While we are extremely busy working on catching up to our backlog now that the bindery is fully operational, it is clear that there are going to be occasional days when we’re waiting for book blocks or leather to show up due to the vagaries of international shipment. So, we’re planning to take a page from some of the better old binderies out there and utilize that time turning nice old first edition and special edition hardcovers into custom leatherbound books.
In addition to minimizing our downtime, this will also allow our bookbinders to further develop their skills by experimenting on one-offs and smaller runs that will permit a greater scope for taking design risks.
One way to do it is to repurpose high-quality new books, such as this LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy that was made from a set of the 2016 Folio Society edition. This is a nice approach because the paper that Folio utilizes is a less-deluxe, but still archival-quality version of the paper that we use on our own books. This approach will run around $300 per book, on average, for everything including the original book and a shared front cover stamp design.
Unlike most other binderies, we’re set up to design and manufacture original stamps, so if we do a similar trilogy, the cover won’t be blank or simple text, but would feature something more like this on each cover. Or some variant therein; we could also prepare a spine stamp of the kind we do on our regular books. Basically, we put the border stamp on each book, then add the text separately.
Of course, the other popular option is to acquire first editions and bind them in leather. I’m doing a few of those myself, as I happen to have first hardcover editions of Neal Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle and several Umberto Eco first editions in both English and Italian. I’m also planning to do a small Murakami set. So, if you thought the library was beautiful before, I can assure you that we’re only getting started.
The first edition prices can be considerably higher, of course, since a signed first edition hardcover of William Gibson’s Neuromancer goes for nearly $15,000. But most are considerably more reasonable; for example, my signed first edition copy of Dan Simmons’s Endymion only goes for around $150.
Anyhow, if this service happens to be of interest to you, don’t hesitate to get in touch and let us know what sort of project might appeal to you in enhancing your personal library.
For questions about subscription status and billings: subs@castalialibrary.com
For questions about shipping and missing books: shipping@castaliahouse.com
This is an excellent idea.
I have a King James Bible more than 100 years old, full of woodcut engravings. It is a monster size Bible. The binding and cover has come apart, but the paper and stitching seem sound. Would your binder be interested in rebinding it for me. Thickness is about 3.5 inches, and dimensions are slightly larger than 8.5 by 11 inches. These numbers are rough estimates, can get precise numbers tomorrow. I bought the Jungle Book from Castalia and was extremely impressed with the binding and cover work, I believe Castalia would do the work with a suitably high quality.