Antiquarian Book Restoration Service.

I work with a wide range of books, with the most frequent customers being people who have articles of family history or collectors with rare books and estates with private libraries.

After studying bookbinding at Dartington in 2004, I completed a post graduate course in Museum and Gallery Studies at The University of St Andrews.

I teach bookbinding on a weekly basis; this includes creative skills in relation to conservation techniques. I have a PGCE and two degrees in both Fine Art and Applied Arts. I studied Fine Art at Central St Martins and Graphic Design at Plymouth Art College.

The Art Of Angling bound in Salmon skin. Many thanks to Nordic Fish Leather in Iceland for their support.

Daniel Defoe’s History of Pirates and Highwaymen receives a new lease of life while retaining is 18th century character.

Below; 17th and 18th century chemistry and pharmacy books rebound with decorative spines and labels.

Paperbacks converted to hardbacks.

These humble paperbacks have been upgraded by adding in extra support to the binding structure they are likely to outlive their their fellow paperbacks by about 150 years.

The humble paperback can be rebound as a hardback book. Here are some examples of customer’s well loved paperbacks that have been transformed and now stand a little more confidently on their bookshelves!

Above; vellum manuscript binding.

Below; A mirror helps to illustrate ‘A Comedy Of Masks’ as it offers the reader’s face as an illustration for the front cover of the book; a nice design twist on what might normaly be expected.

“Stephen Glendenning has bound books for me with an imagination and flair which is a joy to see.  He has also executed his work with great skill. His bindings are both a pleasure to look at and a joy to hold” Author and Fine Art Consultant.

Paper Conservation.

Insect Damage… and other challenges!

Holes caused by book worms, rats, snails, restless children with a pair of scissors? There are many of the reasons for holes in pages. Large or small, I can repair them using a special technique that fills holes with paper pulp and enables the fibres fuse to the edges with such strength that no glue is needed. This technique is sometimes referred to as The Leaf casting technique.  

Below: Repairs to a 16th century Star Atlas by Hyginus.

This book presented several challenges as it had been eaten by a variety of creatures!

Below; a deceased bookworm larvae hiding out in the gutter of an 18th century book by Isaac Newton.

Above, an early 19th century map from Crocker’s work on land surveying.

Below, an early 20th century avant-garde publication with an essay on Picasso and poetry by Paul Eluard. These early modern art pamphlets were often printed on cheap wood pulp paper with relatively high acidity content. The paper has been washed, acidity neutralised and then the paper is sized using gelatin to add strength to the fibres.

Flood damage. Books can be washed, dried, pressed, resewn and rebound with original features conserved.

While restoring this water damaged book I was pleased to discover that the binding had been strengthened with supports made from interesting vellum manuscript scraps. The fragments were written upon in a Gothic style script called Gothic Rotunda and the text described a few instructions for prayer. This was just a very small part of an Italian Missal, likely to be 15th century or possibly late 14th century.

 The vellum fragments were found within an early edition of Pliny’s Natural History (1522) which had been bound in a handsome decorative calf binding.

My thanks to Dr Drieshan, Cataloguer of Medieval Manuscripts at the British Library, for his kindness and his time in creating a transcription and a very helpful interpretation of the manuscript fragments. Thank you!

Below, a flood damaged 18th century folio; dismantled, washed, dried, resewn and rebound with its original binding conserved.

….a happy ending!

“Stephen has done some remarkably fine work for us on a number of antiquarian leather bound volumes which were falling apart. I would recommend his work to anyone whose precious books are in need of repair, so that they may continue to be a treasure for future generations.”

Elizabeth Cartwright-Hignett, Iford Manor.

New labels using antique typefaces and old labels saved and ’re-homed’ on a new spine!

Above, The Graphic Art Of The Eskimos. Rebound in Morocco goatskin and making good use of the remains of an early 20th century shoe that was found in an abandoned derelict hut in the remote northern peninsula of Iceland.

Above: R.James’ 18th century dispensatory bound with the remnants of an original bookseller’s poster advertising his forthcoming publication.

Above: An 18th century book rebound using calf and Morocco goatskin.

Below: two volumes of a dictionaries receive new spines with a modern design.

A binding inspired by long haul luggage designs of the 19th century. Bound in salmon skin from Nordic Fish Leather in Iceland and ostrich skin from Ostriland in Cape Town, South Africa.

Private tuition Available every Week.

Work alongside a professional bookbinder receiving one to one tuition. Learn how to restore your bookshelf treasures!

Marine archaeological leather from an 18th century shipwreck! Often referred to as “Russia Leather”

In 1786, Russia leather was regarded as one of the finest leathers in the world. Such high praise was attributed to a careful curing process which involved soaking the hides in willow bark vats for two years before treating them in birch oil. This gives the material a unique and attractive smell. Since that time it has matured for 200 years at the bottom of the ocean and infused with a slight salty aroma. The production process is almost akin to that of a rare single malt whisky!

Leather doesn’t usually last very long in seawater so Its truly amazing the hides are here today; It is an impressive testament to the skill and art of the Russian tannery in 1786 and also the tenacious efforts of the dive team of The Metta Catharina Trust who spent an incredible 32 years diving the wreck. They worked in low visibility and dangerous tidal conditions at a depth of 30 meters below the surface. Much of the work was to clear tonnes of mud and kelp which was often replaced by the next inevitable tide. They had to repeatedly dig the leather out of the ship’s hold while also conducting careful archaeological research on this unique story.

Below: Russia Leather Hides being hauled up from the deep! 30 metres below the surface; diver John Greep attaches lifting bags to a bundle of antique leather hides. Photograph by diver Colin Hannaford. Image copyright belongs to The Metta Catharina Trust.

Traditional Craftmanship Applied To Unusual Materials.

Above; a dismantled wasp nest makes a beautiful decorative paper.  Wasps are the original expert paper makers.

Above; a handmade paper experiment using fungi.

A charming old book on medicinal and poisonous plants inspired me work with unusual plant materials. It was an exciting challenge to bind it in poisonous paper. I made the paper using flyagaric toadstools with the help of Sarah Ward from The Two Rivers Paper Mill. This book now resides in Hogwarts Library ….it also comes with a health warning.

Below; explosive bookbinding!

For this project I worked with a small disbound essay published in 1781. The main consideration was to create a binding that felt in keeping with the 18th century while introducing an innovative but relevant design. I worked with gunpowder on damp paper to create powder burns which I used as decorative endpapers.🔥 The essay is by the R.Watson, professor at Cambridge. It is an introduction and instruction for the manufacture of gunpowder.

Below:

The Art Of Pyrotechnics.

Antique decorative tools and lead cast letterpress type.

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Below; The Art Of Angling 1741. Bound in salmon skin supplied by Nordic Fish Leather in Iceland.

Below; bookbinding using Spotted Wolf fish kindly supplied by Nordic Fish Leathers in Iceland.

www.nordicfishleather.com

Above; binding in calf, morroco and silk. The silk is by Zoffany, the pattern is called crackle.

Above; a fastening system borrowed from the traditional saddle bag designs of Turkenmanistan.

Above; traditional Victorian style binding.

Below; a decorative blind tooled binding with full marbled paper boards.

Hand marbled paper; I use a lot of specialist papers in my work. This marbled pattern is called a Comb Effect. You may notice that this example shows a flawed incomplete pattern but I rather liked it. I have used it here as a graphic device as it lends itself to leading the reader into the book.

Before and After; a 19th century book gets a new spine with the original spine successfully conserved. One panel of the spine was missing so I have created a sympathetic replacement.

                                 Bespoke wedding albums. 

                                             Made to order

Above; A small school in the Himalayan mountains where I taught children to make hand-sewn leather bound books. The community live in a remote area called Biamha. It is in Ladakh and very close to the Pakistan border. I visited in 2016.