This illuminated book is illuminated in a style typical of the fourteenth century and bound in the late gothic style, circa early sixteenth century. This discrepancy in time periods is not a serious issue, because books were frequently illuminated and then bound or rebound many years or centuries later (Marks, 7; Szirmai, 277 n. 7). India ink (and dip pen) and acrylic paint were used for calligraphy and illumination. (Gouache is impractical in bound books: the pigments would rub off as a result of the friction of the pages. I cannot afford to purchase period pigments for use with period binders, plus I have a preschooler at home, so their toxicity is a big concern.)

Illumination: The Grandes Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry provided inspiration for the grotesques that appear in the early pages of text and the leaf patterns that continue throughout the book. The Grandes Heures was completed in 1409, but was illuminated in a style typical of a century earlier (from Thomas’s introduction, p. 10).

Pages: Pages are commercially available parchment paper handsewn with linen thread onto double cords (hemp). Page edges were trimmed with a plow, a period tool; sanded; and gilded with 22K gold leaf. Marks dates use of the plow to the sixteenth century (39). Edge gilding originated in Italy in the mid-1400s and traveled to other parts of Europe in successive decades (Marks, 39–40; Szirmai, 202).

Spine: The spine was rounded (made convex) and backed (a hammering process to curl the quires over one another). Rounding and backing came into use in the early to mid-1500s (Marks, 35–36). Endbands were sewn as a secondary sewing process, after trimming and edge gilding, using hemp cord (Szirmai describes this process in pp. 203–215). The hemp cord was covered with linen thread, followed by embroidery floss.

Cover: Quarter-inch-thick oak was used for the boards. Channels were hand chiseled into the boards to accommodate the cords, which were secured with wooden pegs. Edges facing the spine were beveled (Szirmai describes common channel patterns and attachment techniques in pp. 216–225 and wood species in Table 9.10 on p. 217). Alum-tawed goatskin was used as covering material, a leather very typical of the time period (Marks, 43–44; Szirmai, 225–226). I used gold paint to imitate typical gold-tooled patterns (Marks shows several lovely examples of gold-tooled bindings, particularly Figures 35, 46, and 72. The pointille tool was frequently used, which is why my design uses small dots of paint.) I also used leather inlay for the image of Spike, Atantia’s mascot. Figure 46 from Marks is an inlaid design, and Marks discusses leather inlays on p. 55.

Fittings: The brass clasp and bosses (corner guards) were handmade from brass sheets. This involved creating a seashell-shaped form from steel sheets and a wood block, hammering the brass into the form, engraving the lines, cutting out the final shape, and filing, buffing, and polishing the final fittings. I used two all-metal clasps instead of a clasp with a leather strap, in part because I have had a leather strap tear on a previous book. All-metal clasps were not as common because they had to be custom-made to fit each individual book, but Szirmai cites several examples in Table 9.16 on p. 253. The design on my bosses doesn’t begin to reach the level of fine craftsmanship shown in several examples, including those in Figure 9.57 on p. 266 of Szirmai.

Adhesives: Wheat paste, a period adhesive, was used for pasting the leather to the book (Szirmai, 228). Modern adhesives were used in the spine backing process and for edge gilding. (I do not have a glue pot, which is required for the hot animal glue used on spines in period. As for edge gilding, it is a tricky enough process even with modern adhesives. I am attempting to teach myself the techniques with glaire, the adhesive used in period, but the results have not been satisfactory thus far.)

Notes on the Sources

Exhaustively detailed information regarding styles and techniques particular to medieval countries and time periods is provided in Szirmai’s The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding, an invaluable resource.
The British Library Guide to Bookbinding was also extremely useful. Practical instruction on modern binding, which was adapted to fit period requirements, came from Banister’s The Craft of Bookbinding. See the reference list for bibliographic details.

Bibliography