Tonight is the opening for the exhibition Once Upon a Book at SF Center for the Book. It explores the creative process of the work of six children’s book illustrators. The curator, Thacher Hurd, shot video of each illustrator discussing his working methods. The one below is from Chris Raschka. See them all here
Every spring the Donna Seager Gallery in San Rafael, CA has an “Art of the Book” exhibition. She also puts the books online so you don’t have to get to California to see them. The current exhibit is here, and last year’s exhibit is here. Below is a book for this year — The Apple Tree by Lorna Crozier, paper cut by Sarah Newman. (Sarah also does these wonderful cut letter illustrations…)
I mentioned this simple to make finishing press in my directions for the double-fan adhesive binding. But I think it merits a mention in a blog entry too. 
A ‘finishing press’ is used to hold the text block of a book vertically, spine facing up, while the book is out of its case and repair treatments are in progress. Normally the procedures performed while the text block is in the finishing press are the cleaning of the spine and the attachment of the new headbands, super, and spine liner. It acts as a vice, holding the book tightly, yet not damaging the text block. (The definition comes from Indiana University).
Directions for making the press are here. You can see photos of more substantial presses on Timothy More’s website.
The other day my friend Cathy sent me to Britta Gustafson’s blog post about her flexagon — a map of three summers in the Bay Area. [If you don’t know about flexagons, they are similar to Jacob’s Ladder toys — flat “books” made from folded paper that are then unfolded, or flexed, to reveal a number of hidden faces. Wikipedia gives the history and probably more than you want to know…] Britta’s post has great pictures plus an animation toward the bottom showing the various panels on the book. Cathy knew I’d like the post because it’s both map & book related. I like that each flex of the flexagon becomes more specific.
Cathy’s email reminded me about the “10 Books in 2 Days” classes Cathy organized several years ago to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the San Francisco Center for the Book. She set up 5 stations a day, each with a different book structure or printing method and different instructor; participants rotated through the stations doing each activity. I was charged with designing a flexagon that participants could make. I found two resources that were a great help — Ed Hutchin’s instructions that number the panels so you can tell if you’ve made the thing correctly when you try to flex the panels, and the Flexagon Portal with more instructions and videos and how-tos for making various shaped flexagons. Ed also has a page of examples with pictures of all the panels.
If you’d like to try to make one, download this PDF of “A Bookmaker’s Bag ‘o Tricks” flexagon I designed for Cathy’s event. It’s 2-sided and has 2 flexagons. The top half is for practice, with the numbers as on Ed’s instructions. Once you’ve mastered the folding, use the bottom half to make the flexagon.
The Etsy Bookbinding Team celebrated the International Edible Book Festival by holding a virtual exhibition and competion on April 1st. The festival was started in 2000 by Judith Hoffberg; the festival website says “April 1st is the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), famous for his book Physiologie du goût, a witty meditation on food. April fools’ day is also the perfect day to eat your words and play with them as the ‘books’ are consumed on the day of the event.”
You can see all the books submitted in this Flickr pool. The winners (for best overall, best technique… ) are listed here. Pictured is Raland Kinley’s “Ham Pamphlet” or more simply known as the “Hamlet”. Materials: sliced ham, fettuccine noodle; binding: 3-hole pamphlet stitch.
I think of “altered books” as books that have been cut up or colored. Jennifer Khoshbin does that as well as making “music books” — vintage texts with small hand cranks — turn the crank with your ear to the book to hear a tune. Below left, Donkey John, a music book. On the right, Prove it, a cut book with a pop-up. You can see more on her website ( you can also hear some of the tunes in the music books).
