Been fiddling with Carlos's book the last couple of days, pondering the structure and stamping labels. I think the 3-board dos-a-dos I was planning on using is going to be too thick and heavy for the signatures inside. There are only two 10-page, 11x17 signatures and even printed on the 65 lb. cover I like, they're not very thick. This doesn't leave enough room for a spine between the boards. So I'm starting to think that a 2-board dos-a-dos, with the English and Spanish signatures sewn upside-down, back-to-back with end papers between them would be the way to go. I like the look and metaphor of an exposed spine, sewn with Coptic stitch so it lays flat, with a strip of that tough Nepalese paper glued down along the folds to give it color. That's part of the reason I signed up for that Coptic stitch class next weekend.
On top of this, I'm having trouble finding the paper I want in the right size. Proof 11x17 is easy enough to come by, but that bone-colored 65 lb cover doesn't seem to come in reams and will need to be trimmed down to the right size, either before or after I print it. So I'm off to look for paper today. Yes, on Black Friday. Call me Crazy . . .
In the meanwhile, I got all the microscope labels stamped and tried them out in the slide mailer. It looks pretty cool and will look cooler when they're covered and the slides taped in with copper tape. (Pictures to come.) I've decided to use the German slides on the Spanish cover, for a little irony, but I'm still going to need more slides. I'll make as many books as I can with what I've got, and then buy new, if I have to, though I'd much prefer the vintage ones. I'm just starting to realize how much cover paper this binding is going to eat up, since I have to cover the mailers separately. But at least I'll be able to buy less board with the Coptic binding.
Update: Once again, Paper Presentation comes through. Found a nice 65 lb. ivory cover stock (Neenah Classic Crest Baronial Ivory 65# cover). I'll try it out on the printer tomorrow and see how it looks. It's a little yellower than the Sundance Natural White, but I actually like it better. I might be able to weasel a discount for 500 sheets too, since it's sold in 50-sheet packs. We'll see.
Pea Ess: Found the blog of a wonderful binder today, courtesy of my Google alerts. Go take a look at Studio 5 Book Arts, where printer and bookbinder Mark Cockram does some stunning work that is forever out of my league (he works with leather, mostly). His Klimt binding just blew me away completely. This reminds me that I'm also missing the London Artist's Book Fair this weekend, and next weekend will be missing what used to be the Small Press Fair and is now the Independent and Small Press Book Fair. It runs until 6 pm on Saturday, so I'm going to try and scoot over after class. The good news is that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is launching a big artist's book exhibit in April. If it runs long enough, I may hop over to see it and the book fair next year. A deductible business trip! Wow!
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