History of Bookbinding

Did you know

Chinese first used paper A.D. 105 and lamp black ink AD 400.
Feng Tao, "Gutenberg of China" set out to print Confucius in the 10th Century. It took him 21 years to carve the woodblocks for the 130 volumes.
"Books of Hours" were made for wealthy patrons for prayer but it was really a portable art gallery that showed status.
"Vade mecum," a book as traveling companion on a pilgrimage or through life.
The Codex, a book of bound pages rather than a scroll, came about during the Dark Ages. It was cheaper, more portable and dangerous to the status quo
Books today are taller than they are wide because originally the pages were parchment and in this way of cutting hide there was minimum of waste.
Invention of spectacles in the 14th Century made it possible for more people to read and they would sometimes carve a spot for spectacles inside the front covers of books
That the first word of the Koran is "READ" because the contents of this Holy Book are directly from Allah. Without a priestly class, each person interacts directly with God through the Koran. This is why calligraphy flourished as an art form.
That Islamic mathematicians went to refine old Greek texts calling it "al-jebr" - later Arabs brought it to Spain and the West, which is now known as "algebra."

Paper

Paper was first used in China AD 105, in Spain 1150, in Italy 1276 and in Philadelphia in 1690. Most paper today is made from wood pulp, which is inexpensive by unstable. The papers I use are made either from cotton or recycled papers with neutral pH.
Handmade paper is made from cotton rags beaten into pulp, then a tray with a mesh bottom is dipped into a vat of pulp and shaken to interlock fibers. The partially solidified pulp then is pressed between felts to squeeze out the rest of the water. The paper is often sized with gelatin to give it a crisp surface. This labor intensive process ensures that the paper is stable, neutral pH and will last throughout the years.
Arches cover paper is handmade in France