, delivering his comments with wit and a light touch.

I remember walking around an exhibition in Tallinn with him on early 20th Century Northern European art and it was the same then – throwaway comments that showed so much knowledge.

He was my mentor back in 1981 when I became a Licentiate, and I’m glad to say he has been a good friend ever since. I’m sure we wish him well in his retirement. Long may he enjoy it, together with his partner Katinka Keus, the renowned conservator and binder.

On the following pages we have some examples of his work... (by the way, did I mention – he’s great company!)

Lester Capon 08 Jeff Clements www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

1 The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio. Designed for 2 Designer Bookbinders Competition Medal. the Folio Society, 1960s Original medal designed by Jeff Clements for the First Prize.

3 Thésée by Andre Gide - Bound in brown Oasis goatskin; a recessed inlay on the front cover is lined with dyed goatskin vellum with grey tooling; the edges of the recesses are painted with blue acrylic artists colour; broad, freely tooled black and grey lines run up and down the front cover; the back cover has black lines; incised forms on both covers are cut directly into the leather and lined with orange acrylic paint. Bound 1998

‘The design develops the theme of Ariadne and the labyrinth; the colours reflect the Mediterranean theme.’ - JC

4 The Historie of the Twelve Caesars by Suetonius - Bound in beige Oasis goatskin; inlaid blue and black goatskin, both flush and recessed, the edges painted in green acrylic. Bound 1977

‘The design continues the archaic series and includes twelve freely drawn rectangular forms; these indicate the strength, then the instability and gradual fall of the Roman empire.’ - JC Jeff Clements 09

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5 Histoires ou Contes du temps passé by Chalres Perrault - The binding is in one piece of brown Oasis goatskin, a vertical line is tooled in grey on each cover; feathered onlays of white alum tawed goat , and yellow native dyed goat traverse the boards and spine. Bound 2004

‘The moral tales include the well known versions of Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, etc.; the colours were selected to reflect the peasant like aspect of the stories, the form relates to the journeys.’ - JC

6 Jeff Clements c. 1980 7 Books and Book Collectors. Bound 1970s 8 Le Dur Désir de Durer by Paul Eluard - Bound in red native dyed Nigerian goatskin over sculptured boards; goatskin inset onlays with bevelled edges cover both boards, there are 10 yellow, 10 black and 15 blue parallelogram forms increasing on from 90 degree rectangles to 45 degree parallelograms; the bottom line is a black zigzag; lettering reads up the spine in blind sans serif letters. Bound 1965

‘Following the move from Devon to Monmouthshire where I was appointed Lecturer in Typography, I was busy with mathematical and geometric progressions, Vasarely and optical art were very much in vogue; I became professionally involved in graphic design and typography and this was the last binding before a break of 2 years.’ - JC 10 Mark Cockram www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

London Scenes published by the Whittington Press in 2001. Wood engravings by Hellmuth Weissenborn. Design binding for the Clothworkers’ Company, London 2020

Hellmuth Weissenborn

German born graphic designer and artist Hellmuth Weissenborn (1898-1982) spent the first half of his life in his native Germany with the second part in London. During World War One he was conscripted into the German army and on demobilisation enrolled at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic and Book Arts. Weissenborn became a member of staff going on to be one of the youngest professors in the Academy.

As the Nazis came to power he found his position difficult, losing his post because he was married to a Jewish lady. Leaving Germany in 1939 he eventually found refuge in Britain. In 1940 he was interned for six months on the Isle of Man. During this period he found he could produce work again however this all led to the breakdown of his first marriage (his first wife and son emigrated to the USA). In 1941 he found a post as a part time lecturer at Ravensbourne College of Art.

Weissenborn met his second wife in 1943 (Lesley Macdonald), and together in 1946, they took over the publishing house Acorn Press. Along with his work in the Acorn Press he collaborated with John Randle’s The Whittington Press. A workaholic, Weissenborn produced some 2000 wood engravings along with hundreds of linocuts, drawings, paintings, clay works and puppets. His work can be found in major collections worldwide. In 1979 he was Hellmuth Weissenborn, working at a desk at awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany). Hutchinson Internment Camp, Isle of Man (circa 1940-1) © The estate of Hubert Daniel Initial Thoughts and Design Sheets

The original binding was of a thin card, paper covered stylised Yamato Toji (hard cover Japanese binding) with a forward by John Randle with eleven wood engravings. Fore-edge folded pages printed in Goudy Modern on Bugra Butten and Sunome Senka papers. An additional folio contained a set of proofs. A small book measuring some 230 x 180 x about 8 mm, an unusual binding style for a western book, always an interesting format to work with. Weissenborn’s engravings, though only a few inches square, give us a powerful and very personal visualisation of London during World War Two.

The monochrome printing adds to the depth of the prints, exuding the brooding menace and dangers. The manipulation of perspective along with shape, line and form capture and draws us into the crowded, darkened, almost haphazard streets and vistas. Buildings huddled for protection, city skylines lending weight to images that both compress and magnify.

More often than not I have to live with a book before the idea begins to germinate. However, within a few days of being with London Scenes I knew that I needed to emphasise the nature of the images, in some way create an architectural binding that would lead the reader into the book. In addition, from the outset I knew that texture, line and shape would create the visual dimension I was looking for.

I had to work with the original Yamato Toji form of construction, this would both limit what I could do and from previous experience, be a perfect starting point. I suppose I am a little old school in that I normally fill a sketch book or two with ideas, technical points and thoughts, muse over colours, covering materials etc. London Scenes came to life within two working sketches (one on the back of a menu), I knew immediately what I wanted. I just had to ensure that it would be feasible.

Designing a binding is one thing. Making sure it works as a binding is another. The bindings first purpose is to protect the text block, the additional art work has to synergise with the technical function of the binding and form of the book without compromising either. In short the book has to work as a book. binding ‘London Scenes’ 11

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Experimentation - Form and Function

A fair proportion of my time, when working on any design binding is spent on experimentation. Be it material manipulation, technical aspects of construction, form or, indeed, breaking the rules to achieve the desired results. London Scenes ticked all the boxes and then some.

First was the technical. How the binding would function.

Though technically a relatively simple board construction the traditional Japanese aesthetic of an exposed spine, I felt, would not be suitable for London Scenes. My idea was to create a binding with an enclosed spine. The idea is simple, but, as with many things the devil is in the detail. I first had to produce a maquette board to ensure that the hinging would be suitable for leather. Because of the thickness of the book I chose to use a thin mill board. Getting the balance of the hinging to work with the Traditional hard bound Yamato Toji (there is a soft bound variant). The weight of the mill board and the leather covering resulted boards are separate being attached to the text block with laced through in a number of trials. Eventually I found the balance, the ribbons or decorative tape. The spine is traditionally left exposed. crucial detail was in the measuring of the text block to ensure that the binding would wrap round the text block without gaping or being too tight, I had to compensate for the leather turn-ins, paper linings and doublures to the inside of the boards. Needless to say a micrometer was always to hand.

Once the technical aspect of the construction for the binding was understood I turned my attention to the form of the binding. Again I was inspired by the wood engravings.

Weissenborn’s city skylines are so evocative, I just had to echo them in some way.

The original binding for London Scenes and an initial maquette board. The square of the book (the part of the boards that overhang the text block at the head, tail and fore-edge), and the text block have to work in synergy. If the square is too big, or overhangs the text block too much, it becomes vulnerable to damage. Likewise if the square is too small the text block becomes vulnerable, there has to be a happy balance.

However, time to break the rules... The form or shape of the boards had to reflect the skyline, to create crenels and merlons in the form of chimneys and roof lines. The maquette board on the left (below), the crenels are too wide and the merlons overhang too far at the top, while they are both too wide and narrow as well as shallow at the bottom to achieve the desired effect. The right hand side maquette board was used to try out a covering technique (it was unsuccessful). Maquette boards

Getting the balance, both in the form and aesthetic of the board and spine edges took some time, some seven maquette boards were made to ensure the balance worked. However, eventually I found the balance.

Next came the texture, to produce a binding that was monochrome using light and shadow to create depth and movement along the binding surface. Without slavishly copying the wood engravings I again echoed and manipulated forms, shapes and lines within the engravings to create an underbody or skeleton for the leather covering to form or sculpt over. 12 Mark Cockram www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

The Covering - Material Manipulation and Harmony

It would have been so much simpler and quicker to have got one piece of leather, a quick press, nip and tuck and the binding would have been finished. But that would not have been correct. I thought of London, then, as now, London is made up of so many different people and places. Boroughs, villages, towns and even a city within a city. I have always thought of London as being akin to a patchwork quilt, a unified fragmentation if you will. This unified fragmentation was the key to complete the design. Again practice and more trials. Using small, individually hand pared pieces of various leathers and colours along with cloth I began to create an overlay of collaged leathers. Different grains, leathers used with the skin side up and the reverse side also up making a second layer of sculpting all adding to the depth.

My aim, once the maquette board was covered was to unify the leathers by adding a surface colour. Thinking of the engravings my first trial was with a thinned down oil based printing ink. The esult,r though interesting was not what I was looking for. The resulting surface was too flat, grain definition and tonal quality was lost. It just looked like plastic. The natural qualities of the various leathers was lost. I returned to leather dyes.

In the end spirit dyes worked best of all. Working through lighter coloured dyes culminating with a rich black dye the different leathers and variations in the original colour of the leather resulted in different tonal qualities. The various grains and textures of the leather and cloth was not lost. As can be seen in the image below, some leathers took the dyes wonderfully whilst others were not so successful. With all the different aspects of the technical side of binding along with the aesthetic now in place I could begin to work on London Scenes.

Oil-based printers ink on leather and cloth, just too plastic in appearance. London Scenes. The Binding

From the outset I had seen the physical binding of London Scenes as more architectural in construction and form. The modified Yamato Toji style of binding would provide the platform, a foundation for everything to be built up from. Critical from the first, the measurements had to be perfect as the binding would not be attached to the text block until very near the end of the making process.

The binding is made from five separate pieces, joined and hinged with a medium weight Japanese Kozo paper. Kozo is a long-fibred and very strong paper, perfect for this sort of work. When working in this manner I tend to sketch out the design for the initial layering of the sculptured forms area by area. This gives me the chance to look and feel the balance, to replace and reconfigure as I work. Repositioning the sculptured forms. binding ‘London Scenes’ 13

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As mentioned before, the spine area and the hinging were always important considerations. This area also lends a very strong architectural form that the final binding would spread out from.

Detail of the spine and hinge area. The sculptured layers traversing from board to spine to board.

Whilst working within the design parameters I was able to be fluid in my placement of the sculptured layer, sketching, re-cutting, replacing, repositioning. This method of working allowed me to work very much in the three dimensional, to move around the binding as it was being constructed. To have a little fun.

One aspect of the initial sculptured layering was the fact that various pieces would pass either under or over others. This had to be constantly thought about as the outer layer of leathers and cloths would also overlap. In my mind’s eye I was working on this initial layer and visualising the finished esult,r there was a lot of squinting involved!

Finally, with the first layer of sculpting finished I could start on the covering.

Though the process of applying the leather and cloth pieces is relatively straight forward there are a number of steps that precede this. First is the material itself. Leather is a natural material, no two skins are the same and no two areas of the skin are the same. Each skin and part of that skin has a unique grain. Then there is the surface of the skin, the hair side (the outside or skin side), and the reverse (flesh or suede side), each can be used. Then the leather has to be thinned by hand to a desired thickness. Thin enough to work with the sculpting and not so thick as to look clumsy when pieces are overlapped or collaged, whilst strong enough to support the weight of the book in the joint area for example. I also considered the shape of the leather to be used, initial colour and juxtaposition in relation to the surrounding collaged leathers and cloth. A three dimensional jigsaw, the only guide being the image inside my head. Again there was a fair amount of squinting, re-cutting and repositioning involved.

With each piece being individually considered, placed, worked with hand tools to follow the sculptured contours, then pressed to ensure good adhesion and, once in a while, the whole of the binding would have to be pressed and allowed to dry to control warping, the process was slow and exacting.

However, as the final piece found its place I could turn to the dyeing of the leather. As with the maquette board I layered the various dyes. Allowing each application to dry before moving on to the next. I have to say that this particular process was always a small step into the unknown. I knew I was to be finishing with a deep black but as the dyes were applied the various leathers took on a new life of their own. As the colours changed the nature of the binding changed.

As with many arts, applied arts and crafts much is learnt by the artisan during the making process, sometimes by accident, sometimes by logical progression of process. Working and dyeing the leather for London Scenes was a combination of both, I learnt something new that I hope to be able to revisit one day. 14 Mark Cockram www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Before dyeing During dyeing After dyeing After a period of pressing to control the warping I turned my attention to the inside of the boards. By comparison the edge to edge doublure (the inner face of the boards), and the internal leather joint was straight forward. With all the careful work with the maquette boards in the early stages I was able to counter the boards pulling slightly out by countering with lining papers before the final doublure was applied and worked.

What came next was, if I am honest, the nervy bit... the joining of the text block to the binding. I was limited as to how this could be done by the original lacing on holes in the spine area of the text block. Five rather large holes in total.

(As an aside, in South East Asian bookbinding, some Korean books are sewn with five holes. So, one could say that the original binding was a cross between a Japanese board structure and a Korean sewing technique.)

Back to London Scenes. I could not make new sewing positions as this may have compromised the integrity of the text block. My solution was to go back to basics. My father was a Master Cutter and Tailor. From a very early age he taught me to sew. The first stitch one learns is the running stitch. Having modified a Yamato Toji to have an enclosed spine I would combine it with a running stitch. Easier said than done.

After realising that the holes in the text block were not square I had to measure and work out where to make the corresponding holes in the new binding. Once this had been sorted out, individual holes were made in the binding and recesses created to take the binders cord to physically sew the two elements together.

The binders cord was first impregnated with adhesive for each stitch. Each pass through was then pegged and allowed to dry under compression. Only then the next stitch could be sewn. Simple and elegant, the result was a very strong and sympathetic bringing together of the final book.

The Technical Specifications

The Whittington Press 2001. Wood engravings by Hellmuth Weissenborn.

Hand-dyed leather and cloth collage over sculptured boards and spine. Hand-coloured, multi-layered edge to edge doublures. Based on the Yamato Toji (Japanese), style binding with the addition and development of an enclosed spine. The text block (fore-edge folded), is sewn into the binding with single binders cord using the original bindings’ sewing stations. 235 x 190 x 11 mm when closed. binding ‘London Scenes’ 15

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Inspired by the wonderful wood cuts by Weissenborn of a dark war torn London during the World War Two, I wanted to create an architectural binding that gave layers and glimpses of London. Arches, doorways, windows and shoring up posts move over the surfaces giving a unified fragmentation. Depending on the light source, subtle colour changes occur. Weave and grain playing their part in the overall effect.

Photographs courtesy of the Clothworkers’ Company, London 2021 The Boxes

A fine binding is never complete until the box or in this case, boxes are made.

From the beginning I had decided that the folio of proofs should remain as it was - a simple folded paper covered affair. My reasoning was simple, the paper for the folio matched the papers in the text block. That alone created a link between them. Secondly I would make separate boxes for the book and the folio and those two to be encased in a third and final box. The outer box is in quarter leather with a little sculpting to the spine. The two inner boxes being in full cloth to connect the three recessed into each upper tray and lower tray a panel of sculptured, collaged leather.

Mark

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EMAIL: [email protected] 16 Lester Capon www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

I don’t know about you, but I don’t get many hand written letters these days. Apart from the occasional much treasured, calligraphic gems I am lucky enough to receive from my friend Douglas Bevans all that my doormat normally offers up in the way of letters is rather dull. It’s a shame.

The electronic lord internet has us firmly in his type fisted grip from Arial to YU Gothic UI Semilight.

However, I have recently had a great correspondence in hand written letter form with Lut Chatterton, a wood engraver, and Kristin Baybars. They don’t do the internet. Somehow they had seen my bindings and were kind enough to ask me to take on an interesting commission.

Kristin owns an absolutely magical shop in North London which is crammed full of hand made toys, automatons, models and dolls houses. Many of them are her own work.

She is the daughter of Blair Hughes Stanton, whose wood engravings you will all know. She had two copies in sheets of Epithalamion, a poem written by his wife Ida Graves, illustrated by him and printed at his Gemini Press in 1934. She also had his various designs for the binding, but these were never done at the time. The drawings were originally envisaged as a black and white binding. I was asked to interpret them including something of myself. I added colour, but kept it muted as they certainly didn’t want it glowing in the dark.

This was a similar commission to the two I had in 2018 which I wrote about in the Spring Newsletter of that year. With those I had to copy exactly an Edgar Mansfield design on a book titled ‘On Creation’, and a John Craig design on his book ‘Venice’ printed by Whittington Press. However, with this one I was allowed a little more input.

The book is printed on Japanese Vellum paper and is thin, tall and narrow (350 x 200 mm).

This is one of 50 ‘specials’ signed by Blair Hughes Stanton. It contains 23 spectacular full page engravings.

With the books I received several designs, very similar but there were differences. The number of blind lines and their positioning varied. Some had the title across the upper part of the board, some had the name of the press on the lower part of the board and some had no titling. binding ‘Epithalamion’ 17

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All the lettering rather overpowered the design so I decided to title it on the spine. Although the designs I was given were full size, none of them were the same and none of them fitted the size of board which I thought was appropriate.

There were, of course, only slight differences but I did have to adapt the number of blind lines to fit into the allowed space. Getting the 14 lines next to the fore-edge completely parallel was probably the most worrying part of this project.

Any loss of concentration, one slip and there would have been a tear stained piece of burgundy leather in my bin. All was well though. I find it easiest to do blind lines by running a short slightly warm pallet alongside a straight edge onto slightly damp leather.

The position of the large and small circles had to be very precise as I had to ensure the blind lines travelling around and through them did not hit the edges of any circle. The large circles were cut with a circle cutter, the small ones with a hole punch. The corresponding holes were cut into the covering leather and the inlays were dropped in. It’s easiest, I find, to have the inlaid leather a little thinner, though not as thin as an onlay, and it can then be built up to the right depth with paper.

In the early days of the Gregynog Press Blair Hughes Stanton and other engravers handed to the resident binder, George Fisher, their designs for him to execute on the binding. It was great to be in a similar latter day position. I was very lucky though, as many of the designs were far more complicated than the one I had to deal with. Contemporary binders are sometimes accused of applying an unsuitable design, with little regard for the inside. It’s interesting to note that this binding differs greatly from the illustrations within, and yet they are all by the same man.

Lester 18 Peter Jones www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

20 Questions with Fellow Peter Jones...

Talk us through a typical day… Wake up far too early. Try to clear stuff on the computer. I need to be occupied though these days the big decision is work or leisure. I hardly do any carpentry now and when binding only manage to keep up concentration till late afternoon, by which time I begin to fade. The evening is given over to whatever takes my fancy.

What’s the best thing about your job? Making things and particularly a successful outcome.

What’s the worst? Sadly, these days it’s a feeling that control of the process might be slipping away.

Something you want to learn… A musical instrument. Several attempts over the years with variable success. Restarted the harmonica during the recent enforced ‘house arrest’.

Who or what inspires you? The ingenuity of man… buildings, engineering. Van Gogh. Sibelius. Eminem. Much else.

What would you consider as your hobby? Which one? Riding and maintaining my collection of old French mopeds? The model railway (the making challenges of bookbinding without the angst)? Various post card collections? Pottering in the garden? I could go on…....

Give us a ‘nerd fact’… Alas I don’t have much memory for such things.

What’s your favourite film? None I could single out but I like the pace and storytelling of many French films.

What is your favourite book? Again difficult to single out but the one I would be most upset to lose is Every Boy’s Handbook (1960). Full of nerdy facts from a time before nerds. Otherwise anything by Emile Zola.

What was the last book you read? Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins. Just came across The Study of Counterpoint by Alfred Mann. Far beyond me but the discourse on teaching/learning is fascinating. Toast by Nigel Slater.

What annoys you? Inconsideration in all its forms. I am definitely a grumpy old man, even though I try my best not to be.

What or who makes you laugh? The ridiculous.

Current favourite place? The Pevensey Levels. Maybe as a reaction to being brought up in the mountains I’ve always felt a longing for flat lands and these are…… well……. very flat. Huge vistas, big skies.

Busman’s holiday (working), or fly and flop (beach)? Busman’s. Flop is not in my nature.

Town or Country? I love exploring towns but the country is so peaceful... I am surprised to find myself choosing country.

Shaken or Stirred? Those were the days. They ended a long time back……..

Beatles or Stones? Both now, but Beatles at the time. Stones were far too edgy. Now I will dip into absolutely anything (OK, not modern Jazz).

Analogue or digital? By inclination I’m analogue; digital is accepted with a resigned reluctance.

Who would you want to play you in your biopic? It wouldn’t make much of a film but I’d love to see Tom Cruise attempting the stunts… maybe a full leather binding under the gaze of a roomful of students.

Do you have a secret you’re prepared to share? My Dixon of Dock Green moment... I got ticked off for walking the railway line fairly near to the time and place of the Investiture of the Prince of Wales. It didn’t occur to me to change the occasional habit of using this short cut. Different times. I am reformed. letters 19

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Garden Fancies II. - Sibrandus Schafnaburgensis, Robert Browning 1844

I. V. Plague take all your pedants, say I! Now, this morning, betwixt the moss He who wrote what I hold in my hand, And gum that locked our friend in limbo, Centuries back was so good as to die, A spider had spun his web across, Leaving this rubbish to cumber the land; And sat in the midst with arms akimbo: This, that was a book in its time, So, I took pity, for learning’s sake, Printed on paper and bound in leather, And, de profundis, accentibus lætis, Last month in the white of a matin-prime Cantate! quoth I, as I got a rake; Just when the birds sang all together. And up I fished his delectable treatise.

II. VI. Into the garden I brought it to read, Here you have it, dry in the sun, And under the arbute and laurustine With all the binding all of a blister, Read it, so help me grace in my need, And great blue spots where the ink has run, From title-page to closing line. And reddish streaks that wink and glister Chapter on chapter did I count, O’er the page so beautifully yellow- As a curious traveller counts Stonehenge; Oh, well have the droppings played their tricks! Added up the mortal amount; Did he guess how toadstools grow, this fellow? And then proceeded to my revenge. Here’s one stuck in his chapter six!

III. VII. Yonder’s a plum-tree with a crevice How did he like it when the live creatures An owl would build in, were he but sage; Tickled and toused and browsed him all over, For a lap of moss, like a fine pont-levis And worm, slug, eft, with serious features, In a castle of the Middle Age, Came in, each one, for his right of trover; Joins to a lip of gum, pure amber; When the water-beetle with great blind deaf face When he’d be private, there might he spend Made of her eggs the stately deposit, Hours alone in his lady’s chamber: And the newt borrowed just so much of the preface Into this crevice I dropped our friend. As tiled in the top of his black wife’s closet?

IV. VIII. Splash, went he, as under he ducked, All that life and fun and romping, —At the bottom, I knew, rain-drippings stagnate; All that frisking and twisting and coupling, Next, a handful of blossoms I plucked While slowly our poor friend’s leaves were swamping To bury him with, my bookshelf’s magnate; And clasps were cracking and covers suppling! Then I went in-doors, brought out a loaf, As if you had carried sour John Knox Half a cheese, and a bottle of Chablis; To the play-house at Paris, Vienna or Munich, Lay on the grass and forgot the oaf Fastened him into a front-row box, Over a jolly chapter of Rabelais. And danced off the Ballet with trousers and tunic.

Old/New Library...

The Church of England and the current Archbishop of Canterbury decided to have a clear out and reorganise its collection housed in the Great Hall and Morton’s Tower, therefore, opening very soon this year, is the new purpose built Bibliotheca Lambethana, that’s the Lambeth Palace Library to us locals in South West London.

Not quite in keeping with the surrounding skyline or the palace and perhaps partially sympathetic to St Thomas’ (the hospital), across the road, the architects Wright & Wright have done quite an impressive job in creating ‘a single national library and archive for the National Church Institutions of the Church of England’, in the palace’s own back garden, in conjunction with the Dan Pearson Studio, the landscape designers.

The www.lambethpalacelibrary.org website isn’t quite up to speed which is understandable when you have so much else to focus on, however, the Luna system of the digitised collections can be viewed very effectively and simply.

For a fantastic time-lapse film of the construction of the new building, the constructors Knight Harwood have provided a link. - Troy 20 bookbinding from the archives www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021 City & Guilds 21 www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021 22 the Paper Foundation www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

A new home for handmade paper

Located at Burneside near Kendall, a village in the English Lake District, the Paper Foundation is a newly formed charity committed to ensuring the survival of the craft of papermaking, production of fine handmade papers and the celebration of all paper related arts, crafts and associated industries.

Mark Cropper established the Paper Foundation in 2016 as a response to the precarity of the craft, later acknowledged by the Heritage Crafts Association who added papermaking to the critically endangered list and thus at imminent risk of extinction. Mark is a fifth-generation papermaker and the current Chairman of James Cropper Plc. Paper has been made in Burneside for over 250 years and that tradition continues with the Cropper Mill who have been making paper here since 1845. James Cropper is a leading maker of manufactured papers, producing recycled paper for the luxury packaging market with their Colourform™ plastic-free packaging.

When the Paper Foundation was formed, Griffen Mill in Ireland was the world’s leading producer of book and conservation papers, and the only suppliers of such papers in Britain and Ireland. Aware of their forthcoming closure, Mark conceived of the Paper Foundation as a means to protect the future of the craft. Established not only to ensure the continued production of handmade paper but also to preserve the physical heritage of papermaking. Paper is, after all, one of the most consequential of all human inventions, yet is rarely afforded much attention.

Between 2016 and 2020 a unique relationship was formed between the Paper Foundation and Griffen Mill, which last year culminated in the installation of all their machinery and papermaking equipment in an old cowshed in the village, here in Burneside. This was soon followed by their arrival to pass on their intricate knowledge of the craft to us at the Paper Foundation. While Covid-19 precluded the possibility of additional visits, we were able to adapt and for the last 15 months continued the learning process from afar, with us sending papers from each making to them and receiving advice and comment in return. While we continue to learn, we are looking for an apprentice papermaker to share this entrusted knowledge with.

Our primary ambition is to produce handmade papers of the highest quality possible, made using traditional techniques, fibres and recipes. Currently, we offer several popular papers based on those produced for many years by Griffen Mill. Alongside these, we have many newly developed papers ranging from 60gsm to 200gsm in a variety of colours, sizes, surfaces and fibres.

Recent support from the Heritage Crafts Association has allowed us to develop a range of lightweight gelatine sized book papers which will be available shortly. Until the introduction of internal sizing in the 20th century, all papers were gelatine sized, so our paper will provide not only a more sympathetic match to historic paper but will possess the other benefits of a surface sized paper including increased strength, durability and rattle. As far as we are aware this is a product not otherwise available and, in the short time we have been producing paper commercially, one that has been repeatedly requested.

The creation of new and innovative papers and products is something we are committed to and, more often than not, inspiration is found in traditional techniques which have fallen out of use. We are currently in the early stages of making recycled rag paper using the fabric waste from the textile conservation department of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The process of fermenting, or ‘retting’, the rags to make them receptive to beating, is how paper fibres were traditionally processed before the arrival of manufactured plant pulps. Papers produced this way are stronger and crisper than those made from virgin pulp, as well as having the obvious advantage of being recycled. If successful, the papers will be used in the V&A’s paper conservation department. A highly satisfactory example of circular design. www.paper.foundation 23 www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Inspired by the research of Don Farnsworth, a papermaking friend of the project in California, we are making felts from the wool of our native Lakeland Herdwick sheep. Don’s research, a study into the papers used in Renaissance Italy found that much of the character of Renaissance drawings is the result of the rich and irregular texture that the randomly woven felts impress onto the sheet’s surface in the drying process. This texture simply cannot be matched by the mechanically woven ‘felts’ used today. As well as allowing for more sympathetic matches to pre-industrial papers, these sheets will have a wonderful organic surface for drawing, painting, printing and so forth.

Conceived as a home for all the paper arts, the Paper Foundation hopes to operate a suite of studios and workshops practising everything from letterpress printing to paper marbling and decoration. These will be housed in Ellergreen, a 19th-century mansion overlooking the village of Burneside and former home of the Cropper family, which now stands largely empty and unused. The first of these will be an open-access print studio which we hope to have completed by the end of the year.

The Paper Foundation has also created an internationally significant collection of paper-making artefacts, archives and equipment, much of which was rescued from destruction or dispersal. This includes what is probably the largest collection of working moulds in the world, over 800, from the leading names in British paper-making including Whatman, Barcham Green and Wookey Hole. In time we hope to open our archives, library, and collections to the public, for this to be possible we must secure funding.

A wide range of our papers are available to purchase via our website, for large orders or to commission a making please get in touch. www.paper.foundation

Tom Frith-Powell [email protected] 24 dbUK bookbinding competition www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Jeanette Koch ABA Highly Commended Certificate

Cover boards and sections sewn onto 2mm carbon rods with red linen thread, fixed together with three vellum straps. Boards covered in vellum over photo-transfer images and cut-outs of the mouse and rabbit, reflecting themes in the story. Boards edged with yellow goatskin. Front fore-edge represents the Californian coastline – two red dots and a blue line indicating Salinas and Soledad with its river where the story takes place. Yellow suede doublures. Red dress on back doublure recalls the death of Curley’s wife and the tragedy of Lennie.

Tulipomania by Wilfrid Blunt. Penguin Books, First Edition 1950 Miranda Kemp ABA Highly Commended Certificate

Flat back Bradel structure. Spirit dyed fair goat spine and board edging. The board panels are made up of laminated Japanese tissue paper, which has been decorated with mono prints and foil tooled. Mono printed endpapers. Rolled paper endbands. Design ideas came from the shapes and colours in the tulip plates.

Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson. Folio Society 2016 Nesta Davies ABA Highly Commended Certificate

The intention for the design is to portray the heart and ‘nature’ in some delicate, involved way, and the veining on the cover is taken from a leaf. Broken fragments and phrases on the endpapers aim to build up a sense of Dickinson’s themes and preoccupations, their strength and insubstantiality. Floating spine style structure with sculptured boards covered with airbrushed calf. Flyleaves of printed, laminated Japanese tissue and doublures of dyed paper and tissue with red suede edging. 2020/21 prizewinners 25

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Pamela Richmond ABA Highly Commended Certificate

The book was sewn on tapes with reverse guards due to the thickness of the sections and illustrations spanning two pages. All edges are coloured. The design, tooled with 24carat gold, red and black foil and with coloured onlays, depicts Lenny’s massive hands, responsible for so much tragedy, cradling the fragile and impossibly aspirational dream of the two men. The colours are both symbolic and literal and the suede doublures refer to Lenny’s attraction to the tactile fragility of vulnerable creatures.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Ted Bennett Lisa Von Clemm Prize for Best Newcomer

Bound in full goat-skin with leather recessed and raised onlays. Lettered with individual hand letters that compliment the title page using gold leaf. The colours chosen complement the illustrations and themes of the text. The edges of the book have been rough cut and sprinkled with gold ink. Hand-sewn double core end bands and textured paper endpapers for the pastedowns. The design draws inspiration from the text and represents the high sun reflecting on water, the shadows and passing of time.

Hokusai by David Burnett. Incline Press, 1996 Richard Beadsmoore Shepherds Prize for Book Arts

The single section book has endpapers of hand-made Moriki-Tozo paper. It is sewn on a stub which is then sandwiched between two boards covered in alum-tawed goat which are then held in place by ribbons. There are recessed inlays of dyed leather and tooling, both blind and in palladium leaf, using a tool especially made by the binder to reflect the shape of Mount Fuji. 26 dbUK bookbinding competition www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

The Poems of Sappho. The Latin Press Saint Ives/ Staples Press 1953 Sarah Williams Ash Rare Books Lettering Prize

Bound in Nigerian goatskin, hand sewn silk endbands. Handmade Japanese paper and leather jointed endpapers, head rough edge gilt in Firenze Italian gold leaf by the binder. Back-pared leather onlays and small leather inlays. Letters gold tooled in Firenze gold leaf using tools made by binder. Box made using handmade Japanese papers. One fragment of Sappho’s poetry, which only exists in fragment form, was used for the cover design. Not all of Sappho’s poetry is about love but I chose the leather colour and the gold in thinking about love in any form, Sapphic or otherwise.

The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. Michael Joseph 1947 Laura Jamieson The Circles of Art Prize for Artistic Innovation

Full leather stub binding with leather onlays and inlays, rough edge gilding using Caplain on all edges and hand sewn end bands. The cover design is evocative of the landscape where the story is set.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Rebecca Price Ratchfords Non Leather Prize

Cloth case binding with coloured cloth inlays on the front and back covers. The design is inspired by Lennie’s dream to raise rabbits. 2020/21 prizewinners 27

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Book Samples 2021 Rebecca Price Ratchfords Non Leather Prize

A selection of books designed to illustrate a variety of bindings for the binder’s students. The tiny size was made necessary by not being able to access many tools or materials due to the Lockdowns. Bookcloth, buckram, endbands, inlays and watercolour staining. Contained in a decorative slipcase to aid in transporting them to classes.

The Endless Web: John Dickinson & Co. Ltd 1804 - 1954 by Joan Evans. Jonathan Cape 1955. Linda Miles Ratchfords Non Leather Prize

Rebound first edition history of renowned paper maker and stationer. Historic images of the mills are printed on book cloth with an overlay of vellum paper featuring JD’s patented cylinder mould machine, itself overlain by a band of Frogmore Mills banknote paper, also used for doublures. The red and blue silk ‘endless’ web references JD’s security paper used for banknotes and postage stamps. Endpapers feature contemporary examples of JD papers. The book is presented in a facsimile stationery box.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Clare Bryan John Purcell Paper Prize

Case binding with hand cut paper layered covers, book cloth covered wraparound case, magnetic fixings and rubber stamp lettering. The denim blue case holds close and looks after the more delicate fragile book within. ‘And I get to tend the rabbits.’ ... ‘An’ you get to tend the rabbits.’ ... Lennie giggled with happiness. ‘An’ live on the fatta the lan’.’ 28 dbUK bookbinding competition www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Richard Beadsmoore Maggs Bros Judge’s Award

A Bradel binding with double-core endbands. The various panels utilise specially dyed cloth, reverse transfer printing, gold leaf, reclaimed book cloth, and treated suede. The spine is of dyed and sanded leather. The design is based around four original Park Drive cigarette cards depicting film stars of the 20s and 30s. “He was gonna put me in the movies, says I was a natural.” The words of Curley’s wife and the subject of Lennie’s fatal attraction.

Lost in the Woods... but guided by the moon. Photographs by Fox & Owl. No Publisher or date Amy Kitcherside Harmatan & Oakridge Prize for Sympathetic Handling of Leather

Bound in hand-dyed goatskin, tooled with gold leaf. Endpapers have been hand-coloured in acrylic, with the same shade used for edge decoration. Hand-sewn silk endbands. The leather was dyed creating ‘puddles’ of water and ink, resulting in a sense of fluidity and move- ment. The aim was to re-create the smoke captured by photographers Fox & Owl, with a whisper of gold ‘dust’ adding a whimsical element. The rich green and soft pink tones echo the photographs featured in the book.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Miranda Kemp J. Hewit & Sons Prize for Interesting Use of Leather

Design ideas are drawn from imagery of the hot Californian sun on ranch buildings with the prairies in the distance. Bradel structure. Unsupported link stitch, secondary sewing. Fair goat dyed with aniline and spirit dyes. Real gold foil tooling. The leather was cut into strips and rearranged to form the board decoration. Monoprint endpapers. Endbands are sewn in silk and the edges are ink washed and tooled in real gold foil. 2020/21 prizewinners 29

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Andreas Maroulis Elizabeth Greenhill Prize for Gold Tooling

Full leather binding sewn on four linen tapes, with laced- on boards covered in fine grey goatskin. Suede flyleaves, leather joints and self-made paste papers. Graphite edge decoration, double core endbands, gold and blind tooling and leather onlays. Housed in a canvas drop-back box lined with linen pads. Grey suede areas represent Lennie’s love of petting soft, furry animals. The design on the cover resembles the water circles that a drop creates. The centre of it symbolises Lennie’s obsession, and also his ‘soft’ character that created a chain reaction and finally led to the end of this story. The two lines represent the land fields and the body flesh; two elements that will inevitably meet at some point. When this happens, all the dreams disappear, like stardust.

A Shropshire Lad by A. E. Housman. George G Harrop & Co. Ltd 1940 Jeanette Koch Bernard C. Middleton Finishing Prize

Covered in full yellow Harmatan goatskin with cut-outs showing resist dyed and craquelé alum-tawed goatskin underlays. Gouache decorated top edge. Hand-sewn multi-coloured silk endbands. Title in blind tooled down spine. Grey goatskin doublures. Flyleaves of laminated Japanese decorative papers and Mingei. Cut-out shapes echo the graceful arabesques and rhythmic lines of Agnes Miller Parker’s wood engravings. The colours depict rural flowers and fields overlaid with the grey and red scars of war and youthful loss.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Glenn Malkin Sally Lou Smith Forwarding Prize

Covered with yellow goat leather, airbrushed and with multiple back pared onlays. Hand sewn double silk headbands. Full Pentland goat doublures and suede endpapers. Edges coloured with yellow acrylic. Presented in a suede lined bespoke hardwood box with decorative leather title panel to the lid. The design is a highly stylised representation of an early scene in the book, the two men by the side of a river, the sunlight sparkling on the water, walking towards the horizon to meet their destiny in the heat of the day. 30 dbUK bookbinding competition www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Hokusai by David Burnett. Incline Press, 1996 Richard Beadsmoore The Clothworkers 2nd Prize Open Choice

The single section book has endpapers of hand-made Moriki-Tozo paper. It is sewn on a stub which is then sandwiched between two boards covered in alum-tawed goat which are then held in place by ribbons. There are recessed inlays of dyed leather and tooling, both blind and in palladium leaf, using a tool especially made by the binder to reflect the shape of Mount Fuji.

Mort by Terry Pratchett. The Folio Society 2016 Thomas Hosking The Clothworkers 1st Prize Open Choice

Attached board goatskin leather binding with leather-jointed doublures and double core endband. The boards are hand-dyed black with gold and white gold sunago decoration around a scythe-shaped void; the edges are also coloured back and decorated with matching sunago. The doublures are enlarged photocopies on black, silver and gold paper, hand decorated with gold and silver foil tooling.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Laura Jamieson The Folio Society 2nd Prize Set Book

Full leather stub binding with leather onlays, blind tooling, hand decorated endpapers, acrylic edges and handsewn silk endbands. The design was inspired by Lennie’s dream ‘to have different color rabbits ... red, blue and green rabbits ... millions of them ... furry ones.’ 2020/21 prizewinners 31

www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Set book) Miranda Kemp The Folio Society 1st Prize Set Book

Design ideas are drawn from imagery of the hot Californian sun on ranch buildings with the prairies in the distance. Bradel structure. Unsupported link stitch, secondary sewing. Fair goat dyed with aniline and spirit dyes. Real gold foil tooling. The leather was cut into strips and rearranged to form the board decoration. Monoprint endpapers. Endbands are sewn in silk and the edges are ink washed and tooled in real gold foil.

Mort by Terry Pratchett. The Folio Society 2016 Thomas Hosking Winner of The Mansfield Medal

Attached board goatskin leather binding with leather-jointed doublures and double core endband. The boards are hand-dyed black with gold and white gold sunago decoration around a scythe-shaped void; the edges are also coloured back and decorated with matching sunago. The doublures are enlarged photocopies on black, silver and gold paper, hand decorated with gold and silver foil tooling.

Competition bindings photographed by Nikki Eaton www.instagram.com/nikkieaton 32 joint workshops www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

designer bookbinders We’re delighted to be offering our 2021/22 series of Designer Bookbinders/SoB Joint Workshops and would like to say a big thank you to the tutors and all of you who have been so patient during the often-changed programme dates during the last year. We hope very much that our plans can go ahead.

This series we have eight rather than the usual six weekends, which include two held over from the 2019/20 series. We continue to tread cautiously, so bookings for the first two weekends will open on 1st August. We hope that the rest of the series will be bookable from 1st November. Please do not book for any workshops other than the first two before this date.

Kip Perdue & Mark Cockram Paper Cut Drum-Leaf Artists’ book

Studio 5, Barnes, London 25 - 26th September 2021

A special workshop co-hosted by paper cut artist Kip Perdue and bookbinder and book artist Mark Cockram.

During the first day participants will create unique pages and spreads, exploring colour, texture, line, form and space, using various papers and a knife. The second day will concentrate on constructing the book, a successful flat-back case binding with simple board structuring techniques. Lots of tips from Mark on making and binding.

Ann-Marie Miller Conservation Enclosures

Southern Bookcrafts Club, Winchester 16 - 17th October 2021

Conservation housing and enclosures are an essential weapon in the preservation armoury. This two-day course will cover various types of conservation enclosures, such as phase wrappers and their variations, archival book shoes and fascicules.

Participants will make each housing option, learn about the manufacture of the structures themselves and be able to make informed choices about when to use them.

Sue Doggett Fill that page! A bookbinder’s guide to creative design practice

Venue tbc 26 - 27th February 2022

Dig out your paint boxes, coloured pencils, inks and messy materials for a weekend of practical, experimental creative work. Explore how to approach that blank piece of paper and the beginnings of a design.

The two days will include a series of demonstrations, practical creative exercises and plenty of guided workshop time. Sue will also talk about her own approach to creating artists’ books and bindings and how to build the content of a book, starting from scratch. education 33

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Weekend workshop fees are £185 for Designer Bookbinders/SoB members and £205 for non-members. Each has a materials fee payable on the weekend direct to the tutor.

Further details and booking forms will be available from Sarah Burns [email protected] or call 01643 841116

At last we hope we can meet and learn together again...

Sarah Burns & Nesta Davies

Kristine Rose-Beers An Introduction to Islamic Bindings

Bayntun Bindery, Bath 12 - 13th March 2022

This workshop will introduce the Islamic binding structure. Participants will make a model of an Islamic book, drawing on structural features from historic exemplars. Twined chevron-patterned endbands will be sewn, and various decoration techniques will be used to ornament the covers, including the application of gold.

Some experience of bookbinding would be useful.

Dieter Räder Beginning Tooling

Dragon Press Bindery, nr Carmarthen, Wales 23rd - 24th April 2022

This workshop will teach participants the fundamental techniques of hand tooling on leather. Suitable for those with no experience, it also offers a thorough refresher course for anyone wanting to gain confidence in their finishing.

The use of foils and various alternative materials will also be touched upon. While focusing on working with hand tools, type holders will be briefly introduced if wished.

Tom McEwan Deluxe Full-Leather Notebook

Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine, Scotland 30th April - 1st May 2022

This binding style was derived and adapted from an original, early Victorian pocket notebook.

The structure has several interesting features, including laminated boards which are sculpted and shaped to create a faceted, angular appearance. The page edges have a deckled/uncut finish and endpapers are of marbled paper typical of the period. 34 joint workshops www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

designer bookbinders

Ruth Brown Colour, Texture and Pattern on Bookcloth

Leah Higgins Studio, Eccles, nr Manchester 18th - 19th June 2022

On this course we will be using a wide range of techniques to make marks, texture and patterns on fabric which we will then convert to book cloth. We will experiment with mono-printing, screen printing and numerous ways of making marks on fabric, as well as playing with colour and tone. You will take home a range of sample pieces for reference when you create your own cover fabrics or which can be used for small book projects. All the techniques we will use can be done easily at home with a small set of equipment.

Emma Fraser An elegant Method of Board Reattachment

Wellcome Collection, London 9th - 10th July 2022

This method was designed for use on tight back bindings where one or more of the boards are detached but the spine and sewing is intact. During this workshop we will examine and discuss various methods of board reattachment, followed by a demonstration of my method. Participants will then prepare the simple tools and materials needed before being guided step by step through the process on their own examples. A knowledge of book structures and book conservation techniques is recommended for this ‘hands on’ workshop.

City Lit - Courses in Boookbinding and Book Arts 2021

Keeley Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 4BA

www.citylit.ac.uk/bookbinding [email protected] 020 7831 7831 education 35

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Start Bookbinding (VD440) - Keeley Street Tutor: Ina Baumeister Discover the art of handmade books! Three days of progressive projects will guide you through core techniques and prepare you to experiment, design and craft your own unique books. Fridays 04/06/2021 - 25/06/2021 10:00am - 1:30pm Full £129 Senior £103 Concession £65 Bookbinding: Experiments in Paper Folding (VD419) - Keeley Street Tutor: Ina Baumeister Explore colour, structure, and layering to produce exciting sculptural forms. By combining and extending techniques such as origami and concertina folding, cutting, piercing and slotting, you will create your own unique books. Saturdays 05/06/2021 - 12/06/2021 10:30 - 4:30pm Full £129 Senior £103 Concession £65 Bookbinding: Learn to Bind Artists’ Books (VD292) - Keeley Street Tutor: Sue Doggett Explore the world of artists’ books and create your own one-off or small edition. Combine text, image and bookbinding to bring your interests to life; this course will help you develop your ideas through the structure of the book. 07/06/2021 - 26/07/2021 10:30 - 4:30pm Full £389 Senior £311 Concession £195 Bookbinding: Limp Vellum (VD357) - Keeley Street Tutor: Kathy Abbott This course will introduce you to the techniques for making a flexible and versatile limp vellum binding and equip you with the skills needed to produce a beautiful binding of your own. Some bookbinding experience required. Friday 18/06/21 - 02/07/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £149 Senior £119 Concession £75 Bookbinding: Crossed-Structure and Criss Cross Bindings (VD285) Online Tutor: Clare Bryan Immerse yourself in contemporary sewing techniques to create two attractive multi-section books using decorative paper, felt and board. These flexible books are unglued so that the pages open completely flat so as well as looking good, they are also excellent for use as sketchbooks, diaries and notebooks. Mondays 17/06/2021 - 08/07/2021 10:00am - 1:00pm - Full £119 Senior £95 Concession £60 Creative Arts for Bookbinding II: Leather Dyeing Techniques (VD361) - Keeley Street Tutor: Sue Doggett Spend a day experimenting with leather dye and dyeing techniques. You will be introduced to different dye types, methods of applying dye and a range of creative techniques such as resist, crackle and speckling, to use on bookbinding and other leather projects. Suitable for beginners. Saturday 19/06/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £79 Senior £63 Concession £48 Try it out: Bookbinding (VD278) - Keeley Street Tutor: Nesta Davies Dip your fingers into bookbinding. Learn a little about the history, materials and craft of bookbinding while making a simple binding to take home. A chance to discuss further study in bookbinding at City Lit. Saturday 03/07/2021 10:00am - 5:00pm Full £79 Senior £79 Concession £79 Try it out: Conservation (VD358) - Keeley Street Tutor: Nesta Davies Discover the tools, materials and skills involved in book repair and conservation while trying out some basic techniques on paper, bookcloth and board. No bookbinding experience required and a chance to discuss further study in bookbinding at City Lit. Sunday 04/07/2021 10:00am - 5:00pm Full £79 Senior £79 Concession £79 36 education www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

Beginning Miniature Bookbinding (VD410) - Keeley Street Tutor: Royston Haward Explore the magic of tiny books in this introduction to miniature bookbinding. You will discover the history and appeal of this unique style and make three adorable miniature books to take home. Suitable for beginners. Thursdays 08/07/21 - 22/07/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £129 Senior £103 Concession £65 Bookbinding Weekend: Endband Extravaganza (VD360) - Keeley Street Tutor: Kathy Abbott A weekend packed full of endbands for bookbinding enthusiasts. Learn a little about the history and different styles of endband and try out some for yourself. There will be demonstrations of a range of endbands including multi-coloured, Islamic and ‘Manhattan’ style. Suitable for those with bookbinding experience. Saturday 10/07/21 - Sunday 11/07/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £129 Senior £103 Concession £65 Creative Arts for Bookbinding III: Papercutting (VD441) - Keeley Street Tutor: Lara Mantell Learn how to manipulate paper into abstract or representational designs. A range of paper cutting and folding techniques encourage you to explore silhouettes, pattern, imagery, colour and scale to develop your own approach. Techniques can be adapted for use in book arts and bookbinding projects to create pages, covers and structures. Sunday 11/07/21 10:30 - 4:30pm Full £79 Senior £63 Concession £79 Wooden Boarded Binding (VD316) - Keeley Street Tutor: Royston Haward The earliest books were sewn on to wooden boards. On this short course you will learn about early book structures and create a Coptic binding using some historical techniques and materials. Wednesday 14/07/21 - 28/07/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £199 Senior £159 £ Concession £121 Book Arts Drop-in (VD341) - Keeley Street Tutor: Sue Doggett A one-day, tutor supported book arts workshop. This short course is ideal for students who would like some technical or conceptual advice and the space to work on a personal project. Students will work independently with one to one support. Tuesday 03/08/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £49 Senior £49 Concession £49 Beginners’ Bookbinding (VD359) - Keeley Street Tutor: Royston Haward Explore the exciting world of the handmade book in this 5 day introduction to the craft of bookbinding. You will be introduced to the tools and materials needed to create folded, simple sewn books and more complex stitched bindings with flexible and hard covers. Monday 09/08/2021 - Friday 13/08/2021 10:00am - 5:00pm Full £289 Senior £289 Concession £145 Print, Design and Bind: A Book in a Week (VD438) - Keeley Street Tutors: Anne-Marie Foster & Penny Stanford Come and enjoy a week in the print and book studios and leave with an artist’s book. This course will encourage you to experiment with printmaking techniques and bookbinding structures and help you to develop your initial ideas into a finished work. Some printmaking and/or bookbinding experience may be beneficial but not essential. Monday 16/08/21 - Friday 20/08/21 10:30am - 4:30pm Full £249 Senior £249 Concession £152 Fine Binding higher Level: Vellum (VD333) - Keeley Street Tutor: Kathy Abbott Learn how to make a stiff-boarded binding in full vellum. Practise ‘pulling’ (disbinding) a book, preparing it for rebinding, making endpapers, edge-gilding, sewing multi-coloured end-bands, and preparing and covering with vellum. Suitable for advanced level students. Tuesdays 28/09/21 - 22/03/22 10:00am - 4:30pm Full £1099 Senior £879 Concession £670 Bookbinding Intermediate (VD322) - Keeley Street Tutor: Gavin Moorhead An intermediate-level course for students with some experience. Learn new skills and techniques. Develop and build on existing knowledge in traditional and contemporary bookbinding, including leather paring and fine binding. Mondays 11/10/21 - 14/03/22 6:00pm - 9:00pm Full £649 Senior £519 Concession £396 education 37

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Australia United States of America

New South Wales Guild of Craft Bookbinders American Academy of Bookbinding www.nswbookbinders.org/contact [email protected] www.nswbookbinders.org www.bookbindingacademy.org

Canada Booklyn [email protected] Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild www.booklyn.org [email protected] www.cbbag.ca Guild of Bookworkers [email protected] Italy www.guildofbookworkers.org

Professione Libro New York Center for Book Arts [email protected] [email protected] www.professionelibro.it www.centerforbookarts.org

Sweden North Bennet St. School [email protected] Monica Langwe www.nbss.edu [email protected] www.langwe.se Penland School of Crafts [email protected] www.penland.org Switzerland centro del bel libro ascona San Francisco Center for the Book [email protected] [email protected] www.cbl-ascona.ch www.sfcb.org

United Kingdom

BINDING re:DEFINED - Lori Sauer [email protected] www.bookbindingworkshops.com

Black Fox Bindery - Nicky Oliver [email protected] www.blackfoxbindery.com

Dillington House [email protected] www.dillington.com

London Centre for Book Arts [email protected] www.londonbookarts.org

Studio 5 - Mark Cockram [email protected] www.bookbindingcourses.blogspot.com

West Dean [email protected] www.westdean.org.uk 38 education www.designerbookbinders.org.uk | 194 | summer 2021

BINDING re:DEFINED aims to inspire a wider appreciation of book structures and how they make an intelligent contribution to the aesthetic of the finished work. The focus of our carefully selected programme remains firmly in the tradition of well-crafted pieces that exhibit the best in contemporary design. We are based in Wiltshire’s beautiful aleV of Pewsey and are easily reached by road or rail. email [email protected] or ring Lori Sauer on 01672 851638

Wonders of Hedi Kyle July/August 31st - 03rd Suzanne Schmollgruber

Woven Structure September 15th - 18th Jan Zimmerlich

Bradel à la Dorfner October 05th - 08th Rahel Scheufele

details at www.bookbindingworkshops.com

BINDING re:DEFINED

Bookbinding from the Beginning.

A new three-term course, delivered online from Leafwork starting September 2021. Creating a sound introduction for beginners, this course would also be perfect if you’ve some experience but feel there are gaps in your knowledge of foundation processes and structures. We’ll look at materials, tools, historic and contemporary bindings and make lots of books, moving through basic structures to intermediate level pieces which will allow you to progress with confidence and ability. The course will run over three terms, each building on the previous, each also bookable as separate units. Sessions will be on Friday mornings, via Zoom. Regular catch-up and 1:1 sessions are included, on a Tuesday evening or by arrangement.

For further information email [email protected], or call me for a chat 01297 489976 - 07984 001830 contacts 39

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President - Lester Capon 39 Barton Street, Tewkesbury Gloucestershire GL20 5PR [email protected]

Hon. Treasurer - Jack London 10 Pattison Road, London NW2 2HH [email protected]

Black Fox Bindery offers a variety of teaching resources from taster The Secretary - Pippa Smith courses to intensive, from one day to long-term. 29 Windrush Crescent, Malvern WR14 2XG [email protected] The bindery is fully equipped. Enough space to accommodate five students comfortably at any one time and is fully insured. Membership Secretary - Pippa Smith [email protected] Black Fox Bindery also plays host to guest binders or makers who may not have space of their own to teach. This is a great opportunity for The New Bookbinder Editor - Sue Doggett all involved; I get to see a new teaching approach, my students have c/o The Secretary access to different techniques and the guest gets paid to pass [email protected] on their skills. Publicity and Events Manager - Hannah Brown One to one tuition has been invaluable to my personal progress in [email protected] bookbinding and I emphasise the importance of it for focussed skill and technique development. I can offer one to one tuition tailored www.facebook.com/DesignerBookbinders to your needs. www.instagram.com/db_bookbinding_uk For further information please contact me (Nicky) at: [email protected] www.twitter.com/designerbookuk www.blackfoxbindery.com Designer Bookbinders Publications - Hannah Brown Chino Crafts Bowlish Grange, Forum Lane Shepton Mallet Nepal based artisan group supplying handmade tools BA4 5JL [email protected] and accessories to artists worldwide. Website [email protected]

Online Lecture Series [email protected]

Designer Bookbinders International Competition [email protected]

dbUK Bookbinding Competition [email protected]

Newsletter Editor, Design & Layout - Troy Moore 92 Battersea High Street, London SW11 3HP [email protected]

designer bookbinders

Please email Bindu: [email protected] [email protected] www.chinocrafts.com Registered Charity Number 282018 designer bookbinders contemporary book arts | 194 | summer 2021

© Designer Boookbinders 2021 Registered Charity Number 282018 Published by Designer Bookbinders 6 Queen Square London WC1N 3AT