Book Arts Pathfinder

Making Artists' Books:

The books included in this section offer advice and step-by-step directions about bookmaking and design. Additional resources can be found throughout the library's collection. Try using these subject headings to get started:

Bookbinding Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Book design

Type and type-founding

Digital techniques

Harman, Barbara. More Concertina Madness. Minneapolis: Paperworks, 2002.
(SPL REF) Z271 .H368x 2002
Directions for making a decorative cover strap, reversible accordion, tunnel books, and others.

Harman, Barbara. Unbinding the Book: The Boundless Concertina. Minneapolis: Paperworks, 1999.
(SPL REF) Z271 .H37x 1999
Directions on different folded book forms, such as accordion, honeycomb, flag book, carousel or layered star book, and others.

Harrison, Holly. Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking. Gloucester, Mass.: Rockport, 2003.
(SPL REF) TT896.3 .H37 2003
Includes examples of altered books and suggestions for making your own.

Hochuli, Jost and Robin Kinross. Designing Books: Practice and Theory. London: Hyphen Press, 1996.
(SPL REF) Z116 .A3 H58x 1996
Divided into three parts, the first two discuss "book design as a school of thought" and "designing books." The third section focuses on books designed by Jost Hochuli.

Holleley, Douglas. Digital Book Design and Publishing. Elmira Heights, NY: Clarellen and Rochester: Cary Graphic Arts Press, 2001
A comprehensive work on digital bookmaking. Includes a step-by-step guide to page layout and image processing software.

Lange, Gerald. Printing Digital Type on the Hand-Operated Flatbed Cylinder Press. Marina del Ray, Cal.: Bieler Press Monographs, 2001.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z249 .L35 2001
Directions and back ground information about letterpress printing with photopolymer plates. Includes a directory of suppliers.

LaPlantz, Shereen. Cover to Cover: Creative Techniques for Making Beautiful Books, Journals and Albums. Asheville, N.C.: Lark Books, 1995.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z271 .L44 1995
Starting with the basics, this book covers a wide variety of bookbinding methods. Includes information on suppliers and additional resources.

Rummonds, Richard-Gabriel. Printing on the Iron Handpress. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press & the British Library, 1998.
(SPL REF) Z249 .R76 1998
A comprehensive work by a master printer, this book describes almost every procedure you might need to know for setting up your own handpress studio or preparing books for a binder.

Smith, Keith A. Non-Adhesive Binding: Books Without Paste or Glue. Vol. 1. Revised and expanded edition. Rochester: Keith Smith Books, 1999.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z271 .S66 1999
Covering both basic and elaborate bindings, this book provides step-by-step directions for making books with a few basic tools.

Smith, Keith A. Structure of the Visual Book. Expanded 4th edition. Rochester: Keith Smith Books, 2003.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z116 .A3 S58 2003
Discusses group, series, and sequence as ways of pacing and arranging books of pictures to create an original visual experience.

Smith, Keith A. Text in the Book Format. Expanded 3rd edition. Rochester: Keith Smith Books, 2004.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z116 .A3 S59 2004
Addresses issues of the format, space, and movement of text in the book form.

Smith, Keith A. and Fred A. Jordan. Sewn and Pasted Cloth or Leather Book-Binding for Book Artists Requiring No Special Tools or Equipment. Rochester: Keith Smith Books, 1998.
(SPL REF) & (Stacks) Z266 .S59 1998
This book will teach you how to bind a book in cloth or leather using household tools. Includes instructions for making a simple book press.