A Bookbinder’s Compendium: Workshop Handouts 2001-2025 by Karen Hanmer.
Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer Book Arts, 2026.
Even More Simplified binding: spine wrapper of Atlantic salmon parchment processed by the binder and dyed in pomegranate and logwood. Boards a laminate of multicolored Murillo paper, sewn on vellum supports laced in and out at the shoulders. Hahnemuhle Ingres endsheets. Rolled paper endbands. Headcaps and sewing supports colored with mica-infused watercolor. Bound 2026.
8 ¾ x 7 ⅜ x 1 ¾ “
This is the second bound copy of an anthology of thirty-three workshop handouts written by the binderon topics including fine binding, a range of historical and contemporary structures, notes on materials, and professional practices.
This text is available in printed, unsewn sheets.
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, illustrations by Julian De Narvaez. Irvine, CA: Suntup Editions, 2022.
Sewn boards binding: Covered in inkjet-printed Ruscombe Mill chateau vellum paper with Fabriano Roma flexi endpapers. Bound 2026.
9 x 6 x 1 ¼”
23 x 15.5 x 3.5 cm
The protagonist’s horrific wartime experiences leave him unmoored in time, space, and reality. The book is titled both normally and inverted as the archetypal tool of his postwar profession: the optometrist’s Snellen eye chart. Numbers on the spine document years between his numerous time jumps.
A Bookbinder’s Compendium: Workshop Handouts 2001-2025 by Karen Hanmer.
Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer Book Arts, 2025.
Illustrations of tools used in traditional bookbinding by Henry Maron, inkjet-printed onto limp case of Hook cotton and linen case paper, lacing straps of Cave paper. Roma handmade paper endsheets. Bound 2026.
8 ¾ x 7 ¼ x 1 ¾ “
This binding contains the only printed version of the first draft of an anthology of thirty-three workshop handouts written by the binder on topics including fine binding, a range of historical and contemporary structures, notes on materials, and professional practices.
This text is available in printed, unsewn sheets.
Salmonia: Or Days of Fly Fishing. In A Series Of Conversations. With Some Account Of The Habits Of Fishes Belonging To The Genus Salmo, by Sir Humphrey Davy. London: John Murray, 1828, first edition.
Bradel binding covered in sockeye salmon parchment processed by the binder over marbled paper by Abra Mueller. Attachment of parchment to the boards is reinforced with salmon parchment tackets painted with shell gold. Spine wrapper of parchment over red Roma paper.
Hahnemühle Ingres endpapers with Roma flexi flyleaves and pastedowns. Rolled Japanese tissue endbands. Head and tail of spine wrapper painted with shell gold. Label of Japanese tissue over marbled paper, title stamped in dark brown foil. Bound 2026.
7 x 4 ½ x 1 ¼”
18 x 11.5x 3 cm
This volume by British scientist Humphrey Davey continues the tradition of The Compleat Angler, as an extended reflection on science, nature, and the human condition through the lens of fly fishing. The book contains three engravings and a sprinkling of smaller illustrations of fish in vaguely whimsical environments.
The Natural History of Fishes, particularly their structure and economical uses by J. S. Bushnan, Edinburgh: W. H. Lizars, 1840.
Award second prize in the North Bennet Street School bookbinding program 40th anniversary exhibition.
Bruce Peel Special Collections, University of Alberta
Bradel binding covered in steelhead parchment processed by the binder over marbled paper by Abra Mueller. Boards laced on with bespoke two-color, linen sewing cords. Spine wrapper of green salmon leather. Attachment of parchment to the boards is reinforced with steelhead parchment tackets painted with green watercolor that includes mica. Sewn on guards to permit full opening to the color plates.
Hahnemühle Ingres endpapers with Bugra flexi flyleaves and pastedowns. Rolled Japanese tissue endbands. Head and tail of spine wrapper painted with shell gold. Label of Japanese tissue over marbled paper, title stamped in dark green foil. Bound 2026.
6 7/8 x 5 ¼ x 1 ¼”
17.5 x 13 x 3.25 cm
This volume from a mid 19th century natural history series includes 32 hand-colored plates of fish in vaguely whimsical environments. I wished to create an aquatic context for the illustrations.
The Complete Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton, London: William Pickering, 1827.
On exhibit at the New Bedford Whaling Museum October 16, 2026 - February 15, 2027.
Limp binding based on the non-adhesive “clip-on cover” structure. Covered in case of sockeye salmon parchment processed by the binder and dyed in pomegranate, cochineal, and logwood. Text block sewn long stitch into Hook Paper wrapper, Ruscombe Mill endpapers, Hahnemühle Ingres chemise. The two skins joined with fish parchment tackets painted with shell gold. Titled on removable “fishing lure” pieced together by the binder. Bound 2026.
4 1/2 x 3 x 1 1/4”
11.5 x 7.5 x 3 cm
The Complete Angler is a meditation on nature, friendship, and of course fish and fishing. First published in 1653, it remains among the most reprinted English language books. This edition, like others printed in London in the early 19th century departs from the original spelling of the title The Compleat Angler.
Incorporating the title into the design of a binding can be a challenge, especially on the uneven surface the scale pockets leave on fish parchment. This spinner engraved with the title hooks into the seam between the two skins.
The Complete Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton
London: William Pickering, 1825.
Private collection, Germany.
Laced compound folded cover binding based on a 2003 illustration by Gary Frost. Lake trout parchment processed by the binder. Sewing supports of pink salmon leather. Griffen Mill endpapers. Title inkjet-printed on Hahnemühle Ingres chemise, visible through translucent case. Bound 2026.
4 ½ x 3 ¼ x 1”
11.5 x 8 x 2.5 cm
The Complete Angler is a meditation on nature, friendship, and of course fish and fishing. First published in 1653, it remains among the most reprinted English language books. This edition, like others printed in London in the early 19th century departs from the original spelling of the title The Compleat Angler
The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful: A Tract on Calligraphy, Printing and Illustration & on the Book Beautiful as a Whole by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson
A facsimile of the 1900 Dove’s Press original. Tucson, AZ: Ampersand Studios, 2022.
Collection of University of Chicago
Limp case of Ruscombe Mill handmade linen paper, vellum sewing supports and edges of paper case gilt. Binding sewn with green thread in the style of the Doves Bindery. Bound 2024.
9.25 x 6.75 x .25”
23.5 x 17 x .75 cm
I wanted a modern, enthusiastic-opening update to the original limp vellum case. I chose a paper to match rather than contrast the very bright white text. The green thread, use of at least some vellum, and the gratuitous use of gold are all nods to the work of Cobden-Sanderson. The titling mirrors the shop’s distinctive signature THE • DOVES • BINDERY
Fishing in Canada. Montreal: Canadian National Railways, ca 1930.
Aspects of exposed structure are part of the aesthetic of this Even More Simplified binding. Boards covered in coho salmon parchment processed by the binder and dyed in indigo, pomegranate and cochineal. Parchment backed with Roma handmade paper, some visible on the rear board. Goatskin spine wrapper laced on with linen sewing cords made by the binder. Attachment of parchment to the boards is reinforced with salmon parchment tackets, these and the endcaps are painted with shell gold. Hahnemühle Ingres endpapers with Roma flexi flyleaves and pastedowns. Rolled leather endbands. Hand titled in 22 kt gold foil. Bound 2025.
8 3/16 x 5 x 7/8”
20.7 x 12.7 x 2.3 cm
The book, missing the original cover, which was scanned and printed from a similar edition, was a garage sale find, a gift from a colleague. A 1923 edition of the missing map was located online, printed on handmade Akbar paper, and sewn in on a guard. Map courtesy of the University of British Columbia Library Digitization Centre and its generous donors. <http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0343188>
One comedy, one tragedy, one history and the series prospectus from the Limited Editions Club The Plays of William Shakespeare (1939-1940) bound together to approximate the size and heft of a First Folio. Included are TheTaming of the Shrew illustrated by W. A. Dwiggins, Antony and Cleopatra illustrated by Enric C. Ricart, and Henry the Eighth illustrated by Eric Gill.
Bradel binding: goatskin spine with false bands, handsewn silk endbands, marbled flexi endsheets, edges sprinkled in white acrylic. Vellum boards laser etched with the two most recognizable pages from the First Folio: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson’s dedication. Blind tooling on spine and as a frame around both boards. Digital images of the First Folio courtesy of the Library of Congress. Laser etching by Insiya Dhatt. Bound 2025.
This austere binding mirrors Johnson’s exhortation to “dwell not upon the physical book but on the words within.”
33 x 23 x 4.5 cm
13 x 9.25 x 2”
This binding was created for Durham University’s Binding the Bard competition. A proposal for binding a facsimile of Durham’s first folio, it returns the iconic pages that were removed after its 1998 theft: the title page bearing the Martin Droeshout portrait of William Shakespeare and the facing page with the dedication by Ben Johnson.
This marriage of traditional materials and contemporary technology honors the past while creating a modern binding for this four-hundred-year-old work.
The binding structure echoes this melding of classical and modern: viewed from the spine the binding appears to be sewn like the original on five raised supports laced into boards. When open the book reveals the contemporary lines of a three-part Bradel binding.
Natural markings visible on the vellum suggest the age of the First Folio and in particular the storied history of Durham University’s copy.
Fishing by Darrell Hyder
North Brookfield, MA: Sun Hill Press, 1998
Miniature. Indigo-dyed rainbow trout with marigold-dyed salmon lacing. Ruscombe Mill handmade endpapers. Title stamped in navy foil. Original paper wrapper bound in. All parchment processed by the binder. Bound 2025.
2 7/8 x 2 5/8 x 1/4”
7.5 x 6 x .5 cm
Quotes about fishing from across the ages, six tiny illustrations of fish and flies.
A Fish Story by J. Ed Newman
Edgewater, FL: the JEN Press, 1994.
Miniature. Sewing supports of Atlantic salmon parchment dyed in lac laced into rainbow trout parchment case and chemise of multi-colored Canson Mi-Teintes. Ruscombe Mill handmade endpapers. Title stamped in 23 kt gold foil. Dust jacket bound in. All parchment processed by the binder. Laced compound folded cover binding based on a 2003 illustration by Gary Frost. Bound 2025.
2 7/8 x 2 3/4 x 3/8”
7.5 x 6.5 x 1 cm
A rainbow trout is the narrator of this story of a fish that is caught then released by the printer.
The Beauties of Shakespeare with a General Index by the Rev William Dodd, LL. D.
London: J.F. Dove (printer), 1824.
collection of Charleston Library Society
Limp case of lake trout and Atlantic salmon parchment, pieced together with parchment tackets painted with various colors of shell gold and palladium. All parchment processed from raw skins and dyed by the binder using natural logwood, lac, weld, and onion skin. Hook Pottery BK text handmade paper endsheets. Bound 2022.
5 9/16 x 3 3/8 x 1 1/8”
14 x 8.5 x 2.5 cm
William Dodd’s 1752 frequently-reprinted Beauties of Shakespeare is an anthology of excerpts from the plays. Dodd was an Anglican clergyman who resorted to forgery to support his extravagant lifestyle. He was convicted and executed in 1777.
A Natural History of the most remarkable Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Serpents, Reptiles and Insects by Mrs. Mary Trimmer.
Chiswick: Printed by C. Whittingham, 1830. Two volumes bound as one. Includes over 200 engravings.
Traditional limp case of Atlantic salmon parchment processed from raw skins and dyed with chlorophyllin by the binder. Pieced together with parchment tackets painted with shell gold. Ties and sewing supports of salmon leather. Pink linen sewn endbands laced in. Handmade paper endsheets and label. Label inkjet-printed with calligraphy by Beth Lee. Bound 2022.
14 x 9 x 4 cm
5.5 x 3.5 x 1.5”
Peggy Angus: Designer, Teacher, Painter by James Russell.
Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 2014.
This binding was awarded the 2025 Helen Warren DeGolyer Award for Excellence in Fine Binding.
Peggy Angus (1904-1993) was a Scottish artist best known for her murals, tiles and wall paper designs.
Bradel binding. Boards and spine covered in wallpaper with décor of swatches of wallpaper and fabric samples designed by Peggy Angus. Trade book disbound and sections guarded with Japanese tissue, bookblock sewn on individual stubs, guards and stubs of multiple colors to reflect Angus’s color palette. Titling inkjet-printed on Roma paper, fonts match those used in the design of the trade binding. Rolled paper endbands, endcaps colored with acrylic. Roma flexi endpapers. Original dust jacket and flyleaves bound in. Bound 2025.
9.75 x 8.5 x 1.25”
24.5 x 21.5 x 3.2 cm
The Book, The Whole Book, and Nothing But by Graham Moss. Oldham, UK: Incline Press, 2024
Paper case featuring two papers by Peggy Angus, chosen to echo the Incline Press’s 2004 book on the artist and to mark the press's move to Scotland. Sewn unsupported, straps of handmade Roma paper lace the book block into the case. Prospectus bound in. Bound 2025.
8 ⅜ x 4 5/8 x ⅜”
21 x 11.5 x 1 cm
The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful: A Tract on Calligraphy, Printing and Illustration & on the Book Beautiful as a Whole by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson
A facsimile of the 1900 Dove’s Press original. Tucson, AZ: Ampersand Studios, 2022.
Limp case of Ruscombe Mill handmade linen paper. Vellum straps gilt. Binding sewn with green thread in the style of the Doves Bindery. Bound 2024.
9.25 x 6.75 x .25”
23.5 x 17 x .75 cm
I wanted a modern, enthusiastic-opening update to the original limp vellum case. I chose a paper to match rather than contrast the very bright white text. The green thread, use of at least some vellum, and the gratuitous use of gold are all nods to the work of Cobden-Sanderson. The titling mirrors the shop’s distinctive signature THE • DOVES • BINDERY
Lowlands Away, written and illustrated by Adrian Henri
Bath: Old School Press, 2001
Even More Simplified binding structure. Pink goatskin spine wrapper laced on with binder-made linen sewing supports. Boards a multi-color laminate of Colorplan paper, topped with stone veneer. Rolled leather endbands. Bugra flexi endpapers. Title carbon tooled down spine. Bound 2022 as the set book for the Hand Bookbinders of California 50th anniversary exhibition.
27 x 20 x 1.25 cm
10.75 x 7.75 x .5”
From the Old School press website:
Adrian Henri wrote ten poems as texts for an oratorio by Richard Gordon-Smith for soloists, chorus and orchestra, which has recently been recorded on CD by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. It tells the story of the loss at sea of the Thames and Medway barge Cynthia, commanded by the composer's great-grandfather, a century before in 1896, and of his last words to his wife, cast into the sea in a bottle and subsequently forwarded to her.
Bookbinding with Numerous Engravings and Diagrams
Edited by Paul N. Hasluck, Grove, Wantage, England: The Black Swan Press, 1992, reprint of 1902 first edition.
On exhibit at the New Bedford Whaling Museum October 16, 2026 - February 15, 2027.
Full goatskin binding with laced-in boards. Trade book disbound, guarded and resewn on flattened cords, leather hinge, marbled paper by Pamela Smith. Hand sewn, silk headbands; three edges sprinkled with blue acrylic ink. Blind title and tooling, acrylic pochoir. Illustrations scanned from the text and laser printed onto goatskin onlays. Illustrations scanned from the text and inkjet printed onto Mohawk Superfine cover, then hand cut into pop-ups, are sewn inside each of the text block’s ten signatures. Bound 2014.
8.5 x 5.5 x 2”
The design for this binding is inspired by the text’s charming vintage illustrations, many of which feature disembodied hands performing common binding tasks. Tooling and pochoir further illuminate aspects of structure and process: beating the text block prior to sewing, sawing in sewing stations, lacing on boards, turning in and forming corners, tooling, and the figure-eight motion of the polishing iron.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, illustrated by Jonathan Burton. London: Folio Society, 2014
Bradel binding. Dyed goatskin by Pergamena. Text: inkjet printed on spine, pochoir with acrylic on boards. Three-color hand-sewn silk endbands, head decorated with sponged multicolor watercolor, Bugra flexi endpapers. Bound 2018.
9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5”
24 x 16 x 3.5 cm
Design features repeated Party slogans from Orwell’s 1949 dystopian novel that feel disturbingly prescient. A title that overwhelms the dimensions of the binding and the ominous palette enhance the mood of oppression.
The Ideal Book or Book Beautiful: A Tract on Calligraphy, Printing and Illustration & on the Book Beautiful as a Whole by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson
A facsimile of the 1900 Dove’s Press original. Tucson, AZ: Ampersand Studios, 2022.
Limp case of pale green Khadi handmade cotton paper, Ruscombe Mill Chateau Vellum handmade paper sewing supports and edges of case gilt with 23 kt gold foil. Binding sewn with green thread in the style of the Doves Bindery. Bound 2024.
9.25 x 6.75 x .25”
23.5 x 17 x .75 cm
I wanted a modern, flexible, enthusiastic-opening update to the original limp vellum case. I chose green case paper to reference the Doves Bindery’s use of green sewing thread for their limp bindings. The gratuitous use of gold is a nod to the work of Cobden-Sanderson. The titling mirrors the shop’s distinctive signature THE • DOVES • BINDERY
Native Soil: poems from South Texas poets. Selected by Naomi Shihab Nye, School by the River Press, San Antonio, 2007.
“Gebrochene rücken” variation of the Bradel binding, covered in full goatskin. Goatskin hinges and endbands, 3 watercolor edges, hand-tooled title, design in black, brown, maroon and gold foils. Bound 2011.
10 x 7 x ¼”
Grimoire: New Scottish Folk Tales poems by Robin Robertson, drawings by Tim Robertson. Rochdale, England: Andrew J. Moorhouse, 2022.
Bradel binding. Boards and spine covered in deer parchment. Rolled leather endbands, head decorated in multicolor sponged acrylic, acrylic pochoir across boards, hand-titling in brown foil. Brown Roma flexi endpapers. Bound 2025.
10 5/8 x 7 1/16 x 11/16”
27 x 18 x 1.5 cm
Robertson’s poems are dark, mysterious, primal, and filled with allusions to the natural world. An illustration from the text was stenciled onto boards covered in deer parchment that was purchased already mottled and distressed.
A Bookbinder’s Compendium: Workshop Handouts 2001-2025 by Karen Hanmer.
Glenview, IL: Karen Hanmer Book Arts, 2026.
private collection, California
English-style springback binding: half goatskin, blue Swedish marbled endsheets, boards covered in Katie MacGregor handmade paper inkjet-printed with Illustrations by Henry Maron of tools used in traditional bookbinding. Bound 2026.
8 ¾ x 7 ½ x 1 ¾ “
This is the third bound copy of an anthology of thirty-three workshop handouts written by the binderon topics including fine binding, a range of historical and contemporary structures, notes on materials, and professional practices.
This text is available in printed, unsewn sheets.