Book Makers Craft

Gallery · Made by Hand

Work from the bench.

Every handmade book is a collection of choices: structure, paper, thread, cloth, leather, decoration, proportion, and purpose. Explore projects from Bob’s workbench and discover some of the many directions the craft can take.

Use the buttons to filter by types of binding, and be sure to click on the photos to bring up even more photos of the process.

Half-Leather Binding in Black and Green Half-leather tight-back binding with raised bands
“Poetry & Reflections” Case binding
Three-Piece Binding with Leather Spine Three-piece binding, leather spine
1522 Erasmus NT Full Leather Binding Full leather binding, sawn-in cords, laced on boards, spine hollow, false raised bands, sewn end bands
Teal Cloth with Marbled Covers Case binding, rounded spine
Blue Half Leather Binding Half leather binding with raised cords, laced-in boards, hand-sewn end bands
Yellow Cloth Case Binding Case binding, rounded spine, glued on end bands
Blue Cloth Case Binding with Marbled Endpapers Case binding, rounded back, hollow spine
The “Pirate Bible” Soft cover to hardback with creative license. Spine hollow, false raised spine bands, blind tooling, toning, decorative adornments
Student Case Binding Case binding, flat spine, bookmark, glued on end bands
Primer Re-Bind 3-piece binding with a leather spine

Half-Leather Binding in Black and Green

Half-leather tight-back binding with raised bands • Black leather spine and corners, green decorated paper sides

A half-leather tight-back binding: leather spine with raised bands and leather corners, joined by decorated paper sides. Silver foil hand-tooled on the leather and paper seam transitions.

A half-leather binding with black leather spine, raised bands, and green decorated paper sides, photographed in a studio.
Text block in sewing frame with white thread around cords.
Text block spine-up in a backing press being routed and backed.
Green cover boards with cords sewn in sitting on a workbench.
The head of a book with graphite applied to smooth surface.
A book in a press with a green and black silk end band half sewn on
A book being held showing a completed green and black end band.
Leather and paring knife on a lithostone.
A book being held showing black leather adhered to spine.
A book lying on the workbench showing black leather spine and corners.
A close up of the top of a book with graphite gilding, black leather, and green decorative paper and green and black end band
Close up of a spine of a book resting on a table with the book open

“Poetry & Reflections”

Case binding • Blue book cloth, marbled paper, printed title label

A retirement gift for a former colleague

A cloth-and-marbled-paper case binding with a hand-applied title label. The spine cloth separated with a paper strip from the marbled panels, with the label set into the front board.

A blue cloth and marbled paper binding titled Poetry & Reflections photographed on black.
A stack of folded sections or signatures of paper.
Sewn signatures and linen tape securing the text block for bookbinding.
Linen muslin as a spine treatment on the spine of a text block.
Brass letters spelling Poetry and Reflections set backwards into a type holder.
A printed label and a bound book ready for glueing a paper label to the book.
The top or head of a small book showing the blue textured cloth and the blue and white end bands
Front board and spine of the Poetry & Reflections binding, showing cloth spine and marbled sides.

Three-Piece Binding with Leather Spine

Three-piece binding, leather spine • Leather spine, marbled paper covers

A three-piece binding, a leather spine with marbled paper over boards, made under the instruction of Monique Lallier at AAB, Telluride, CO.

A three-piece binding with leather spine and marbled paper sides on a cutting mat.
Close up of text block being sewn with a large sewing needle
leather scraps in the foreground and a sharfix paring device in the background
green mill boards on a crafting table revealing corners with small leather tips
a hand showing 2 pieces of marbled paper in blue and gold-brown

1522 Erasmus NT Full Leather Binding

Full leather binding, sawn-in cords, laced on boards, spine hollow, false raised bands, sewn end bands • Leather, gold leaf

A facsimile binding of the 1522 Erasmus Greek and Latin New Testament. Scanned original pages were cleaned digitally, printed, collated, sewn around sawn-in cords, laced-in boards, full leather binding, gold-tooled leather spine with raised bands, hand-lettered titling, and traditional panel ornament.

The finished 1522 Erasmus facsimile: a black leather binding with a gold-tooled spine on a wooden table.
Computer screen with digital page clean up
Stack of signatures with notes about collation in the foreground
a japanese saw cutting the flat spine of a text block
stacks of completed signatures sitting in front of a sewing frame
a text block in a standing press being rounded and backed.
a close-up top of a book showing the hand-sewn black and gold end bands
Black leather and tools on a workbench ready for paring the leather
Black leather and tools ready for adhering the leather to the book
a full black leather bound book laying flat on a table
A book opened to the front cover where a scalpel and leather bits are sitting on the cover.
Black leather and black marbled paper
Red leather label on a black leather book inside of a wooden press.
The black leather book is in a wooden press ready to accept gold foil tooling and brass type
A book in a wooden laying press with the leather spine up, showing the completed gold tooling and hand lettering
A close-up of the inside cover of the black leather book revealing the decorative black marbled paper
The completed 1522 Erasmus New Testament book opened on a desk with a library in the background

Teal Cloth with Marbled Covers

Case binding, rounded spine • Teal book cloth, marbled paper sides, sewn text block

A rounded-spine case binding in teal cloth and marbled paper, photographed from case to open fan, the same book from cover, spine, head, and opened.

Teal cloth binding with marbled paper sides lying flat.
Hand sewn tex block white papers
Book spine hollow craft paper complete text block on mate
bone folder and adhesives on mat with teal book cover case
teal and marble case cover complete and standing on mat
The teal binding standing open, pages fanned.
Head of the teal binding showing the rounded spine and squares.
Spine and joint detail of the teal and marbled binding.

Blue Half Leather Binding

Half leather binding with raised cords, laced-in boards, hand-sewn end bands • Blue leather, marbled paper covers

This is a favorite structure of Bob's. A half-leather binding with marbled paper. The cords are sewn to the text block around every signature, creating an incredibly strong structure, and that classic raised band aesthetic. Hand sewn blue and white end bands. The client is incredibly happy with their classic, hand-made notebook which will last more than one lifetime even with a great deal of use.

A binding with blue leather spine, raised bands, and patterned paper sides.
starting to sew signatures together on a sewing frame
text block showing cords sewn to the block.
book in a press showing spine is prepped for the leather
book on table ready for binding, showing laced-in cords into the green cover boards with a teflon bone folder sitting on the book
close up of hand-sewn end bands of blue and white thread
suede side of blue leather sitting on marble slab showing the paring of the leather
blue leather book in wooden laying press showing the leather over the raised cords.
front of a book showing an almost complete half leather binding, ready for the paper inserts
close up of complete book opened to let the final end sheet adhesives to dry

Yellow Cloth Case Binding

Case binding, rounded spine, glued on end bands • Yellow book cloth, striped endbands

A rounded-spine cloth binding whose sewn endbands, small striped bands at head and tail, are the quiet detail that rewards a closer look.

A yellow cloth binding standing on a grey background.
The text block on the crafting table mostly sewn
The finished yellow cloth book opened to reveal decorative yellow marbled paper
Detail of the sewn endband at the head of the yellow binding.
Macro view of striped sewn endbands over the rounded spine.

Blue Cloth Case Binding with Marbled Endpapers

Case binding, rounded back, hollow spine • Blue book cloth, hand-marbled endpapers

A blue cloth case binding with rounded spine, blue silk marker, blue glued on end bands and vivid blue-and-green marbled endpapers.

A blue cloth binding lying on a cutting mat.
A text block being rounded in a wooden press
Corner of the blue binding showing marbled endpaper.
Open view of the vivid blue and green marbled endpapers.
A book inside of a black letter press
A blue cloth book standing on a crafting mat

The “Pirate Bible”

Soft cover to hardback with creative license. Spine hollow, false raised spine bands, blind tooling, toning, decorative adornments • Red leather, metal corner and center hardware

A playful decorative re-binding of “the Pirate Bible” Full red leather with tooled ornament and applied metal hardware. Painted and speckled edges

The Pirate Bible: a decorative red leather binding with metal corner and center hardware, on a dark wood surface.
book with removed black paper cover sitting on table
end sheets with pirate map decorations
red painted and black speckled edges of a book in clamps
front end papers opened from book revealing pirate map end sheets
pirate book in wooden press showing the spine hollow
template of wood and metal embellishments sitting on green mat
red leather being pared with paring knife
pirate book with full red leather sitting on table
completed pirate bible sitting on wood table
close up of the red and black bottom and spine of the pirate bible
the back cover of the pirate bible showing red leather, black tooled areas and metal embellishments
pirate bible opened revealing text on pages

Student Case Binding

Case binding, flat spine, bookmark, glued on end bands • Textured black paper

One on one student instruction. Folding, punching and sewing the text block. Adding spine treatment. Creating the case, and final assembly.

A black binding with a wave-textured cover.
reddish brown textured paper and text block
close up of a person trimming paper material for end sheets
medium shot of person trimming cloth tape from a text block with scissors
a person adhering green boards to black paper
a case binding cover and text block sitting on a cutting mat
a person glueing the paper of a text block to case-in the book
a completed close up of a notebook showing glued on end bands and a black silk ribbon bookmark

Primer Re-Bind

3-piece binding with a leather spine • Leather, decorative paper

Rebinding a 1777 New England Primer, repairing each page, re-sewing the text block with end papers. Client wanted 3-piece binding with a leather spine, and green decorative paper. Both covers have tiny leather corners under the paper for added strength.

A newly rebound small primer book with 3 piece binding of green leather and green decorative paper
original antique deteriorating binding of a book on a persons hand
the old primer being disassembled on a crafting table
a close up of the pages of a book showing cuts on each page needing repair
all of the primer pages standing after being cleaned
the cleaned and repaired pages are collated into signatures ready to be sewn
a completely sewn primer book with new tan end sheets
the primer in a binders hand showing the smooth green leather spine
a close up of the green primer cover corners which have leather at the tips
the completely rebound primer book with green spine leather and decorative paper standing on a table

Curious how these are made?

The glossary explains the structures you’ve just seen, and the roadmap shows the path toward making your own first book.

Explore the Glossary Start Your Journey