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 8 bindings filled with vintage watercolour paper

THESE BOOKS:

These bindings are bound in hand printed or hand marbled 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. This particular print has three additional colours making it a time-consuming book paper to make.

Many of the prints on the books in this February collection have been made on antique, handmade, text-printed paper which explains why you can see words under the patterns. The source of these text-printed papers are from antique books, 19th century or much earlier. The books have previously been taken apart by people who remove old prints from antique books to resell them. If these papers were not used for printing they would simply be discarded.  

One of the advantages of using such old paper is that it's pure linen rag which isn't available nowadays. Linen rag paper is very strong and great to print on. 

All of the books in this series have gold tooled leather spines with dotted lines 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: 6 x 8", 147 x 208 mm

PAGES: 70

INSIDE: RWS (Royal Watercolour Society) watercolour paper.

Handmade in 1986 by J Barcham Green at Hayle Mill in Kent, England, this paper, widely regarded as one of the finest papers made for artists, was commissioned by the RWS for its members in response to the declining quality of artists' papers towrds the end of the 19th century.

There were many editions of this paper, all made by hand until this one which is, we believe, the final handmade edition. Subsequent editions were made by machine and the quality is generally thought to have not been as good.   

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. JBG (John Barcham Green) and 1986.

RWS works brilliantly with watercolour paints, and of course pencils, inks and other art media. 

Paper was made by hand ay Hayle Mill from the early 1800s through to its closure in 1987

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