Books have been revered and feared throughout history, mostly for their content but sometimes their reputation is enough. There's a mythology that surrounds books. They can be full of dangerous things. Madjicke spells and incantations, or still more scary, ideas. All things that may tempt you to stray from the path, and we can't have that, can we Awa Rich?
But, I'm talking about books as objects. Even before you become enthralled and absorbed by what's inside - which may be no more than the potential of blank pages - there's something about a book that's powerful and madjickle. Hold a book in your hands, open it, flick through the pages, smell it. Feel the enchantment crackle.
Bookbinding is one of those ancient traditional crafts that have always seemed like alchemy to me, but a madjicke I wanted the knowing of. I looked around for books about making books - recursion is another thing that fascinates me - I never seemed to have the ready money when I was thinking about it. I looked at courses, they were even more expensive.
This year I resolved to figure it out and found all the answers I needed at the Delphic Oracle, or YouTube as it's more popularly known. You can learn just about anything you want to on YouTube, it just takes time, patience and asking the right questions.
My first attempt was a sketchbook. I buy lovely sketchbooks that I never use because they're too precious to be sullied with my scrawlings. If I make my own then they'll be friendly to my scratchings, went my reasoning.
I've made half a dozen small sketchbooks (A5 and A6) using various kinds of paper and was well pleased with the results. They work! I mean I can use them like a 'proper' sketchbook and they don't fall apart. Unbelievable! It was quite a long journey but well worth it to have something I can use.
I hadn't intended making Moleskine type notebooks as I have several thirsty ones on the shelf. I stumbled upon SeaLemon - who has several tutorials on bookbindery on YouTube - including 'How to Make a Moleskine Style Notebook'. So I thought I'd give it a try.
The first attempt was a bit frayed at the edges as I'd used cheap photocopy paper on the inside and tried to trim it with an X-Acto knife. Nevertheless, I still have all my fingers and something useable. I've nearly filled it with inky symbols that represent the machinations of my mind. Result!
I made another for my partner, Marie. She was delighted with it and asked me to make one for her sister.
This is it. The cover is made from a sheet of wrapping paper from The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London. The pen is a TWSBI Diamond 580.
This is a teaser. Some time in the future ("It's gonna be the future soon!" - Jonathan Coulton song) I'll describe how I got to this point.
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| Front cover |
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| Front cover (belly band removed) |
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| Rear cover |
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| Front and rear cover |
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| Front end paper |
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| The dangerous bit |
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