Interested in learning more about bookbinding history and print culture? Check out our online catalog of reference books on bookbinding and adjacent topics. All available to the public at the American Bookbinders Museum during public hours. As a courtesy, please let us know ahead of time so we can prepare a space for your study.
We’ve hand-selected some of our favorite resources and websites for you to enjoy:
Bindings
- Art of American Book Covers, a blog by Richard Minsky
- Beauty for Commerce, Publishers Bindings, 1830-1910
- British Library Database of Bookbindings
- Designers of Publishers Bindings (University of Alabama)
- Judging a Book by its Cover (Columbia University)
- Language of Bindings, a thesaurus of Binding Terms
- Unseen Hands: Women Printers, Binders & Book Designers (Princeton University)
- The Well-Dressed Book (University of Maryland)
- Marbled Paper Patterns (University of Washington)
Books About Bookbinding (Online)
- Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books, A Descriptive Terminology, Matt T Roberts and Don Etherington, with drawings by Margaret Brown
- Boxes For the Protection of Books: Their Design and Construction, compiled by Lage Carlson, John Bertonaschi, et al, with drawings by Margaret Brown (via HathiTrust)
- The Art of Bookbinding by Joseph William Zaehnsdorf (via the Internet Archive)
- Women in the Bookbinding Trade by Mary Van Kleeck (via the Internet Archive)
Users’ Manuals (Downloadable)
Museums
- Bibliotheca Wittockiana (Brussels, Belgium)
- Muzeum Klasického Knihařství (Central Bohemia, Czech Republic)
- List of Printing Museums, via American Amateur Press Association
- List of Paper Museums, via International Association of Paper Historians
- Museum of the Gilding Arts (Pontiac, Illinois)
Bookbinders, Conservation, and Repair (SF Bay Area)
- Bay Area Book Repair, contact Vanessa Hardy at vanessabookrepair@gmail.com (conservation, repair)
- Zukor Art Conservation (conservation, repair)
- Juliayn Coleman/Book Island (conservation, repair)
- John DeMerritt Bookbinding (custom/edition binding, boxmaking)
- The Key Binding Company (binding, repair, restoration)
- Len Muir Bookbinding (preservation, restoration, binding)
- ON LINE BINDERY (Binding and Printing)
- AIC Find a Conservator
- Red Dragon Conservation (conservation) Katya Madrid, katyamadrid@icloud.com • 510-367-0622
Online Resources
- The Bonefolder: Book Arts Links
- Women’s Book History
- Fully digitized Book of Kells
- Decrypting the Secrets of Rare Books
Membership Organizations
- Book Club of California
- Hand Bookbinders of California
- North American Hand Paper Makers
- The Guild of Bookworkers
- Bay Area Art Conservation Guild
Schools/Classes on Bookbinding
- American Academy of Bookbinding
- Karen Hanmer Bookbinding
- North Bennet St. School
- San Francisco Center for the Book
Research questions or to add to our lists, please contact us.