Handmade Books: A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Your Own Books [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Kathy Blake (Author), Ted Morrison (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Books with creative formats and artistic bindings have always been a specialty of small presses, but now the computer printer enables anyone to make distinctive-looking books. These three volumes are full of ideas and techniques for compiling and binding handmade books in many formats, including "memory books" and personalized scrapbooks. Blake (Making and Decorating Your Own Paper, Sterling, 1995) deals mainly with the mechanics of making covers and bindings. Graphic designer Kropper goes beyond this into hand-decorated pages, unusual formats, and traditional methods such as fore-edge painting. The Vanessa-Ann book is for makers of memory books and includes projects combining photographs and keepsakes with cutout mountings and simple bindings. All three books are good additions to public library collections, complementing one another rather than overlapping.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
A guide to mastering the art of bookmaking. Starting with the easiest types of books to make - scrolls and bound single sheets - the book presents 15 step-by-step projects, culminating in instructions for multi-signature hardcovers. Others projects include albums and address books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1st edition (October 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821222201
• ISBN-13: 978-0821222201
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #355,070 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #55 in	Books > Home & Garden > Crafts & Hobbies > Book Making & Binding

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A THOROUGH GUIDE - NOW I KNOW I CAN DO IT!, October 29, 2000

By A Customer

Everything is included in this book so when you pick out a project, you really know how to do it from the very clear step by step pictures and it lists what you'll need. I took an art class and at the end of the semester, I made an accordion book as a presentation folder for my work. (Everyone else bought blank books) The teacher thought I was a genius, but I got the idea from this book!

The color pictures are really beautiful, too and inspired me with a lot of creative ideas for gifts. My family really appreciates the books, photo albums and cards I've made for them - all because I've used this book so much for ideas!

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a good start for this beginner., January 5, 2001

By	Honey Clark "book frog" (Collegeville, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wanted to start making my own books, so I bought this one to help me. I had a few problems. Some of the steps in the starch paste recipe are unclear, so the first time I tried I got starch soup instead. And in the hard cover multi-signature instructions, the steps get very contradictory. They tell you to past the hinge onto the spine directly, then later you're told to paste down the sewing tape BEFORE the hinge.. which would be impossible if you had followed instructions up to that point, because the tape is sewn into the signatures right at the spine.

I've managed to muddle through, but I still would not recommend this book to people just starting out in bookbinding.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it, Make it, January 31, 2001

By	Teri "photogeek" (Ramona, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is great! There are so many great ideas of how to make the handmade books. I'm sure many have been thought of before, but this book makes sure to run you through each step in an organized fashion to ensure and strong stable book. This book would have come in handy when I was trying to figure out how to make an accordian book for my photography final. The only disappointment is that there are not more color photos. There are color photos of the DONE books, but no color photos of books in the process. I just think it would help me a little bit more. All in all, this is a great book with good ideas. I'm feeling inspired to make a new book now.