THIS IS A PREVIEW LISTING
This book will be available to purchase on Sunday, February 22 at:
UK 8pm, Berlin 9pm, LA 12pm (midday), NY 3pm.

One of a series of 5 bindings filled with vintage drawing paper

THESE BOOKS:

These bindings are bound in hand printed papers, gold tooled leather and all feature vellum tipped corners.

This particular book is bound in a hand coloured relief print

Hand coloured prints are a labour-intensive process. Once the master print has been made, normally in black, the colours are added one by one using a series of stencils. The prints on these books have many additional colours making them time-consuming book papers to make.

All of the books in this series have gold tooled leather spines with a single solid line to the top and tail. 

All of the books in this series have vellum tipped corners.

Vellum tipped corners serve as both decorative and practical additions and are very rarely seen on any off-the-shelf binding.

Vellum (aka parchment) is an animal product, similar to leather but processed differently to give a strong, papery finish. When applied to the corners of a book, these vellum corners add protection to the most vulnerable parts of binding, especially when being carried in a bag or when being placed on  a shelf.  

Thanks to its strength and especially its longevity, vellum was used to record legal matters - laws, wills, mortgages, loans and indentures etc. The vellum used in these bindings come from such documents which is why partial writing and other marks can often be seen on the tipped corners on some of the books in this collection.

SIZE: 10¼ x 8¼,  mm

PAGES: 116

INSIDE: TH Saunders wove, text-weight paper with a very smooth, vellum-like surface. Ideal for use with inks and perhaps some watercolour.

HISTORY OF TH SAUNDERS

Made by one of the most important British papermakers, Thomas Harry Saunders (1813 - 1870) who started a career in paper-making while in his twenties, becoming partner in a paper mill in 1840. 

T. H. Saunders, was especially known for his light and shade watermarks, created for various exhibitions in the 1800s, for bank notes and postage stamps for customers in Europe, the British Empire and South America.

After Saunders' death in 1870, the paper business continued at various mills along the River Darent. At some point, Wookey Hole Mill purchased the rights to produce TH Saunders paper. Those rights came to St Cuthberts Mill in 1959, with TH Saunders rebranded as Saunders Waterford in the 1980s.

Given the importance of Saunders' contribution to British papermaking, there are very few, if any records of the day to day running of his papermaking business - it is suspected that the records and archives were destroyed in the 1980s.

Featuring a lightly textured surface, described as NOT (not smooth, not rough), the surface is soft. The paper, at 185gsm, is perfect for inclusion in sketchbooks. 

A watermark from the paper used within these bindings - TH SAUNDERS

LAYFLAT:

All Properly Made Books are made to open completely flat...

and beyond, opening a full 360 degrees, cover to cover, without causing any damage to the spine and giving complete access to the papery real estate.

IN THE HAND:

ABOUT PROPERLY MADE BOOKS.

Properly Made Books are made over a period of weeks and months.

Imagine how a book was made in the 18th century - this is precisely how our books are crafted. They are bound entirely by hand in Scotland to the absolute highest standard using traditional techniques and only the finest quality materials

All Properly Made Books are LayFlat allowing them to open fully without causing any structual damage and making them completely usable in the field or studio.

Properly Made Books can be found in countless collections around the world including the Met Library in New York City, Harvard and Yale Special Collections, Miami U and many more.

Every Properly Made Book is unique - VPCo never makes the same book twice

MADE ENTIRELY BY HAND IN SCOTLAND