The Harrington Bindery

The K-118 binding structure is a hand bookbinding technique that I started experimenting with about a year ago. It promises reliable, easily opened books without 'Backing' the mechanical folding of sections of pages onto themselves at the spine. It uses oversized parchment spine liners that are glued, worked into the spine and subsequently interlaced with beveled cover boards. I find that at this point in the process (as shown) the book is very stable, the last picture above is an early example of this binding style I attempted, put aside, then promptly forgot about only to rediscover it last weekend - a year later. This is due in part to the fact that all of the structural components of the book are already in place. To say it a different way, the covering material is not counted on to be structural, though I have found that particularly thick leathers (4 oz+) will undoubtedly impede the opening slightly. Is it an exaggeration to love the K-118 style? For me, I don...

I am often struck by the depth of knowledge and skills one must attain to be any good at binding books. That's not to say that one can not make a fine book without these things but the nuance of the art seems to come form being able to make well informed decisions. I find it almost thrilling (that is after the panic) to come to a roadblock in a process or job and be forced down a detour to another skill or process that must be concurred before continuing. Three years ago around this time I was in my final semester of my masters, my thesis consisted of a book for which I spared no expense. It was the first time in the eight years since I had started to learn the craft that I had touched a fine bookbinding leather. It was one of those moments that doesn't gain its psychological weight until it ripens with age and when it does its almost obvious. I had an English style leather pairing knife for a couple years, purchased in 2010 because of its inexpensive price and numerous men...

Over the past spring I designed this blank for a very close friend. Fitted around a mechanical engineers front shirt pocket this tiny volume needed to be exceptionally strong and as hard wearing as the owner. A 4 oz goat skin covering leather is minimally paired to provide the requested, slightly limited, flexibility, 10 x 10 1 inch grid custom designed and printed on Mohawk supper fine 25% cotton paper. End papers are custom printed turn of the century images of the city of Worcester MA.

Its Official! I will be participating in Bushwick Open Studios the upcoming weekend of September 30 - October 2. I will continue to post more info when I receive it and more information about the event can be found here : http://artsinbushwick.org/ Also, if you have been wondering, that is what I have been up to instead of writing here. So sorry. Lastly, a new website that features my bookbinding will be launching soon.

Mid way through working on a commissioned set of books for a carpenter friend of mine I came across a binding style referred to as the K-118 by Bruce Levy who wrote about and bench tested the structure. The K-118 structure piqued my interest immediately due to its remarkable flexibility and full access to the gutter. I originally tested the structure on a collection of books, articles and transcribed lectures on bookbinding that I digitally compiled into a single document and printed in signatures. The basics of the structure are a text block sewn on velum strips, tapes or cords in a manor to keep swelling to a minimum. The block is rounded but not backed and covers are shaped on the spine edge to continue the arch of the round of the block. Covers are attached and the spine is lined with velum cut to fit in between the supports and three times longer than the width of the spine. The excess velum on ether side of the book is cut into thirds and the outer two sections are attached to ...

One of the first successful Springback books I bound was a sketch book I created for my brother. After finding some rather incomplete information about the Springback structure online I started making my own prototypes. A mistake on my part converting metric to imperial lead to this book to have a pronounced lump where the too thick lever was fed into the split board covers. This structure is a couple years old at this point but last week I got to see and touch it again. I am happy to say that it is holding up beautifully and looks as new as the day I finished.