A fascinating exhibition of hand bookbinding is currently on view at San Francisco’s Main Library in the Skylight Gallery. More than forty members of Hand Bookbinders of California have contributed the nearly seventy books in this exhibit—an annual exhibition for this group. The books range widely in size and concept. All are striking for their uniqueness and high level of artistic quality. Both traditional and innovative bookbinding techniques are on display.

For forty-four years, Hand Bookbinders of California (HBC) has been a venue for the exchange of ideas and techniques in the tradition of fine bookbinding dating to the nineteenth century. HBC has fostered public appreciation through its member exhibitions, and has informed and encouraged students through its workshops. The group includes nearly 200 artists—professionals, amateurs, and students—from all over the country, all interested in conservation, box making, fine printing, artist’s books, papermaking and decoration, calligraphy, printmaking, and writing.

Hand Bookbinders of California membership is open to all who are interested, and when you see this exhibit, you just might become inspired to learn this art. Recent HBC workshops have included simplified binding, binding using real stone veneer, and a practical introduction to knife sharpening—one of a bookbinder’s most important tools. Workshops take place at the artists’ studios, and some take place at the San Francisco Center for the Book. 

For information on HBC membership and workshops, go to www.handbookbinders.org and for workshops at San Francisco Center for the Book, go to www.sfcb.org.

Hand Bookbinders of California – Through Sept. 3, 

Main Library, Skylight Gallery, 6th Floor. 

100 Larkin Street

San Francisco

Docent-led tours will be held on June 23 and July 7, 10 a.m.

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Photos: Lisa Heer

(top to bottom)

Rhiannon Alpers, San Francisco, California: Nicholas Culpepper, The Complete Herbal. London: Thomas Kelly & Co., n.d. 28.6 x 22.3 cm. Case binding of milk-painted wooden boards covered with walnut-dyed handmade book cloth and handmade flax paper. Decorative mica plaque inset with copper nails.

Coleen Curry, Muir Beach, California: Michel Tournier, Vendredi ou la vie Sauvage. Illustrated by Claire Illouz. Devesset, Ardeche: Biennales Mondiales de la Reliure D’Art, 2014. 28.5 x 19.7 cm. Dos Rapporté binding covered in ocean green quartzite stone veneer. Cave paper spine piece with sheepskin onlays across spine and boards. Title in bronze foil. Goat suede split fly leaves. Housed in quartzite stone ‘All-in-one’ box lined with split calf suede.

Eleanore Ramsey, San Francisco, California: Happy Birthday Margaret! 2014. 14.0 x 10.0 cm. Protozoa Box. Sinuous shaped box of pink and green chagrin leather with black and white decorated paper sides. Inside lined with green ultra suede. Signed on bottom. Collection of Margaret H. Johnson

Lang Ingalls, Crested Butte, Colorado: Donald Levering, The Jack of Spring. Oneonta, New York: Swamp Press, 1980. 24.1 x 12.5 cm. Bound in stone veneer, in the structure developed by Sün Evrard. Copper staples and basswood stays create the secondary sewing, visible from the exterior. Laminated Japanese moriki paper flyleaves, in hues of green. Hand-tooled forest green lines on cover, emphasizing the natural stone movements. Untitled. Bound in 2015. Custom chemise and slipcase, titled.

Elaine Wismer, Los Altos Hills, CA: Herbert and Peter Fahey, Finishing in Hand Bookbinding. San Francisco: Herbert & Peter Fahey, 1951. 23.5 x 18.0 cm. Bound in the “New Oriental Book” style learned from Monique Lallier: no glue touches the spine, no rounding or backing. Covered in Cockerell hand-marbled papers. Goatskin leather spine. Hand tooled in palladium.