Eidolon House

Rare book & paper conservation, fine binding, & fiber arts. Preserving history & restoring tradition by trade & lifestyle. #BecomePartoftheHistory

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📖 #rarebooks #collectibles #eidolonhouse

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As many of you know Jill has been dealing with serious health issues and so we saw fit to drastically downsize our homestead and sold the last of our sheep this evening. We’re sad, but also relieved that our sheep went to a good home where they’ll be loved and taken care of properly. #onward

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Map repair! Who is ready for a road trip? 😉 #ephemra #map #antiquemap #collectibles #eidolonhouse

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Sorry we have been MIA; we are in the process of training an intern, and we will be sharing more soon!📚 #rarebooks #bookbinder #eidolonhouse

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A few custom brass hand tools I recently made. I love that making a tool combines several different creative techniques, just like bookbinding and restoration does. The tool handle in the middle is turned from Osage Orange, the tools on the left and right are turned from hickory; one handle is finished with a layer of stain. (Swipe 👉🏼) Now, back to the books! #eidolonhouse

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“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.” - Hans Christian Andersen.🧚‍♂️

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Not everything is bigger in Texas, only the things that shouldn’t be.😧 (Pulled this guy off one of my sheep this morning.) #horsefly #texas

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May your day end better than it began, just like this leather book.👌🏼 #eidolonhouse #restoration #rarebooks #collectibles #bookrepair #bibliophile

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A bit of late night brass tool making.💫 #eidolonhouse #custommade #brass #toolmaker #leathertooling #handtools

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Another one saved! I have been cranking out the books lately and it feels so good. My wife did tell me this evening has to be spent outside making our yard look less abandoned, and apparently I need to take a break from the bench once in awhile.🤷🏻‍♂️ #TGIF #eidolonhouse #rarebooks #bookrestoration #collectibles #bookbinder #bibliophile

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Before & After Historical Rebind: Times and Seasons. 1839-1841. (Swipe for detail pics.👉🏼) This one was a blast! #eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookbinding #bookbinder #leathertooling #custommade #bibliophile

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Before & After Historical Rebind: Geographia Universalis, 1542. Instead of saving the old rotten leather we decided to give the book a completely new leather binding replicating the original.👌🏼 #eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookcollection #bookbinding #bookbinder #igbooks #restoration #bibliophile

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Before & After Restoration: 1785 Hieroglyphick Bible. Bible stories for children with a type of picture rebus for children to figure out as they read the book (swipe to the last photo 👉🏼). I bound this book in leather and gave it a nice used finish with a bit of gold tooling.👌🏼 #eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookbinding #bookbinder #Bible #restoration

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A custom made enclosure for the Massachusetts Psalter. The cover design, made with leather onlays, is a shepherd’s crook and Indian spear representing the Christian missionary efforts among the Algonquin.👌🏼 (1709 Massachusetts Psalter, the first English biblical text published in America, in English and Algonquin languages, side by side.) #eidolonhouse #custommade #rarebooks #collectibles #bookbinder #leatherwork #design #bibliophile

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Before & After Restoration: A well used book from 1709 isn’t going to look brand new, so I gave it a new binding that is sympathetic to its text block. The book was unbound and the paper was super delicate and fragile due to age and wear of it not being bound to protect the pages. So I washed the pages, resized them, mended, and guarded the spine edges. This allowed me to resew the text block on raised bands, and I bound the book in leather dyed with my own special blend of dyes and inks; I finished it off by cosmetically aging the binding.👌🏼 (1709 Massachusetts Psalter, the first English biblical text published in America, in English and Algonquin languages, side by side.) #eidolonhouse #rarebooks #restoration #collectibles #oldbooks #bookbinding #bookbinder

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Facsimile title pages made to be sympathetic to the text block.👌🏼 (1709 Massachusetts Psalter, the first English biblical text published in America, in English and Algonquin languages, side by side.) #eidolonhouse #facsimile #titlepage #rarebooks #bookbinding #bookbinder

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Using band-nippers for what they were originally designed for: To straighten the bands after sewing, but before the cover is put on.👌🏼 #eidolonhouse #bookbinding #bookrestoration #rarebooks #bookbinder #collectibles