Just in time for July, I have completed the handmade book which will be auctioned off to help support our studio tour. It will be up for auction through the month of July at our Tour web site’s Auction page. We have an older post showing some of the intermediate stages of making this book.
The blank notebook has 192 pages of handmade paper (8 sections of 6 sheets each) in a limp leather binding with wrap-around back cover, all in cream tones with just a hint of green, with a custom-made magnetic clasp to hold the cover closed. The book measures about 5½ by 8 inches, and because of the fineness of the pages, is only about ¾ of an inch thick. The structure of the spine allows the book to open flat to any page. The pages have been trimmed at the head and tail but the fore edge of each page retains the deckle edge left by the hand papermaking process.
The paper was made by Audrey using a mix of cotton linters pulp, kaolin clay as a filler, and a small amount of synthetic and earth pigments. An internal sizing was also used to prevent feathering when writing with a fountain pen and to protect the paper from small amounts of water dropped on the sheet.
With the cover closed, all four edges of the book are covered so you can keep loose papers in it with no chance of them falling out. Because of the softness of the leather and the exposed stitching, the book has a somewhat rustic informal look to it.
Detail of the custom magnetic clasp.
The book features exposed stitching on the spine using rough hemp thread.
Undoing the clasp and opening the rear flaps reveals the front cover.
The book opened to an inside page, showing the stitching at the middle of the section.
The paper has a slightly rough surface which accepts most writing instruments.
The felt-tip Sharpie pen is the only one that had any bleed-through, although the thinness of the paper renders it slightly transparent, so any writing will show through a bit.
This is now posted to the Rural Routes Auction page – happy bidding everyone!
As of the end of July the auction has closed and unfortunately the book went unsold. We will still have it available for sale and will be bringing it along to sell at the various book fairs we attend.
The August auction item, a beautiful floral watercolour by Barb McLeod, it up for sale until the end of the month.