The Manners and Customs of The Romans, 1740.

The Manners and Customs of the Romans. Le Fevre de Morsan, 1st English Ed., London 1740. 

This book is in my personal library. I purchased it in deplorable condition (not even having a binding, but wrapped in wax paper) for $15.00 in 1989, from a bookseller. Today, it rests proudly, clad in one of my "Cambridge-Style" bindings I made for it in 1993.

Pulled, cleaned, washed, buffered, sized, 
and ready for mending.
Photo taken, 1993.

Hanji paper repair strips made and
 ready to apply.
Photo taken, 1993

Hanji repair strips applied to the folds
and ready for sewing on five raised bands
in mid-18thC Style.
Photo taken, 1993

I'll post some photos later of how this 1993 project turned out. 

Codice Exhausted-us......

Another beautiful find in my stacks....

It was obviously badly re-backed by someone long ago. Researching the information on the inside, it appears to date from about 1485 A.D. It has both the front & back covers. Alas, what to do with such things, besides simply care for them in a box. I have considered making a lovely wall-hanging out it, though.

Making History ~ My Life in Recreating Historic Books. 

by Michael L. Chrisman

Many people have emailed me this year asking for details about my upcoming book, Making History ~ My Life in Recreating Historic Books [Copyright ©2013]. I have mentioned this upcoming book in a few places over the last many months, and I'm very excited about the official announcement that will be coming soon. I have written many books over the last seven years, but have held off bringing any of them to print because (like most authors) I fear I will forget something that should have been included! So while I have manuscripts ready to go for my restoration books [on the basics] for leather & cloth, plus somewhat of an auto-biography, its time to debut one of them, and I've chosen "Making History ~ My Life in Recreating Historic Books" as the first book to print and offer. Why, you might ask?, because this aspect of my work is what I've always held most dear, and have always been best known for.

"Making History"  is not an instruction manual. Rather, it outlines the amazing creation of seven (7) of the most enjoyable historic facsimile-replica books in my career, meaning, the interesting details that were involved in their making, plus many, many photos! These projects were intense, expensive. It's not an easy task to create small editions of facsimile~replicas of books. Especially when they involve custom made leathers, custom made papers, printing plates, etc, etc. See my website for my philosophy on what a successful facsimile~replica book actually is >>>  http://www.thegutenbergbible.com

My Gutenberg Bible facsimile~replica project is also included in my book Making History. 

With all good wishes,

Michael

Rare Cockerell Marbled "Step-by-Step" Sheets:

Discoveries abound....

Firstly, it should go without saying that these (and all BLOG images are ©2013 by Michael L. Chrisman, and may not under any circumstances be reprinted, shared, etc, without my permission! Thanks!)

Over the last few days I've been milling through my extensive collection of bookbinding things. This includes everything from books and ephemera about books and bookbinding, ancient binding tools, inatglio plates, and a vast number of rare "one-of-a-kind" things, etc. I even uncovered a two-foot thick stack of antique handmade paper, which included dozens of sheets of Wokey-Hole, Barcham-Green, Powell, and, yes, to my glad remembrance ~ "Dard Hunter" paper, made by Dard! And over two hundred antiquarian book covers that I rescued years ago from the trash heep of an old, old bindery. Unbelievable the covers there are in these boxes. So here is my point... to those who have not built up such collections, please do it now. This is the perfect time to bone-up on your collection. I have a young apprentice that will inherit all of these things one day, but for most other young binders today it's hard to acquire such items. But always look for these items, and even if you think you can't afford it, believe me, you can't afford [not] to.

Among the "third floor" discoveries was a archival tube with (8) sheets of [1976] Douglas Cockerell & Son marbled papers from the old collection of my departed friend, Master Binder Arno Werner (1899-1994).... BUT, these are very, very special Cockerell papers! They are full hand-marbled sheets of EACH step involved in making one of Cockerell's famous design patterns. The note illustrated reveals the date of these sheets as 26 January 1976. Now nearly 40 years ago!  Arno always said that this was the only such set like this, as they were made at his request, to use as a teaching aid. ~ Enjoy!

Step One

Step Two

Step Three

Step Four

Step Five

Step Six

Step Seven

Step Eight

AGAIN,  it should go without saying that these (and all BLOG images are ©2013 by Michael L. Chrisman, and may not under any circumstances be reprinted, shared, etc, without my permission! Thanks!)

Alright, I'll make you five of them, but not ten!

A rare book library called me this morning from Eastern Europe. They emailed the photo shown below while we were on the telephone, and asked me if I would make them (10) bindings of this mid-16thC style - on books from their collection that need historic-style bindings. I agreed to make them (5) and then if I have time, the remaining five next year. 

A bookbinders work is never done!

A bit about my beginning in bookbinding...

From the time as a young child, even before ten years old, I can remember being intrigued with how books “work” and the different ways in which they are made. I remember one day explaining to some fellow grade school classmates why the “Readers Digest” books never fall apart like other books! I think everyone who learns the answer to that question feels as though they’ve discovered a previously unknown phenomenon!

At 15 years old I had narrowed down what I felt were my three favorite career choices. 1. A Chef. 2. A Preacher. 3. A Bookmaker. And by “Bookmaker” I mean to say a “bookbinder” and not the trade that is involved in horse racing. For my 16th birthday, my grandmother, Olive, gave me a lovely scrapbook album as a present. I [still] have that album on my bookshelf. I remember her telling me that she felt my love for books had the ability to take me far in life. After all, I had just been professionally published a year earlier with a lovely history of my hometown. It sold throughout 15 states in America!

I took my grandmothers advice, and while working various odd jobs to earn spending money, as teenagers do, I studied books about bookbinding, and practiced repairing and binding books as time permitted. I found the work not only gratifying, but it also appeased my natural love for preserving history and my tendency to explore and learn how things work, and the different ways to re-create them. I progressed quickly with bookbinding, but did not make a regular income from it until I reached the age of nineteen, when a more steady stream of bibles, song books/hymnals, prayer books, etc. were flowing into my little shop in the Amish country of Ohio. I had joined the Amish community about this time, and held additional jobs of saw-mill worker, farmer, and Amish parochial school teacher. The school teaching position paid $535.00 per month (which was the going rate back then) but it was a truly wonderful experience. I think I might have learned more than my pupils in many ways. Those who have known me all my life always say that I am a 'natural born educator.' But my personal long-held belief is that in order to be a great teacher, you have to never stop being a great learner!

I have always loved history. The older and richer the better. All my life I’ve fantasized about living in different eras. And this can actually bring a person more in touch with the era in which they live. When you study historical figures or places enough that you can 'smell them in your mind'....you’re a true historian!

My deep love for history was a natural prelude to my career in bookbinding, which would follow a path that revolved around the very old and rare books. I was never content to only restore the old and rare books, but always wanted to know more about them. Committing to memory the names, places, dates and ephemeral data about the publishers, the paper, the bindings, etc. As tiring as this might sound, it is a quiz that I’ve matched against myself for thirty years, and, today, I can most often name the publisher and approximate date of a great many books before the cover is opened to reveal it. Provided the binding is original, of course. I’ve been told since I was very young that I have a photographic memory. I just hope it holds out long enough to write all the books that are in my head!

From the time I was 16, I made notes regarding binding structures when I examined them. A few years later, as I began to receive restoration projects for quite rare European bibles of the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries (mostly of wooden board structure) I always took extremely detailed notes of every single aspect of the structure. Right down to the caliper of the sewing thread and text paper. This study is what allowed me to begin re-creating period-bindings that had the same swell, board attachment, and cover action, etc. 

The story continues later.........

Below is a photo of myself in a famous [private] Mennonite library, for whom I restored a great many rare old tomes of European origin. This picture was taken over 20 years ago! The owner asked me to pencil-in my signature and some other interesting details. The book I’m signing is a 1548 Frocschauer Bible [quarto]. Very, very rare.

Michael L. Chrisman, Bookbinder

A Private Mennonite Library, ca. 1992

I'm writing the text in the old-fashioned

German long-hand! I used to teach my

Amish School children how to write this.

Bookbinder TV Home Page "Intro"

This is the new 'Intro' to the online teaching portal I created last year [www.Bookbinder.TV]. It was designed by my webmaster, not myself, so I cannot take any credit for its creation. It's different, but I think they did a nice job. Feel free to comment!

Original Half-Leather Binding Style of the "Codice Atlantico" [Milan. Hopeli, 1894-1904].

This is a photo of one of the six volumes of 

"Codice Atlantico" [Milan. Hopeli, 1894-1904] 

in its' original half-leather binding. It was decided

to create new late-19thC style bindings for this 

massive sized set, as the strength and life of

 these original bindings has all but perished.

The title page of Vol.II of the "Atlantico."

More to come soon ~

Michael

A Beautiful & Passionate BLOG I've Discovered...

http://bookbinderschronicle.blogspot.com

It is not all that often that we discover young, passionate, and highly skilled talent in the world of fine hand-bookbinding, but MHR has the right stuff! In over 34 years of working with rare books, I have only a few times found such a person as this. The evidence for which you will see on their BLOG.

Enjoy!

~ Michael

Preparing for end-banding the Atlantico volumes.

Up at 5:30 this morning, as usual, and have prepared the end-banding cores for the six volumes of Atlantico. Once I select the colors of the end-banding thread, I'll sew them 'round the flat cores I've prepared of alum-tawed pigskin - lined with soft goat parchment to provide a small amount of rigidity, which provides better definition to the sewing/embroidery. The shoulders of the spines have been softened and properly enhanced, and the spines have been lined with two layers of thick Korean "Hanji" paper, using Korean rice starch paste, and allowed to completely dry. After sewing the end bands I will line the six spines with soft alum-tawed goatskin.

I'll post photo's after all of the above is complete.

The Codice Atlantico ~ Leonardo Da Vinci. 
The Rare Edition by Hopeli in Milan, 1894-1904.

I've been having a splendid time working on the rare six volume "Da Vinci - Codice Atlantico" [Hopeli, Milan. 1894-1904]. I was asked by a New York area university to completely rebind these lovely volumes in some "spectacular" way. And what I am creating for these volumes will be just that. They will be a set of books that will awe the beholder, hopefully for some centuries ahead. For in my semi-retirement, I found what could be described as some of the most enjoyable days of my career, which this year [2013], numbers 34 years. Taking on the 'extra-special' and 'ancient' commission, and not being concerned as to economics allows me to employ the utterly finest leathers, gold and materials the world has to offer, and combine them into bindings that hopefully amaze.

These massive sized "Atlantico" volumes are simply a delight to behold.  They measure about 16 inches wide, 20 inches tall, and about 2 inches thick. I'm very accustomed to preserving books of this size, so its like second-nature in handling them about the studio. In fact, over-sized ancient folios have been a forte` of mine for over a quarter-century.

Notice the photo directly below. This displays the original sewing structure of of all six volumes of the "Atlantico." It is an "over-sewn" structure, wherein a small number of leaves are sewn around themselves and each gathering is then sewn the same way, and link-sewn to each other. This was procedure was very commonly employed on very large, heavy books, mostly in Victorian days, but not only. Its not necessarily always a bad structure ~ and as long as the leaves are huge and drape downward well, there can actually be very little resistance on the structure itself as the books are opened and used.

I've nearly cleaned all of the spines, but one more go will complete this step. Though a few dark lines are seen here and there along the length of the spines, these are merely where the paper is naturally proud from the sewing and old glue still rests there. I'm grateful that not in a single place is the heavy thread broken, and I have noted that the original thread is of great quality, and, just as importantly, of the correct weight for expecting it to hold these heavy books together.

This six volume set weighs just about 140 pounds, + or -, and this is without any bindings! This is due to the paper, of course. They were printed on the finest P.M. Fabriano Italian paper, of an average weight of 10 point. {Very} heavy paper indeed, and of pure linen, which is, of course, heavier than cotton.

Below, here, is a photo I took via raking light of a few of the text pages. I thought you might enjoy!

And, here is one of the {4} watermarks in the volumes....

I'll keep updating my blog here as to the progress of the "Atlantico" ~ as well as some other quite phenomenal bindings I'm completing.

Thanks for visiting!

Michael

Michael L. Chrisman
Rare Book & Paintings Conservator

My business location:
Gutenberg Publishers, LLC.
Manhattan / Rockefeller Center
New York, New York