I’ve been in need of a new hobby… as well as a new sketchbook. So I opted out of the normal $10 sketchpad and decided that I would build my own book press and start hand crafting my own sketchbooks. This ended up costing 3 times as much, but the end product seems more substantial. I’ve done 3 books so far. My latest experiment in book binding was a sketchbook made from a vintage copy of The Adventures of Mr. Mockers, circa 1933 (thank you Brattle Book Shop for this awesome $1 find). It took a few rounds to get it right but I think it turned out nice. I added a splash of color with the cherry red inner covers, an elastic book closure, and a small vintage envelope in the back for business cards etc. I also added a few of the original book’s illustrations into the perfect bound text block.
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| Outside View (click to enlarge) |
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| Inside View (click to enlarge) |
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| Brattle Book Shop – Boton (Don’t tell them I sliced and diced their literature. They’ll never let me back in. ) |
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| My hand made book press. Nothing fancy, but it does the trick! |
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| book press in action |
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| My first experiment, using the new Clark Theater box I designed for NECCO. |
Visit my full website at www.gbloomdesign.com