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designer bookbinders

NEWSLETTER OF DESIGNER BOOKBINDERS NO 172 WINTER 2015


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Editorial

Somehow it’s that time of year again, mulled wine hangovers and pigs in blankets for breakfast. Where did the last year go? I’ve only just recovered from last Christmas.

I always seem to be banging on about how busy it’s been, but again it has. With the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair, the UK Annual Competition, the DB Open Day, and starting to ponder the International Competition, on top of working nine to five in the Shepherds bindery, for me there has been very little time away from books.

Thankyou to everybody for helping to make the Open Day such a fabulous success. It was great to see so many faces I didn’t recognize, as well, of course, as those that I did.

It was a brilliant year for the Annual Competition. It’s really great to see a more diverse range of entries. It’s interesting how different titles affect different people. Last years Breakfast at Tiffany’s inspired me so little that I was eventually forced to abandon it as it was either give up entirely or produce something truly dreadful and completely un-me. I was going to do something handbags and shoes on it! I kid you not: a very lucky escape for us all I reckon. This year, on the other hand, Nineteen Eighty Four had entirely the opposite effect on me. Just to read it again was a real pleasure and the ideas came easily. But this was just my experience. I had a brief conversation, when dropping my entry off, with a lady who, vice versa, found Breakfast at Tiffany’s to be a wonderful title to work with and the Orwell dreary and uninspiring. It does make me ask the question: can the set book hinder the creative process? I’d personally rather be able to produce whatever I want.

Whilst I was binding this year’s entry I had to leave the country several times and in the process of travelling - slightly too much down time on my hands - I somehow pondered on my need of a new note/sketch book for the specific purpose of travelling. Like so many unnecessary ideas I have, in the face of a very busy schedule, it entirely took over my grey matter and became an obsession. I sidelined the Orwell and threw myself wholeheartedly into the production of an indestructible notebook designed

to improve with age and actually welcome abuse. It has been decades since I have enjoyed bookbinding quite so much. With no brief, no client other than myself, and no text to adhere to, I had an entirely free rein to do whatever I wanted. With enthusiasm that overwhelmed me more than I have felt since I was at college, Project: Man Book for a period of about three weeks took over my whole life. Because I had a blank canvas I managed to produce something completely different from anything I have ever produced before and that I am convinced will now steer me in new directions with my other work. It’s deliberately crude and devoid of frills and I am indescribably happy with the result. My opinion seems to be echoed by my colleagues and friends; and the true test, people who aren’t bookbinders love it also, which is not always the case. Sometimes the time and effort that goes into the detail of the things we produce isn’t truly appreciated outside our circle.

So I urge everybody, please next year, make yourself a notebook, a really nice one for you to enjoy and have fun with. Make it your New Year’s resolution. The sad irony in this is that one of my colleagues, who also happens to be on the Competition committee, persuaded me to enter it as an open choice in the Competition so I still don’t have a notebook.But that’s okay because I am going to put my feet up over Christmas, pour myself a large glass of port and think about making myself another one.

Daniel Wray

Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk


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This quarter of the year is always special because of the Annual Bookbinding Competition. Opening in late November and running for two weeks in the Layton Room at the St Bride Foundation in London, it is always a fantastic opportunity to see up and coming talent and view the latest in design from contemporary binders. This year’s book, 1984, produced some inspired work and congratulations go to all the prizewinners.

The Bookbinding Competition has been rebranded this year and is now called the Annual UK Competition and Exhibition in order to distinguish it from the DB International Competition. Perhaps now is a good time to “explain” the rules for entering the UK competition as this has always caused some confusion to the wider membership. Here goes: it is only open to UK entrants in order to maintain a sufficient level of parity among entrants. DB Fellows are not allowed to enter for this reason - the competition is to encourage new and emerging binders. If non UK binders were allowed to enter there would be no way of knowing their status in their own country and the situation could occur that a top binder from abroad could be up against someone much less experienced from the UK. It would not be a level playing field.

The Man Booker Prize took place in October with three Fellows’ new to the challenge of this occasion rising to it with beautiful work. (The other 3 experienced Fellow’s bindings were also superb). This is one of DB’s most prestigious events to be involved with and thanks go again to Angela James for working so hard behind the scenes to organise it.

The International Competition has been well subscribed and will take place in June 2017. More news of this will follow in future newsletters as plans develop. Keep tuned.

Our first Open Day took place on November 29th at St Bride in London. There were a variety of demonstrations, a bring and buy sale, the Competition books on view and the bar was open making it a very lively and enjoyable day out. I would like to extend a huge thankyou to Kaori Maki who did the bulk of the organising and to all the rest of the people who donated their time and energy to make the day a success.

November also saw two busy book fairs, the Fine Press Book Fair in Oxford and the Small Publishers Fair in London. Both of them are brimming with interesting limited edition books and with a bit of searching it’s always possible to find something to suit every budget. They are the perfect place to pick up special and unusual books to bind. Be sure to keep these fairs in your diary to visit in the future.

The DB calendar for 2016 is fabulous and selling quickly. Be sure to order yours from the website soon for the New Year, they won’t last long.

2015 has passed very quickly and I look forward to next year and to the many events and projects lined up. Remember that DB needs all of its members to keep it vibrant so if you would like to help out in any way please contact the secretary or myself. We would love to have you on board.

Wrap up, keep warm and have a relaxed holiday season. The snowdrops will soon be showing themselves again.

Cheers, Lori

On the frOnt cOver

2016 meeting dates

23 January 2016 DBPL, Executive Committee

20 february 2016 Applications, Fellows and Licentiates

16 april 2016 DBPL, Executive Committee, AGM/Spring meeting

25 June 2016 Executive Committee, Fellows and Licentiates

newsletter deadlines

Winter Spotlight 2015

spring issue 01.02.2015

summer issue 01.05.2015


Boven Kamers pop up book, special edition of 10 copies bound by Benjamin Elbel in collaboration with Dutch designer Moon Brouwer. For sale at www.elbel-libro.com


4 letter to the editorFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

Dear Editor,

Three members, including myself, of the Wessex Guild of Bookbinders have just returned from St Remy les Chevreuse, where two of us had entered books in the Biennale Mondiale de la Reliure d’Art. Whilst visiting the exhibition we spent a long time studying the many books on display, not only the workmanship and techniques, but also the design of each binding. It was easy to see that many of the books were of a technically, very high standard, but the design was oftenmuch harder to fathom. Did this stop us enjoying the books as beautiful items? No. Did it stop us from enjoying the binder’s interpretation of the book? I think so!!

What a coincidence then, that upon my return I found the latest issue of The New Bookbinder awaiting me and the article “Of Space and Place” was the first that I read. MichaelWilcox finished his piece by stating “One has to understand the maker’s intentions in order to say whether a design is primarily ornamental or something else.” Whilst Lori Sauer states “Everyone must have their own response to an item of design or art, without the maker telling them how to react or why they put that red circle in the left-hand corner.”!!

Whilst I agree with Lori’s comment for stand alone items of art, I am uncomfortable with the thought that a book cover should be considered in such a light, it must surely be more than a very beautiful wrapper and should convey to the viewer something of the essence of the book? If the maker’s intention is not obvious I believe that the experience of viewing the book is lessened.

The future of Bookbinding by Phil Winton

DENISE LUBETT - A tribute by Jen Lindsay

Born 7 September 1922 (Paris) Died 15 September 2015 (London)

Denise Lubett was the foremost exponent in her bookbinding generation of the use of decorative, repeat pattern. This was not her sole means of expression on the books which she bound – her designs are as diverse as each book to which she was responding – but her natural eye for bold, vibrant colour and the harmonious effect of pattern combined to beautiful and stunning effect. So much so that her books were eminently collectable and most of the approximately 150 bindings which she made in her thirty-five years as a leading designer bookbinder are held in numerous public and private collections, particularly in USA. (Her archive is held by the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.)

Repeat pattern, as anyone who has tried to match the pattern of decorated endpapers will understand, is notoriously difficult, but Denise excelled at the design, planning and execution of it – invariably ‘wrapping’ the design around the whole binding. She devised a method of onlay, which she called ‘high onlay’: the onlay leather left slightly thicker than usual to retain its texture and the onlays then tooled around the edges, in gold or blind as appropriate, to give a more textured, sculptural effect overall. (This method is described in Volume 28 (2008) of The New Bookbinder.)

Denise Yvonne Lubett (née Ullmann) was born in Paris in 1922. Having a Belgian father and English mother, living in Paris, she was brought up fully bilingual in French and English. In 1940 she fled with her family to the United States. Not content to ‘sit out’ the war, when she was nineteen she joined the Free French forces as a nursing officer and did what they wryly called the ‘Cook’s Tour’: following the Allied forces as they advanced through North Africa, Italy, France, Germany and Austria.

After the war she remained in Paris, where she nursed handicapped children, and it was whilst walking home from work one night that she passed a bookbinder’s workshop, went in and asked if she could work there in the evenings after leaving work at the hospital. This she did, but after a few weeks the effects of years of unremitting hard work caught up with her and she fell seriously ill. She ceased nursing, and


tribute 5Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

bookbinding – to which she would only return many years later, after marriage to Leon Lubett in London in 1947 and the birth of their son Roland in 1951. From 1957 to 1960 she read for a degree in French and Italian literature, gaining a First class degree. Soon after, her mind turned again to bookbinding, but she did not know how to go about it. Many years earlier, when she had sought tuition on coming to London, Sangorski & Sutcliffe had told her that (a) they didn’t take women apprentices and (b) she wasn’t a Union member – which, effectively, was only open to men. (Romilly Saumarez Smith later became the first woman binder to get a Union card, at Zaehnsdorf, in 1978.)

After some enquiry, it was suggested to Denise that she go to the classes at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and in 1962 she enrolled for one day a week under the tutelage of John Corderoy. In her class of eight amateurs, and numerous male trade apprentices who got preferential treatment, a fellow student was Sally Lou Smith who, like Denise, later became a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders.

It took Denise’s sort of tenacity and vivacity to counter the obstacles presented by this not-so-casual discrimination against women. Finding progress in these classes frustratingly slow, she characteristically took matters into her own hands. She removed the back seat of her car, drove to France, bought a car-load of bookbinding equipment and drove back to London (the Customs Officer charged her two pounds duty.) She set up the equipment at home and started work – up early, all day, every day, a habit which continued for the rest of her bookbinding life. She learned by doing and, as she readily and gratefully acknowledged, from frequent ‘phone calls to Sally Lou Smith for advice (which was always patiently given.) She also had limited periods of limited

instruction at the London College of Printing from William Matthews and Arthur Johnson.

Between 1966 and 1970 she entered annually the Thomas Harrison Bookbinding Competition (now the DB Competition) and in 1968 won the prize for the best work by a woman binder (!). Elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 1971, she was a committed and active exhibitor, who for many years undertook much committee and organisation work for the Society.

An activity into which she threw herself with characteristic excitement and enthusiasm was teaching the Fine Bookbinding class at Digby Stuart College, Roehampton, West London from 1984 to 1992. She set a high standard and ‘took no prisoners’, but it was also tremendously enjoyable. Her experience was invaluable, for whatever the bookbinding disaster, Denise knew how to retrieve the situation.

Unlike some of her contemporaries in fine binding, Denise had no training in art or design, but she was cultured, and she had a discerning eye, which she was assiduous in cultivating by means of her constant interest in visual and applied art – she was visiting exhibitions, taken in her wheelchair by a good friend, until a few weeks before she died. This discernment and appreciation fed her inherent sense of shape and colour, which was then realised – released – in her bindings.

I was fortunate enough to learn fine binding by watching and working alongside Denise: a precious apprenticeship. She was bold in her approach to making books, always excited by the idea she had for a book, undaunted by the complexity of the execution of that idea or by a new technique or material it might involve: she relished it all. She relished everything she did. Boldness, fearlessness and commitment were the hallmarks of her work, as of her life.


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I knew immediately what I wanted to write about for this article. It’s something I believe passionately in and feel needs to be addressed right now - the future of bookbinding.

I am deeply concerned that there is now no stand-alone accredited course in bookbinding available in the UK (though I know Shepherds and Bound by Veterans are working hard to get the City and Guilds qualification more established). This year I was privileged to observe the unpacking and judging of the Annual DB Competition. When I was coming up the ranks the Competition was the pinnacle of the year with the exhibition and prizegiving in the foyer of (what was then) the new British Library on Euston Road. The entries ran into the hundreds as students from Guildford, Roehampton, London College of Printing, Morley, Hampstead Garden Suburb would vied for the top prize, the Mansfield Medal. All of these courses are now closed.

A quick glance over the education section on the Competition entry forms this year showed a majority with either blank spaces or a little private tuition, only one from City Lit and one from Richmond Adult Community College. Most of the top entrants had worked their way through the last few remaining binderies, notably Shepherds and Wyvern.

For five years I was the bookbinding tutor for the Creative Arts and Graphics students at Bath Spa University. When I first arrived there was a brand new purpose-built bindery in its own designated room – imagine that! The next year the bindery was doubling up as the multi-media lecture room. The following year the whole bindery had been dismantled and relocated to a far-flung outpost of the university and by the time I left it was languishing in two cupboards in the technicians’ carpentry workshop, undiscovered by students who had signed up to do courses in book production with an advertised bookbinding module.

The students loved the hands on aspect of learning bookbinding with some going as far as saying that it had been the best part of their whole degree. But the powers that be had decided that digital was the way forward, that it wasn’t necessary for students studying book production to understand how a book is put together and that it was far easier to send the digital file off to the printers who would post back a complete printed and bound book with the students being none the wiser in how it was put together.

I am certain that this is symptomatic of institutions around the country and I’m sure the missives sent down from the

Department of Education to encourage digital and sciences at the expense of the creative subjects, along with massive cuts from government cannot help. Elsewhere around the globe, investment in creative education and making is rising. An education in craft develops creativity, inventiveness, problem solving and practical intelligence, all skills highly valued by employers. Funnily enough it reads rather similarly to the prospectus for the brand-new state-of-the-art Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College which my son has set his heart on. These aren’t skills useful only to some fuddy-duddy craftspeople but integral to the cutting edge of industry. By learning bookbinding, not only are we learning design, widely recognised as imperative to the innovation process and of great economic benefit by global corporations, of Apple etc., but also the use of materials, structure and functionality.

According to recent Crafts Council research, in the last few years higher education crafts courses have been cut by 46%. Yet craft contributes £3.4b to the UK economy with nearly 150,000 people employed in that sector. A quick trawl through the Hot Courses website and the Society of Bookbinders’ education page confirms that the only bookbinding courses available are short courses, masterclasses and private tuition. Institutions have worked out that it is much more economically advantageous to charge £500 for a 3 day course in basic bookbinding which is exactly the amount that I used to pay per term at London College of Printing for my part time HND. This gave me a brilliant grounding in all the basics, starting with the single section pamphlet binding, working our way through every structure up to full leather with gold tooling. Short courses do not give you the continuity learned through repetition of techniques at the bench.

In order to find hope for the future we must look to the past. The history of bookbinding in the UK, like all crafts, has varied according to the vagaries of fashion. After the Industrial Revolution, William Morris and friends, disturbed by the industrialisation of the workplace, set up the Arts and Crafts Movement. They believed that creativity, imagination and contentment were more important than profit. Whilst this sounds like the fantasies of the monied middle classes, they were actually astute businessmen with a thriving industry and bookbinding was at the heart of their output. It was T J Cobden Sanderson, who established the Doves Bindery to bind sheets from Morris’s Kelmscott Press, who gave the movement its name.


The future of Bookbinding by Kate Holland

“In order to find hope for the future we must look to the past.”



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A golden era in book production followed with equal importance placed on typography, illustration, printing and binding but after WWII there was a steep decline in the industry. The death of skilled binders during the war disrupted the apprenticeship system and, with a growing dependence on technology, artisans sought a future in areas other than handicrafts with many of the big workshops forced to close.

The Festival of Britain in 1951 was a pivotal event in bringing the creative arts to the attention of a dispirited British people after years of post-war austerity. In 1955, the formation of the Guild of Contemporary Bookbinders by Edgar Mansfield, Bernard Middleton, Arthur Johnson, Trevor Jones, Ivor Robinson et al (later to become Designer Bookbinders) worked hard to bring new life to hand bookbinding and to publicise the newly burgeoning art bindings movement. The larger workshops were now no longer expanding and the true vitality lay in the individual ateliers. This was a great period economically for design bookbinding as patrons, who were familiar with quality materials and good workmanship, sought out work to the highest standards of the craft but which also showed artistry and originality in design.

The 1960s and 70s and the counter-culture revolution saw an explosion of interest in handcrafts and the first generation binders became mentors to a willing and capable younger audience, but since the recession of 1990-2 there has been another decline. The glimmer of hope I see now is amongst the hipsters, the young fashionable people who lead the trends and form the opinions of the rest of the country. In this period of massive technological advances and digitisation of everything, the youth are harking back to the 70s and the handmade. Flares, beards and dimple pint glasses are in along with crochet, pottery and letterpress printing. We just have to make sure that bookbinding is in there too.

I’m excited as I feel the tide is turning but we at DB must work hard to publicise bookbinding to the wider world. I applaud Rob Shepherd’s recent article calling for more collaboration with the antiquarian book trade and the world of book arts. I

have to admit to bias as I was the manager of an antiquarian bookshop in a previous life but these people know their market and they already have established bibliophile customers with disposable income.

In the past, the close relationship that booksellers had with the binders was of fundamental importance to their economy. In my own small way, I am developing a range of contemporary bindings on well-known titles with the prestigious Mayfair bookshop, Heywood Hill. This acts as a commercial sideline to my more labour-intensive design bindings, much like a fusion range for a couture fashion house. If I were to think too hard about the hourly rate I can charge on a design binding then I would probably give up tomorrow. The bookbinders of the future need to see that there is money to be made in bookbinding and that it is not a “gentleman’s hobby” as someone once described it to me, much to my inevitable fury.

Unlike many career prospects, the crafts sector is looking positive. Crafts Council research shows that 90% of crafts graduates are in paid work, though we’ll gloss over the dearth of courses available. There is currently a buoyant market with opportunity for much growth and many affluent customers particularly keen to buy goods with local provenance, long tradition, a good story and ideally an element of bespoke, something made just for them. People have decided that it is worth paying a little more for something that will not be in landfill in 10 years time.

The advent of the Kindle has also not sounded the death knell for the book as was widely predicted. Sales of physical books are up and e-books down. Publishers are producing high-spec limited editions of classics with top quality production and illustration. The digitisation of the printed word is conversely raising the profile of the book as art-object. Design binding should be the logical conclusion to this trend.

Books have not merely weathered history, they have helped shape it with their ability to preserve, transmit and develop


8 featureFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

ideas. Historically books were a luxury item but in the 20thC paperbacks made them available to the masses and in the 21stC digital technology and global markets have made the written word even more accessible. The printed book is a really competitive technology. It is portable, hard to break, it has high resolution pages and an everlasting battery life. In the face of the e-book there is “now an imperative to make the entire physical package itself special” (Arion Press). It is notable that in the San Francisco area, that hub of high tech innovation, courses in bookbinding proliferate.

Somehow in the UK hand bookbinding doesn’t seem to be riding this crest. The applied arts are afforded great status but in the recent V&A exhibition “What is Luxury?” there were no bookbindings. At this year’s ABA fair at Olympia I think I counted 4 contemporary bindings on dealers’ stands and none by practitioners working today. (I know that DB has a stand at the ABA but it is not well visited by dealers, the very people we need to enthuse.) At Collect and Tent, the two most prestigious exhibitions of luxury crafts, not a binding in sight. (I am delighted that we are working towards exhibiting at Collect in 2017 and this must be supported.)

Typographers, illustrators, printers and binders should all be of equal merit. Currently the first three are acclaimed but the binders are being overlooked. We used to share an equal billing on the applied arts platform but no longer. Search the Crafts Council Directory and there is only one bookbinder (me). It doesn’t take much to apply but the more of us that are on that Directory the higher the public profile of bookbinding.

With this in mind, I am currently embarking on a project to raise money through Crowdfunder and the Arts Council to equip an ex-council mobile library. The Bookbinding Bus (a not-for-profit project) will take bookbinding workshops out to literary and music festivals, schools and city centres to introduce this fantastically rewarding craft to as many people as possible. I believe strongly that the more people we convert at grass-roots, the more we can enthuse to pursue it to the highest level.

Making fosters wellbeing. It is a vital part of being human. All over the country, people are rediscovering what our ancestors knew – that making something with your own hands gives you satisfaction, pleasure, solace…it’s the perfect therapy

for the age we live in. We at Designer Bookbinders must all work together to spread the word about bookbinding to the wider world. If we encourage more people to study the craft the institutions will want to offer the courses. If we raise bookbinding’s profile within the applied arts more people will want to buy into it. It doesn’t just make altruistic sense, it makes commercial sense. I won’t let bookbinding die on my watch – I hope you won’t either.

Support the Bookbinding Bus here: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-bookbinding-busSupport #bringbackbookbinding on Twitter. Together we can make bookbinding relevant for the 21st century.

“I am delighted that we are working towards exhibiting at Collect in 2017 and this must be supported.”



from afar 9

MDE – Meister der Einbandkunst – Internationale Vereinigung e.v by Susanne Natterer

The historical background of the MDE (Meister der Einbandkunst) can be traced back to 1912 when Paul Kersten (1865-1943), Carl Sonntag (1883 – 1930), Otto Dorfner (1885 – 1955) and Maria Lühr (1874 – 1969), all well known bookbinders at that time, initiated the Jakob-Krausse-Bund (society) to develop new and modern approaches in the traditional craft of bookbinding.

The society was named after Jakob Krause (1532-1586), one of the most famous and acknowledged German bookbinders of the Renaissance, working at the court of Elector August I. of Saxony.

Responding to the industrial manufacturing, the mass production of books, the uniformity of book design and the lack of a modern and contemporary design, the Jakob-Krausse-Bund was founded by artist bookbinders. They were aiming to merge the traditional craft, the high standard of training and the perfectly executed craftsmanship with the approach of a new language and expression in design.In 1914 the JKB (Jakob-Krausse-Bund) was quite successful at the world exhibition of booktrade (BUGRA) in Leipzig where 300 fine bindings were exhibited by the members of the JKB, almost 50 of them contributed by Paul Kersten. Another highlight was the brilliant exhibition in Berlin 1921 despite the difficult economic situation. Due to conflicts of interests among the members, the JKB was split in 1923. A new secession, the MDE – Meister der Einbandkunst (Masters of the Art of Binding) - was started up by Franz Weisse, Otto Dorfner, Otto Pfaff and Ignatz Wiemeler.

The JKB was restricted to only selected and qualified bookbinders. New members had to be invited by the society.From the beginning the MDE involved book designers and promoters such as Walter Tiemann and the publisher Dr. Klett, book collectors, bibliophiles, librarians and curators. The society was now also opened to bookbinders from other countries.

An important focus was the promotion of advanced education to a high standard in art and craftsmanship at the numerous bookbinding colleges and in the organization of exhibitions and publication of specialist literature. Quite soon, with an increasing number of new members, the MDE outstripped the JKB, that had been still coexisting with the MDE up until 1931. At the beginning it was suggested

merging both societies, but Paul Kersten of the JKB objected.In 1937 the MDE was forced to disband itself as Franz Weisse, the president, refused to accept forcible coordination under the Nazi Regime.The re-establishment of the society only took place in 1951. It was of great importance for former and for new members to re-establish themselves in a supportive organisation in the postwar period.

In 1964 “International” was added to the title of the MDE making it the Meister der Einbandkunst Internationale Vereinigung e.V. (eingetragener Verein) or International Federation Masters of the Art of Binding (registered society).Qualified design binders from other countries would now be encouraged and invited to join the society. By 1966 already one third of the members were non German. The supplement “International” was also of political importance after separating Germany into Eastern and Western parts in 1961. Being international the bookbinders from Eastern Germany could now join the MDE more easily because “International” gave the society a political neutrality.

In 1971 the formal constitution was revised and two categories of membership were established: Active Members being the established exhibiting members and passive members as supporting members. To become an Active Member the applicant has to prove him or herself by submitting five different design bindings using different materials and techniques. They have been executed within three years before application. Once accepted as an Active Member the successful applicant is honoured with the title “Meister der Einbandkunst” (“Master of the Art of Binding” ) Active Members are obliged to exhibit their recent bindings on a regular basis in a joint exhibition organised by the MDE, mainly every two years and in different locations. But raising the standards for an Active Membership has led to young and talented bookbinders hesitating about putting that amount of effort into achieving Active Membership. Consequently there has been stagnation in the Active Membership as

M e is t e r d e r E i n ban d k un s tInternationale Vereinigung e.V.

S o c i é t é I n t e r n a t i o n a l edes Maitres de la Reliure d’Art

I n t e rn a t i o n a l Fe d e ra t i o nMaster of the Art of BindingMDE



10 from afar

new and young participants have been missing. Regular exhibitions were lacking in participants to inspire a spirit of contemporary modern bookbinding in Germany.

In 2013 it was decided to change parts of the constitution and to change the Active Membership category. The purpose was to encourage the more talented, engaged and well trained young bookbinders to join in the activities, to take part in exhibitions of the MDE and to support the development and the presence of handcrafted and designed bindings of a high standard.

A new category of membership has been created:Members and Honorary Members awarded for services to the craft and the federation. Now bookbinders who are member of the MDE are allowed to apply for exhibitions, bookfairs etc. but submitted bindings will be judged by the executive members to guarantee a high standard. Executive members meet on a regular basis (at least twice a year and once for the AGM) to discuss and organise activities. Traditionally every two years the AGM joins with the association BDBI – Bund Deutscher Buchbinder e.V. (Association of German Bookbinders) organising workshops, lectures and excursions to keep the contact going. Many are members in both societies.

The outstanding and great exhibition “Moderne Europäis-che Bucheinbände” (“Modern European Bindings”) in Mainz at the Gutenberg-Museum 2001 has to be mentioned. The event was organised by Hans-Peter Fröhlich (President of the MDE at that time) and August Kulche, Belgium, Vice Presi-dent. Almost 300 bindings from all over Europe attracted by international publicity including a high percentage of re-markable fine bindings from Germany. The Bibliophile Socie-ty Maximiliansgesellschaft has published a catalogue of very high quality. A few years ago a complete change of the older generation within the organisation took place. Br. Edgard Claes of Belgium, president of the MDE from 2006-2008, encouraged the younger generation of keen and talented bookbinders to take on more responsibilities within the or-ganisation, e.g. in performing workshops and demonstrating their skills in public.

In 2012 a group of young and enthusiastic bookbinders took over positions and responsibilities in the executive committee. Since 2010 the society has been well represented every year with a stand at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs. The members exhibit their recent bindings that have been accepted by the executive committee. A catalogue is published for the Frankfurt Book Fair with the current bindings of the members.Also regular participation in the Norddeutsche Handpressenmesse BuchDruckKunst (BookPrintArt) in

Hamburg has become quite important for binders to get in touch with new customers and represent the society.

Edgard Claes initiated during his time as president a complete renewal of the appearance of the MDE-Rundbrief (Newsletter). The attractive appearance with colour illustrations, informative articles of a high standard, portraits of members, information on new and known techniques, event schedules, key issues etc. is treasured by the members and all who are interested in bookbinding and related issues.

The MDE-Rundbrief is published twice a year and is included in the membership subscription. Members are also kept well informed about the regular activities, announcements of exhibitions, competitions etc. by the Wurfsendung (Circular) published twice a year. Since 2013 the MDE has also sponsored the MDE-Prize to students at the Masterclass of Bookbinding in Munich for the best project and the overall exam result. This is to support and encourage young and talented bookbinders to prove and develop their skills by attending a workshop in CentroBelLibro in Ascona or in the atelier at one of the Executive Members of the MDE.

MDE Records in MünsterGustav Moessner (1903 – 1993), executive member of the MDE was one of the main forerunners to establish the MDE Records and to incorporate the collection in the University Library of Münster. He donated a considerable amount of his own subject and trade literature to the university.Collections of different documents about the MDE history, photos etc. are well kept as well as the remarkable collections of designed bindings by members and non members.

A lot of effort needs to be made to categorise the documents into the right order, to digitise the information for public access and for use for further research.

As we know the art of bookbinding is covering a small world within applied art, at least in Germany. And we all find it quite difficult to get the attention of the public and convince new customers. Unfortunately book collectors of contemporary fine bindings are not widely spread in Germany. The reasons have often been discussed as to why they are so underrepresented in Germany compared to other countries.

But all who are working for the MDE are enthusiastic bookbinders, they love their craft, they are dedicated to designing books, experimenting with different materials and working on new styles. Being present in public is most important, also to meet colleagues, to exchange knowledge and expertise with people who are related to books and to attract new and interested bookcollectors of contemporary bindings.


db competition 11Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.ukFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

I am very pleased to represent the MDE, to draw a brief outline of the history of the MDE and its current activities, to exchange ideas, improvements, developments and perspectives for the future, all aiming for a shared interest and cooperation. We are looking forward to further exchanges and talks.

Address:MDE GeschäftsstelleHeinrichsallee 72D-52062 [email protected]

Competition reviewby Andrew Spira

Co-judging the Designer Bookbinders Competition on November 4th was a challenge and a pleasure. Given current debates about the ‘surveillance powers’ of the state, the choice of George Orwell’s 1984 as the ‘set book’ for this year was highly topical; the possibility of remote access by unknown voyeurs to our phone-cameras and microphones bears an uncanny resemblance to the use of telescreens in Orwell’s dystopia. Moreover, the fact that books are themselves highly charged objects in the novel – concentrated sites of freedom and fear – makes the task of designing a binding for the book especially intriguing. Not only is it a text to be bound but, as a book (an outlawed object in Orwell’s world) it is an object to be performed – hidden and revealed, desired and detested. Entries to the Competition spanned the entire range of possibilities. At one end of the spectrum there were austere but impeccably finished bindings, as inscrutable as prison guards. At the other end were complex structures that strayed into the territory of ‘art works’. One rat-infested edition came in its own cage, realising the protagonist Winston Smith’s worst nightmare and rendering the thought of reading the book suitably terrifying. Another entry played on the idea of ‘binding’, and came bound - in two senses of the word - in a strait-jacket. In some cases, devices were nervously concealed within the structure of the book – illegal utterances hidden in the fore-edges, or windowed templates inserted between pages to isolate the most highly charged and traumatising words. Not surprisingly the image of the eye was a recurrent theme, looking back at the reader incriminatingly from every quarter. The diversity of ideas reflected in the bindings was vast, vividly conveying how powerfully and visually the novel imprints itself on the imaginations of its readers. The quality of work - both technical and imaginative - was hugely impressive, ensuring that the process of judging the entries was extremely difficult, while also providing a memorable range of piercing insights into the meaning and significance of a book that is not, alas, as out-of-date as one might like it to be.

Andrew Spira, Senior Lecturer, Christie’s Education



12 db competition

The Mansfield Medal for best book in the Competition Luke Hornus

The Folio Society for the set book 1st Luke Hornus

2nd Clare Bryan

The Clothworkers’ Prize for Open Choice Book 1st Kaori Maki

2nd Pamela Richmond

The Sally Lou Smith Prize for Forwarding Ben Elbel

St Bride Foundation Prize for Finishing Kaori Maki

Arthur Johnson Prize (judged by Bernard Middleton) Ann Tout

The Elizabeth Greenhill Prize (for gold tooling) Not Awarded

The Ash Rare Books Lettering Award Daniel Wray

The J. Hewit & Sons Prize Kaori Maki

The Harmatan Ltd Leather Prize Patrick Gibbins

The Judge’s Award (donated by Maggs Bros) Sarah Ruddick

The Shepherd’s Prize for Book Arts Miranda Kemp

Four Highly Commended Certificates given

by the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association 1. Bec Britain

2. Andrew Brown

3. Adelene Koh

4. Glenn Malkin

The Bookbinding Competition 2015

luke hOrnusWinner of The Mansfield Medal for best book in the Competition and 1st prize winner for The Folio Society for the set book.

clare BrYanWinner of the 2nd Prize for The Folio Society for the set book.

the Judges fOr 2015 were:Julie farquhar - The Folio Society | andrew spira - Senior Lecturer, Christie’s Education | mark winstanley - The Wyvern Bindery, London | sue doggett - Fellow of Designer Bookbinders

Sponsored by Designer Bookbinders and The Folio Society. Photographs of Winners’ Bindings: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk


db masterclasses 13Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.ukFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

Masterclasses 2016

The 2016 Season of DB Masterclasses are now available for booking. Each Masterclass will be held at the St Bride Bindery in Central London with a maximum class size of only 6 students. Early booking is recommended.

Further details on each Masterclass can be found on the DB website: http://www.designerbookbinders.org.uk/teaching/dbmasterclasses/dbmasterclasses.html

Payment can be made by cheque or Debit/Credit card.To book places please contact Wendy Hood.Email: [email protected]: 01225 342793

february 6-7, 2016 - Benjamin elbel‘distressed leather decoration technique’

(Enrolment for this class must be made before 26 December 2015)

Benjamin has developed a decoration technique using suede leather and paper as the main ingredient and controlled chaos as the creative principle. The results are rich patterns and textures, a material suitable for fine covering and a great starting point for design bindings. On day 1 students will create the leather which will be used on day 2 in a project yet to be revealed.

Cost: £200Materials: £20-40, depending on amount of leather used. Payable on the day.

march 5-6, 2016 - daniel kelm‘flatback case revisited’

(Enrolment for this class must be made before 31st December 2015)

The flatback case structure prepared for this workshop was inspired by Gary Frost’s sewn boards binding. In that binding the outside folios, sewn on with the text signatures, become the core supports for the front and back cover boards. Our case version utilises the same wrap around spine with offset, open hollow, thus giving it the same great flexibility. It also allows the possibility of using a one-piece construction of continuous cloth for the cover (rather than the quarter-binding configuration necessitated by the sewn boards structure). Daniel will present samples of variations on this binding.

Cost: £230Materials: TBA

april 9-10, 2016 - kate holland‘edge decoration’

(Enrolment for this class must be made before 27 March 2016)

Edges are another surface which allow the binder’s creativity to shine but they are often overlooked. They act as an important protective barrier as well as being a key design element of a fine binding. In this workshop, Kate will show you how to achieve the perfect glass smooth finish to your edges and work through a variety of decorative finishes. From basic sprinkling and sponging through graphite, marbling, paste, gauffering and gold leaf.


may 28-29, 2016 - Peter Jones‘experiments in alternative materials and structures for boards’

(Enrolment for this class must be made before 16 April 2016)

It is always fascinating to discover what various materials can bring to the binding process, how they can be manipulated and how they influence the structure and appearance of a binding. Some work well, some are more difficult, others resist the binder completely. In recent years Peter has been combining wood and acrylic sheet with leather in many of his bindings and this workshop will concentrate on various methods used to do this.


June 18-19, 2016 - annette friedrich‘doublures and the joys of a perfectly functioning joint’

Full leather or paper doublures are an exquisite, as well as a very aesthetic, finish to any fine binding. An integral aspect is the leather joint which can make or break the opening function of a book. It is not a problem to get it exactly right though, when you know what to look out for.

Cost: £200Materials: £20, payable on day.


14 db lectures Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

The Art Workers Guild6 Queen Square, London WC1

AdmissionFor the day: DB members £20, non-members £30, students £10Per lecture: DB members £8, non-members £12, students £4

Kate will talk about her adventures as a Designer Bookbinder so far, illustrated with examples of her work, her passion for teaching the (as-yet) unconverted and her plans for spreading the word. Then she will examine the future of fine bookbinding and its place in the pantheon of the applied arts through interviews with experts in the field.

Kate Holland started her career in books as the manager of an antiquarian bookshop. She enjoyed the hands on aspect of repair and refurbishment so much that she enrolled on a morning a week at City Lit. Bitten by the bug, she moved on to a part time HND at the London College of Printing. She then set up as a self-employed bookbinder and has never looked back. This year she was elected as a Fellow and was commissioned to bind a Booker title. What next?

Designer Bookbinders Day of Lectures - 9th January 2016at the Art Workers Guild

10.30 amMeet DB’s newest FellowKate Holland

12 noonDiscovering the Nag Hammadi Codices Michael Burke

In 1945 a clay pot containing thirteen ancient books was discovered near the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi. They are the earliest extant codex bindings and were found in remarkably good condition. In his lecture Michael will give an overview of the codices, explaining their provenance and contents. He will tell the fascinating story of their discovery and subsequent history, which involves murder, theft and cannibalism. He will describe the structural features of the original books and what we can learn from observing them. Finally he will show the steps involved in making a facsimile of a typical Nag Hammadi codex.

Michael Burke studied bookbinding with Dominic Riley and paper conservation with Karen Zukor. He lives in the Lake District, where he teaches bookbinding. In recent years he has taught and lectured at Society of Bookbinders conferences and seminars, and at Guild of Bookworkers meetings in the USA, as well as teaching tours in Australia, New Zealand and Brazil. Each year he teaches summer school at the San Francisco Center for the Book and across the USA. Michael researches the structures of ancient and medieval bindings, and has a Masters degree in the History of the Book from the University of London.


db lectures 15Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

2.30 pmSalvaging the Doves Press TypeRobert Green

In 1916 T.J. Cobden Sanderson decided to close his Doves Press, and famously threw all of its type into the River Thames. In 2010 Robert Green began his project to revive the typeface, but, unsatisfied with the accuracy of his initial digital version, he realised that the original type would have to be recovered from its resting place on the bed of the river. In 2014 Robert and a team of divers recovered 151 pieces of type, in remarkably good condition. Robert will talk a little about the history and work of the Doves Press and tell the story of his quest to recover the type.

Robert Green began a career in design in 1981, leaving school to become a junior in various Soho ad agencies and ‘art studios’. Returning to education in the 1990s after a spell as an antiquarian book restorer, he graduated with a BA in Graphic Design from Central St Martins School of Art before completing a masters at the Royal College of Art in 1998. Since then he has worked for companies as diverse as Nokia, Philips Research Laboratories, Adidas and many labels and brands in the music and fashion industries, as a graphic designer and typographer.

Applications to become a Fellow or Licentiate of Designer Bookbinders

Applications to become a Fellow or Licentiate of Designer Bookbinders will be considered at the next Fellows’ meeting on Saturday 20 February 2016.

Fellows of DB are elected on submission of their work and are considered to have achieved the highest standards in both design and technique. Fellows are the exhibiting members of the Society.

Licentiates are elected on the basis that their submitted work displays the potential in design and technique for them to be considered as candidates for Fellowship within a period of seven years. They also have the opportunity for their work to be shown in the Society’s exhibitions. DB is keen to encourage new talent and each Licentiate has two Fellows appointed as mentors to help develop their design and technical skills to the highest possible standard.

To apply you must be a practising bookbinder either born or resident in the UK, or have practised in the UK for at least five years for Fellowship and three years for Licentiateship and be resident in the UK when you apply.

If you are thinking of applying you may find it helpful to talk to a Fellow about your work.

Applications for Fellowship and Licentiateship should be received by the Secretary by Saturday 23 January 2016 (four weeks prior to the applications meeting).

For more information and details on how to apply please ask for a Fellow and Licentiate Pack from Wendy Hood, The Secretary, Designer Bookbinders, 24, Junction Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3NH. The pack can also be found in the Members’ Handbook. Email: [email protected] Tel: 01225 342793.


16 db lectures Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

Designer Bookbinders Tuesday Lectures 2016at St Bride Foundation, London

The Bridewell Hall, St Bride Foundation14 Bride Lane, London EC4Y 8EQTel: 020 7353 3331: www.sbf.org.uk

Lester will give an illustrated talk on the design bindings he has been doing since becoming a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 1986. He will describe how he developed a variety of styles which developed and changed over the years. Having conserved and restored a large number of early bindings he finds himself influenced by the history of bookbinding. Much of his work is informed by the studying of what has gone before. Lester Capon trained at Camberwell School of Art and Crafts from 1975-1977. He worked for James Brockman from 1977-1993 gaining experience on a wide range of books – repairing manuscripts and early printed books as well as working on Private Press editions. From 1993-2000 he was Programme Manager for the Fine Binding and Conservation course at Guildford College. Since 2000 he has been a self employed bookbinder based in Tewkesbury. He was elected Fellow of DB in 1986 and has served as president from 2003-5 and from 2009-11. He teaches regularly in Finland and his work is represented in public and private collections worldwide.

Tuesday 2nd February 2016‘A Little Too Much Is Just Enough For Me’Lester Capon

Tuesday 1st March 2016The Middleton Lecture: Circumventing Tradition (or How to Cheat at Bookbinding) Mel Jefferson

If one can’t – or won’t – spend 40 years at the bench honing hand skills and gathering knowledge and experience of tools and materials, then, in order to produce credible work, one must think laterally. As a very occasional amateur binder, Mel has endeavoured to exploit his non-binding skills and experience, and to combine these with techniques that can be learned and developed more easily. In this presentation he will – with reference to his own work – outline how he has sidestepped the veg and salad and gone straight to dessert. Shameful. Mel Jefferson worked as a freelance sound engineer and record producer for ten years before studying bookbinding and conservation at Colchester Institute. He subsequently worked as a freelance music software developer before concentrating on graphic design and image manipulation. He is a former editor of BOOKBINDER, and is the current designer both of that journal and of The New Bookbinder. He also designed and maintains the SoB and DB websites. Mel is a past winner in various categories of the SoB International Competition and winner of the Silver Medal and Best Set Book in the DB Annual Competition. His work can be found in several private collections in the UK.

Admission: DB members £10, non-members £15, students £7. Evening lectures begin at 7pm.


db lectures 17Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

Tuesday 5th April 2016Forty Years in BookbindingJulian Thomas

In his illustrated talk Julian will review his career beginning with his apprenticeship as a bookbinder and conservator at the National Library of Wales. He will describe his role training book conservators and visiting interns as well as instructing Archives and Records Association trainees while at the library. He will also speak of his influences, significant items conserved and of his design bindings including his work with the artist Kyffin Williams. Also illustrated and discussed will be the making of facsimiles of medieval manuscripts.

Julian Thomas began his career in the bookbinding section at the National Library of Wales in 1969. Up to his retirement in 2010, he had spent his entire career working in the library where he became Head of Binding and Conservation in 1981. He was elected a Fellow of Designer Bookbinders in 1996. He is now self-employed and undertakes book and paper conservation as well as commissioned private and edition fine bindings. He is an accredited member of ICON. In 2012 he was given Honorary Life Membership of the Archives and Records Association and also awarded the MBE for Services to Conservation Science and Bookbinding.

dB calendar 2016 Support our society and remember to buy a beautiful 2016 DB calendar before they’re all sold out. Get one for yourself and your book loving friends. The 2016 issue features beautiful photographs by Haein Song. Price £10 + P&P.

Calendars can be purchased from the online shop on the DB website www.designerbookbinders.org.uk. The shop can be found under the Publications tab on the Homepage. Payment through the shop can be made using a credit or debit card via Paypal (but you do not need to have a Paypal account to purchase online). Alternatively, calendars can be purchased from Wendy Hood, DB Secretary, by contacting her by phone 01225 342793 or e-mail [email protected] can be made by credit or debit card over the phone or by sending a UK cheque, payable to Designer Bookbinders, to: The Secretary, 24 Junction Road, Bath, Somerset, BA2 3NH.

JANUARY2016

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designer bookbinders www.designerbookbinders.org.uk


18 coursesFind out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

City Lit Bookbinding City Lit Bookbinding - Autumn & Spring 2016 programmeKeeley Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 4BA

For further information, to see the course outlines and full bookbinding programme visit www.citylit.ac.uk Enrolments: 020 7831 7831 [email protected] enquiries contact [email protected]

Bookbinding Intermediate 2: Leather skills and coveringA chance to learn and consolidate tool sharpening and leather paring skills. Students on this course will cover their own books with a ¼ leather spine and decorative siding papers. Follows on from VD273 but newcomers very welcome. VD274 Mon 18.00- 21.00 | 11 Jan – 21 Mar 2016 (11 weeks) | £317/£317/£208 | Tutor: Gavin Moorhead

Book Arts: Experimental structures - New Course!Explore ideas of layering, depth and structure using sculptural and theatrical book structures, collage and paper cut-throughs. Develop your ideas and skills in the making of unique hand made books. VD288 Mon 10.30 -16.3011 Jan – 8 Feb 2016 | £224/£224/£151 | Tutor: Clare Bryan

Decorated Papers – New Course! Discover something of the history of hand-patterned papers, try out a variety of pattern-making techniques and look at how to use them in your bookbindingsVD300 Fri 10.30 -16.30 | 12 Feb – 18 Mar 2016 (6 weeks)£306/£249/£195 | Tutor Nesta Davies

Paper Engineering: pop-ups and artist’s booksDevelop the 2D page into 3D pop-up. Explore folding techniques and simple book structures to create and develop your ideas into unique, individual pieces.VD290 Mon 10.30 – 16.30 | 15 Feb – 14 Mar 2016£220/£163/£146 | Tutor: Clare Bryan

Book Conservation & repair: leather- bound books A structured course covering the repair and conservation of leather bound books. Attention will be paid to the maintenance of historical detail, with emphasis being placed on conservation principles. VD203 Weds 10.30 – 16.30 | 13 Jan – 16 Mar (10 weeks) | £422/£309/£275 Tutor: Peter Spain

Book Conservation and repair workshopThree, term-long courses following one another for intermediate and advanced students with conservation experience. Ideal if you want to develop your skills further by working on your own projects with advice and guidance. Each term will include demonstrations that focus on a different aspect of book conservation. Term 2 course code VD246 VD245/246/247 Weds 18.00 – 21.00VD246 13 Jan – 23 Mar (11 weeks) | £322/£322/£214 per term. Tutor:Gavin Moorhead

Book conservation for beginners: leather-bound booksLearn the initial assessment and repair of a bound text, the cleaning and repair of paper, sewing of text-blocks, mending and attachment of boards and the paring and staining of leather. VD271 Thur 18.00- 21.00 | 14 Jan – 17 Mar 2016 (10 weeks) £291/£291/£192 Tutor: Peter Spain

BINDING re:DEFINED Wiltshire

The 2016 programme is now online – please visit the website to see our great line up of workshops. www.bookbindingworkshops.com

The Fin Book February 3, tutor Lori SauerThis is a very striking book with an exposed spine; the sections are separated by stiff card (fins) and the supports weave through to create a 3-dimensional binding full of shadows and light.

Wire Edge Binding March 1 – 3, tutor Daniel KelmWe are pleased to host this workshop given by American binder Daniel Kelm. Daniel will introduce participants to a number of structures and concepts that illustrate the versatility and usefulness of the wire edge. Enrolment for this class closes at the end of December so book early to secure a place in this unique workshop.

Binder’s Wallet April 19 – 20, tutor Lori SauerA must have. Made from sturdy leather with inner pockets to hold your favourite hand tools. And it all holds together with some clever binding techniques and finishes with a strap and buckle. All your friends will want one.

BINDING re:DEFINED aims to inspire a wider appreciation of book structures and how they make an intelligent contribution to the aesthetic of the finished work. The focus of our carefully selected programme remains firmly in the tradition of well-crafted pieces that exhibit the best in contemporary design. We are based in Wiltshire’s beautiful Vale of Pewsey and are easily reached by road or rail.

Please visit our website for complete details or ring Lori Sauer on 01672 851638 or mail [email protected]


db contact 19Find out more at: www.designerbookbinders.org.uk

designer Bookbinders are pleased to welcome the following new members:

New Members

Andrew BERRYTrendle CottageTrendle StreetSherborneDorsetDT9 3NTT: 01935 815367E: [email protected]

Ben DORNANFlat 587 Brondesbury RoadLondon NW6 6BBT: 07528 344133E: [email protected]

James FREEMANTLE19 Vandon Court64 Petty FranceLondon SW1H 9HET: 07792 418373E: [email protected]

Karin LEMLERHermannstraße 39a56076 KoblenzGermanyE: [email protected]

Elizabeth LONG2 Chapel RoadFlitwickBedfordshireMK45 1EAT: 07956 137328E: [email protected]

Eiko NAKAO3-12-19-501Tenma Kita-Ku530-0043JapanT: +81 6 63 51 48 87E: [email protected]

George PLUMBLYThe Old MillMill LaneMonkton CombeBathBA2 7HDT: 01225 723976E: [email protected]

Benjamin POINTERHalls Old FarmStibbEX23 9HNT: 07891 919653E: [email protected]

Phil RILEY13 Skimmingdish LaneCaversfieldOxfordshireOX27 8UWT: 07724 136398E: [email protected]

Janet WHEELERWatch Tower EndStaffordshireWS15 3RST: 01889 504342E: [email protected]

Kathryn WILKINSHigher PenscawnPenscawn LaneCornwallTR8 5ANE: [email protected]

PresidentLori Sauer5 Woodborough RoadBeechingstoke, Pewsey, WiltshireSN9 6HLUnited [email protected]

hon. treasurerJack London10 Pattison RoadLondonNW2 2HHUnited [email protected]

secretary and membership secretaryWendy Hood24 Junction RoadBathBA2 3NHUnited [email protected]

designer Bookbinders PublicationsDB Publications Ltd.6 Queen SquareLondonWC1N 3ATUnited [email protected]

the new BookbinderDesigner Bookbinders6 Queen SquareLondonWC1N 3ATUnited [email protected]

newsletterDan Wray 40 Ruskin Walk London SE24 [email protected] lay out Kieke Schaaper

information on dB [email protected]

[email protected]

Contact Details


Published by designer Bookbinders, 6 Queen square, london, wc1n 3at. Printed by tu ink, london

J Hewit & Sons Ltd

LEATHER MANUFACTURERS

BY APPOINTMENT

TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

MANUFACTURERS OF LEATHER

J. HEWIT & SONS LTD. EDINBURGH

And Suppliers of Equipment, Tools, Materials &

Sundries for all Craft Bookbinding requirements.

The ‘One-Stop Shop for Bookbinders’ is available online at:

www.hewit.com

Our online catalogue and ‘Shopping Cart’ is packed full of

information on the complete range of products we manufacture

and sell.

New Products at www.hewit.com/news/ include:

Knife Sharpening Guides

New Books and DVD's

New Plain & Decorative Papers

Archival Repair Goat

If you have any queries, please e-mail us at:

[email protected]

J. Hewit & Sons Ltd.

12 Nettlehill Road

Houstoun Industrial Estate

Livingston, West Lothian

EH54 5DL, Scotland

Tel: +44 (0)1506 444160 Fax: +44 (0)1506 437749

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Westfields Avenue, Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, NN10 8AX, UK

T: +44 (0)1933 412151F: +44 (0)1933 412242

E: [email protected]: www.harmatan.co.uk

elbel libroB O O K B I N D I N G

PERSONALISED METAL FOLDER

This is a tool specially designed to score paper or card.Our metal folders are available with initials in red on black leather or black on red leather. The ultimate gift for bookbinders!

Available from www.elbel-libro.com

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