Botanical Books.

               Leather books bound in Eco - Print leather 

      using natural vegetation to produce one off pieces of art.

ECO-PRINT LEATHER COVERING A JOURNAL
with protective slipcase

 

I have been spending time looking into eco-printing and have discovered that it is possible to produce beautiful botanical pieces of art on leather.

Each piece is a one-off artwork and I have sourced some gorgeous pieces that I can use to cover books with.  I am working with a small company in Indonesia who produce these prints on cloth and leather. 

They also give courses and Sidik from ARAE has been very helpful and keen to collaborate.

Below are a few examples of journals bound using this leather. It is tough and hard to work with. Hours of paring before I am able to use it but well worth the tired hands I feel.

I am hoping to be able to support this small business by producing bespoke bindings using this leather so all commissions are very welcome, be it a journal for a gift, a family photo album, a visitors book or a gardeners note book. I will be ordering some other colours so keep an eye out for some gorgeous books on my social media pages.

Eco-print leather covered journal

Eco-print leather covered journal

Eco-print leather covered journal

Detail of red leather end bands 

Video below showing some of the processes involved in the production of leather dying/ printing.

 Marbling Leather

Over the past few years I have been developing the technique of marbling leather using pigments floated on  Carrageenan Moss. I have found that a natural veg tanned hide split to 1mm takes the pigments very well. No need to pre load the leather with an alum unlike paper.

Picture showing colours floated on Carrageenan moss before the leather is placed on the surface.

Kate Brett from Payhembury Marbling has written a easy to follow book on marbling paper. See link below.

https://www.payhembury.com/Payhembury_Marbled_Papers/Marbling_Book.html

Its been fun to take these techniques and apply them to leather creating some interesting designs.

Once the marbled leather is dry it can be prepared as usual by edge paring ready to cover some books.

I have used the leather on many books from photograph albums to 1st Editions. The marble can be both striking and subtle. Below are some examples. 

Other fun uses for marbled leather I have been playing with is to make belts. Perfect festival gear. 

I have also been asked to apply paper thin marbled leather onlays to archival paper to be screen printed over the top by an artist.

I stock marbled leather journals in the website shop and undertake commissioned bindings. Please get in touch if you have a fun project you would like to discuss. www.blackcatbindery.com

Bookbinding video showing the sewing of an antiquarian book by hand

This video shows how a traditional book is sewn on tapes on a frame. Each section is sewn through the middle and attached to the next at the kettle stick, each end of the gatherings.

This is a time consuming process so the video has been speeded up in places.

Antiquarian books

Just thought I would share with people the kind of books we get in for a bit of TLC.

Looking around the bindery I found this pile of lovely looking books and thought it would be a little snap shot of what we deal with in the bindery on a weekly / monthly basis.

We restore antiquarian leather and cloth books as well as make clamshell storage boxes for the really special editions.

Some books just need a little clean while others are here to be restored and /or boxed.

Our clamshell storage boxes are handmade using double thickness boards with interlocking corners for strength and rigidity. Covered in a multitude of different fabrics or leathers we can produce a box to suit any book or occasion be it for storage purposes or a presentation evening. 

Below is a little video of a little cloth covered storage box for some rather lovely poetry books by Gustav Regler. Printed and bound in Mexico in 1943. illustrated by Alice Paalen and Louise Vogeler-Regler. One is signed by Regler and Paalen and is copy number 12 of 50. The pair of books also come with a photograph of Regler at a dinner party.......... I love a bit of history

We can also make storage boxes to look like leather bound books. These can stand on your library bookshelf and echo the look of book it is protecting. No more horrid, ugly storage solutions.

Leather table planners / seating planners

Handmade by Black Cat Bindery, Somerset, UK

http://www.blackcatbindery.com/product-category/table-planners/

This bespoke leather Table Planner is the perfect dinner party companion. Ideal for those who loves hosting dinner parties. A lovely centre piece designed for fine dining. You can freely arrange the seating plans for your guests, swapping things around at the last minute if someone cancels or requests to bring an extra guest. Just pop the name card between the leather panels to hold them securely. Also makes for a great housewarming gift.

Our traditional seating planner is bound in genuine  leather with gold hand decorative tooling on front. It measures approx. 19” x 9”. A house or family name can be embossed in gold in the middle of the planner, included in the price.

Colours available are the classic racing green, which compliments the gold tooling beautifully, the rich scarlet red, traditional tan and a beautiful mid blue.

We can also source further colours, if needed, from our supplier.

The seating planner is lined, on the back, in a moire cloth and housed in a velvet bag. 

We also include a bundle of blank name cards.

Some examples of recent planners below

We also make matching personalised leather napkin rings.

Company logos and family crests can also be embossed onto the centre of the seating planner.

We can also make table planners to bespoke sizes and shapes

Presentation storage boxes

Bespoke clamshell storage and presentation boxes hand made to order.

Perfect storage solutions which are both beautiful and useful. 

Keeps items dust free and away from damaging light.

These boxes are covered in leather and linen with a rounded book spine. Raised bands on the spine with gold lettering and decorative tooling

Half leather storage box with marbled paper sides. Leather spine labels and decorative gold tooling