Tutorials & Reference

Some of these links require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Guild of Book Workers Study Opportunities List: A great starting point to find instruction in the book arts. Organized geographically. See also Book Arts Centers, Eduction, & Programs.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: Now their own section on the "Reference" page.

• Art, Books, and Creativity: Tutorials on a variety of styles including accordion, flagbook, tunnel books, and pop-ups.
• Basic Paper Treatments for Printed Book Materials: By Peter Verheyen (Published in the Guild of BookWorkers Journal, Spring 1991).
• Binding a Book: Lesson plan from Lingualinks.
• Bind It Fast (Japanese Bookbinding): Make or repair books with this easy technique. Adapted from an article in Boys' Life (October 1991) by Brook West.
• The Book an interactive description: Javascript enabled description of the parts of a (German) case binding, but works for almost all other kinds as well. Thank you to Peter Baumgartner for letting me use his illustration and script.
• Book Care and Repair Resources: List of linked resources provided by the Tippecanoe County Public Library.
• Book Conservation Catalog: The Book Conservation Catalog is a publication of the Book and Paper Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The Book Conservation Catalog is published as a convenience for the members of the Book and Paper Group. Publication does not endorse nor recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein.
• Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology. At CoOL (Conservation Online).
• Bookbinding, a Tutorial, Douglas W. Jones, University of Iowa.
• Bookbinding Texts Online: Classical texts describing the craft of bookbinding and related arts from LostCrafts. Texts include:
  • The Art of Bookbinding, Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf, London 1897 (3rd ed.).
  • The Binding of Books: An Essay in the History of Gold-Tooled Bindings. Hebert P. Horne. London, 1894.
  • Bookbinding and the Care of Books, A Handbook for Amateurs Bookbinders & Librarians. Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other Illustrations. New York 1902.
  • Bookbinding for Beginners. Florence O. Bean. School Arts Publishing Company, 1914.
  • And more...
• Booklyn Education Manual: Lots of downloadable tutorials for one sheet, accordion, pamphlet, coptic and more.
• Boxes for the Protection of Books: A revised & updated version of the previous 1981 volume, Boxes for the Protection of Rare Books: Their Design and Construction by Lage Carlson, Margaret R. Brown, Library of Congress Preservation Directorate. Designed to meet the needs of book conservators, museum technicians, & curators in libraries & archives who require a practical method for the construction of protective boxes, which provide a safe method for storing, handling, & transporting library materials. Protective boxing affords a non-invasive, cost effective, & archivally sound way of dealing with large numbers of items or entire collections. Covers: simple housings; phased boxes; portfolios; double-tray clam shell box; book box with portfolio smaller/larger than the book. [At Google Book Search and NOT printable even though as a Government publication it is in the public domain...]
• Braintan.com: Natural Tanning and Leather Resources.
• Case Binding: Nicely done tutorial for a variant of the Bradel/German case binding.
• Chinese Bookbinding: Descriptions of Chinese binding styles, with illustrations, from the Dunhuang collection of the British Library.
• Coptic: Instructions for making a book in the Coptic style.
• Coptic: Another set of instructions for making a book in the Coptic style.
• Craft of Making Parchment: By Henk De Groot. Includes description on making of parchment with ordering information.
• Crossed Binding Structure: An innovative long-stitch structure developed by Carmencho Arregui .
• Cutting Jig: I built this simple cutting jig long before I had a Kuttrimmer and it contiues to serve me well. Advantages are low cost and the ability to cut materials "square."
• Double-Guard Binding: Structure useful of photo albums and scrapbooks. Allows book to open flat. By Betty Storz.
• Drop-spine Box: Instructions from the Preservation Department at Indiana University. Part of their treatment manual.
• Drop-spine Box: Instructions from the Conservation Lab of the Syracuse University Library. Designed for use by work- study students. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Edge Gilding: Solid and rough gilding of book edges in this Tutorial by Peter Geraty. Very good instructions. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Endpapers: The following endpapers are examples of several endpapers currently in use for different purposes. These endpapers were by Linda Blaser and compiled from a class on endpaper construction taught by Donald Etherington and Christopher Clarkson in September 1973. Part of the Book Conservation Catalog.
• Fan-gluing Basics: The better way to do adhesive bindings. By Pete Jerman. See also.
• Five-stitch Bookbinding (Asian style): This is a 15-minute to half hour project to make a miniature blank book ideal for keeping in a purse or pocket for jotting down a note, address, or phone number, or for sending through the mail as a slam book.
• Der Gebrochene Rücken: A variation of the German case (Bradel) binding. This article by Peter Verheyen orginally appeared in a festschrift honoring Hedi Kyle and her work that was published by Rutherford Witthus in conjunction with the Hybrid Book Conference in Philadelphia, June 4-6, 2009. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• German Case (Bradel) Binding Tutorial: Step-by-step instructions for this binding technique. This article by Peter Verheyen was published in Skin Deep, Volume 22 - Fall 2006. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• German Stiffened Paper Bindings: Known as broschuren and steifbroschuren in German, these brochures, pamphlets, and other related bindings have long been a part of the German bookbinding tradition. These can range from single section pamphlets with simple wrappers to adhesive bound or sewn textblocks in wrappers, to hard cover variants. In all cases the common thread is providing the texts with a simple yet functional binding that may or may not be intended to be permanent.
• Graeme's Bookbinding Pages: Very well done tutorials for Japanese binding styles. Includes accordion and sewn styles.
• Guidelines for the conservation of leather and parchment bookbindings. From the Royal Dutch Library.
• "Gyromancy": An artist's book project by Roberta Lavadour
• Handvergolden in der Buchbinderei, im Lederwaren- und Galanteriefach: Self-published by Kuno März in 1917. Insights and practical instruction in the art of gold tooling and finishing. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Hazardous Substances Data Bank: From the National Library of Medicine. Searchable database of toxins.
• Historic bookbinding models from the Conservation Lab of the University of Iowa Library.
• How to Make a Pop-up: by Joan Irvine where she can show you her books and how to make a pop-up.
• How to Make a Simple Hardcover Book.
• Making a Small Notebook or Sketchbook: Handy origami fold them yourself Instructions for a small book using an unsupported link stitch. By Adrienne Allen. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• How to Make a Tunnel Book: A tutorial by Edward Hutchins. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Laser Printed Labels: Tips and tricks on creating laser printed labels for books and boxes.
• Lie-Flat Binding: Flexible Strength, the adhesive quarter-joint binding. By Pete Jermann. See also.
• Magazine Binding for Leathercrafters: Instructions for doing full leather bindings on magazines. End structure very similar to taking a paperback, stiffening the cover and applying leather. By Johan Potgieter.
• The Magic Box: Fun folded box-binding by Edward Hutchins. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Manuel Pour la Reliure et la Réparation des Livres Destinés à la Conservation à Long Terme: EXCELLENT manual for book repair and conservation from the Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire - Lausanne. Organized by type of problem and binding style. In French with very clear illustrations describing the techiques.
• Medieval Manuscript Manual: This manual was created in the course of various cultural heritage-projects at the Department of Medieval Studies at Central European University, Budapest. It should offer basic information on the topic Medieval Manuscripts to be comprehended and utilized also by non-specialists in the field. It might be applied as general background knowledge, teaching module, and distance learning unit.
• Medieval and Renaissance Book Production: Part of the On-line Reference Book for Medieval Studies.
• Metal Binding: Judith Hoffman's instructions for making a simple metal binding.
• Millimeter Binding / Edelpappband: Step-by-step instructions for this very elegant and refined German case binding structure.. By Peter Verheyen. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Molded Paper Spine: Instructions for the use of heavy handmade paper such as Iowa's PC4 as a substitute for leather in rebacking, including over raised cords. Instructions from the Conservation Lab of the Syracuse University Library. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Origamic Architecture: Describes a papercraft form which combines the careful folding of origami, the detailed cutting of scherenschnitte, and the precise paper engineering of pop-ups.
• Pamphlet Stitch: Five-Hole Pamphlet Stitch.
• Paper sizing: An explanation of the DIN series (non US, rest of the world standard).
• Paper Specification Standards: U.S. Government Printing Office publication describing the specifications for a wide range of papers and boards in use in the printing and binding industries.
• Phase Box: Simple folded and taped enclosure, most used for brittle materials, but easily adaptable. Instructions from the Conservation Lab of the Syracuse University Library. Designed for use by work- study students. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Hugo Peller's Pop-up Box: Instructions for making a combination slip-case with dropspine box that makes the book "pop-up." Instructions and diagrams by Jack Fitterer. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Portfolio with 3 soft flaps. By Peter Verheyen. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Procedures and Treatments Used for Book Repair and Pamphlet Binding: From the University of Illinois.
• Quarter-joint Binding: Instruction for making a double-fan, adhesive bound, version of this style. By Peter Jerman. See also.
• Recasing: Instructions from the Conservation Lab of the Syracuse University Library. Designed for use by work- study students. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Repair of original cloth case bindings using Japanese paper: By Don Etherington.
• Repair of broken leather joints using Japanese paper: By Don Etherington.
• Secret Belgian Binding: "Rediscovered" by Hedi Kyle.
• Sewn Board Binding: Designed by Gary Frost, takes advantage of the sewing and board attachment features of the earliest form of the codex but has a final form that is more in-line with a modern case binding. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Skin Deep: A quarterly newsletter published by J. Hewit & Sons, Ltd.
• Slipcase: Schematic for a simple "ten-minute" slipcase suitable for smaller books.
• Slipcase and Chemise: Monique Lallier's presentation on the making of these from the 2002 Guild of Book Workers Standards of Excellence Seminar in Minneapolis, MN. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Spiral Bindings in a Hard Cover: An Alternative to Rebinding: By William Minter.
• Springback (Account/Ledger Book) Binding
  • The Springback: Instructions in the English tradition for a binding designed for account, ledger, and guest books. By Peter Verheyen.
  • The Springback: Instructions in the German tradition for a binding designed for account, ledger, and guest books. By Peter Verheyen and Donia Conn.
• Standing Press: Instructions for making your own standing press. By Perry Nigro.
• The Starbook: Dea Fischer's tutorials for folded books, concertinas with pockets and flags, and various sewn structures.
• Structure Outline for Book Description Documentation by Robert Espinosa.
• Thin Spine Conservation Binding Structure: Similar in concept to the Molded Paper Spine, this treatment is intended for materials in the collection printed before 1800 in which the text block is less than 1cm thick. Instructions from the Conservation Lab of the Syracuse University Library. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• This to That: "Because people have a need to glue things to other things." Some of the suggestions are out there, but a great starting point.
• Three Basic Book Repair Procedures: By Carole Dyal and Pete Merrill-Oldham. Instructions for three simple, non-invasive repair techniques as demonstrated at ALA in 1998.
• Washington State University Conservation Lab: Repair and treatment documentations as well as other conservation resources.
• Parchment Over Boards: Binding of books into parchment over stiff boards in this tutorial by Peter Geraty. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
• Vellum On Boards: Description of a case structure with step-by-step instructions for covering in vellum that greatly reduces board warping. By Peter Verheyen. ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
  • "Man, I am impressed. I covered the case last week when it was raining, redid the foredge turnins (don't ask) and the boards are still dead flat after sitting out for the past couple of days. I think I'm gonna be using more vellum in the future. Thanks for sharing the method." The Boss Dog