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Had a customer bring in a 1920s novel her grandmother bound by hand

She came into the shop over in Portland with this little clothbound book her grandma made in the 1920s. The stitching was all done with thread from old flour sacks and the endbands were just wrapped cotton. I spent like 45 minutes just looking at how she'd done the corners - it was so basic but so clever. Has anyone else seen something like that from old home binders?
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3 Comments
alex820
alex82017d ago
Is there really anything more honest than using what you have to make something beautiful? That flour sack thread thing is genius. People back then didn't have fancy supplies so they just worked with whatever was around. It gives the book this raw, personal feel that modern binding totally lacks. I bet the thread even has that slight rough texture you can't buy anymore. Way cooler than any machine-made book off a shelf today.
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the_robin
the_robin18d ago
That reminds me of a quilt my aunt made from old work shirts!
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troyc17
troyc1718d ago
Oh yeah, because flour sack thread is really the hot new trend in bookbinding. Guess grandma was ahead of her time with that whole upcycling thing.
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