Services
Everything below is quoted per book after we have seen it or seen good photographs of it. There is no price list, because the same symptom can mean an afternoon or a month.
Repair
Rebacking
The spine covering is renewed while the original boards and, where possible, the original spine piece are kept and laid back down. This is the repair that looks like nothing happened, which is exactly the point. Most books that arrive with a detached spine need this and nothing more.
Reattaching boards
Where the sewing is sound but the joints have failed, boards can often be reattached through the existing structure with linen slips or a cloth hinge, without taking the text block apart. Cheaper, faster and less invasive than a rebind.
Paper repair
Tears mended with Japanese tissue and starch paste; losses filled where a fill helps the leaf turn safely. We do not fill losses for appearance alone on ordinary books.
Rebinding
When sewing has failed along the whole spine, or when a previous repair glued the folds solid, the block is pulled, cleaned, resewn and bound again. This is the largest job we do and the one we talk people out of most often.
| Structure | Suits | Opens |
|---|---|---|
| Sewn on tapes, case binding | most trade books | well |
| Sewn on cords, laced boards | heavier, thicker blocks | very well |
| Sewn boards binding | light books, editions | flat |
| Long stitch in leather | notebooks, blank books | flat |
| Adhesive binding | nothing we make | badly, then not at all |
Enclosures
A clamshell box is often the most useful thing we can make. It stops further damage today, changes nothing about the book, and leaves every option open for later. For a fragile binding that is still readable, a box beats a repair.
- Clamshell boxes, cloth covered, in board thicknesses chosen for the weight.
- Four-flap wrappers for thin or pamphlet material.
- Slip cases, when a shelf has to look tidy and the book is sound.
Edition and trade work
Runs of twenty to a hundred, sewn rather than glued, in sewn boards or a simple case. Lead time depends on the sewing; assume six weeks and tell us the date you actually need.
Boxes we decline
We do not make display cases with foam cutouts shaped to a specific opening. They look impressive and they teach a book to sit in one position for a decade.