An Early Gothic Bookbinding

Fig 1: The text block, already sewn (including the endpapers). The sections have four sheets of A4 paper, folded in half.

Fig 2: The spine of the text block, showing the split leather thongs and the kettle stitches.

Fig 3: Lining up the boards to mark where the the thongs will go. The outer edges of the boards have been bevelled. I have used 5mm five-ply wood, cut just slightly smaller than the text block.

Fig 4: Cutting indents for the thongs on the outer edge of the cover boards. These should possibly be cut as holes into the edge of the boards, but I find this method simpler when using plywood covers.

Fig 5: Cutting the channel on the inside cover.

Fig 6: Outside cover showing holes for lacing.

Fig 7: The text block is laced to the boards.

Fig 8: Securing the boards using small wooden wedges. Any protuding part of the wedge is cut off.

Fig 9: The thongs are trimmed to be flush with the outer cover.

Fig 10: A drawknife is used to trim the text block even with the cover boards.

Fig 11: Close up of the text block being trimmed.

Fig 12: Trimmed corner.

Fig 13: The book, now laced and trimmed, lying open.

Fig 14: I took this chance to cut an indent for the closing straps. This can be done any time before covering.

Fig 15: Attach the leather endbands. I drilled the endband holes, so used a twig to peg the leather and then cut it off flush to the board.

Fig 16: The endband lying in place. I've shaved it slightly so that it will sit flat in the channel.

Fig 17: Sewing of the endband. The thread is wound around the leather band and stitched to the text block roughly every five loops.

Fig 18: Still sewing the endband.

Fig 19: Pasting thin cloth on the spine. The paste is simply flour and water, cooked until gluggy with a little salt. Pasting the spine helps make the book more firm. Later gothic books used animal-based glue on the spine rather than starch-based paste.

Fig 20: I heated this soldering iron in a pot of boiling water to do the blind-tooling on the leather cover. The heat will leave permanent indents in the leather

Fig 21: Testing out blind-tooling. I think maybe boiling water isn't quite hot enough to do blind tooling, but it's pretty close.

Fig 22: The leather cover pasted on, showing a simple blind-tooled rectangle as decoration. (Sorry for the lack of photos, but it's hard to stop and take a picture in the middle of pasting the cover on.)

Fig 23: Inside cover. Note the scrap paper to keep the paste away from the text block.

Fig 24: The endband, now partly covered.

Fig 25: The leather thongs have become raised bands on the spine.

Fig 26: Straps, sewn to help prevent stretching.

Fig 27: The straps nailed in place. One of the benefits of a real hard cover in the binding is being able to use nails.

Fig 28: The inside cover, showing a nail and a mount filed off, and also showing the paring of the leather to make a gentle slope.

Fig 29: Inside cover at the spine.

Fig 30: A nail for hooking the strap to, and a pewter mount. Holes for the mounts had to be drilled after the cover was pasted on. The mount is based on #1068 on page 119 of Egan.

Fig 31: Endpapers now pasted down. They are a little wrinkly due to expanding when covered in paste.

Fig 32: The finished book.