From the Bookbinding II class at The Center for Book Arts in NYC, we learned how to make a leather-bound book. Here’s my first try, a fairly small (5 1/2in square), thick (1 3/4in) journal, covered in leather (binding) and aquatic-themed paper purchased from Bowne & Company Stationers, a print shop at the South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan (learn more about Bowne at Bowne and Co’s Facebook page).
We learned how to work with leather–how to pare it down so it’s thin enough to fold, how to handle the material and moisten the “grain side” of the skin prior to adhering with rice paste…. And so much more! It was a fantastic class, with a fantastic instructor: Susan Mills
Anyway, it’s a great material to bind with, and I look forward to making more leather-bound books.
