Customer Reviews

Basic Bookbinding

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Basic Bookbinding may seem underwhelmingly dull in comparison to all the other books on bookbinding available today-no gorgeous vividly-colored photographs, no sophisticated page layouts, no selection of cute or thematic projects to work on once you've learned the techniques, no unconventional material, no gallery of artists' works...NO FUN, right? But I've been both an experimental and traditional bookbinder for 12 years, and I have yet to come across a book that covers the BASICS of the craft the way A.W.Lewis's does.

It is really important to master the nitty-gritty of the CRAFT...precision of measurement, the right stitches and knots, putting the skeleton of a book together so that you understand WHY/HOW it works, and KNOW it'll last a hundred years...and only THEN should one go off and explore the big "candystore" of fancy papers, funky found-object covers, and clever bindings. When I want inspiration, I leaf through yummy picture books like Shereen LaPlantz's COVER TO COVER, or Linda F.Kenzle's PAGES...but when I want to put an archival journal of medieval proportions together so that my great grandchildren can read it someday, I return to Basic Bookbinding. My respect for the great bookbindinders of the past is renewed by this very technical, unpretentious and stern manual.

If it's short on innovation, keep in mind that this Basic Binding book is a reprint of the 1952 edition! Learning from this book feels less like a weekend crafts class, and more like an apprenticeship with some terse old master.

Gave nice clear instructions. Good graphics and explenations. I used it with my kids, and even they understood it.

If you want to learn basic bookbinding, this is a great book. It shows step-by-step exactly what to do and how to do it.

Basic Bookbinding A really good book for those not able to attend a class. It is a reprint, but suitable for all levels just to refer to occasionally or to learn from

This book was a great addition to the information I gleaned on the internet. It had specifics for several different types of bindings that I couldn't find clear explanations for. It's clearly written and good for a beginner (my experience level). I've been using it often as a solid reference book for my bookbinding (primarily sketchbooks).

Useful to the max. A clear reference guide with detail, step by step process and helpful illustrations.

The information is dated, but the craft is old. The largest problems are the bad, bad illustrations and the unexplained jargon. For any beginner the book is difficult to follow. But who buys the book but beginners.

The product arrived in excellent shape, but was not helpful. Only if you are interesting in manually binding your book with a hammer, chisel and some glue will this book be of some use to you. I prefer to find a little more up-to-date source on binding books. Thermal book binding is probably what I should have requested information on, versus basic book binding.