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.

THE COVER - This 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.

Pies & Beer is hand printed from two hand cut lino blocks in black and then finished with 3 additional colours, applied by hand.

This print is made on handmade, antique, text-printed paper dating from the 18th century.

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",  264 x 210 mm

PAGES: 116

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

Imitation Parchment paper was devised in the 1920s as an economical and reliable alternative to genuine vellum/parchment for use in important legal documents, certificates etc. Many of the more important papermakers made it including J Whatman, Hodgkinson and of course TH Saunders. 

Made mainly from linen which was beaten at length in the pulping machine which makes a very tough and transparent paper. Towards the end of the pulping process, a small amount of cotton was added for whiteness. 

In modern times, vintage Imitation Parchment has been sought by those in the know for use in botanical watercolour, calligraphy and other processes where a fine line is required. Due to the fibres required (well worn pure linen and cotton rag), it is impossible to make this type of paper in modern times.  

Vintage Imitation Parchment paper is very rare.

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.

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

This style of watermark (block text) tells us that this is a mould-made Saunders paper rather than a handmade paper. 

Mould Made paper was invented to mimic many of the qualities and characteristics found in handmade paper but without the associated costs. Whilst mould made paper doesn't quite have some of the character found in handmade paper, it does mean that each sheet is perhaps more consistent than handmade might be.   

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

We ship worldwide UK £6, USA £20 $27, Europe £9.50 €11.