All my miniature books are hand made and sewn using traditional bookbinding methods. Only the finest materials are used - acid free papers, the thinnest leather and marbled end papers.
A book is a mechanical object. It has to work. It has to open easily and lie flat when open. Much of the bookbinder's art goes into mechanical considerations. So to make a perfect book with pages that turn beautifully and then to glue it so that it is permanently open is painful to a bookbinder. (A bit like making a piece of moving machinery and then seizing it so that it freezes solid.) But this is what I do to make my Open Books. Although the pages do not turn, and therefore you cannot read the books in the accepted sense of the word, you have to believe me that they once did turn. The books are fully sewn and bound with traditional bookbinding methods, giving a rounded spine. Paper and card used is all acid free.
This book is suitable for the nursery or children's room. Humpty Dumpty is featured before and after his fall. The cover is in a rich brown leather and end papers are plain blue. This is an Open Book, to lay open on a table or bed.
Humpty Dumpty (above)
Victorian Children's Poetry book (above)
This is an Open Book to display open on the bed or table. It features the poem "The clock on the wall".
It is bound in leather with an illustration on the front cover. End papers are marbled. Click on the image to see a larger picture and the front cover.
Alice in Wonderland (above)
This Open Book features the Mad Hatter's tea party illustrated on the left and the famous "tail" on the right. It is bound in buff coloured leather and has an illustration on the cover. End papers are plain. Click on the image to see a larger picture and the front cover. Alice was first published in 1865.
Struwwelpeter (above)
This Open Book is a copy of a mid Victorian classic first published in 1845. It was originally intended as a caricature of the cautionary tales of its time, but by today's standards would seem to be horrific rather than entertaining. The smallest of the books intended for the nursery, it is bound with fine red leather, with an illustration on the front cover of Struwwelpeter. (shock-headed Peter). The text is legible with slight magnification or good eyesight! End papers are marbled . Limited edition of 100 books.
