Hand-Binding ’A Christmas Carol’ - Part 1 of 3 - Printing, Sewing & Edge Decoration with REAL GOLD

Hello Everyone! Every Christmas I make a point of making a gift for a friend or loved one, and this year is no exception. Charles Dickens’ ’A Christmas Carol’ is my wife’s favourite Christmas story, and so this year I’ve decided to make a special copy just for her. And the good news for you is that you’ll get to share in the creation of this book in three virtually back-to-back installments, which I’ll be premiering over the next few days before Christmas. So grab yourself a bowl of hot punch, sit back, and enjoy! I’ve chosen to bind this book in a style that would be familiar to Dickens himself. The book is sewn on cords that are ’sunk’, being sawn into the text block rather than pierced. This was a faster binding method that came into vogue in the 1800’s as demand for books increased. A shoutout to Reddit user u/ellipticcurve, who typeset and imposed (and freely shared) the 1915 edition of Dickens’ classic book, featuring illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Not having time to format the book myself, their meticulous work was exactly what I needed to get this project off the ground. If you’re a Redditor, head on over to r/bookbinding and give them an upvote! I’ve chosen to give the book some extra ornamentation with both paint and 24 karat sprinkled gold leaf. Many thanks to Glenn Malkin of @bookbindingtips for his invaluable video on this technique. Thank you for sharing your knowledge Glenn! In the next two installments I’ll cover the book fully in calf leather, weave silk endbands, and make an attempt at genuine gold tooling, and all on a deadline to boot, so wish me luck! Cheers! Dennis ________ If you’d like to support me directly: You can buy me a coffee here: Or you can drop a tip in my PayPal account: ________ Follow me on social media: Instagram Facebook