Worth it for that one new tip, 12 Jul 2007
A rather slight, if endearingly eccentric book which sometimes seems to say more about the love of dogs than books. Rather USA centred, as you might expect, with the sections on further reading and supplies having only limited usefulness on this side of the pond. The section on repairs is rendered close to useless by the want of a few simple diagrams, but I, a part-time professional bookseller, still found one or two worthwhile tips, particularly. . . but no, you'll have to read it. Suffice it to say that I may have turned a £60 book into a £125 one, if it works!

Worth it for that one new tip, 12 Jul 2007
A rather slight, if endearingly eccentric book which sometimes seems to say more about the love of dogs than books. Rather USA centred, as you might expect, with the sections on further reading and supplies having only limited usefulness on this side of the pond. The section on repairs is rendered close to useless by the want of a few simple diagrams, but I, a part-time professional bookseller, still found one or two worthwhile tips, particularly. . . but no, you'll have to read it. Suffice it to say that I may have turned a £60 book into a £125 one, if it works!

Very Useful, 13 Oct 2007
I bought this book to give me ideas on what to do with my old books, i do art at university and found this book really helpful!!! I can use the techniques to make my own sketch books from old novels. I find myself constantly looking back at the book for inspiration and techniques. This book has information on techniques,materials and artists. Very useful if you are doing book-making for artist info etc.

The only bad thing i can say is it shows you images of final pieces, does not show you the work in process, and doesn't actually show you how to book bind and construct the books. You only need to buy this book if your looking for inspiration and artist research.

More, please!, 03 Feb 2004
I discovered the art of altering books early last year when looking for some online collage resources. This is a great outlet for anyone's creativity, be they trained artist or, like me, complete amateur.

Holly Harrison's book is a feast of techniques and, more importantly, inspiration. For anyone curious about this odd branch of art/collage/journalling, this book is a must. I would also recommend Gwen Diehn's "The Decorated Page" and "Making Journals By Hand" by Jason Thompson.

Worth it for that one new tip, 12 Jul 2007
A rather slight, if endearingly eccentric book which sometimes seems to say more about the love of dogs than books. Rather USA centred, as you might expect, with the sections on further reading and supplies having only limited usefulness on this side of the pond. The section on repairs is rendered close to useless by the want of a few simple diagrams, but I, a part-time professional bookseller, still found one or two worthwhile tips, particularly. . . but no, you'll have to read it. Suffice it to say that I may have turned a £60 book into a £125 one, if it works!

Very Useful, 13 Oct 2007
I bought this book to give me ideas on what to do with my old books, i do art at university and found this book really helpful!!! I can use the techniques to make my own sketch books from old novels. I find myself constantly looking back at the book for inspiration and techniques. This book has information on techniques,materials and artists. Very useful if you are doing book-making for artist info etc.

The only bad thing i can say is it shows you images of final pieces, does not show you the work in process, and doesn't actually show you how to book bind and construct the books. You only need to buy this book if your looking for inspiration and artist research.

More, please!, 03 Feb 2004
I discovered the art of altering books early last year when looking for some online collage resources. This is a great outlet for anyone's creativity, be they trained artist or, like me, complete amateur.

Holly Harrison's book is a feast of techniques and, more importantly, inspiration. For anyone curious about this odd branch of art/collage/journalling, this book is a must. I would also recommend Gwen Diehn's "The Decorated Page" and "Making Journals By Hand" by Jason Thompson.

Inspirational!, 31 Jan 2006
The art of papermaking and bookbinding has been of interest to me for some time. I work as an artist and, and have anscestors who were bookbinders! I have begun my own research into these skills with this book and I am very impressed.
Joanne B. Kaar is obviously a great teacher and the book works as a very effective conveyor of her knowledge. I read the book from cover to cover before breakfast, and I absorbed the step by step technical information easily.
The projects are all fascinating, giving an insight into the inspiration for each one. The photography is beautiful, and at the same time very honest. Simple props are used for Joannes' work which allow for the natural beauty and raw quality to shine through.
Whether you want excellent technical information with a view to confidently making your own paper and books, or just want to be inspired , this book will not dissappoint.

Worth it for that one new tip, 12 Jul 2007
A rather slight, if endearingly eccentric book which sometimes seems to say more about the love of dogs than books. Rather USA centred, as you might expect, with the sections on further reading and supplies having only limited usefulness on this side of the pond. The section on repairs is rendered close to useless by the want of a few simple diagrams, but I, a part-time professional bookseller, still found one or two worthwhile tips, particularly. . . but no, you'll have to read it. Suffice it to say that I may have turned a £60 book into a £125 one, if it works!

Very Useful, 13 Oct 2007
I bought this book to give me ideas on what to do with my old books, i do art at university and found this book really helpful!!! I can use the techniques to make my own sketch books from old novels. I find myself constantly looking back at the book for inspiration and techniques. This book has information on techniques,materials and artists. Very useful if you are doing book-making for artist info etc.

The only bad thing i can say is it shows you images of final pieces, does not show you the work in process, and doesn't actually show you how to book bind and construct the books. You only need to buy this book if your looking for inspiration and artist research.

More, please!, 03 Feb 2004
I discovered the art of altering books early last year when looking for some online collage resources. This is a great outlet for anyone's creativity, be they trained artist or, like me, complete amateur.

Holly Harrison's book is a feast of techniques and, more importantly, inspiration. For anyone curious about this odd branch of art/collage/journalling, this book is a must. I would also recommend Gwen Diehn's "The Decorated Page" and "Making Journals By Hand" by Jason Thompson.

Inspirational!, 31 Jan 2006
The art of papermaking and bookbinding has been of interest to me for some time. I work as an artist and, and have anscestors who were bookbinders! I have begun my own research into these skills with this book and I am very impressed.
Joanne B. Kaar is obviously a great teacher and the book works as a very effective conveyor of her knowledge. I read the book from cover to cover before breakfast, and I absorbed the step by step technical information easily.
The projects are all fascinating, giving an insight into the inspiration for each one. The photography is beautiful, and at the same time very honest. Simple props are used for Joannes' work which allow for the natural beauty and raw quality to shine through.
Whether you want excellent technical information with a view to confidently making your own paper and books, or just want to be inspired , this book will not dissappoint.

A well illustrated and well written book on making books!, 25 Mar 2003
As a complete beginner to the craft of bookbinding, I found this book very helpful. There are a variety of projects listed in this book, and as usual I leapt in and did a project that appealed rather than progressing from the starting project. Luckily enough for me the steps of the project were clearly laid out, enough for me to find out where I went wrong!

Admittingly, some of the projects look daunting to the complete beginner however they are not as difficult as you would first imagine. There is an element of try-it-and-see and some of the materials and tools used are not realily come by, needing a little investigation to source. However it is possible to flange your way through the projects and get wonderful results.

In my opinion _The Handmade Book_ is an excellent kick-off point into bookbinding. The projects are fun and easy to understand and, given a little imagination, easily adaptable to the materials and tools at hand. For the beginner it gives a solid grounding in the basics and inspiration for projects to come. All in all, a well illustrated and well written book on making books!

I couldn't expect better!, 19 Mar 2001
It's a very, very attractive book with very good photographs and excellent explanations. Very nice projects and easy to do.

A book that sets a high standard., 15 Nov 2000
Reading this book has made me think hard about craft books in general and the different categories they can be divided into - encouraging, advisory, escapist or inspirational for instance. Like its companion volume in this series - The Handmade Paper Book by Angela Ramsay - THE HANDMADE BOOK belongs to the category of a 'how to' manual - one to buy when you're definitely ready to get down to some serious work. It's thorough, well illustrated and business-like, and all of the thirteen step-by-step projects have a very professional look about them. Unfortunately, as a book making beginner I found this a bit discouraging and would have preferred a more relaxed approach, where the emphasis was on enjoying the process rather than perfecting the product. Readers who already have some skill, however, may well disagree with me and find the high standards an encouragement and an inspiration.

One other aspect of this book that I felt uncomfortable with was that almost all of the works photographed for the projects have been made up with blank paper. Although I appreciate that in the context of an illustrated teaching manual this makes for clear, straightforward photos, I found that ultimately it gave the whole undertaking a feeling of pointlessness. A sheaf of blank pages is essentially an empty thing, however beautifully bound, and likely to stay that way - I can't imagine many people feeling brave enough to write in any of these immaculate volumes. My advice to anyone intending to follow these projects is to go ahead and work with text/images right from the start. That way you'll be creating an object that's alive and interesting, both inside and out - a real book rather than just the beautiful skeleton of one.

amw

Worth it for that one new tip, 12 Jul 2007
A rather slight, if endearingly eccentric book which sometimes seems to say more about the love of dogs than books. Rather USA centred, as you might expect, with the sections on further reading and supplies having only limited usefulness on this side of the pond. The section on repairs is rendered close to useless by the want of a few simple diagrams, but I, a part-time professional bookseller, still found one or two worthwhile tips, particularly. . . but no, you'll have to read it. Suffice it to say that I may have turned a £60 book into a £125 one, if it works!

Very Useful, 13 Oct 2007
I bought this book to give me ideas on what to do with my old books, i do art at university and found this book really helpful!!! I can use the techniques to make my own sketch books from old novels. I find myself constantly looking back at the book for inspiration and techniques. This book has information on techniques,materials and artists. Very useful if you are doing book-making for artist info etc.

The only bad thing i can say is it shows you images of final pieces, does not show you the work in process, and doesn't actually show you how to book bind and construct the books. You only need to buy this book if your looking for inspiration and artist research.

More, please!, 03 Feb 2004
I discovered the art of altering books early last year when looking for some online collage resources. This is a great outlet for anyone's creativity, be they trained artist or, like me, complete amateur.

Holly Harrison's book is a feast of techniques and, more importantly, inspiration. For anyone curious about this odd branch of art/collage/journalling, this book is a must. I would also recommend Gwen Diehn's "The Decorated Page" and "Making Journals By Hand" by Jason Thompson.

Inspirational!, 31 Jan 2006
The art of papermaking and bookbinding has been of interest to me for some time. I work as an artist and, and have anscestors who were bookbinders! I have begun my own research into these skills with this book and I am very impressed.
Joanne B. Kaar is obviously a great teacher and the book works as a very effective conveyor of her knowledge. I read the book from cover to cover before breakfast, and I absorbed the step by step technical information easily.
The projects are all fascinating, giving an insight into the inspiration for each one. The photography is beautiful, and at the same time very honest. Simple props are used for Joannes' work which allow for the natural beauty and raw quality to shine through.
Whether you want excellent technical information with a view to confidently making your own paper and books, or just want to be inspired , this book will not dissappoint.

A well illustrated and well written book on making books!, 25 Mar 2003
As a complete beginner to the craft of bookbinding, I found this book very helpful. There are a variety of projects listed in this book, and as usual I leapt in and did a project that appealed rather than progressing from the starting project. Luckily enough for me the steps of the project were clearly laid out, enough for me to find out where I went wrong!

Admittingly, some of the projects look daunting to the complete beginner however they are not as difficult as you would first imagine. There is an element of try-it-and-see and some of the materials and tools used are not realily come by, needing a little investigation to source. However it is possible to flange your way through the projects and get wonderful results.

In my opinion _The Handmade Book_ is an excellent kick-off point into bookbinding. The projects are fun and easy to understand and, given a little imagination, easily adaptable to the materials and tools at hand. For the beginner it gives a solid grounding in the basics and inspiration for projects to come. All in all, a well illustrated and well written book on making books!

I couldn't expect better!, 19 Mar 2001
It's a very, very attractive book with very good photographs and excellent explanations. Very nice projects and easy to do.

A book that sets a high standard., 15 Nov 2000
Reading this book has made me think hard about craft books in general and the different categories they can be divided into - encouraging, advisory, escapist or inspirational for instance. Like its companion volume in this series - The Handmade Paper Book by Angela Ramsay - THE HANDMADE BOOK belongs to the category of a 'how to' manual - one to buy when you're definitely ready to get down to some serious work. It's thorough, well illustrated and business-like, and all of the thirteen step-by-step projects have a very professional look about them. Unfortunately, as a book making beginner I found this a bit discouraging and would have preferred a more relaxed approach, where the emphasis was on enjoying the process rather than perfecting the product. Readers who already have some skill, however, may well disagree with me and find the high standards an encouragement and an inspiration.

One other aspect of this book that I felt uncomfortable with was that almost all of the works photographed for the projects have been made up with blank paper. Although I appreciate that in the context of an illustrated teaching manual this makes for clear, straightforward photos, I found that ultimately it gave the whole undertaking a feeling of pointlessness. A sheaf of blank pages is essentially an empty thing, however beautifully bound, and likely to stay that way - I can't imagine many people feeling brave enough to write in any of these immaculate volumes. My advice to anyone intending to follow these projects is to go ahead and work with text/images right from the start. That way you'll be creating an object that's alive and interesting, both inside and out - a real book rather than just the beautiful skeleton of one.

amw

Twyman knows more about lithography than anyone else alive, 06 Jan 2000
A fantastic book. Superbly researched and illustrated, this is a must for anyone wanting to know about lithography. Buy it now!