First post on bookbinding history, manuals, all the things that were usually featured on this blog since the end of 2021.
Training in the trades in Germany was very regulated and standardized with training in the apprentices bindery, comprehensive manuals, trade school and other workshops all coordinated with each other. Exams and the pieces and skills to be demonstrated were the same across the country each year as well. The intent was that binderies and the Meister knew what they could [theoretically] expect from each new journeyman with the latter expected to arrive with their tools and ready to work from day one...
Das Einbinden eines Buches (The Binding of a Book) is a very basic manual that described the construction of a Deckenband (case binding in the German (Bradelesque) tradition). As is common, lots of text with a few illustrations. What makes this text unique in my experience with the German literature is that it was published to accompany a silent film in two parts in which the steps are demonstrated. The book and film were produced by Georg Netzband (instructor for diagraming) and the Reichstelle fur den Unterrichtsfilm (National office for instructional films) in 1936.
The film was released in two parts:
Part 1: The endpapers; sewing; sewing supports.
Part 2: Rounding; the book cover (case).
Part 2 begins with a history of bookbinding, but in a sign of the times concludes this history with a mention of the binding of Hitler's Mein Kampf that written on parchment, embellished with ornaments of German plants, total weight of this presentation binding, 70 pounds... It was presented to Hitler at the annual day of the trades (Handwerkertag) in 1936. The binding was depicted and described in the Archiv für Buchbinderei, 1936 (pp 46-48).
Here the complete film with both parts combined by me.
Interesting to me the construction of the hooked endpaper. The diagram is below. Not illustrated in the video (starting at 2:12) is the attaching of the reinforcing cloth ("Shirting", a starched muslin-like fabric), the endpaper being just paper. The cloth would strengthen the joint and connection though... The "fliegender Falz" a "guard" is used to attach the case to the textblock before putting down the pastedowns.
The endpaper construction.
After folding, and the sawing in for the recessed cords, these endpapers get hooked around the first and last sections for sewing.
Hooking the endpapers around the 1st and last sections.
After sewing and forwarding (the cords get untwisted and fanned out onto the guard - see also this post), the case gets constructed, and spine covered. In this case (pun intended) it will be a quarter binding with corners. The case then gets attached to the textblock (at 19:37) by way of the "fliegender Falz". This ensures that everything fits before attaching corners covering sides, and putting down the pastedowns.
Gluing out the guard to adhere the case. Note the frayed out cords.
In many respects, the steps and techniques demonstrated and described go back to the 18th/19th century roots of this structure as it would have been applied by the trade. The completed book can be as utilitarian or fancied up as desired.
I presented a hands-on workshop for the University of Iowa Libraries and Center for the Book at the end of September on this topic and will be transforming my workshop handout with comprehensive review of the literature into an article for the Guild of Book Workers Journal over the course of this year. Everything is mostly there, but loose ends to connect...
Join me as I jump into some of my addictive, all-consuming, and yet, sustaining rabbit holes in Down the Rabbit Hole: Embracing experience and serendipity in a life of research, binding practice, and publishing, part of the William Anthony Conservation Lecture Series.
The lecture will be at 6:00 CST on September 30, the workshop for students of the Center for the Book and staff of the Conservation and Collections Care Department on the "Ur"-Bradel binding will be on October 1st and 2nd.
View the recording on the University of Iowa Libraries' YouTube Channel below or via this link. Lecture slides with notes can be downloaded here.
Device for fan gluing (Klebebindung, aka Lubecken) that starts at 2:08. It appears to be the same as being used [by the Geselle?] in the foreground of the first image.
Here the video that shows the steps of case binding journals and periodicals for town, municipal, medical, law, ... Below the full video.
I did not end up apprenticing there, but it was the hand-bindery the other two I visited were compared to in terms of the type of work completed and overall atmosphere.
Thank you to Gloria Conti, conservator working in Scotland who found this Italian newsreel from 1938 titled Le tante utilizzazioni della pelle del pesce. The film shows the processing of fish skins into various products. Gloria provided a translation of the brief narration below.
The many uses of fish leather
In Germany fish leather is very in vogue. After being tanned, worked, dried, and handled with meticulous patience, it can be used to make many things like we see here: shoes, handbags, gloves, belts, and even to bind books.
Thank you Gloria.
The imagery looks like the photos used to illustrate Franz Weisse's article "Fischhaut - Fischleder - Fischpergament" published in Das deutsche Buchbinderhandwerk, Vol 2, Nr 9, 1938. I described that article and shared some of the images in my post "Fish Skin - Tanned Fish Skin - Fish Parchment."
Perhaps the footage and images were taken together?
Often, when one gives, one also receives, so here a similar newsreel clip from British Pathé, 1949. This was shared on the Adventures in Fish Skin Tanning (closed) group at Facebook. It describes the process as having been developed by two Poles. No books in this one.
The first clip described the tanning... of fish skin in Germany. The second in the U.K.
My question, are there articles and references in the bookbinding literature outside of Germany that describe using fish for binding...?
In my post "Bookbinding and Adapting to Life Changes," I wrote about changes I've made to my studio equipment and how I approach some tasks... One of the things I mentioned was the challenge of using a board shear (Kutrimmer 1070) when one cannot push down on the foot clamp peddle. Being seated on a scooter makes it even more challenging... The wheels on my old indoor scooter were small diameter, but when I needed a new one this fall the wheels were larger, and I found that I could force myself on the clamp. That worked, but was a bit hairy (tipping danger) and caused the light board shear to wander.
Well, as we say in German, "what one doesn't have in the legs..., one needs to have in one's brain." (Was man nicht in den Beinen hat muss man in der Birne haben.). But, a small ramp... Hmmm. Sooo, threw together a simple ramp made of staggered off cuts of thin pink foam insulation board held together with a rubber band.
Very sophisticated construction... 🙄 First test. Will it work?
Fritz Otto was worried he'd have to hold the ramp in place as it slide on the carpet while I moved back and forth on the scooter. But, it worked. Just a few tweaks...
On to board shear ramp Mk. 2. This ramp has one more thickness of pink foam board (5 total), binders board top, e-flute corrugated bottom, some glue and packing tape to hold pieces in place, and velcro to hold it in place on the carpet.
Much more robust and sophisticated construction. It's also almost twice as wide.
Velcro hooks on bottom to keep it from moving on the carpet.
I should be in business for 80% of my cutting needs. I'll take it. For those other times, Hope is always happy to help. The independence will feel good though.
[Edit 13 March, 2021]
Thanks to Jeff Peachey I even have a very solid and attractive wooden "forever" ramp now.
The incline and Jeff's message. I love the twisted humor.
Now available on YouTube, the recording from today's lunchtime webinar. 109ish viewers while live, not bad. Actually a great turnout. Good questions in live feed as well. Regrettably those were not captured with the video. I did sort of repeat and respond to the questions in the recording though.
Enjoy, and please consider trying this yourself, as well as entering the Bind-O-Rama. The entry form is now online, deadline of June 30 to enter. Hope to see what you've made from fish skin. Early shares are showing a good number of happy nascent piscatorial binders.
A small minority along China’s ‘Black Dragon’ river have a long history with the water. According to legend, the Hezhen people descend from mermaids, but now some of their unique traits, such as their signature fish skin suits, are at risk of vanishing. Michelle Hennessy reports.
You Wenfeng, 68, an ethnic Hezhen woman,
poses with her fishskin clothes at her studio in Tongjiang
Ethnic Hezhen You Wenfeng's Chinese Han student learns
how to make clothes from fish skin at You's studio in Tongjiang.
The demonstration on YouTube is nicely done, and is a great use of the downloadable text in signatures. Intended audience is students and workshops, and it can be used for just about any common codex-based structure.
The Complex of All of These by Abigail Bainbridge is a wonderful book that I am very happy to call my own. The book is out-of-print, a good thing in the world of fine print and small editions, but a PDF is available here.
In her own words, the author "contemplates the world around her. Images and words become parallel languages, where the distinction between ground and sky, past and present collapses. One conceit after another feels its way over the tiny words before sinking deep into the dark of the etching ink to linger, trembling."
I was attracted to the book when I discovered the video the other made of the entire process from making the etchings to paper, to binding during her residency at the Women's Studio Workshop in Rosendale, NY. Ever since, I have used it in the presentations I gave on book arts at Syracuse University Libraries. The video composed from over 3000 still images used have a really snappy musical soundtrack, but DRM took that away. I'm glad Abigail put it back up even if now silent. Just imagine a metronome at about 110~115 beats per minute.
What I feel the video does VERY well is show the binding process from the sewing, to rounding and backing, trimming, endbanding, making the case, and casing in as a batch. It does that via the rapid-fire sequencing of the still images.
The creator is now in the UK, working in private practice as a book and paper conservator and teaching at West Dean College.
Via the Pirckheimer-Gesellschaft, a Berlin-based bibliophilic society I am a member of, I was made aware of this video of the Buch Druck Kunst fine press fair at the Museum der Arbeit (Museum of Labor) in Hamburg. In addition to vendors selling antiquarian books in addition to fine press editions…, they also had hands-on workshops for young and old in making bookish Jacob’s ladder like folders, silk screen printing, and papermaking.
Über die Pirckheimer-Gesellschaft, eine bibliophile Gesellschaft bei der ich Mitglied bin, wurde ich auf dieses Video von der Buch Druck Kunst Ausstellung beim Museum der Arbeit in Hamburg aufmerksam gemacht. Zusätzlich zu den Ständen von Antiquaren und buchkunst und graphischen Verlagen gab es auch Workshops zum machen von einer Zaubermappe, Siebdruck, Papier machen. Alles mit Klebstoff, Messer, Schere...
This reminded me of visiting the Cologne-based model railway trade show where the large manufacturers also had layouts on the floor, platforms, or tables for kids to play with any way they wanted. Even had kits for the kids to put together with glue, scalpels, snips. Anything for them to be hands on. Still have the house my daughter built at 5 or so on my layout.
Wonder how many books fairs have these kinds of activities…? Would be a great way to connect with the next generation on a multitude of levels.
Hierbei wurde ich an unsere Reise zur Modellbahnmesse in Köln erinnert wo die größeren Hersteller fast alle ganz auf die Kinder ausgerichteten Spielanlagen mit Rollmaterial auf Teppich, Plattform, oder Tisch hatten. Die konnten sogar mit Hilfe oder von selbst ein Fallerhaus basteln mit Kleber, Skalpell, ... Habe noch immer das von meiner damals um die 5 gebaute auf meiner Anlage... Ich wundere mich wieviele Buchmessen auch auf Kinder gerichtete Ausstellungen und Aktivitäten haben? Wäre ein super weg die nächste Generation für das Buch als Objekt zu gewinnen...
Great little German video by Marcel Ernst about bookbinding thematically based on Die Sendung mit Der Maus, a WDR show for kids that explained all sorts of things.Video is in German and starts out with a guy who has a falling apart book. Tries to fix it and finally ends up in a trade bindery that shows how a book is made - double fan adhesive cased binding... Then smiles all around.
