bookbinding


Drop Spine Boxes with Auxiliary Pockets and Folders

Drop spine boxes are the go-to solution for complete protection for valuable books. Unlike a slipcase that exposes the spine to light, dust and air, the book in a drop spine box is fully enclosed, buffering atmospheric influences and saving it from shelf-wear or the occasional bump. In most cases a basic drop spine box […]

drop spine box opened to show auxiliary storage

pages sewn onto the meeting guard lay flat

Using a Meeting Guard to Allow the Pages to Freely Open

This little colonial American book of psalm tunes, The Essex Harmony, presented a not-unusual binding problem requiring a variant sewing structure to allow it to properly open. The book measures only 6 1/8” x 5 3/8” consisting of 2 signatures. Given its small size, the printing fills the entire page right into the gutter. The […]


Creating a Design Binding for White Tulips

As you can see from other posts and pages on FittererBookbinding.com, most of our work is in the area of restoration, repair and rebinding. My earliest interest in bookbinding, though, was design binding and I do receive commissions for these as well. More rarely, I take on a project of my own choosing, such as […]

Design binding by Jack Fitterer for White Tulips, full leather with feathered onlays and raised onlays.

The completed book restoration using an onlay design to cover the stained leather.

Another Definition of “Book Restoration”

When we think of book restoration, what first comes to mind most often is to return the book as closely possible to its original appearance and functionality. As we discussed in this November 2015 blog post, the work often includes paper repair, resewing, reattaching loose boards, and/or filling in missing material. The job is deemed […]


Book conservation/Book restoration: Deciding upon a course of action

Book repair, book restoration, book preservation, book conservation or do nothing at all. With a worn or damaged book in hand, the choices for treatment (or no treatment) may seem bewilderingly complex. Add to this the contradictory advice and opinions offered by different authorities, it may seem impossible to come up with a ‘best’ course […]

Jardins Anglais has been rebacked with a new leather spine gilt to replicate the original.

Agate marbled paper on a German or French period style bookbinding. sprinkled paper decorative paper

Marbled Paper That Isn’t Marbled 2

Many are the methods that have been used to decorate paper for bookbinding and endpapers. Often they are truly marbled (see our recent post about reproducing marble paper here). But other techniques were used that did not involve the marbling process, but instead the colors were applied directly to the paper itself. Still, many of […]


The New FittererBookbinding Website

You’re looking at our nearly complete new website. I had intended to wait until it was fully finished before launching it, but since it already has far more information about our bookbinding and restoration services along with examples than our embarrassingly old one, I’ve decided to go ahead. There are still a couple of more […]