Water Street Bindery

This is the Ephrata, Pa, Martyrer Spiegel, 1748/9, the largest volume produced in colonial America. All parts including the paper produced by the Bruderschaft at the Cloister. Usually a new board attachment is made with a sewn-on linen hinge. Here the cords were mostly holding and we sewed on linen thread to the existing thread and glued it to the board before a goatskin rebacking.

A scabbard binding, not uncommon in early New England. The boards are created from thin slabs of wood also used to make scabbards for swords. Surely not a glamorous book but well worth retaining as cultural artifact. Plan: restore sewing, reinstall original binding with front board strengthened and put in a slip case.

A full sheep reproduction of the original binding of Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention, 1789. Binding called retail sheep.

Restoring a paper binding, limited edition with a signed etching. The fragmented spine was removed, reassembled and mounted on kitakata. It had originally been glued to the sewing and the loose sides folded over the outer leaves of the text as a cover. The spine lining was redone as a hollow and pieces glued on to raise the surface where the paper was missing. After the reconstituted spine/cover paper was reinstalled, we colored in the missing patches.

This is the first comprehensive American dictionary, a desirable item and a bit pricey. In layout it is similar to the first American printing of Johnson and roughly contemporaneous with that one. The spines survived in small fragments and the rear board Vol. 2 was lacking. Nonetheless the client wished to retain the extant three boards. You can see the new leather labels copying the layout of the originals as could be determined from small fragments. The missing board can ...be seen replaced in facsimile in the final photo. I hadn’t seen this one tho I have the Johnson’s which is somewhere else on this page. I was very impressed by the quality of the printing and paper. It is found in many binding variants having been sold over several years. See more

(For American binding reference, spine and bd roll on Isaac Thomas prtg)

An Aldine Horace, Venice, 1509. 12mo, Hewit calf, blind and gilt. I’m not crazy about modernizing a binding on an antiquarian text but I thought this was ok.

Historic Canadian printing (and binding). History of the War of 1812 printed and bound by David Thompson. Niagara, UC (Ontario), 1832. The spine leather is much worn but the once gilt stamp can be discerned. The label is gone but is in the central position favored in this period. This is seemingly the first production save gov. printings in Ontario thus a significant North American binding. We’ll preserve the spine leather and mount it inside the volume using the original boards and like spine layout.

Here’s something I’ve not seen in all these years: an Ephrata production with a printed label on the board. I suppose the meaning is that is cleared for use by the various Mennonite churches here.

Victorian Bible came in lacking spine. Always a challenge to tool a new one.

When I moved the Bindery to town thirty years ago, the backyard was full of trash. In the those decades we’ve recreated a little country in the city. Only about 400 ft2.

And, to finish the week, a few acidfree slipcases.

Enclosures for smaller, thinner artifacts for which a slipcase is inefficient. Leather spined tie folios, with an envelope of 200# handmade paper inside inclosing the item(s). Acid free, of course.