Listen Up, Youngsters, II

Long before Micheal Bay was blowing everything up in computer graphics, Edwin S. Porter was making movies the old-fashioned way. Actually, when he made The Great Train Robbery, there was no old-fashioned way as Porter made the first movie. Ever. Silent. Short. Real people. Real trains.

Enjoy

Listen Up, Youngsters

Back before the world rotated too fast, the Dave Clark Five were musical co-conspirators with a couple of other groups you may have heard of: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. In fact, the Dave Clark Five pushed the Beatles' I Want to Hold Your Hand off the top of the charts with their Glad All Over in 196kabbible. Their other big hits were:

• Because
• Catch Us If You Can, (a very snappy tune)
• Bits and Pieces
• Over and Over
• Anyway You Want It

In other words, they were incredibly popular. And broke up in 1970. Dave Clark, by the way, is the drummer.

Frankenstein Rounded

This is my third attempt at a round back book. I like how they look when correctly done and I plan to make more of them, with a teacher so I don't screw up too badly. 

This is A5 in size, hard cover, of course, sewn on chords, and using brown paper that has been aged via the old trick of setting the pages on fire. And putting them out, too, of course. It is a little over 200 pages and includes the 1831 edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (via Gutenberg.org) plus an introductory essay about female authors in the 19th century.

Also included are pictures of the authors, Percy, and a variety of people related to the Shelley's such as Clair Clairmont. Plus drawings and photos of the monster, Frankenstein, and other movie stills. 

In addition, this is my first attempt at making real headbands instead of the glue on kind. This headband is simplified: a piece of book cloth (used on the spine) glued to a piece of string (used as the cords the text block was sewed to) and sewed into the head and tail of the spine. I like it and will attempt a two-thread headband next. I hope.

A First Art Box

This is my first attempt at making a box for art. Not my art, of course. Someone else's. First there is a slip case. Then, after you pull out the 'book' you need to open not one but two doors to get at the art.

The picture on the front was supposed to be nicely aligned, but it isn't. Deal with it. The, after opening the second door you have, viola! The art.

These are small sketches that the artist makes as a warm up. He didn't want them lying around the house unorganized so he asked me. Ha! Three weeks later: two boxes with a major screw up. But, hey, we all learn as we learn, right?

The Bookshelf by Luo Yu

What we have here is light entertaining us via a bookshelf and lots of tiny apples. Or images of apples. Or, perhaps more precisely, light apples.


the Bookshelf from Luo Yu on Vimeo.

Kickstarter for The Real Tedorigawa.

A Kickstarter campaign for a film about Tedorigawa Sake (手取川酒), the namesake of my bookbinding business. Take a look and, if you can, donate a few cents or more, eh?

Some Raamen Art

Ramen in Art from the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia. Ramen stacked up to resemble a stack of ramen by Korean artist Sang-Wook Lee who works in Georgia.

Plus, the art of eating lunch while standing in a crowd rushing past: keep the noodles vertical at all times for best results.

Seraphinianus & Voynich

 

Made up languages and fanciful drawings; exciting landscapes and a tweaked way of looking at the world. These seem to be common traits between the Codex Seraphinianus and the Voynich Manuscript. The main difference is the former was published in 1980, while the latter saw the light of day a few years earlier, about 1400~1448. And Seraphinianus was created by Luigi Serafini, but the author of the Voynich is a mystery. However, both books were published in Italy. 

 

Islamic Mini~Lined Notebook

I recently have become enamored with notebooks that can keep themselves closed. Islamic bindings have this feature. Islamic bindings have an extra bit of cover that wraps around over the front of the book. It protects the fore-edge of the book and, according to my extensive google research, the flap can also be used as a bookmark.

I experimented today with two lined notebooks about A6 in size. Each one has five signatures of four sheets each for a total of 80 pages. I used snaps attached to the flap and the front cover to keep the book closed. In my paper drawer was some paper that looked vaguely Islamic, so I used that as the cover paper.

Procedure:

1. Print out the pages which include lines, page numbers, my contact info, and, for no particular reason that I can discern, a picture of Claire Clairmont, Mary Shelley's husband's girlfriend. This took about one hour.

2. Fold and sew. Add the mull and extra strip of paper. This took about one hour, too. (Two books, remember.)

3. Measure and cut the book boards. This took about five minutes.

4. Measure and cut the book cloth. This was another well-spent five minutes

5. Glue everything together which took an additional 15 minutes or so.

6. Sew the snaps on. Gosh, golly. The first one took about fifteen minutes. The second one took about five minutes.

When I make another Islamic bound book I will use snaps again but I will make the books bigger, use thicker book boards, and apply the snaps before the book cloth.

What I learned on this excursion was to organize my material well. This enabled me to work quickly ~ or, at least more quickly than making just one book, for some reason.

Papermaking Pictures

First, that is one large piece of paper. Second, the drawing of the machine is from the 1850s. Things haven't changed much. In either picture.

The big paper is from Konopaki
The papermaking machine picture is from Griffen Mill

Street Fair!

Nice day and pleasant people.

Width of Book Boards

I've always had a problem figuring out the width of a book board. Then I found this nifty definition:

The width is the width of the book block plus the square and minus two board thicknesses to create the hinge.

Works for me. A 2 mm book board has a 4 mm hinge. Although I have also read the hinge should be 3.5 times the thickness; making it a 7 mm hinge.

If the square is 2 mm:

Book block + 2 - 4 = book block - 2.

Commission Finished and Appreciated

I delivered the commissioned piece and the client was most happy. After she strenuously inspected it.
A couple hundred lined pages and half bound - the corners are protected - with blue book cloth.I believe the endpapers are also a dark blue. I hope this won't be my only commission but I do hope it's my last free one.

First Commission

A person (friend? associate? Cuban spy?) asked me to make a lined notebook for her. She gave me the paper she wants me to use and the rough size - 'about this big,' she said as she folded the paper. She also said she didn't want any pictures - especially pictures of me - in the book. Not even my logo. However, since this is my very first commission, I'm ecstatic.

Am I getting so much better at bookbinding that she trusts me to make a good notebook for her or does she just want a free book? (Yes, I'm not charging her for it. Trust me, though, this is my last free commission. Although it also might be my only commission....)

Here are three pictures: the paper 'neath a haniwa, ten printed folded signatures, and the same signatures sewed up. A haniwa is that thing you see but the originals are from western and southern Japan from the Jomon era - from 10,000 to 3,000 years ago.

New: Tedorigawa Bookmakers Podcast

If you look at the top of this post you will see a new tab titled: Tedorigawa Bookmakers Podcast. This is a podcast I make for Tedorigawa Bookmakers. That makes sense, doesn't it?

Currently it has 95 episodes. The more recent episodes have me talking about my current work or the work of other people. There is occasionally an Interview with a Bookbinder. This is followed by a Bookmaking Audio Drama that is a conversation between a fictional bookbinder and a fictional customer. The episodes are at most about five minutes long, many are shorter but I don't think any are longer.

Here is a the 95th Episode. I hope it plays. If it doesn't, click on the new Tab at the Top ~ Tedorigawa Bookmakers Podcast ~ or download here:

• Tedorigawa Bookmakers Episode 95 (right click and save)

Podcast Powered By Podbean

The Tedorigawa Bookmakers Podcast is also available on iTunes at Tedorigawa Bookmakers.

Thanks for dropping by.

Fold-Out Book

I'm working on making a fold-out book that, I hope, will contain a local artist's sketches. There will be nine 'pages' when it's open but 18 pages overall. What I have discovered is the thicker the book board, the bigger the gap between the middle page and the outlying pages, especially the first one that opens (which is also the last to close).

I'm looking for very thin wood or will use .5 mm ( or 1mm bookboard, if necessary). They will be connected with book cloth or sewn together using color-appropriate thread. The color will depend on the artist.

The pictures show prototypes and a half-scale mock-up. I'm thinking one page will be B5, at least. It will be a bulky book but worth every penny. Will we make an edition? Depends on my skill, the artist's intention, and, probably, the weather when things are finished...?

Pretty fun working out all the logistics and technical details of a structure I've never made before. Great fun. Of course, it's taking time away from my Calvado rewrite.... Hmmm.

Check out:

http://tedorigawabookmakers.podbean.com

for audio & more photos about my bookbinding.

Calvado: A Deadly Love Story Rough Draft

I used a piece of cardboard and cased in a rough draft of a great novel called Calvado: A Deadly Love Story about a beautiful medical student who doubles as a fashion model. And the man with the mysterious disease that almost kills her. Anyway, Two people have read it so far and neither one caught the big, Big, plot hole. So I'm going to spend January fixing the hole and hopefully get the ebook version up on Smashwords.com before the end of January. The hardcover, handmade version will be ready about then, too.

The pictures are front cover, the back open, and the first, edited, page. Please enjoy your holidays as I toil over the rewrite. Ha!

Rough Draft Novel Bound: The Idiot Runs

This is my novel, The Idiot Runs. Autobiographical? I think not, my friend. It's a rough draft complete with some of my corrections. I wanted to practice casing in, so I cased it in. Odd, isn't it, how practicing doing something is better than reading about doing something? It's cased in rough (rough draft, see?) white paper with no indication for front or back. Similar to the novel itself which goes from present day Oregon coast to Venice in the 1400s and Jensen's print shop. See why it isn't autobiographical? It's a love story, of course. The main experiment was making very thin covers so that the novel itself is flexible. A success, I think.

Medieval Book Completed and Named

In the past few weeks I've been slowly putting together a book. I know, what an odd thing for a bookbinder to be doing. However, this is a new style for me and only the second one at that. A little thought was involved. Yeah, very little - I'll explain that in a moment. First, the book.

Jumps with Snow is its name because it was completed during a heavy snow storm. It is 140 pages, B6, blank journal. "Blank journal" means the bookmaker was too lazy to print anything, even lines, on the paper. OR, in my case, eager to try out a new binding. In this case the binding is a rounded back with raised cords.

Overall, an enjoyable experience wherein I learned a lot. First mistake, put one endpapers in upside down. Second mistake, put the endpapers on the mull instead of Under the mull, thus hiding it from the book's user. A habit of mine I should break. Or use some thought? Yes, thinking would be good. Major mistake, kind of, was making too few signatures. It only has seven whereas if it were 15 or so, it would look better. Allis Experience and Training.

See you next week, I hope. For audio and more pictures, check out:

http://tedorigawabookmakers.podbean.com

Cooking Up a Medieval Book? Maybe

I'm starting, slowly, to make a book like I've never made before. The signatures are sewn on raised cords, then the spine is rounded for a 1 cm book board. After I'm finished the spine should have bumps on it.

Here are three pictures of this glorious work in progress. The first problem I've encountered is I have made too few signatures. Seven is too few. It would be better to have maybe 15 at least. Maybe even twenty.