Bookbinding
Beautiful medieval manuscripts would not have survived till today but for the careful binding that provided protection to them over the ages. The craft of making masterful bindings for the books of monastic scribes was and remains a great art. Often, depending on the paper used, the bookbinder decided on the proper selection of materials for the binding – leather, carefully prepared boards, glues, threads, twine, copper or alloy ferrules. Bookbinding has for ages been considered a noble craft.
Bookbinding a noble craft
Bookbinding Tools
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Headband
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Antiquaries go even so far as to say that bookbinding had the all-important task of protecting against destruction human though preserved in monastic or palace libraries, so often looted or set on fire by intruders or exposed to the destructive forces of time or Nature. That is when metal frames, clasps and ornaments showed their true worth.
Bookbinding tools:looms, presses, guillotines, gluers, sewing machines and perforators– these inventions of their times – are still being used today to shape and decorate canvass, leather, cardboard, paper and other materials that protect books against destruction. Hand sewing of textblock spines and repairing defects in tattered volumes, completing books with errata and jackets, all this requires unrelenting passion, knowledge and experience.
The painstaking and masterful work devoted to making luxury bindings from noble wood and ivory or pressed in noble metal sheets often ornamented with a
Edge protectors
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Hand made
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filigree lace, enamel or precious stones cannot be compared to nothing else.
Today medieval leather pressed bounds still remain a joy to behold. Their quality, depth of all grooves are crucial feature of bounds, and their perfection depends on the joint work of plungers and knurls, supported by fillets, punches, plaques and strikes which allowed e.g. for repetitive patterns to be made.
The special binding of Pelplin books, albums, ornamental boxes and cases, securing antique books, repairing tattered leaves and book bindings – entrusting these precious tomes for binding requires the utmost trust and the best bookbinders,
Hand-painted initials
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such we have the pleasure of working with.
Hand gilding
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