Tutorials & Reference

Some of these links require Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Art of the Book Visual Arts, Book Arts & Writing: A tutorial to help with the teaching of art in Oregon schools.
• 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).
• Binde ABC: German language dictionary of bookbinding terminology.
• 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.
• Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology. Archived copy at Archive.org. NOTE: search function does not work.
• Bookbinding/Reliure: From Diderot's encyclopedia.
• Bookbinding Tutorial: By Peter S. Møllers. Includes sections of sewing, Lumbeck (double-fan adhesive binding), marbling. In English and Danish.
• Bookbinding, a Tutorial, Douglas W. Jones, University of Iowa.
• Bookbinding Booklet: Here is a process chart for demonstrating to children ages 5 and up a way to bind their own hard-cover books using only scissors, stapler and glue. With this chart on display at the front of the room, the teacher demonstrates each step in the sequence. Then the children work collaborataively to complete their own books.
• 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...
• Bookbinding Vocabulary / Vocabulaire de la Reliure: French / English bookbinding terminology by ARA Canada
• Booklyn Education Manual: Lots of downloadable tutorials for one sheet, accordion, pamphlet, coptic and more.
• Bookmaking: a single-signature pamphlet
• 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.
• Die Buchbinderseite: Florian Wolper's bookbinding reference site with bibliographies, glossaries, tutorials, and information on bookbinding apprenticeships and education in Germany. Also has reprints of articles. In German.
• 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 .
• Simple 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
• Druck ABC (Printing ABC): Printing, typo/reprographic, binding glossary. In German.
• Endpapers: The following endpapers are examples of several endpapers currently in use for different purposes. These endpapers were compiled from a class on endpaper construction taught by Donald Etherington and Christopher Clarkson in September 1973.
• 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: By Peter Verheyen. [Completely revised and re-written with new illustrations]
• Kleines Glossar Typographie und Layout im Desktop-Publishing: Glossary in German
• Glossary of Binding Terms: from the Preservation Department at the University of Florida.
• 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
• Japanese 4-Hole Binding
• Lie-Flat Binding: Flexible Strength, the adhesive quarter-joint binding. By Pete Jermann. See also.
• Chris Lipscombe: Great site in New Zealand with bookbinding tutorials, bibliographies and more.
• 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
• Origamic Architecture: K. Selena Kim's site describing a papercraft form which combines the careful folding of origami, the detailed cutting of scherenschnitte, and the precise paper engineering of pop-ups.
• 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
• Practical Bookbinding: Includes digitally published tutorials on bookbinding by Morris Lee King and Otto Zahn.
• 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.
• 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.
• Structure Outline for Book Description Documentation by Robert Espinosa.
• 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.
• 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