Book Repair

One of my jobs is in the Book Repair Department in the University of Iowa Libraries. I get to re-back books whose spines are falling apart, tighten hinges, sew in pamphlets for the smaller and thinner stapled books, tip-in pages, erase peoples' pencil scrawls, and repair damaged or torn paper and hinges - three times a week! It's oodles more fun than it sounds!

I documented the rebacking of some books which I will try to describe below. There are two different types of books that I rebacked on this day. One of which is very unique in the way it had been bound. Many books between the late 1930s and early to mid 1940s were evidently bound this way. A simple stab binding, a lot of adhesive and a piece of cloth or buckram attached to the spine. The technique of re-backing these has some differences and the images for these are towards the end. One reference to it earlier is marked with a *.

A stack of books ready for re-backing

Making a light cut with a knife and a ruler 2-3 mm. in from the edge of the board on both sides of the book.

Prying the cloth or paper covering off the book board using a flat knife.

It comes off pretty easily unless it has been stuck down with a strong adhesive and the cover is made of paper.

Sometimes the spines surprise you! This one has a backing of what looks like an old newspaper.

The next step is to clip off the 'ears' that are created when the book is being made. These are the turn-ins that keep the book cloth or paper over the spine piece on the inside. These need to be snipped away.

Then the corners are cleaned using scissors form the inside.

All the books without their spines.

Pieces of book cloth or buckram are chosen according to the height of the book. A piece of cardstock that fits snugly along the spine is chosen and cut to size.

The cardstock is adhered to the spine piece - in this case book cloth. The distance from the new spine to the book board + 1 board thickness is measured and marked on both sides on the top and bottom.

The pieces are then trimmed to 1" - 1.5" at the top and bottom and are cut at angles just below the cardstock, using the pencil marks as reference. The triangular piece that is left behind, is folded up over the cardstock and glued.

All the pieces with cardstock. The one on the extreme right* just has the magnetic strip.

The book is placed on the spine piece, aligned to the base line. The opposite side is glued up.

The piece is carefully folded up over the book making sure nothing moves.

It has to be square, and using book cloth doesn't leave much room for error.

Using the bone folder to reinforce the book cloth onto the hinge.

The book is then opened and the tabs are folded in.

A bone folder is used to further secure them.

Another method of re-backing : by tucking the spine under the cover so that there is minimal encroachment on the original book cover.

This binding is different, in that it does not have a spine piece.

The cloth is just peeled away from the spine. Most times it comes away pretty easily.

Detail of the spine.

The Buckram is measured out to go around the book. Since there is no card stock used for the spine, the buckram is marked by folding it around the spine of the book itself.

The triangle is cut out and glued.

A detail of the triangle.

For this type of book, the tabs are cut into triangles so that it is easier for them to be folded in without damaging the book in any way.

It takes some doing, but they do get in there and fit very well.

The bulk of the square tab would cause the book to bulge on the top and bottom.

The finished book!

Wax paper has to be placed where the tabs come in contact with the first page and then they go into the press! TA DA !

There just one last thing though...

Spines that have been removed that are made of cloth have to be cleaned so that they can be glued on to the re-backed books. For this, the paper has to be carefully peeled off first.

The 4 edges are trimmed off. Any remaining paper and adhesive has to be scraped off using a flat knife.This could take a while depending on the amount of paper still adhered to the spine.

The dreaded book dust

After the books have been pressed overnight, the spines are ready to be glued on!

Fall in Iowa

Its been a while since I last posted.

I have re-located to Iowa City, USA. Its very different from Delhi,
and thats all I have to say about that.

I am currently enrolled in the University of Iowa's Center for the Book.

Im going to be posting some of the things I have been working on this semester and hopefully they will be of some interest.

On the way to North Hall.
You dont realize how many leaves trees have until they decide to let them fall.

On my way from the Library

Letterpress 1

My Letterpress class is being conducted by Sara Langworthy.

Finally, I am able to understand Letterpress and Printing and not be intimidated my metal type! It slows down your mind and your hands, and you gain a superb understanding of the type, its history, the page and the text - or atleast, you should!

I wish we'd had a course like this while I was in Srishti, but its better late than never, I guess.

One of our assignments was to print a word and its definition. I picked F.H.B. - Family Hold Back.

The Type Kitchen

First run

Tied type

Locked and ready to roll!

Ready to carve the reduction

Carving the highlights...

Time Out Bangalore!

There was an article in Time Out Bangalore about the Artists' Book Workshop I was conducting. A juicy well written piece by Jaideep Sen. You can read it below or on the Time Out website here.

Tome of my Life

A new show is looking to bring books created by artists to Bangaloreans, says Jaideep Sen.

Despite the air of exclusivity that sometimes surrounds them, many viewers of art remain unfamiliar with artists’ books. The form itself perhaps needs some explaining – artists’ books aren’t about written, printed or published records at all, but rather are works of art conceptualised, and created in the form of books. These books, often released in limited editions, aren’t necessarily meant for reading from beginning to end like conventional books; rather, they have come to be regarded as individual works of art.

The book as a form of art has found favour among many artists, including Matisse and Picasso, said Jenny Pinto, the artist and maker of handcrafted paper who lives in the city. “In the last three or four decades, every important artist has made an artist’s book or book sculpture,” she noted: “Anish Kapoor, Anthony Caro, and Anselm Kiefer, to name a few.” Radha Pandey, a designer from New Delhi, added that da Vinci was said to have cultivated the form as well. “The form has since evolved, depending on the historical contexts, needs and aspirations of artists,” she offered. “The intent of an artist makes the book into a work of art.”

Over the last few weeks, Pinto, along with Pandey and Yasmin Sethi, another designer from Delhi, has hosted a workshop specifically for some of the city’s artists to try their hands at the form. The outcome of those sessions is a show that will be held this fortnight at Scion Theatre, with works by Ayisha Abraham, Sheela Gowda, Surekha,

SG Vasudev, Umesh Kumar and the designers Jason Cherian, Jayshree Poddar and Sarita Sundar, as well as a group of art students, including Kamini Rao, Nikita Jain and Niyati Upadhya, among others. For some of the established artists, making these works has undoubtedly meant a return to a more elementary process, allowing them to re-experience the honing of a skill.

As far as experimental practices are concerned, artists’ books may well exemplify a return to a more simple approach to art, with an emphasis on the craft of book-making. Some of the most enthusiastic responses at the workshops have been from the designers. Poddar, for instance, said she was keen on realising “a three-dimensional form [that] can be studied, handled and explored visually, in a tactile way, in its aspects of volume and mass, colour and contrast”. Having worked primarily with textiles, Poddar said she was keen on the connection between “fabric as a two-dimensional plane, and the aspect of a book as a stack – or a sheet of paper, many times over”.

Cherian said he was interested in the aspects of geometry and patterns in his works, and was looking to play with the organic nature of the materials. Kumar, in turn, said he was interested in matters of “form and materiality”, and that he wanted to focus on the “aesthetics of the ordinary”. His aim, he said, was “to examine the notions of a book outside of literature”, and work towards a small piece using a few common materials “from everyday transactions and domestic relations”. Sundar explained that she was hoping to attempt a “fusion of narrative, structure and the form’s theatrical possibilities”, and to try and work her way through the different dimensions and perspectives of the medium and its processes. “Artists’ books are an extension of telling stories,” she reasoned, “and that is what we all love doing – telling and hearing stories.”

Pinto pointed out that there is a difference between creating artists’ books and other related forms such as art catalogues – for one, with an artist’s book, the emphasis isn’t necessarily on efficient design and functionality. “The artist brings an individual, original take,” she said. “At times this could result in a conventional form, be it a book or just a folder, at other times, it could result in a sculptural or altered book.” Pandey added that the form can prove to be fairly complex and challenging. “It seems to me that it’s a natural evolution to move from a flat sheet of paper to exploring the more dimensional forms of the book,” she explained. “In some instances, it’s about creating a narrative, and a book form lends itself to that intent.”

Exploring the form could easily prove to be an extension for artists who already involve narratives, text and image in their works, noted Pandey. “On the other hand, it may be a complete leap in a different direction,” she added. “The possibilities of the page and the structure are endless – in treating the book as art, artists re-define the book as a whole.” Ultimately, in the various explorations of the participating artists, the show will also be about giving new definitions to the form of artists’ books.

Flag Book Workshop!

I have had many requests for a workshop on Flag Books.

There is going to be one either on the 9th or next weekend. The date is still to be confirmed. Please contact me at radhapandey@gmail.com if you would like to attend!

Decorative Book-Binding Techniques

Flag Book

Date : Saturday, July 09, 2011

Timings -

Session One : 10 am - 1 pm

Session Two : 2 pm - 5 pm (Same techniques are taught in both sessions)

Cost : Rs. 2,000 (materials included)

Venue : CMYK Bookstore, 15 - 16 Mehar Chand Market, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.

Participants will leave with 1 flag book and a tool-kit, which will enable them to make their own books, by the end of the session.