Books, bound to be kept.
A one-bench bindery in the Green Mountains. We make new books by hand, repair old ones, and build boxes to keep both safe.
Slow work, made to be handled
Every book that leaves the bench has been folded, sewn, rounded and pressed by hand. No two are quite alike — the grain of the leather and the weight of the paper decide a good deal of it.
We take commissions one at a time and work in small batches. That means a wait of a few weeks, and a book that will outlast most of what is printed today.
Sewn, not glued
Text blocks are sewn on linen tapes and rounded by hand. A properly sewn book opens flat and stays that way.
Materials that age well
Vegetable-tanned goatskin, linen thread, wheat starch paste, Japanese tissue. Nothing that will turn brittle in twenty years.
Repairs that can be undone
Restoration is reversible wherever possible. We add strength without hiding what the book already is.
What comes off the bench
New bindings
Full leather, quarter leather and cloth bindings for editions, gifts and archives.
from $480 02Restoration
Re-sewing, re-backing and tissue repairs for family books and institutional collections.
from $160 03Boxes & slipcases
Clamshell boxes, slipcases and portfolios, cut and covered to fit.
from $120 04Workshops
A day at the bench: sewing, casing-in and box making for up to four people.
$145 / dayFour stages, six to ten weeks
Talk and measure
We look at the book together, discuss materials, and agree on a written estimate before any work starts.
Sew and shape
Sections are sewn on tapes, the spine rounded and backed, the edges trimmed or left deckled.
Cover and tool
Leather or cloth is pared, glued and turned in. Titles are set in gold or blind.
Press and hand over
The finished book rests in the press for a few days, then goes home with care notes.
It came back looking like it had never left the house.Eleanor R. · Montpelier, Vermont
The bindery is open Tuesdays to Fridays
Fourteen Mill Lane, Fern Hollow — a hundred yards up from the old mill. Call ahead if you are bringing more than a few books, and we will clear the table.