Friday, May 31, 2013

Happy Birthday Ernst - Colliniana 2013

Today would have been Ernst Collin's 127th birthday. To honor him I am pleased to share the still rough and incomplete bibliography of his writings that I have been able to identify. While all in German (no translations available) they demonstrate how prolific he was in terms of his output and breadth of topics in the field of the book arts. His topics were technical and hands-on, reviews of exhibits, discussions of the state of the trade and art, the graphic arts in general and more. Often editorial in tone, his opinions were strong, yet constructive and forward thinking, and informed by his access to the best that German bookbinding, the trade organizations, and book/graphic arts had to offer. Well that, and his lineage – W(ilhelm) and Georg Collin court bookbinders to the Prussian Kings, German Emperors, and more. Ernst's most recognizable work was Der Pressbengel, translated into English as The Bone Folder by me and available via the links at left.



The Google Ngram (Thank you Jeff Peachey) below visualizes his writings and provides links to many. The Ngram is not perfect however as the other Ernst and writings mentioning "Ernst Collin" are also included in the visualization and links, but they do reflect his career as a writer. It also shows clearly that no matter how much I have been able to access, there is still more that I have not been able to find or access.In general the curve of the Ngram reflects the date range where I have been finding things.

Click image to enlarge, or view at Google


To access the bibliography with 82 titles including monographs, and articles click here. Of these, 39 are available via HathiTrust and other digital collections, hopefully also in the German-speaking countries that would benefit most from his writings. For those without (at least) a reading knowledge of German, Google Translate has gotten much better over the years, the OCR behind the indexing at HathiTrust is better than expected, and sense could be made of his writings. For the more technical terms consult the multi-lingual dictionary created by Suzy Morgan. Language and access will forever be challenges in all aspects of research, and there is still far more still only available in print and not digitally.

Copyright will make it difficult to access the post 1922 writings, as do holes in the collection of HathiTrust, the archive for the books digitized by Google from items in libraries in the US, publications that haven't been digitized (or otherwise reformatted/preserved such as on microfilm), and losses due the war.

Regardless, I will compile as complete a bibliography as is possible with the tools I have available, am deeply indebted to Syracuse University Library's inter-library loan department, and make as much available as I can. It will all however fit in between actually binding books, have some exhibitions goals for this year, and other projects.

Happy birthday Ernst!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Werbung - "And now a message from our sponsor"

Recently acquired the 1927 issue of the Allegmeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien, the leading trade weekly for bookbinders, in part because it is a nice complement (and contrast) to my 1927 copy of the Jahrbuch der Einbandkunst published by the Meister der Einbandkunst. I was also very glad to find numerous articles by Ernst Collin, to whom this blog is dedicated in it (and will shortly be adding to the growing bibliography of his writings I am compiling).

As with all trade publications, there is lots of advertising, so below a selection that spoke to me today...

Gluing out: Before and After


Springback ledger/account books

In honor of the two comets we will have seen this year,
an ad from a brush factory.

A journeyman son of a meister looking to swap positions with a peer.
Experienced in all manner of binding styles and no slouch in gold tooling and blocking.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Exlibris, In the Ruins of a City...

Hand-colored etching, signed in pencil E[rnst] Heig[enmoser], ca. 1945. 5.5 x 9.5cm.
Click to enlarge

I recently acquired this desolately charming bookplate for Hanns Heeren by Ernst Heig[enmoser]. The bookplate shows a group of bibliophiles looking at books amidst the ruins of a recently-ended war. The sign in the background says Ex-Libris Freunde, or Friends of Ex Libris, the book on the left Samm-lung Heeren (Collection Heeren, whose bookplate it is, and the books on the right have on them [Walter von] Zur Westen, [Friedrich] Warnecke, and [Richard] Braungart. All three published books illustrating artistic bookplates. Links with their names take one to online examples of some of these books.

Heigenmoser (1892-1963) was German painter, commercial artist, and industrial designer in Munich. Heeren (1893-1968) was a German librarian who became a military pilot serving in both World Wars, but more significantly was a composer of German "volkslieder" (folk music) extolling the virtues of heimat, wandering, the countryside... He was also apparently a collector of bookplates judging by other examples found during Google searches. Here some examples:

Karl Blossfeldt, 1920

Harry Corvers, 1955

Bruno da Osimo, 1956

Waltraud Weissenbach, n.d.

In a case of serendipity, today, two days later I received the journal below featuring an article by Ernst Collin entitled "Der schöne Bucheinband" (The Beautiful Bookbinding). As I am usually single minded I don't even know if I looked to see what other authors were mentioned and/or remembered whose bookplate I ordered. In flipping through the issue also found an article by Hanns Heeren of the bookplate above on "Künstlerische Neujahrswünsche" (Artist's New Years Greetings). Fun!

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

To close, the iconic image of the Holland House library, bombed
out in 1940 during the Blitz. Compare with our first image.


Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Story of Two Ernsts

Written with Ruth Wiseman

When I began translating Ernst Collin's Pressbengel (The Bone Folder) it was because I felt such an affinity for the text that wonderfully portrays the state of early 20th century binding in Germany and the tension between art, craft, and industrialization, all in the form of a charming dialog. There was actually very little information available to me about Collin, and what there was raised more questions than I could find answers for. As a result I focused on the dialog itself, a context for the work, and tried to provide some biographical information about Collin himself. Sources for this biographical information were Gustav Moessner's introduction to the 1984 illustrated reprint/new edition of the Der Pressbengel and Karl Wolfskehls Briefwechsel aus Neuseeland 1938-1948, the published correspondence of German emigre Karl Wolfskehl who corresponded with many of the creative elite who were able to flee Germany. Below the excerpt from page 1215 for Ernst Collin with a birth year matching that in Moessner's introduction (5/31/1886), as well as the direct link to two of Collin's most significant publications.

Ernst Collin came from Berlin and worked in publishing both there and in Munich
and was also active as a bookbinder and literary critic married M[argarethe] Pohl in 1924.
He was the youth friend of the painter Albert Weisgerber, the first husband of M. Pohl. "Deutsche
Einbandkunst, 1918, and "Paul Kersten, the leader of German fine binding," 1925, were written by him."

The other challenging source was Kosch's Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon des 20Jh, (München: KG Saur 2003, Bd 5, p.325). This cited the Leo Baeck Institute's collection that houses the papers of Ernst Collin-Schönfeld that make no mention of any of his editorial positions or writings beyond poetry in the biography or item-level finding aid.

Kosch. Deutsches Literatur-Lexikon des 20Jh, München- KG Saur 2003, Bd 5, 325.jpg

For purposes of my introduction this was the best I could find in 2008, and while I was curious to learn more and had lingering doubts, I did not dig deeper with any urgency. It turns out that Moessner was also a bit confused on some of the other details in his introduction, that like mine focused more on what Collin's work meant for the craft of bookbinding. While the Wolfskehl Correspondence raised many questions, the linkages were there in the form of the specific titles, no Pressbengel however. Kosch did mention the Pressbengel, but also Paul Kersten and other writings.

In late February, I was contacted by a Ruth Wiseman on the East Coast who is researching her genealogy, and believed she was related to Georg Collin (Ernst's father and the Hofbuchbinder/Courtbookbinder to the German Emperor) and Ernst Collin. She found my translation online (a benefit of "open access"). This intrigued me deeply and on many levels, and we have been actively corresponding ever since, 100+ emails since 2/20 with lots of shared resources. Given some other changes in my life related to work this was a very welcome diversion. So now, listening to the music of Kurt Weill that helped define the artistic life of Berlin between the wars, we will tell the story of two Ernsts. The video in my previous post frames this era visually.

A starting point was Wolfskehl's correspondence that provided several names including his wife, Margarethe whose first husband was the painter Albert Weisgerber. Weisgerber fell in WWI (ironically serving in the same unit as a certain Corporal), and his work as a painter was later labeled degenerate. Since originally translating Collin's Pressbengel, the papers of an Ernst Collin[-Schönfeld] (According to inventory 1886?-1953, but birth year of 1882 in biographical sketch in collection and death year of 1954 on headstone) came online at the Center for Jewish History/Leo Baeck Institute in NYC showing an Ernst married to just this Margarethe Collin. According to a biography provided by Margarethe, this Ernst was born in Nordhausen; lost his father, a Fritz Schönfeld at a young age; and his mother remarried Adolf Collin, a businessman who adopted Ernst and his older brother Paul. No mention of a Georg Collin, or bookbinding. There was also information on the page of a genealogist that even included a picture. Dates were wrong though, never mind the fact that none of the publications were familiar. If this was "our" Ernst, it showed him as having gotten out of Nazi Germany and having died in London.

Naively, I had never thought of Collin as Jewish, "subversive," or degenerate, but the period in Germany between "The Wars" was very turbulent with civil war, hyper-inflation, depression... Moessner in his introduction had written that Collin was missing since 1933 (when the Nazis took power)... The book, Broken Glass, Broken Lives: A Jewish Girl's Survival Story in Berlin 1933-1945 written by Rita J. Kuhn, the mother of Ruth with whom I am corresponding, (and Georg Collin’s great-niece), provided a very good picture of the situation in Berlin during that period from the perspective of a child who survived it. Highly recommended reading on many levels, it also provided some good starting points for researching further. Anything could have happened to “our” Ernst.

I had also recently read Anna Nyburg's, From Leipzig to London: The Life and Work of the Émigré Artist Hellmuth Weissenborn (New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press 2012. ISBN 9781584563143. 192 pages. $29.95), a book that was just reviewed for Bonefolder Extras. While focusing specifically on the illustrator Hellmuth Weissenborn it did a very good job describing the period leading up the takeover of the Nazis in Germany, the increasing spiral of anti-semitism, emigration, and life in the diaspora.

After finding the obituary below for Ernst Collin in the April 1954 issue of the Association of Jewish Refugees Information I wrote to Professor Nyburg in London, this émigré community is her special area of interest and research, and I asked if she had any leads I could follow. That correspondence is still ongoing, but so far no leads. Another obituary written by Julius Bab, a German dramatist and theater critic, appeared in the Aufbau. Why would there not have been any mentions in the obituary of the prolific writings on bookbinding by Collin? Concurrently, my partner in this research was reaching out via the genealogy networks to peers in the UK and elsewhere, netting the gravesite below. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary they still believe that this is "our" Ernst.



Ernst Collin's grave in London. From https://www.usintranet.org.uk/burial_system/web_images/
?plot_id=13064&download=1&filename=Ernst%20Collin.jpg


Muddling the situation further was the catalog of the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek that showed 2 Ernst Collins (records 46/47 and 50), the writer of so many articles and a few monographs on bookbinding (with a birth year of 1886 but no death date). and a Collin-Schönfeld (1882-1953) with few known publications (just one if Bab is correct).

Two Ernsts married to the same woman? So, who's who? What's the truth?

Our "other" Ernst studied at universities, enrolling in many classes primarily in literature, but never testing/completing these to the annoyance of his step-father who worked in banking in Berlin. He wrote poems, and was known to have affections for men and women. At age 19 he showed series of poems to the publisher now known as Axel Juncker who published a selection under the title of "Lieder eines Knaben," "Songs  by/of a Boy." Julius Bab's obituary indicated that he only published one work, most likely this one. Ernst also associated himself with the "art scene" in Berlin and Munich. To become more independent, he moved to Great Britain to teach at the Berlitz School, spent some time teaching for Berlitz in Constantinople, and returned to Germany to fight in WWI. He was initially in the Bavarian cavalry, but was was then transferred to an artillery unit because he was Jewish. There he served with distinction, was awarded the Iron Crosses 2nd and 1st class, and reached the rank of Captain. It is not clear when he married Margarete Weisgerber. Following the war he found it hard to reestablish himself, losing much of his assets during the period of hyper-inflation, but finally finding employment as an archivist among other things with the Berlin banking firm of Dreyfus & Co., working there until its "aryanization" in 1939 when he emigrated to Great Britain to work as a secretary with the Dresdner Bank. When WWII broke out he, like all "enemy"/German émigrés, lost his position, and began a gradual decline until his death. [From Ernst Collin Collection, biographical info and writings, Center for Jewish History/Leo Baeck Institute.]

This could not have been "the" Ernst Collin who wrote Der Pressbengel and other bookbinding related publications...



Digging through my own research library that contains among other things the complete set of the Meister der Einband Kunst's (MDE) Jahrbuch der Einbankunst, several of Collin's other writings, the 1927 Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbinderein, HathiTrust, Worldcat, the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Google...,  I began to develop a better picture of the extent of his publishing, the date range (well into the mid-1930s refuting Moessner's 1933 date), and became friends with our inter-library loan department requesting just about everything I could not find in my own library or online.

I also wrote to the archives of the MDE in Münster, the Jewish Community of Berlin, and other bookbinders and bookbinding organizations in Germany, with but a very small number of helpful leads. In one case, the response was does it matter and why are you doing this...?

The inventory for the archives of MDE is online and showed little, with the archivist making an effort - travel there is not really an option, though at some time I may engage a proxy researcher. However, Die Heftlade No. 1, 1922 did provide an address for Ernst Collin in Berlin. This was a journal produced by Collin for the Jakob-Krause-Bund, the precursor to MDE, and published by the same Euphorion Verlag as Der Pressbengel.



An address! Wandering through the myriad of archives and other collections I discovered the address/telephone for Berlin online, searchable and browseable back to 1799. Below the entry for [Collin], Ernst from 1922 at Sachsenwaldstrasse 25 in Berlin-Steglitz, a mixed residential commercial district with little pre-war architecture left.


A match! Note also the "Schriftsteller" following Ernst. This indicated profession/trade for many, and made it easier to distinguish between entries. "Our" Ernst lived here from 1922-23 as a Schriftsteller (writer), then 1924-28 as Redakteur (editor). Below the 1928 entry. Note that there is an Ernst described as a "bank beamt." above his listing.


Directly above "Ernst Schriftstell" is an Ernst working at a bank.Our other Ernst?

Meanwhile, Ruth had contacted the Jewish cemetery in Berlin and located the grave of Georg Collin (10/22/1851 – 12/24/1918) whom we both believe to be the father of "our" Ernst. That W. Collin was the father of Georg is established, but there was still no direct linkage between them and Ernst. Thanks to inter-library loan, I was able to read a number of articles written by Ernst and found the missing link in the 1925 article "Die deutsche Kunstbuchbinderei der Gegenwart," published in the Gutenberg Jahrbuch. A birth certificate for Ernst would still be desirable though.

"Around the turn the turn of the century, the Berlin bindery of W. Collin (at that time on the direction
of my father Georg Collin (Deceased in 1918), one of the best bookbinders of all time)
worked with artists like Sütterlin, Eckmann, Christiansen..." [Pg. 79)

"I'd also like to refer to the Pressbengel, my book that was published by
the Euphorion Verlag, and attempts to bring together traditional craft bookbinding
with the expectations of bibliophiles. My book about Paul Kersten, a festschrift in honor of
his 60th birthday, and the first biography of a bookbinder, was recently published for the
Jakob Krause Bund, of which Kersten was honorary president,
by my Corvinus-Antiquariat, Berlin Steglitz." [Pg.81]

Whether Ernst was also trained as a bookbinder is uncertain at this time, but what is known is that he was an antiquarian bookseller and publisher, doing business as the Corvinus-Antiquariat Ernst Collin Gmbh (Inc) at Mommsenstrasse 27 in Berlin Charlottenburg, a rather nice district. The listing below is from 1925, the same year as the article above.



In 1929, Collin moved to  Cicerostrasse 61 in Berlin Wilmersdorf where he lived into 1939, first from 1929-32 as Redakteur, then again from 1933-39 as Schriftsteller. Listing below from 1929.

Directly above "Ernst Schriftstell" the other Ernst still working at a bank.


Wilmersdorf was a fashionable area, and Cicerostrasse a beautiful apartment block designed and built by the architect Erich Mendelsohn between 1927-31. Mendelsohn was on the cutting edge of architecture at the time, also designing the Einstein Tower, an observatory in Potsdam near Berlin. Ernst was doing quite well for himself. Note, however, the "demotion" from editor to write in 1933. This would have been a result of the Schriftleitergesetz of October 4, 1933 that removed non-Aryans (Jews) from editorial positions, one of the early steps to isolate and marginalize in the Nuremberg Laws. These also forbade contacts between  the groups and made it increasingly difficult for the two groups to interact on any levels and for either Ernst to work. MDE decided to disband in 1937 because according to the MDE archive site it did not want to bow to the laws, laws that would have had an impact on some members and friends of the group such as Martin Breslauer, the famous bibliophile and antiquarian.

The last listing for Ernst from 1939.


After 1939 no more addresses or listings could be found for him. The Nuremberg Laws forbade Jews to live in the same buildings as Aryans (non-Jewish Germans), those that owned property had to sell it at staggering losses, and move to mini-ghettos that could be as small as an apartment house, so-called Judenhäuser, that were often over-filled. The impact of these laws on a personal level is well described in Broken Glass, Broken Lives, and a recent article in the New York Times entitled "The Holocaust just got more shocking." Ernst would probably have been relocated to one of these...

Putting together these different pieces I took the step of going to Yad Vashem, to the Central Database of Shoah Victims' Names where I found an Ernst Collin. His name is linked to both the List of murdered Jews from Germany (known as the Memorial Book/Gedenkbuch) and List of deportations from Berlin with links to the sources of that information.  Below are the search results for Collin, Ernst. The birth date matches that provided by Moessner in his introduction, the one biographical fact he had right.


From Gedenkbuch Berlins der jüdischen Opfer des Nazionalsozialismus, Freie Universität Berlin,
Zentralinstitut für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung, Edition Hentrich, Berlin 1995. Note that the
print version also included the street address of Cicerostr. 61 we saw in the Adressbuch above...

While there are still loose ends to wrap up, we both believe we have sorted out the Ernsts, and given both back their own identities. Questions as to Ernst's professional activities, i.e. did he apprentice as a bookbinder or as an antiquarian, did he study...? What was his family/marital status. Some details may still be uncovered, some lost in the mists of a turbulent time.

Subsequent posts here will describe the father and grandfather of Ernst, the Court Bookbinders W. Collin and Georg Collin, followed by an expanded bibliography of Ernst's writings.

A new edition of my translation of Collin's Der Pressbengel (The Bone Folder) will also appear in time and incorporate some this new information.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Symphony of a Great City, Berlin 1927

I am in the process of helping clarify much of the biographical information about Ernst Collin, author of Der Pressbengel (1922) that I translated as The Bone Folder several years back.

To set the stage, I am sharing this 1927 silent film that provides a wonderful picture of the vibrant Weimar era Berlin that Ernst Collin lived in. Granted, there was also the period of civil war, hyper-inflation and depression, but it was a relatively good time with incredible energy in the arts... Think also Dada, Bauhaus, the arts of the book, music... The music of Kurt Weill is a great accompanyment - it certainly was for me as I worked on the larger post to follow.

The film was directed by Walter Ruttmann, and co-written by Carl Mayer and Karl Freund. It is an example of the city symphony film genre. A musical score for an orchestra to accompany the silent film was written by Edmund Meisel. As a "city symphony" film, it portrays the life of a city, mainly through visual impressions in a semi-documentary style, without the narrative content of more mainstream films, though the sequencing of events can imply a kind of loose theme or impression of the city's daily life.

In 2007, a restored version of the film was shown with the fully reconstructed original score by Edmund Meisel. The film was restored by the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv in cooperation with ARTE and with funding by the ZDF. The restored version is based on cellulose nitrate copy from the archives of the former Reichsfilmarchiv which was augmented by footage acquired from the Library of Congress. (From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin:_Symphony_of_a_Metropolis)




The (greatly) revised story of Ernst Collin, both of them,will follow soon.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Lacunose 1

First attempts at creating lacunose panels, a technique developed by English binder Paul Delrue.These may still be in progress, haven't decided yet. Been a lot of fun so far.

The panels were created on a sheet of mylar that kept everything dimensionally stable and allowed me to sand easily. To create the effect first made mostly random base and sanded until smooth from both sides, occasionally brushing on the very dilute PVA and letting it dry, occasionally laying on another thin piece of leather. Then laid-on the cut out shapes and sanded some more, mostly from behind, finishing off lightly from the front so the whole panel is smooth.

Click image to enlarge

Paul demonstrated this technique at the Guild of Book Workers Standards of Excellence Seminar in Portland, OR (2004). Download the handout for that demonstration here, or go to Paul's website for a more extensive tutorial.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

The Bone Folder, con't (About stiffened paper bindings)

It has been some time since our Bibliophile and Bookbinder had their last conversation about bookbinding and the trade. In the spirit of Collin and his Bone Folder (Der Pressbengel) I  continue that conversation to draw in some German binding styles not included in the original text but of that time. I invite you to join the conversation in the "comments" section below, too.

From Marburg, Bildarchiv Foto Marburg


Several months later…

BOOKBINDER: Hello. What brings you back so soon? I haven’t even begun working on the books you dropped off after our last conversation about bookbinding. How is your book about our conversations coming along? Is it done yet? (chuckles)

BIBLIOPHILE: Don’t laugh. I’ve been working on it constantly and the more I do so the more questions I have. I had no idea there were so many facets to bookbinding and even art. As I was looking through some reference books at home and at the library I came across some bindings that you did not tell me about, perhaps because they are too common and beneath a binder of your reputation. Yet, as I was pondering them they struck me as perhaps the most honest in how they were made and are used.

BOOKBINDER: Really, this could be very interesting. Do you have examples with you?

BIBLIOPHILE: Not of both, but I do have an example of the smaller one in my coat pocket. It is very simple binding on a trade publication, comfortable to hold, not too delicate, unadorned, and very affordable. I have seen it used for school books, notebooks, address books and never really paid any attention to how they were made. But since our conversations I find myself critically looking at anything resembling a book. You have opened my eyes more than I could have imagined when we first met.

BOOKBINDER: Hmmm, yes that is a stiffened paper binding [Steifbroschure]. We, and by that I mean the trade, use it often for ephemeral items, or as an interim binding for something that book lovers like you might want to have bound properly. Although I am familiar with them and made one during my apprenticeship, it is not something I am interested in producing in my bindery – I usually refer them to a colleague who specialized in more modest, less expensive bindings. He also does work for some of the libraries in the area. I suppose they do have their place though.

BIBLIOPHILE: Tell me more about them so that I may understand your aversion to them. I could see them as a very useful binding for many books that may not be worthy of a fancier binding.

BOOKBINDER: Well, there are many reasons, but the main reason is that the structure is weaker and looks cheaper when compared to a “real” binding.

Often, especially for things that are to be rebound properly like a finely printed text, this minimal structure is appropriate in the short term, but what happens if it is never bound? If “holländern” [a very rudimentary form of sewing a text that originated in Holland [PDV1] is used the sewing is very weak and the only thing holding the text together is glue and a single thread. Then, we often use a very thin calico cloth that is glued directly to the spine to cover with everything else being paper. The cheapest ones may not even cover the thin boards – not a very durable combination. That may not matter, but why not bind the book properly from the beginning?

BIBLIOPHILE: As always Master you make good points, but what if I want to read the text and think about it before asking you to bind it. Wouldn’t it be better to have it protected at least that little bit?

BOOKBINDER: Perhaps… For the other types of “books” you mentioned such as school books, notebooks, address books it may well not matter much if they do not last. Still, there are simple ways we can use to make them stronger. We could, for example, sew them on tapes, and stiffen the boards with thin card. Perhaps one could even use a stronger cloth on the spine, perhaps with a nice decorated paper, or one could cover the whole book in cloth and just turn in at the fore-edges. But even then, why not bind properly?

BIBLIOPHILE: That is very interesting and gives me ideas. Still, I believe that you are right in saying that the binding is not very durable. That would also mean one shouldn’t use it for larger or heavier books. In that case I agree that one should just bind it properly to begin with. But, don’t you think that the style has its place in your selection of tools? I am trying to remember who it was, but I recently read in one of your trade publications that "'good enough’ is sometimes an appropriate, and even a noble goal, not an abomination.“ [PDV2]  I think it was in the Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien. Don’t you think that might be the case with these unassuming bindings?

BOOKBINDER: I suppose you might be right, but there is a reason that these stiffened paper bindings are not described very often in our bookbinding manuals. Often one does not even need to know how to bind a book in order to make one. Even a printer could make one – a trade that often does not even understand the importance of grain direction.

Here, look at the example you brought. You can see that the endpaper is nothing more than a single leaf that has been hooked around the first signature. Then the sewing is very weak, the holländern I mentioned earlier. Then, the boards are only thin pieces of card like that used for file folders, how much protection can they offer. Also, the thin cloth is adhered directly to the spine. See how the cloth on the spine is starting to fray at the spine. It is not even turned in or reinforced as in the case of a proper binding. There are not even squares to protect the textblock like we have on even the most basic paper-covered case binding. Imagine what would happen if it was covered in nothing but a thin paper…

BIBLIOPHILE: I apologize if I am causing you distress, but I am very eager to learn and understand all I can about your beautiful craft and the trade. You have work to do, and I must go. I will try to stop by again soon with that other style of binding I wanted to learn about. Until then…

Several weeks later…

BIBLIOPHILE: Hello Master! Thank you for sending your apprentice over with the first of the books you bound for me. I am completely enamored with the delicate paper case bindings you made for my collection of poems. The pastepaper harmonizes beautifully with the delicate leather trim on the spine – headcaps you called them? – and the corners. Here is my payment. Unfortunately I was on my way out when he came by and couldn’t pay then.

BOOKBINDER: I am delighted that you are pleased with the binding. It is a style I truly love for its honest simplicity, especially when well done.

I’ve been thinking more about our earlier conversation – the one about those stiffened paper bindings. I was especially struck by your comment about something “good enough” being an appropriate goal. It is a very basic binding, one that is very easy and economical to make. That doesn’t mean it can’t be well made with almost the same amount of effort. When I was making a delivery to a very good client, a professor with a large library and many students, I noticed several books on a table that were bound in that way. Of the ones I saw that even the oldest one from the 1860s, a dissertation., It wasn’t pretty, thin cloth on the spine with boards undecorated except for the front of the wrapper that had been glued on, but had held up quite well with seemingly heavy use. Then I noticed others with marbled papers and other combinations of materials. I admit with a sense of chagrin that they have grown on me as an acceptable style of binding that I could see producing in my bindery. A nice economical alternative that could appeal to many who would like something very basic yet attractive. I will need to experiment so that I can discover the many variations that are possible. It would even be useful for my apprentices to learn. They even teach it in trade school now because of that Professor Adam (1849-1931) in Düsseldorf. He has spent a great part of his life trying to change how we train apprentices, and what they learn. It might even be something I could offer my clients in a more distinctive version. I do need to be careful about my reputation, especially in this economy.

BIBLIOPHILE: I’m sorry, but I must rush out. Next time I will remember to bring that other book I wanted to ask about. It’s rather strange style of binding – one I have not encountered before.

BOOKBINDER: Until then, and hopefully I will have finished some more of your books. I thank you for this conversation and making me challenge my assumptions.


  • [PDV1] Ludwig Brade, Emil Winkler, Das illustrierte Buchbinderbuch heißt es im 23. Abschnitt über Broschüren: "Durch das Heften der Broschüren bezweckt man die inneren Lagen der Bogen beim Aufschneiden derselben fest zu halten, damit sie nicht herausfallen, deshalb wird es so einfach als möglich ausgeführt und zwar auf die Art, welche man holländern nennt. Diese Bezeichnung hat ihren Ursprung darin, daß man jene Heftart zuerst in Holland anwendete und sie später auch in andere Länder überging.
  •  [PDV2] Karen Hanmer in an email to the author about this binding style. 4/26/2012.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A German View of English Bookbinding

From The British Bookmaker, Vol V., 1891-92.

An English, French, and German bookbinder meet in a bar... Often contentious, yet unavoidably fun at bookbinding conferences among the older generations. The youngsters just shake their heads... Here are the German's thoughts on English binding. It should be remembered that a great number of Germans emigrated to England to work as binders making this more interesting.

Click to Enlarge and Read

From this we see that the English book is remarkable for its durability, but of decorative style and taste there is a complete absence. Clumsy are the stamps and poor are the designs in a style not worthy of mention, but the national pride of the Englishman keeps him from studying the work of other nations, either to benefit by it or even to copy it, except a few old historic and well-known originals: they have a chance of being copied, but even in the styles of Roger Payne or Harley they use massive ornaments that require very cleverly putting together to make a tasteful ensemble.

All of this is debatable, so get a beer and sit back. I'd love to hear what the British of the same era think of the Germans, what the French think... Attitudes haven't changed all that much.  

When it comes to design/fine binding, my interests really begin in the 20th century with a preference for German vellum and paper case-bindings (especially with pastepapers), and anything French art-deco. In leather design/fine bindings the French aesthetic just can't be beat. Just plain elegant (with the leather too thin...) and mind blowing. The Germans with typographic designs are also hard to beat, but their structures are a bit more Teutonicly robust. For utilitarian, everyday binding the German case in cloth or paper is it.
What are your opinions of the various national traditions?

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Fancied-up Books

In his post from August 28th, Henry Hébert offers many great ideas for taking trade books (originally paperback or hardcover is irrelevant - they're the same once the covers are off) and rebinding them. It is well worth the read, especially his description of building a shoulder where there is none. Also important to note is that his example is tight-backed, but there is no reason the book couldn't be casebound as in my examples below...

I don't like rebinding trade books for any number of reasons - bad design, boring paper, signatures (if extant) too fat, perfect bound... However, it happens often enough and is an established part of the trade. In the past two years I've had several opportunities to (re)bind just those kinds of books as presentation bindings to their authors who were retiring as faculty. These are fun, if at times conceptually challenging. Design-wise something more than quarter-leather with decorated sides is desirable, but the price needs to be reasonably affordable. Below two examples done for the same department.


The Weakness of God by John D. Caputo.

Disbound original trade paperback; adhesive-bound in the round with pastepaper endpapers by the binder; handsewn silk endbands; graphite top-edge; covered in full black goatskin; title and design elements tooled in gold and blind; enclosed is cloth-covered slipcase. Bound 2011.

Concept: Lacking any illustrations to work from, a nebula on paperback edition wrapper provided starting off point. The questions relating to existence and nature of God radiate out from the center, akin to the cosmological Big Bang.

The Corporeal Imagination by Patricia Cox Miller.

Original trade hardcover removed from textblock; endpapers with Roma doublures and flyleaves; handsewn silk endbands; graphite top-edge; covered in veiney calf-vellum with onlay of fish leather; title stamped in graphite; enclosed is paper and cloth-covered slipcase. Bound 2012.

Concept: Thematically more visual, this book included discussion of the representation of the holy in art and other objects. After looking at details of early Christian art - icons, church decorations, ... I went with a trinity. Body of Christ, blood of Christ, and symbol of Christ at their most basic.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Working in the Studio

Spent a lot of good quality time this weekend working in the studio on some private work and bindings for myself. Felt really good for the hands and soul. Below pictures of my space, one that I always dreamed of, and was finally able to realize when we moved into this house 9 or so years ago... May well be doing quite a bit more work there in the future...





Tuesday, June 26, 2012

German Stiffened Paper Bindings - 2

That there was once the idea that books were functional items, not fetishized objects that should take as long as possible to make and should include many unnecessary features.

That "good enough" is sometimes an appropriate, and even a noble goal, not an abomination. 
Karen Hanmer (4/26/2012)

Known as broschuren and steifbroschuren in German, these brochures, pamphlets, and other related bindings have long been a part of the German bookbinding tradition. These can range from single section pamphlets with simple wrappers to adhesive bound or sewn textblocks in wrappers, to hard cover variants. In all cases the common thread is providing the texts with a simple yet functional binding that may or may not be intended to be permanent.

In my previous post I provided some images of historical examples of this structure from Syracuse University Library's von Ranke collection. In this post I will provide a more tutorial-like description (a more formal article is in preparation) of some of the variations that are common.

The textblock I have used is my translation of Collin's Der Pressbengel available as The Bone Folder in a pdf version laid out in signatures. See the link in the left side bar to download. As was, and remains, common to most books, the letter-sized paper I used has the grain running perpendicular to the spine resulting in some cockling of the textblock due to moisture from the adhesive used to attach the boards and covering... There, got that out of the way.

Forwarding of these is very minimal, endsheets generally a single sheet or folio that is folded/hooked around the first and last signature or a simply a tipped on folio.

Historically, sewing was generally a simple unsupported stitch (Holländern). Several books would be sewn together in stacks and then separated into the individual volumes by cutting the threads between after the pasting/gluing up of the spines. Staples were also common in lieu of sewing with thread. After being separated, the spines were repasted/glued and inserted into a folded paper wrapper. In some cases the wrapper was also pasted to the endsheet to make a slightly stiffer cover.

Detail from Stitches and Sewings for Bookbinding Structures by Betsy Palmer Eldridge.
Presented at the Guild of Book Workers Standards of Excellence, October 2008

Detail from Wiese's Der Bucheinband.

In the variant with stiff boards, endpapers were identical, with a single tipped on folio also being used, especially in the 20th century. Sewing was often more robust using a linked stitch, but also tapes, slips, or recessed cords being used. After sewing, the spine was pasted/glued as before. The book could also be rounded but was not backed to save a step.

Detail from Wiese's Der Bucheinband.
1) Single leaf tthat is hooked around first signature and becomes the pastedown after sewing.
2) Single folio tipped onto first signature.
3) Single folio hooked around first signature.


Next thin boards were cut to the height of the textblock, with a width that allowed for a narrow “groove” and for edge square. The top/bottom endsheets are pasted/glued out, the boards positioned and the book given a quick nip in the press. The book would then be covered with full paper, cloth on spine and paper on boards, or full cloth. Cloth would generally be thinner, and was not turned in, except occasionally at fore edge. Next, all three edges were trimmed flush unless a fore-edge square was left, in which case only top and bottom were trimmed. Finally a label could be applied.

Steps that follow will describe several variants that can be applied to sewn and adhesive bound structures using soft and stiff boards (Steifbroschuren).

Adhesive bound:

I use this style to bind text printed out from Google Books, books that arrived with spiral-type bindings, or simple substantial photocopied articles... Not beautiful but very functional.

Cut single folio endsheets to fit textblock. Precut thin cloth/muslin to height of textblock and ca 6cm wider than spine. Put endsheets on both sides of textblock and double-fan adhesive bind applying thin cloth centered on spine ensuring that it is well adhered with glue seeping through. Put in press with boards just shy of spine edge and close press tightly.

When dry, cut boards proportionate in thickness to the size of the book to the height and width of the textblock. To attach boards  apply adhesive first to the outer sheet, put down cloth hinge, apply adhesive over cloth (all as if casing in) and then put down first board, setting it back from the spine by about 5 millimeters. Repeat with other side. Insert fences of thin cardstock between pastedowns and text, and put in press giving it a good hard nip.

To cover, cut cloth to cover spine and reaching onto board (or fully cover spine and both boards). Work cloth into groove ensuring good adhesion to spine, then onto remaining board. Using edged casing-in boards give quick nip, take out. If only spine was covered, leave remaining board bare or cover with a contrasting paper or cloth.

If a fore-edge square is left, trim this to the desired size before covering, cover, trim so that it is no more than a centimeter, and then turn-in.Put between boards and under weight to dry.

Trim 3 sides so as to be flush, i.e. no squares. If a fore-edge square was left, trim only at head and tail.

Apply label to spine of front board as/if desired.

Adhesive bound before trimming showing layers.

Adhesive bound after trimming

A selection of adhesive bound volumes.
At left only spine covered with bare boards.


Simple unsupported stitch (geholländert):

Sewn using the very basic unsupported stitch described above is historical and not something I would apply to a binding that will be used. An unsupported linked stitch will work much better.

Sew textblock using an unsupported linked stitch with a single-folio endsheet hooked around the first and last signatures. This will become the pastedown. After sewing square up and glue up spine.

Single leave hooked around first signature prior to sewing.


Sewing completed, but not yet glued up. Image shows how signatures are only connected with each other at one point with two stations total.
See earlier diagrams above for more detail.

When dry, cut thin boards proportionate in thickness to the size of the book to the height and width of the textblock. To attach boards  apply adhesive first to the outer sheet and then put down first board, setting it back from the spine by about 5 millimeters. Repeat with other side. Insert fences of thin cardstock between pastedowns and text, and put in press giving it a good hard nip.

Boards attached after sewing
From left: Simple unsupported; sewn on tapes; unsupported link stitch.

To cover, cut paper or cloth to cover spine and reaching onto board (or fully cover spine and both boards). Work material into groove ensuring good adhesion to spine (there should be no "hollow"). If only spine was covered, leave remaining board bare or cover with a contrasting paper or cloth.

If a fore-edge square is left, trim this to the desired size before covering, cover, trim so that it is no more than a centimeter, and then turn-in. Put between boards and under weight to dry.

Trim 3 sides so as to be flush, i.e. no squares. If a fore-edge square was left, trim only at head and tail.

Interior view after trimming.

Exterior view after trimming.

Apply label to spine of front board as/if desired.

Folio endsheet hooked around first and last signatures and sewn on tapes:


Sew textblock on tapes with using a double-folio endsheet section that is hooked around the first and last signatures.  After sewing glue up spine.

Single folio hooked around first signature prior to sewing.

When dry, cut thin boards proportionate in thickness to the size of the book to the height and width of the textblock. To attach boards  apply adhesive first to the outer sheet and then put down first board, setting it back from the spine by about 5 millimeters. Repeat with other side. Insert fences of thin cardstock between pastedowns and text, and put in press giving it a good hard nip. [See earlier image above]

To cover, cut paper or cloth to cover spine and reaching onto board (or fully cover spine and both boards). Work material into groove ensuring good adhesion to spine (there should be no "hollow"). If only spine was covered, leave remaining board bare or cover with a contrasting paper or cloth.

If a fore-edge square is left, trim this to the desired size before covering, cover, trim so that it is no more than a centimeter, and then turn-in. Put between boards and under weight to dry.

Trim 3 sides so as to be flush, i.e. no squares. If a fore-edge square was left, trim only at head and tail.

Interior view after trimming. Note tapes under pastedown.

Exterior view after trimming.


Apply label to spine of front board as/if desired.

Spine covered separately with fore-edge squares:

For these these last two books, I used a single folio endsheet tipped-onto the first and last signatures. Sewing was with an unsupported linked stitch. After sewing the textblock was glued up.

Single folio tipped-on endsheet.

When dry, cut thin boards proportionate in thickness to the size of the book to the height and width of the textblock. To attach boards  apply adhesive first to the outer sheet and then put down first board, setting it back from the spine by about 5 millimeters. Repeat with other side. Insert fences of thin cardstock between pastedowns and text, and put in press giving it a good hard nip. [See earlier image above]

Trim at head and tail only and trim fore-edge square to desired size.

Images below show variant in which the spine with spine stiffener was applied first leaving a hollow. In addition the spine was lined with muslin to offer more support.

Spine lined and (leather) covered stiffener ready.

Spine-stiffener attached to endsheets.


To cover, cut paper or cloth to cover spine and reaching onto board (or fully cover spine and both boards). Work material into groove ensuring good adhesion to spine (there should be no "hollow"). If only spine was covered, leave remaining board bare or cover with a contrasting paper or cloth.

Spine covered in cloth with paper sides. Fore-edge square left with paper turned-in around.

Spine covered with leather before applying boards.
Boards covered with paper turned in at spine edge, fore-edge square left with paper turned-in around.

If a fore-edge square is left, trim this to the desired size before covering, cover, trim so that it is no more than a centimeter, and then turn-in. Put between boards and under weight to dry.

Interior view showing turn-in at fore-edge.


Trim 3 sides so as to be flush, i.e. no squares. If a fore-edge square was left, trim only at head and tail.

Apply label to spine of front board as/if desired.

The finished books:


Note thickness of the boards. Two on the left use 20pt folder stock.
Two on right 25pt pressboard which is stiffer than the folder stock.


Specimen Book by Barbara Tetenbaum uses this structure.

 Notes:

While the images above show 4 distinct models, this structure is very modular and can be elements can be easily moved around. It can also be used for single signature items.

From top: Single signature; multiple signature or adhesive bound; multiple signature or adhesive bound with hollow spine; board construction with fore-edge turn-in; tipped on endsheet (to whatever kind of textblock 

Have fun and experiment.

Related resources:

Books: All titles in German but most with good diagrams...
  • Adam, Paul. Title: Die praktischen Arbeiten des Buchbinders. Wien: A. Hartleben's Verlag, 1898.  
  • Henningsen, Thorwald. Handbuch für den Buchbinder. St. Gallen: Rudolf Hostettler Verlag, 1969.
  • L. Brades illustriertes Buchbinderbuch: Ein Lehr- und Handbuch der gesamten Buchbinderei und aller in dieses Fach eingeschlagenden Techniken. Halle: Verlag von Wilhelm Knapp, 1921.
  • Lüers, Heinrich. Das Fachwissen des Buchbinder. Stuttgart: Max Hettler Verlag 1943.
  • Moessner, Gustav. Die täglichen Buchbinderarbeiten: Eine Unterweisung in den einfachen Arbeiten der Buchbinderei. Stuttgart: Max Hettler Verlag, 1969.
  • Rhein, Adolf. Das Buchbinderbuch. Halle (Saale): VEB Wilhelm Knapp Verlag, 1953.
  • Wiese, Fritz. Der Bucheinband: Eine Arbeitskunde mit Werkszeichnungen. Hannover: Schlüterische Verlagsanstalt und Druckerei, 1983.
  • Zahn, Gerhard. Grundwissen für Buchbinder: Schwerpunkt Einzelfertigung.Itzehoe: Verlage Beruf + Schule, 1990.

Examples of these and other variants. In German, but with lots of diagrams.