Here’s a bibliography of bookbinding books. It is based on the bibliography we got for our BA study for bookbinding at Roehampton Institute (now University of Surrey) back in the good old days when the program was still on. I’ve made some additions to it afterwards.
If you know of a good bookbinding-related book that doesn’t appear on this list, please let me know!
My personal favourites are marked with *
BIBLIOGRAPHY : BOOKBINDING AND BOOKARTS
history of bookbindings and their decoration, culture of handbound books
Art Noveau and Art Deco book bindings: The French Masterpieces 1880 – 1940
As-Vijvers, Anne Margreet W.(1999): Miniaturen en Monnikenwerk, Scryption, Tilburg: Drukkerij Groels
Bearman, F. (1998): The Origins and Significance of Two Late Medieval Textile Chemise Bindings in the Walters Art Gallery, The New Bookbinder 18, 27-51
Bosch, G. Carswell, J. and Petherbridge, G. (1981) : Islamic Bindings and Bookmaking, Chicago, University of Chicago
Brown, M.P. (1991): Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts, London: The British Library Board
Brown, M.P. (1990): A Guide to Western Historical Scripts from Antiquity to 1600, London, The British Library
Brownrigg, L.L. ed. (1990): Medieval Book Production: Assessing the Evidence, Los Altos and London: Anderson-Lovelace and The Red Gull Press
Burford, A. (1972): Craftsmen in Greek and Roman Society, London: Thames and Hudson
Castleman, R. (1994): A Century of Artist’s Books, New York, Museum of Modern Art
Compton, S. (1993): Russian Avant Garde Books, London, The British Library
Dahl, S. The History of the Book
De Hamel, C. (1993): Scribes and Illuminators, London , The British Museum Press
Diehl, E. : Bookbinding: Its History and Technique
Diringer, D. (1982): The Book Before Printing, New York, Dover Publications
Gentenaar,P. (ed.) (2004): Geest van Papier / Spirit of Paper, Compres BV,Leiden/Stichting Papiermanifestatie ‘94, Rijswijk
Gumbert, J.P. (1990): The Dutch and their Books in the Manuscript (?) Age, London, British Library
Haldane, D. (1983): Islamic Bookbindings, London, Scorpion
Harthan, J.P. (1981): The History of the Illustrated Book: The Western Tradition, London: Thames and Hudson
Harthan, J.P. (1985): Bookbindings, London, HMSO
Lindsay, J. (1988): The Development of the Codex in the Western World, in The New Bookbinder 8, 9-18
Meehan,B.(1994): The Book of Kells, Thames&Hudson, London
Middleton, B.: Recollections: A Life in Bookbinding
Needham, P. (1979): Twelve Centuries of Bookbinding : 400 – 1600, New York and London: Pierpont Morgan Library and Oxford University Press
Pedersen, J. (1984) : The Arabic Book, Princeton, Princeton University Press
The New Bookbinder (journal of Designer Bookbinders) 1981- and continuing
Tidcombe, M. : Women bookbinders
design
Hochuli, J. and Kinross, R.(1996): Designing Books: Practice and Theory, London, Hyphen Press
Levy, D. (1994): Documents, Computers and the Craft of Calligraphy, The Scribe, no.61, Summer 1994
Mansfield, E. (1966): Modern Design in Bookbinding, London: Peter Owen
Tschichold, J. (1991): The Form of the Book, London: Lund Humphries
Tschichold, J. (1995): The New Typography , Berkeley and Los Angeles: California University Press
philosophy of craft
*Dormer, P. (1994): The Art of the Maker: Skill and its Meaning in Art, Craft and Design, London, Thames and Hudson
*Needleman,C. (1993):The Work of Craft, Kodansha America Inc., New York
*Pye,D. (1979): The Art and Nature of Workmanship, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Smith, P. (1974): New Directions in Bookbinding, London: Studio Vista
The New Bookbinder 1981- and continuing
*Yanagi,S. (1982): The Unknown Craftsman, Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International
structure and materials
Brownrigg, L.L. ed. (1995): Making the Medieval Book: Techniques of Production, Los Altos and London: Anderson-Lovelace and The Red Gull Press
Cockerell, D.(1991): Bookbinding and the Care of Books, London: Lyons and Burford
Gaur, A. (1979): Writing Materials of the East, London: The British Library
Greenfield, J. , Hille, J. (1990), Headbands – How to work them: Oak Knoll Books, Newcastle, Delaware
Gnirrep,W.K. , Gumbert,J.P., Szirmai,J.A. (1992): Kneep en Binding, Den Haag: Koninklijke Bibliotheek
Ikegami,K. , Stephan, B.B. (1986): Japanese Bookbinding – Instructions from a Master Craftsman, Shambhala Publications Inc.
James,A. (2000): The Handmade Book, New Holland Publishers, London
LaPlantz,S. : Cover to Cover, Lark Books (ISBN 0-937274-81-x)
Middleton, B.: The Restoration of Leather Bindings
Middleton, B.: A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique
Smith, K.A. (1991): Vol.1 Non-Adhesive Binding, Keith Smith Books, Rochester, NY
Smith, K.A. (1984): Structure of the Visual Book, Keith Smith Books, Rochester, NY
*Szirmai, J.A. (1999/2000): The Archeology of the Medieaval Book, Aldershot: Scolar Press
The New Bookbinder 1981- and continuing
Van Regemorter, Berthe (1993): Binding Structures in the Middle Ages – A Selection of Studies. Brussels & London, Bibliotheca Wittockiana and Maggs Bros
