Hand Bookbinding: A Manual of Instruction

Rating:
Summary: No frills
Review: Aldren Watson definitely does the job for beginning and intermediate bookbinders. No frou-frou or books straining to be sculpture. Clear instructions tell you how to build books people might actually want to pick up and read, and then pass on for generations.

Rating:
Summary: No frills
Review: Aldren Watson definitely does the job for beginning and intermediate bookbinders. No frou-frou or books straining to be sculpture. Clear instructions tell you how to build books people might actually want to pick up and read, and then pass on for generations.

Rating:
Summary: One Half of a Great Set of Instructions on Bookbinding
Review: I bought this book, and "The Craft of Bookbinding" by Manly Banister, on the advice of other reviewers. These two books really compliment each other. This book has great, easy to follow instructions for binding books in several different styles, as well as instructions for making slip covers and boxes for boxing sets of books. There is a chapter on making many of the basic bookbinding tools you will need. The illustrations that go with the instructions are large, clear, and easy to follow.
The book by Banister has instructions for making some tools not included in this book. In addition, Watson makes the statement that "perfect bound" books, which include most of the trade paperbacks we own, cannot be rebound. Banister, on the other hand, has a ten page section on perfect binding, and how to rebind your favorite paperback.
Aldren Watson has put together a wonderful book, clear, easy to understand, clearly illustrated, and depending on what you are trying to accomplish, it may be the only one you ever need. I gave it four stars only because it did not cover "perfect binding".
Buy both books and you should be able to tackle just about any bookbinding situation that comes up.

Rating:
Summary: One Half of a Great Set of Instructions on Bookbinding
Review: I bought this book, and "The Craft of Bookbinding" by Manly Banister, on the advice of other reviewers. These two books really compliment each other. This book has great, easy to follow instructions for binding books in several different styles, as well as instructions for making slip covers and boxes for boxing sets of books. There is a chapter on making many of the basic bookbinding tools you will need. The illustrations that go with the instructions are large, clear, and easy to follow.
The book by Banister has instructions for making some tools not included in this book. In addition, Watson makes the statement that "perfect bound" books, which include most of the trade paperbacks we own, cannot be rebound. Banister, on the other hand, has a ten page section on perfect binding, and how to rebind your favorite paperback.
Aldren Watson has put together a wonderful book, clear, easy to understand, clearly illustrated, and depending on what you are trying to accomplish, it may be the only one you ever need. I gave it four stars only because it did not cover "perfect binding".
Buy both books and you should be able to tackle just about any bookbinding situation that comes up.

Rating:
Summary: Above the crowd
Review: I have several books on bookbinding but have not found a single book with all of the information I need. This book comes the closest but is weak on doing leather covers, split covers, and alternative sewing methods. The Craft of Bookbinding by Manly Banister covers those subjects nicely but does not help you on making tools, which this book treats reasonably well. I recommend you obtain both of these books for a complete treatment of bookbinding in a fair amount of detail. I'm still looking for that all-encompassing book, though...

Rating:
Summary: Great book for the basic idea of bookbinding
Review: This book covers the basic of making your own books in a very clear and concise manner. There are plenty of illustrations and the directions are easily followed. I found the section in the back of the book on making your own book binding tools to be very helpful. As a beginning bookmaker, I have found this book to be very handy and would recommend it to anyone interested in this hobby.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book for beginners!
Review: This book is an excellent treatment of the art of bookbinding. It covers topics such as the history of binding, binding your own books, repair of old bound books, as well as construction of the necessary binding tools.