Coursera: Medieval Manuscript Class - Week 7
This is the last week of the class which covered book binding. While the lectures contained a lot of information about the different methods of binding, decoration, etc.. it did not contain very good information on how to go about doing any of this stuff. I had to rely heavily upon Google and YouTube in order to complete this assignment. This may be due to the instructor planning for this last section to be an optional portion of the class but Coursera said that there needed to be a completed assignment and the videos were never properly updated to reflect this. Below is the report I submitted, currently awaiting grading.
Week 7: Bookbinding
The project this week took me much longer as I found there just wasn't much information provided in class as to the how to do things. So I had to do a lot of google searches and watch YouTube videos until I could find methods that didn't confuse me and I felt comfortable with.
Also, as I am still working on my actual “manuscript” with all the writing, decoration and illumination, I will be binding my “dummy” book that I am using to reference each page of my manuscript. This will allow me more time to practice my book binding when I am done with the finished project. If you wish to review all the steps I have taken in the past, they are easily found on my website and I will continue to update it every week or so.
http://merrycx.wixsite.com/scribal/my-black-hours-book
Rubric One - Source
MSS ONE
My favorite, the Morgan Black Book of Hours.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567843721370/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567843721384/
https://www.pinterest.com/georgemenke/the-black-book-of-hours/
MMS TWO
The Charles Black Hours.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567843799449/
MMS THREE
The Maria Black Hours.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567843799455/
MSS FOUR
A song book in Brussels.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567843799460/
Rubric Two – Sewing
As mentioned above, I had a lot of issues understanding the different type of stitching that was done. I did find one that I was able to understand and feel comfortable with and that was the kettle stitch. Illustrated in the next two images is the method taken when performing this stitch.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237027/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237031/
I was able to get some cheap embroidery thread at the Dollar Store. I cut these into about 3 foot lengths and then split the string into six individual threads.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237040/
I then gathered all ten of my quires for binding.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237047/
I prepared my boards, which were nothing more than double think corrugated cardboard, by placing my holes through them.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237054/
Then using a pen, I stacked my quires between them and marked on the edges of the quires where my holes for stitching will be and proceeded to make small holes in them with a sewing needle.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237059/
Unfortunately all the pictures I took of the process came out ridiculously dark, I only have pictures of the final results. But the link-stitching process is rather simple. When you go to attach a new quire, you loop through the stitching of the previous quire and back into the new one. When you start a new quire though, you do not stitch that one down to the previous quire due to stitching patter, thus on one quire the bottom is not stitched, the following the top is not stitched, and this pattern just repeats. Below are some pictures of the final result. Took me a couple of tries to get it right.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237071/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237086/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237079/
And this method allowed me to stitch the boards right onto the text block (part of the next rubric).
Rubric Three – Boards and Cover
Again, my boards are just double thick corrugated cardboard that have been attached to the text block with the above mentioned kettle stitch pattern.
So doing the end bands was a good challenge. Again, I had to watch several YouTube videos until I felt comfortable with the process. Just getting the right pattern of twisting the threads took quite a while. For my core material I used some coffee stirrers and used black and while embroidery thread, again broken down to six strands. I think this was probably the HARDEST part of this project. Like the below example, I linked the end bands through every other quire.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237109/
After the end bands were done, I took some card stock and added in faux leather bands over the stitching to provide added support. Here you can see the reinforcing leather bands and the end bands on both the top and bottom of the book.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237097/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237107/
Then just using a sheet of regular computer paper, I began to attach a cover.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237118/
I used rubber cement to attach the cover to the book and often times used to flat pieces of wood and a C-clamp to speed the processes up a bit.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237125/
I trimmed down the paper a bit so that the cover would be more form fitting to the book. Here are two more pictures showing a completed cover as well as end bands on both the top and bottom of the book.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237135/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237143/
Then to decorate the cover, I found an old populace badge I had and temporarily attached it to the cover of my dummy book for the time being.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/464011567844237148/
For a fastener, I am just using a simple binder clip.
So once again, another project is complete, but I still have so much more work to do on the original project. Everyone is invite to keep checking back at my website if you are interested in this project as well as many others I am always working on. I plan to keep my website updated at least once every week or two.