John Gardner, Bookbinder

For those members who attended the KAS ACM at Dover on May 20th, 1995 and were able to inspect the exhibition of beautiful book bindings by Mr. John Gardner, the following notes may be of interest. In recent years, there has been a revival of many crafts, not the least of which is bookbinding. While many crafts are well represented by skilled exponents, a good bookbinder is still a comparative rarity. This is probably due to the amount of time and effort required to become proficient in all the skills and techniques required.

With the increasing commercialization of other forms of entertainment, people are rediscovering the pleasure of possessing a collection, however modest, of hand-bound books. The type of book that concerns us here, and the only one deserving the title 'binding', is the volume bound entirely by hand using only the time-honored traditional methods and materials. While mass production certainly has a place in our modern world, there is equally a place for the unique products of craftsmen who follow the traditions of a bygone age when time or lack of it was not one of the major considerations.

Every discerning booklover values 'original condition', but there comes a time in the life of many books when a repair not only becomes desirable but necessary. It is well known that a small tear left unattended soon develops into a large one. There are also many leather bindings that, because they have not received any leather dressing, dry out, especially in the joints. Almost every poor copy is repairable if attended to in time. Complete rebinding should only take place on new books or ones in which the original binding is lost or beyond repair. Repair and restoration should always be considered for old books, in preference to rebinding, because it is a collector's and bookbinder's responsibility to preserve as much of the original condition as possible.

John Gardner has been a bookbinder for all of his working life after a long apprenticeship and training, and during this time, he has amassed a wealth of knowledge and experience which he is now using to good effect in the varied types of binding and repair that his clients require of him. Members with 'problem' books who might be interested in consulting Mr. Gardner can telephone him.