So over the past few days I had a conversation with the book I am binding. The repaired pages look beautiful. Japanese paper is an amazing fix. The pages now hold together and the repairs have eliminated the sloppiness in the spine of the book. Though the original surface of the outer spine is uneven because it still has some flecks of old leather still attached, it will seem smooth after the suede layer is applied. I cut the grey, moldy looking suede to size. The piece is a mere 1 1/4” by just under 9”. One side is relatively smooth, the other pebbly. I carelessly toss a stack of used copy paper on my work surface. Laying the suede smooth side down, I pop open my plastic container of wheat starch paste. It is a translucent white, needing only a bit of water in a separate bowl to change it from its gelatinous form to a near-syrupy form.
The book lays firmly on the edge of my bench hook. It says to me, ‘yes, I am ready to be transformed into something that is once again beautiful.’ It will still have the scars of use on its top, side and tail edges. But, its form will support many more years of dedicated use. With a bent-handled, flat brush I slather the paste onto the strip of suede. The suede relaxes like a well-sated diner who has indulged just a bit more than he should. At two-minute intervals, I repeat the application two more times. When the suede is saturated, using just fingertips, I lightly tap it onto the spine of the book. Using a teflon bone folder, I coax it into the slightly rounded shape. I lays beautifully, tightly hugging the slender backbone. The worn headbands, now stand up as they should.
The book lays firmly on the edge of my bench hook. It says to me, ‘yes, I am ready to be transformed into something that is once again beautiful.’ It will still have the scars of use on its top, side and tail edges. But, its form will support many more years of dedicated use. With a bent-handled, flat brush I slather the paste onto the strip of suede. The suede relaxes like a well-sated diner who has indulged just a bit more than he should. At two-minute intervals, I repeat the application two more times. When the suede is saturated, using just fingertips, I lightly tap it onto the spine of the book. Using a teflon bone folder, I coax it into the slightly rounded shape. I lays beautifully, tightly hugging the slender backbone. The worn headbands, now stand up as they should.
Carefully, I lay the book on a press board, lay another one on top and weight it all with two paper-covered bricks. Stooping to eye-level, I once more check to see that all the edges are still aligned. As the book now rests, it looks mostly like a grey, stone shelf tucked into a pile of boards and brick.
