The Doctor's Dilemma.....

Though I suppose I am perhaps best know for contemporary binding and some bookarts I also undertake the rare repair or restoration job. Some years ago I spent my day at the bench as a bench monkey (general bookbinder in a small company paid peanuts... hence bench monkey)

As said, I do undertake some general work but there are a number of boxes must be ticked ...

1st. Do I like the customer ? If no then I suggest another binder, if yes then we move to box 2. I feel that it is important to enjoy the company of your customers. It could be that the relationship may last sometime and that with each visit I gain more insight as to their requirements, their likes and dislikes. Also that as the binder you may have to educate them as to what is possible given their budget, use of the book, condition etc.

2nd. Do I want to do the work and is the work involved within my skill base. Again if no then I suggest another binder. If yes I move to the final box....

Last. Will I enjoy the work ? It could be that I may be spending a lot of time working on the book....As a side note to this, as I am working on the book the studio members and students will have the chance to see how I tackle issues, problems and bad stuff with the repair of old books. Also, how I work out my costings and charges.... something that few teachers like to talk about.....

I realise that my attitude may come across as arrogant and that I am not genuine ( as one critic said recently) but it is the way I work and have worked for the last 20 or so years... it works for me but I realise that it does not work for all... each to their own.


The Doctor's Dilemma (1872). In 3 volumes, bound using wire staples.... what more can one say....




First the text blocks are removed from the original binding and the sine linings removed. This had to be done dry as the condition of the paper and the fact that the staples were rusted meant that no paste could be used. I used a dental tool to pick of the papers and old adhesive...


This took some time...


When the spine was clean I then opened up the staples being very careful to keep as much of the staple intact because a broken staple leaves a hook that can result in more damage when the staple is removed from the section..


The staples were then extracted from the inside of the section.... not easy but a workable technique.


I realise that this is only one way to deal with the problem of staples, but I have to consider time and budget..... Hence the pile of staples in a previous post....

Next is manual cleaning and pressing the sections, then onto spine repair.......