Since starting my work in mending at the library, I’ve been collecting the shreds of books which I have to remove: bits of book cloth, old spines, occasionally old check-out cards (my oldest is from the 1890s). I’ve been using these pieces of old, old books to make new ones. I’ve been using the long stitch a lot with this group partly because the long stitch is the most standard binding method for the books I’ve been mending. Photo credit: Teresa Silva (http://mongoosenamedt.blogspot.com/)
Here they are:
Afterall. This one is made with wine dyed and tea dyed paper and the text "after all and you find it will be gone tomorrow" is typed onto the outer pages by the spine. Botton hole stitch.
Dictionary of Printers and Booksellers. The piece of spine on this book came from a book we have here that was printed in 1910. Modified long stitch binding.
Each signature has one sheet of tea dyed paper.
Old Lines. The strips of cloth on this book were scraps I removed while preparing a book for a spine reconstruction. Tea dyed and modified long stitch binding.
Old Lines. Back inside cover has an old library card pocket to keep things in.
Evolution and Culture. The spine is covered with scraps from a book my friend mended. Book cloth and three signature binding underneath the spine.
This book has pieces of several different books on its cover and tea dyed inside pages. The scraps on this book are mostly from the lining between the signatures and the spine. Modified long stitch.
tea dyed pages.
This book is made with tea dyed tracing paper, a modified long stitch binding, and colored inside pages. Underneath the tracing paper is the beginning text of a story I have been working on and shapes cut out of scrap pages from a book are glued to the first page of each signature.
Colored inside pages.
