BINDERY: Freedom of Thought

The Castalia Library book is in the process of being bound

We’ve prepared for a large shipment to the warehouse prior to distribution to everyone waiting for their books, so while we’re waiting for the shipping company to pick up the pallets, we’ve managed to add another pallet to the package. We won’t be able to get the Libraria books done in time to be included in this shipment, but the Library books for A HISTORY OF FREEDOM OF THOUGHT by J.B. Bury are being bound today in time for the shipment early next week.

The image below is, of course, a mockup, as the misspelling of CAXSTALIA LIBRARY is the most obvious clue. But it is based on the actual stamped leather, as can be seen in the image of the stamped cover above. This book is a slender little volume of 200 pages, which in combination with the long title presented some design challenges, which is why it will not be featuring spine hubs. However, the red pigskin is perhaps the most attractive leather with which we’ve worked yet, and in combination with the intellectual significance of the interior text, it will be an exquisite addition to every book collector’s library.

We’ve added the French groove to the Libraria edition as well, as we tested it out on an unstamped test binding and it looks just as good with the goatskin as it does with the pigskin.

We can also show images of a very small client run that we managed to complete this week. This is JDA’s science fiction omnibus, which at 850 pages is getting perilously near the point at which the endpapers start to be stressed by the sheer weight of the pages. However, since this book didn’t require gilding, the weight does not reach what we consider to be the danger zone.

THE ARYSHAN WAR is bound in blue pigskin, and features a French groove that not only looks nice in its own right, but accentuates the natural curving of the spine. These are not small books, and their size did present certain challenges, but nothing that was beyond the skills of our world-class bookbinders.

This doesn’t look like a Castalia Library book, nor should it, because we’re not one-trick ponies and we work to the client’s design. This is more of what we would consider a mid-range deluxe book, as it features real, high-quality leather and an original brass stamping, but due to its size, it is less than entirely suitable for spine hubs and gilding.

And finally, in a previous post, we’d promised an actual photo of the completed DE BELLO GALLICO bound for the Castalia History subscribers, and just in case you happened to miss it, here is a picture of the finished work.

As previously mentioned, we are now fully operational and are actively reducing the backlog at a rate of 2-3 books per month. We are also taking future orders from publishers and independent authors for binding their books. The book blocks for THE HISTORY OF THE FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, LOSING MILITARY SUPREMACY, and THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE are already in the bindery, while three more, including the first two Cathedra books, are on their way, and they will be the next books bound.