The Man Who Died

The Man Who Died by D.H. Lawrence with illustrations by John Farleigh.


A full leather binding that is very near to completion.

Front board detail


Back board detail

The original leather was Fair Goat (a pale cream colour) that I first dyed with black leather dye creating two distinct white areas.
The text block was resewn with new end papers, more about those later and end bands of Japanese silk.
Once the book had been bound I allowed it to rest. This is important as the leather can contain moisture from the various adhesives I use for some time and can effect the final look of the book. In fact a book can can spend much of the time resting inbetween the various hands on time (me working on it) During this time I usually finalise the design of the book and practise the techniques that will be employed to realise my scribbles.
The red,white and black lines and circles are seperate pieces of leather that are inlaid in to recesses that are cut in the covering leather. It sounds simple and in theory is, however, as with many simple things the detail is in the execution. The initial cuts must be correct first time and the inlays of leather must fit perfectly.





The illustrations are sumptuous wood cuts by John Farleigh

When binding a book of this nature I try not to compete with the contents (as I am in no way in the same league) I aim to compliment. I consider the end papers to be a vital key in the transition from the text block to the binding. I usually print my own, taking elements or themes from the illustrations or the text. The end papers are made with a leather joint that leads on to the Doublures (a posh way of saying the end paper adhered to the inside of the board)



Printed front end paper and doublure. The doublure will be trimmed to size and put in place over the next few days.