August 4, 2000 UNT Inhouse publication: Librarian teaches art of old-fashioned bookbinding

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Librarian teaches art of old-fashioned bookbinding

Ken Lavender, curator of the Rare Book and Texana collections, is teaching several students the rare art of bookbinding this summer.

From the elaborate stitching of the pages to the folding of the leather covers, the bookbinding techniques date back to the 17th century. Students taking the independent study course are working together on two books to learn this unique art this summer. Binding one book is a month-long process for beginning students, Lavender says.

The UNT librarian has practiced book preservation and binding for about 20 years. He learned preservation skills in 1982 through a federal grant and subsequently studied bookbinding privately. Hand bookbinding has become a rarity because publishers use cheaper and faster means to create mass quantities of books.

However, Lavender says the quality of the work produced by hand bookbinding outweighs the additional time required. He notes that one of the books to be bound this summer, An Answer to a Treatise Written by Dr. Carier, by way of Letter to his Maiestie by George Hakewil, has survived since 1616.

Lavender's students use a 100-year-old carpentry bench and antique book presses in addition to other traditional tools. The volumes that Lavender uses to train apprentices are in the best possible condition, but typically they require cleaning, and their pages must be de-acidified.

According to Lavender, only a handful of people have the opportunity to teach binding in an academic setting. He has taught apprentices for 10 years at UNT. Books restored by these students are added to UNT's Rare Book Collection.

"I teach bookbinding so others can learn to preserve wonderful books," Lavender says. "But it's also an art form — there's a great artistic quality to it."