The millimeter binding is an elegant leather structure useful for thin books. Developed in Denmark during WWII when materials were scarce, it takes its name from the minimal amount of leather used on the spine. It is sewn on frayed cords, and has a special Scandinavian “hooked” endpaper and a “lapped’” paper hollow. The thin boards are attached with adhesive to the hollow and cords, making the structure solid but flexible. The book has a narrow leather spine and decorative paper covers.

Three methods of edge decoration will be covered: the simple solid color wash, the painted edge, and the graphite edge. Three kinds of headband will be made: the simple cloth, the leather-wrapped, and the two-color silk-sewn.

There are several variations on the traditional millimeter binding, depending on where the leather is applied. We will make the main three styles: the first has leather on the spine and corners, the second at the head and tail edge, and the third at the spine and fore-edge.
Finally, we will tool our bindings using three different techniques: traditional blind tooling; tooling with real gold foil through a template; and tooling using carbon paper, an easy yet creative way to achieve elegant black tooling with little experience. This workshop is open to students at all levels, although experience with leather and hand tooling will be helpful.

Materials to bring:Scalpel and blades; metal ruler; dividers; bone folder; artist’s brushes; cobblers knife. Please bring (if you have): paring machine; paring knife and strop; paring stone; hand letters; finishing stove.

Date & Time: Monday-Friday, July 6-10, 2015 :: 9:30am-5:30pm

Workshop + Materials Fee: $700

Recommended: Bookbinding Core 1-4 (Click here to learn more about the Bookbinding Core)

Please review the SF Center for the Book Registration Policies before signing up for a class

About the Instructor | Michael Burke

Michael Burke studied bookbinding with Dominic Riley and paper conservation with Karen Zukor. Michael lives in the Lake District, England, where he teaches bookbinding as well at events across the UK. He is a past chair of the North West and North Wales region of SoB. He has taught for diverse book arts groups in the USA, including Los Angeles, Seattle and Salt Lake City. In recent years he has taught at the Paper and Book Intensive, travelled to São Paulo to teach for the Brazilian group ABER, and in 2011 presented Byzantine binding at the Seminar of the Guild of Bookworkers. Michael researches the structures of ancient and medieval bindings. He is currently studying for a Masters degree in the History of the Book at the University of London.

Past Student Reviews

"This is a brilliant class!"

"Superb teacher; excellent instruction that was always clear and pertinent, friendly to everyone"

"Michael is a gem of a teacher! I always love to take his classes!"

"So organized, excellent clear explanations, superb teacher, great that materials were well prepared"