Blooks & Altered Books
“Blooks” are objects that look like—but are not—books, and that may have been made using traditional bookbinding structures and materials. Such objects can suffer damage similar to actual books, and they can often be repaired using similar techniques.
Altered books are true books that have been repurposed for other uses. Aspects of damage that affect their remaining bookish elements may be treated as if they still fulfilled their original purpose.
If you have a blook or altered book in need of repair, we can diagnose and repair its damage so it retains its bookish qualities and preserves its non-book purpose.
This blook—actually a portable radio “bound” in a leather case—came to the bindery with a fully split front joint that we reattached using cloth and leather.
Blooks
This altered book began its life as an encyclopedia in a full cloth publisher’s binding. A neon light panel was installed into the text block and an electric cable inserted through a hole drilled in the tail. Its front joint had failed and the board had fully detached, damage that did not affect the neon installation but impaired its functioning as a book. We reattached the board using hand-toned cloth to match the original material.
Altered Books
Notes from the Bench
Stories, updates, and notable projects
