Cambridge panel binding - Georgian trade bookbinding

In this video our bookbinder is working on a new book, which he is binding in the manner of a late seventeenth or early eighteenth century trade binding. This form of binding has interconnecting panels and is usually known as a 'Cambridge panel' binding. First you will see our binder dyeing the calf skin and then reserving parts of the binding and sprinkling with a darker dye. The dye used are authentic vegetable based dyes and these are fixed with a coat of tallow and beeswax. The final part of the process is the tooling, modern fillets and pallets are used in combination with antique centre tools. The final product is a beautiful, rich and decorative. Similar books to this can be found for sale on our website: http://www.thesignofthemartlet.co.uk/