Limp – Link – Long. Exploring Techniques Hidden In Libraries Across Europe

Course location Ascona

Students will be introduced to Northern European limp vellum binding styles. The class will begins with a short lecture showing various styles of bindings included in the collection of the Carolina Rediviva Library at the Uppsala University in Sweden. We will focus on materials and details, such as a rigid spine plate, weaving of the sewing thread, markers, and closures. Students will start by constructing a text block, shaping and preparing the supportive spine plate from a variety of materials, cutting the vellum cover to size and finally attaching the cover and adding closures. During the class we will have time for deeper study and discussions on some of the typical features found on books bound with this technique. We will then create two other bindings using these methods more freely … coloring and patterning the vellum, using metal and other nontraditional materials for spine supports of various shapes and sizes and working with unusual sewing patterns.