American Academy of Bookbinding: 2012

Stiff Board Vellum

STIFF BOARD VELLUM WITH SLOTTED SPINE with Don Etherington

Learning a new structure and completing it in a week, especially using a notoriously uncooperative material like vellum, is quite a feat, but the students in the Vellum Over Boards class are up to the challenge and hit the ground running the very first day!

Sewing text blocks on double raised cords.

Monique took some time from working on her own fine binding which she is completing for the Designer Bookbinders International Bookbinding Competition to show students how to do a double core french headband. Of course, Don was happy to let her use his book to demonstrate.

Jeanne Goodman's first attempt at a French double core headband

The most interesting part of this structure is the attachment of the covering to the boards. A card is attached to the front of the board cover only along the spine side. When the book is covered, the vellum is adhered only to the loose cards on both boards and turned-in over the board. The vellum over the spine is slotted to show alum tawed covered cords but with no adhesive. Leaving the cards and the spine detached allows for the vellum to move freely but still keep its correct shape.

Posting by Jeanne Goodman.

BOX MAKING FOR CONSERVATION with Don Etherington

This past week in Telluride, the one week Box Making for Conservation class went on and students got to learn several new box structures to take home and apply in their own libraries!

Structures taught were a clear spine, four flap box, a clamshell box with a shelf, and rounded spine box. Students brought in their own books so to make custom boxes for each.

Patricia Selinger hard at work putting the walls of her box together.

Tools, Tools, Tools!

"It was so exhilarating to finally make a well-fitted clamshell box that has the vaccuum effect and makes a swooshing sound when closing!"

Posting by Jeanne Goodman, Finishing student.

Finishing

FINISHING CLASS WITH DON ETHERINGTON

Students from around the country joined AAB this spring for the class on Finishing taught by Don Etherington. During the first week, students prepared plaquettes and false spines with raised bands to practice hand lettering for titling, blind and gold tooling using fillets and palettes, and making leather labels using the QuickPrint.

Students covered plaquettes in goat, calf, alum tawed and parchment.

False spine and hand lettering tools

Don expertly pulling gold leaf to the cushion

Calf plaquettes were finished as a cambridge panel, its distinctive qualities include sprinkling of the leather and a centered panel design.

Cambridge panel

Students tool black lines onto leather by holding the tool over an open flame. Carbon deposits are then tooled into the leather.


Eric Nye preparing tool with carbon

Gabby Cooksey tooling carbon line on her cambridge plaquette

Onlays and Inlays by Marc Arend

Don also demonstrated the handtype setter and onlays and inlays that students were able to practice on their own plaquettes.

Second week is the most exciting, students take all the skills they learn in the first week and start tooling on real books! Many of the students brought books in from previous classes such as Forward and Covering to be finished.