The Apprentice Bookbinder

I've been an Apprentice Bookbinder for just over a year and its unbelievable how much information I've managed to take in – not only the practical aspects of book binding but the history and social context that so often surrounds it, the strikes, the working conditions (luckily for me my apprenticeship is rather modern and I don't have to sleep under my bench). When I started my training I found it challenging to make a single section pamphlet and now I have no problems sewing a textblock together, it's funny how you don’t see the progression until you force yourself to look back.

Binding books is a fantastic craft – it's amazing to be able to say you make books for a living and your world isn’t totally dominated by the 'digital' although my design background really comes in handy. Luckily while I was at art school I had time to focus on the disciplines that interested me, I spent my time mainly printing, letterpress and making artist books. The idea of mixing these disciplines together with traditional bookbinding really interests me, and I'm sure as I learn more I will experiment more.

During my apprenticeship I have been learning the basics of bookbinding focusing primarily on case binding for the first year, although have done some inboard work. Starting with simple case bindings in full cloth and half and quarter leather, I've been focusing on accumulating knowledge of materials, tools and fundamental bookbinding skills.

It's only been a year and I've met so many amazing people who are happy to pass on their skills and knowledge. Can't believe I met the legendary bookbinder Bernard Middleton who apprenticed at the British Museum Bindery, when bookbinding was a far harsher working conditions than it is today with an initial salary of £1 a week and only a seven minute tea break each day: “We had to stand all day and that was hard work when I first went there. We were allowed to sit down for seven minutes at four o’clock to have tea, not in the morning – you had to stand up to have it then…I think it had been five minutes and then two more minutes were negotiated, and then the deputy foreman would bang with a stick on his press to indicate that we should stand up and get on with our work again.”