It is often that families have beautiful bibles that are passed from generation to generation. In times past, bibles held the family records for births, deaths, baptisms, and marriages. These valuable treasures become worn with use. When this happens, you should care for your bible by investing in hand Bible book binding.
A good hand book bindery will receive a bible, assess its condition, provide you with a quote for restoring it, and give you choices in how your binding will look when finished. There are actually many things that can be done to make any bible stronger and more beautiful than ever before. It takes time, and money. But both of these are good investments for the future of the book.
In our mass production society, we often look at books as being simply created in thousands. Even everyday bibles are produced this way. Many have simple covers that are synthetic materials, and less expensive papers inside. But for bibles that are family heirlooms the bindings must be done by skilled and professional craftsmen. They develop their abilities over years of training and apprenticeship.
The highly skilled craft of book binding has lasted for hundreds of years. The tools themselves have not changed for at least 500 years. It takes an enormous amount of discipline and talent to develop the skills necessary to complete a binding by hand. When faced with the artistic components of many family bibles, then you can imagine how necessary it is to repair, restore, and bind them using the utmost skill.
Bibles actually require a high level of quality when it comes to leather bindings, and interior papers. Sometimes the leathers used are no longer available, and the bookbinder must recreate something similar using special skills. And most of these craftsmen take great pride in being able to match leather styles and colors so well that it is not possible to tell the difference between the old and the new.
The craftsman must also make decisions about the interior pages of the bible. How much paper is available to properly construct the spine? How much damage is done to facing pages, and interior linings? Can the majority of the bible be saved, or must some be sacrificed in order to save what is possible? These questions can only be answered after the bible receives a full examination by the trained eye of the bookbinder.
The cost for having a bible bound is not cheap. It can range anywhere from $35 to $75 or more depending on the amount of work needed, and the prices for the various papers and leathers that are chosen to bind it. There are also imitation leathers that are available for binding bibles that are damaged but new, or are mass-produced and of little historical value. Binding of this type is not as expensive as it would be for a bible that is a family heirloom.
Once the bible has been sent to have the binding restored, it will take approximately four to six weeks for the process to be completed. In an excellent bindery, every step is done meticulously by hand using the best glues, leathers, archival and acid free papers, and tools. This is work that is done not just for today but also for generations into the future.
Want to find out more about Bible book binding, then visit Ye Olde Bookerbinder of South Carolina on how to choose the best bookbinder for your needs.
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