I’ve been at NBSS for a week and a half now! So far we’ve been working on two book structures. The first one is a linkstitch binding with flexible covers. This is a model based on early codices in which the covers are sewn onto the text block like sections. This structure can be found in papyrus books dating back as far as the third century. The covers of these books were often filled with cartonnage as a way of stiffening and reinforcing them.
The three leftmost books in the top photo are models of this structure. I used 10-point board for the covers, but once I get my hands on some decorative paper I hope to make some nicer models too.
The second structure I’ve been working on is an Ethiopian binding. Unlike the first linkstitch binding, this is sewn with pairs of needles rather than one needle all-along. The text block is sewn to the boards using a system of channels within the boards. Historical examples of these bindings, which were often used for Christian religious texts, are usually dated to the sixteenth to nineteenth century.
I made three models of this binding using 98-point board for the covers. You can see two of them at the right of the top photo. I also figured out you can get fancy with the thread colors, creating an alternating pattern in the chain as shown above.
Then I covered some boards with marbled paper from my class’s community chest paper drawer and made a book using the same structure. The pastedowns are plain black paper. I like the way this turned out, but I am excited to start making my own decorative paper in October.
The last photo is a more accurate model of this binding, using wooden boards just like the historical examples. I did some shaping and finishing on these boards and only drilled a couple of holes into my bench so it was a pretty successful venture.
I’ve been reading J. A. Szirmai’s book The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding to learn about the history of these and other book structures. If this kind of stuff interests you, I’d totally recommend checking it out! Chapter 2 has great information on the many variations of the linkstitch binding, and Chapter 4 talks about the Ethiopian binding in great detail. Anyway that’s all for now byeeee