Commission FB-0412 · on the frame
Books sewn tooutlast their readers.
We fold, sew and cover by hand: field journals, restorations and editions of one. Every commission stays open on this bench until the boards are dry.
Signature
09/12
kettle stitch locked
Paste cure
38 min
spine lining · batch 118
02 · Protocol
Five operations, in order, by one pair of hands.
A Fenwright book is not assembled, it is built up. Each stage has to cure before the next can start, which is why a commission takes weeks and not days.
- OP-0132 pp / sig
Fold
Sheets are folded against the grain test, four leaves to a signature, creased once with a bone folder and never twice.
- OP-0218/3 linen
Sew
Every signature is sewn all-along on unbleached linen tapes, with a kettle stitch locking it to the one beneath.
- OP-0345° shoulders
Round & back
The spine is glued up, rounded with a hammer and backed in the job press so the boards have a shoulder to hinge on.
- OP-042.5 mm board
Board
Grey board is laced on through the tapes, not glued to a hollow, so the hinge carries the book and not the cover.
- OP-0572 h press
Cover
Pared goatskin or bookcloth goes on in one sitting, turned in at the heads, then pressed under weight for three days.
03 · Materials ledger
Everything on the shelf, and how much is left.
04 · Commission desk
Tell us the book. We will tell you the wait.
Estimates are for plain text blocks. Restorations are quoted after we have the book on the bench.