Period Fine Bindings

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Preparation and Gilding

Binding the book is the easy part, preparing for, and executing the design is about focusing on the job with a very steady hand and a keen eye.
Total concentration is required as one chance is all you get, each tool executed with exact precision first every time.
I always start by finishing the spine first, leaving the title panel till last for either hand lettering or a hand lettered leather label

After heating and cooling the tools, the edges are blind tooled and glaired The gold leaf is laid on, the tool heated to temperature again and the first line of gilding is run around the edges of the board. The head and tail edges are gilt using corner pieces and small hand tools.

The same hand tools and gauges complete the outer edges using the same principles, and a fillet roll borders the centre panel.Smaller individual tools are selected for the the outer edges of the centre panel bearing in mind that the tooling should at all times be equidistant and symetrical.

The second and third sides are blind tooled, glaired and finished in exactly the same manner.

The final end is finished and the centre piece is dyed within it’s centre and finished with a series of small tools to a classical floral design.
Don’t forget that a book has two sides therefore the tooling is repeated to the verso cover exactly to match the former.

second client asked if this style can be gilt again on a smaller book….The answer was “Of course”.

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Period Fine Bindings 1983 to infinity All rights reserved.