Graphic Arts now holds a 2012 Teaching Set of Historical Bookbinding Models, thanks to Iowa Book Works, a small enterprise founded by Joyce Miller and Gary Frost that specializes in production of book craft kits. http://iowabookworks.bookways.com/?page_id=34
Included in an enormous clamshell box are ten model bindings, along with two instruction booklets. The history and culture of each binding is described, followed by notes on the “handling and action” of each volume (how it feels in your hand, how it opens, etc.). In this way, the student not only learns the definition of a book structure but how to recognize it when they hold one.
“These bookbindings illustrate the appearance and structure of common books in different cultures and across time,” writes Frost. “As you read the descriptions for the individual types investigate their physical features and mechanical actions. Handling of these model bookbindings will provide a lasting impression of the innovations and changes in the mechanism of the codex book. Each bookbinding model exemplifies specific attributes of the codex structure, and the array of books together tells a story of a persistent mechanism for reading.”
Samples include:
1. Papyrus book
2. Ethiopian book
3. Account book
4. Wooden board book
5. Vellum binding
6. Leather binding
7. Paper case binding
8. In-boards cloth binding
9. Cased cloth binding
10. Contemporary binding
