Books are meant to be opened
A small bindery for repair, rebinding and enclosures. One book at a time, quoted per book, returned working.
We are a two-person bindery. Most of what arrives here is not rare and not valuable — it is a family bible with a broken spine, a thesis that has to survive a library shelf, a run of forty catalogues that needs sewing rather than glue.
Our rule is simple: a repaired book has to open. A book that cannot be opened flat has been decorated, not repaired. That principle decides most of the choices described on these pages — which sewing structure to use, how much of the original spine to keep, when to leave a book alone entirely.
Marbled papers
Combed and stone patterns, pulled by hand in small sheets. Used for endpapers and box linings.
Book cloth
Buckram and lighter library cloths, kept in eleven colours so a reback can be matched.
Leather
Goatskin and calf for corners, spines and full bindings. Pared thin by hand.
What usually comes in
| Job | Typical turnaround | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Reback in cloth, original boards kept | 2–3 weeks | The most common repair. Keeps the book looking like itself. |
| Full rebind, new sewing | 4–6 weeks | For books whose sewing has failed along the whole spine. |
| Paper repair, per leaf | by arrangement | Japanese tissue and wheat starch paste. Reversible. |
| Clamshell box | 2 weeks | Often the honest answer: protect it, do not rebuild it. |
| Edition binding, 20–100 copies | 6–10 weeks | Sewn boards or case binding, quoted per run. |
Before anything is taken apart, we write down how it was put together. Half of a repair is the notes you made before you started.
Where to start
Send a note with three photographs: the closed book from the front, the spine, and the inside of the first opening. That is nearly always enough for a first answer and an estimate of the range. If the book should not be worked on at all, we will say so — that answer costs nothing.
If you are deciding between repair and a box, read Restoration first. It sets out the cases where leaving the binding alone is the better outcome.