Seasonal Greetings

2008 has been a busy year for Libre Livre, moving to our new workshop in Lewes, building our website together with a couple of other smaller "test-bed" sites, and attending our first book and craft fairs in November. We are very grateful for all the support we have received from customers, advisers and friends to all of whom we would like to wish a very

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

A new Website

The main focus of Libre Livre is firmly on the physical: bookbinding, letterpress printing and paper marbling, but we also do a little web design on the side.

We have recently been working on a small site to try out some new techniques; cut-outs and random image selection. Here's the link: Lyons la Foret

New Type

A big thank you from Libre Livre to an East Sussex bookbinder who has given us 22 trays of type and a cabinet to hold it all. We are now busy sorting it and adding it to our type inventory, which can be found on the Letterpress Printing page of the Libre Livre website.

Weekend Printing

This weekend saw the LLL team hard at work composing and printing some personalized stationery for a new customer of whom we have high hopes. Whilst we were at it we were delighted to get a surprise visit from two people who have forgotten more about printing than we'll ever know. Lewes used to have three large printing companies, of which the best known was probably Baxters, all three now closed. All that is left, in the manner of the Cheshire Cat, is the experience - and we are certainly hoping we can draw on it.

Libre Livre Website

We have just released an update of the Libre Livre Website, including by popular demand a third Gallery. Experience shows that despite all efforts, the odd error (missing link etc) may slip through. If any of our devoted band of followers notices a mistake we would be most grateful if you could let us know. Thanks

Libre Livre Photo Gallery

Take a peek in the Libre Livre Photo Gallery to see some pictures of our recent work

Haywards Heath Book Fair

The Haywards Heath Book Fair on 22 November proved a great marketing opportunity for Libre Livre. We focussed on 3 key product areas: books with wooden boards, letterpress printing and marbled papers. All three proved of interest; a number of people spent some time looking at our stall and we distributed almost all the hand printed business cards that we took along with us.

As you can see from these photos our table was colourful and loaded with a


good range of samples, including some notebooks bound in Japanese paper and others in Italian block printed paper.

I created a short presentation showing some of our products, books of historical interest and some sketches of Victorian binders at work. It was particularly gratifying that all this, which worked really well without a glitch, was done using Linus software.

The Rye Bookfair

The Libre Livre team decided a few weeks ago it was time for an outing, and as we spend our time printing and making books what could be better than the chance to sell a few. We found out about a book sale in Rye and decided to team up, motor down and see what we could get for some of our spares.

Saturday morning lie in? Not for us. By half seven the team were on the road. First stop Lewes to meet up with our friend Hannah, who kindly advised us that a set of luggage wheels might come in useful, and even more kindly lent us some of hers. Thus equipped and laden with books the three of us set off cross county for Rye.

It was when we got to the center of town that we discovered that none of us actually knew where the Thomas Peacock College was. Luckily a railway porter - a rare breed, but still extant - pointed us in the right direction. It was only a few hundred yards away. Straight through the station car park, disregarding the "No left turn sign" and we were there; in good time too, so we thought.

Not only were we the last team to arrive but we had been allocated a great spot immediately inside the door. The first stall anybody would see was ours. That may be the reason that the organizer insisted we take our stock out of the cut-down cardboard boxes in the which we had intended to display it, and persuaded a neighboring stall holder to lend us a once smart green baize cloth to cover our table.

The Libre Livre head marbler took charge of the display while I wheeled in carton after carton of books, mentally thanking Hannah with each load. Once in I authorized a complete re-arrangement of our table. It may have looked like a jumble sale, but at least more titles were visible. In retrospect this was not so wise as before we had even finished putting out our titles dealers from the surrounding stalls were circling. One immediately bought the "Letters of Edwin Lutyens" priced at £2, only to display it on his table for £25 (I am delighted to report he had not sold it by the end of the day)

"Ladies and gentleman, the Sale is now open" announced the orgnanizer, almost the last word the Libre Livre team heard from him during the day; although we did notice one or two sharp glances in our direction. The masses descended upon us; and bought nothing. After half an hour we made our first sale, to Hannah, and then two more. By eleven we had sold three.

A charming lady grasping my favorite old copy of Elephant Bill asked me if we had anything on Africa or India, a question which to my astonishment I was able to answer, even more astonishingly in the affirmative. By sheer chance I had seen Bandoola lying on the car seat five minutes before. There might be more: we gave her our card and suggested she might contact us before the next sale. A sensible looking lady picked out a couple of John Buchan's, and another who looked exactly like my idea of Mary Poppins (Oh, why couldn't I have had a nanny?) asked for vol 1 of The Borrowers, the only volume we hadn't got.

My friends Wojtek and Liz had driven over from Chichester to give us moral support, which was generous in itself and all the more so as they immediately converted it into a sale, one of our largest of the day. I was releaved that they found things of interest on a number of other stalls too, including a full set of Dickens, to justify their journey.

By lunch time we had sold around 50. Better than we had feared, and more than enough to cover the cost of the petrol and the stall. Just. Which was lucky, as we did not sell anything else.

We did, however, discover that Brian, who had the stall behind ours and who had shown astonishing patience all day as we stumbled around behind his stock, was a bookbinder too. The rest of the afternoon was enjoyable if not lucrative as we swapped stories of binders we have known, techniques for coptic headbands and so on.

At last the agony was over. Wojtek and Liz very kindly helped us pack up - oddly we seemed to have with more than we had started out with, but W put six crates into the back of his van. Hannah squeezed herself into the back between bags and boxes, and off we went.

All in all an enjoyable team event, and one we hope to repeat (we've got to we've got so many books to get rid of).

Modern conservation

Do the words "book conservator" conjure up an image of a fusty old man surrounded by tottering piles of leather bound tomes, and a glue pot?

At Libre Livre we believe conservation requires, amongst other things, an understanding of the principles of material science and makes use of modern equipment. Our ultra sonic humidifier, for example. allows us to apply gentle humidity precisely where it is required to relax folded or stressed paper, loosen old paste and perform a welter of other delicate tasks.

That is not to say that we don't value tried and tested tools and techniques just as much. One of my favourite tools is my old bone folder, a piece of cow bone worn and stained, but time and again proving to be just the right shape to reach into a tricky corner or to firm up a smooth crease.

No secrets at Libre Livre

"The secret" it is often said "is in the preparation", but not at Libre Livre. I am working hard to prepare for the Haywards Heath book fair, where together with Bookbinders of Lewes, Libre Livre will be contributing to a stall dedicated to "the art of the book". I have decided to produce a range of small single section notebooks covered in Libre Livre marbled paper, and a selection of coptic books with wooden boards.

The boards of the coptic books are made from number of woods, oak, mahogany and walnut to name but three. Each book takes around half a day to prepare. The sewing requires a very even tension to avoid a wedge shape at either head or foot, and that applies just as much to the headbands (coptic of course) as to the main body.

Over the next few days I will be loading some pictures of the books in question to the Libre Livre Photo Gallery, which can be accessed from the links on the right

Book Fairs Coming Up

Two forthcoming bookfairs have come to my notice:

Rye (Thomas Peacocke Community college) on 15th November

Haywards Heath (Claire Hall) on 22 November

Libre Livre will, of course, be featuring at both.

Binders Beware

Alert all binders

There was a news flash on Radio 4 this morning which mentioned that a drummer maker has recently died from anthrax caught from "imported leather". I think it is likely that the skin was in fact vellum, but nonetheless it is a salutary message.

Relieur

The Libre Livre team has just come back from a fortnight in France. We were lucky, the weather was perfect and although the euro was quite strong against the pound we managed a few meals out.

We also visited a number of churches, and I was struck by how many contained statues that included books. The picture to the left is an example, from a church in Louviers. Many of the carvings were detailed enough to see clasps, bosses and raaised thongs

..and all as black as Ink

There's no doubt about it, printing with fresh black ink a whole lot easier than using other colours, especially if they are a few years old.

Earlier this year Libre Livre was lucky enough to pick up a range of letterpress inks in colours ranging from standard reds, blues and blacks to more esoteric mauve, lime green and yellow. Some of these inks are several years old, still functional, but needing a firm hand. Getting a sharp clear impression from them takes skill - and patience as the ink is treated and worked to loosen it.

On Sunday the team had an early start: and composing, inking up etc was well under way by time for elevenses. We chose royal blue, oil based ink but despite working it hard we could not get it flowing as loosely as the black we normally use. Matters got worse as we discovered that none of the team had enuogh cash to pay for lunch. Still, by the end of the evening we had some attractive lilac letterheads, personalised envelopes and some printed cards invting our customers to "keep in touch, writing letters is fun".

In the next couple of weeks I hope to be adding some photos illustrating our range of letterhead designs, inks and papers

Wood Type wanted

One of the things we at Libre Livre are always on the look out for is wood type. Do let us know if you have any you want to get rid of (contact details on main website).

We recently bought a very nice font of "Chatsworth" and some assorted ? and ! signs

Wood type has a feel and a density quite different from the lead type used for much letterpress printing. For an example, click here

Gill, A Sort of Type

At Libre Livre we have over 370 individual trays of type, virtually all of it vintage. Much of it arrived in our workshop ill sorted and labeled. Sorting, cleaning and recording all this has been a major job. Just numbering each tray has taken ages, but this week I producd a first cut report of our type inventory, sorted by font, by tray and by size.

Despite the range of type we hold, (Dorechester script, Times New Roman, Glouster, Bodoni, Palace, Falstaffa and Runic Condensed to name but a few) Libre Livre specialises producing work in that most beautiful of fonts, Gill Sans Serif*. Eric Gill lived for years just a few miles from our workshop in Lewes, and it seems entirely appropriate for us to celebrate the connection.

Although this type was first cut by Eric Gill, it is rooted in history: the capitals being based on monumental Roman script, and the lower case on the Carolingian script in wide use between the years 800 and 1200.

* - for those who do not know, the "serif" is the small, often triangular "tails" seen on the ends of many fonts (such as the one used ofr this blog): a "sans serif" font is stripped of such intricacy and appears clear and fresh on the page.

An Honourary Apprentice

Over the Bank Holiday weekend Libre Livre was lucky enough to employ the services of an apprentice, Thomas.

Thomas, who is studying economics at Uni, had never printed before, but ink flows through his veins, and before the day was out he was happily churning out headed notepaper on one of our Adanas. Not only that, but he produced for himself some very smart cards - and if they don't impress a few of his fellow economists I can't imagine what will.

All good things must come to an end, even apprenticeships, so although I detected an enthusiasm to join the Libre Livre team, at the end of his visit Thomas had to head back to his studies. We wish him well and hope he will be joining us again before long.

The Napolean of Binding

A few years ago I bought a second hand guillotine, a Dahle, with a spare blade. Since then it has stood in a corner of my workshop, barely ever used. I have, however, finally got round to getting the spare blade sharpened and yesterday I fitted it.

What a job! The blade is literally razor sharp and about 18 inches long - better not to think about the consequences if it dropped on wrist or finger - which has to be pushed up a very tight slot before it can be screwed into position. The only way to lever it up this slot was balanced on the ends of two allen keys alternately jerked sharply upwards. It took me two hours, and one nicked finger.

Despairing at one stage of ever managing to get the wretched thing back into place I rang a friend of mine who is by way of being an expert on odd jobs like this. Her husband put it very succinctly "damn things those Dahle's they've got so many saftey devices you can hardly get at 'em"

Turing to another subject altogether, BT are still trying to sort out my web-site desing problem (see A Great IT Blog for more details)

BT still helping

One week later the crack team BT set up investigate the problems I have been having setting up a website using Geocities (the service BT provide to customers since they linked up with Yahoo) is still working.

If anybody wants to read the details of the issues, and their resolution, they will be loaded onto "A great IT blog" once resolved.

Never say......

Libre Livre does not believe in petty rules, but one word which is absolutely banned is "No". So when we came stuck trying to access webspace at BT Openzone we did not just give up after half a dozen BT "Help" centres recommended each other and failed in turn to solve our problem, we rang head office (02027 356 5000). 24 hours later a team has been set up to investigate the problem.

Another issue: the distruptive effect of adverts on BT Yahoo Geocities websites is being investigated by a team in the States - it may sound trivial, but when you see all your carefully placed pictures scattered over the screen covering each other and your text it is very irritating. Let's see if BT can sort something out

Libre Livre Poster

It may sound like a bit of a busman's holiday, but last week our Head Marbler went printing. A five day intensive course to hone her skills and get the ink flowing.

The picture to the right shows a poster she designed and printed using wood type - something of which Libre Livre can never get enough. If you have any to part with do get in contact with us via our website.

Marbled Papers

"Marbled Paper". Two words, but what an enormous range of patterns and textures they can imply. And, of course the colour spectrum is limitless. I have recently stumbled across the digital collection of patterned papers produced by the University of Washington Libraries (site on the right), which gives a great idea of the sort of papers that can be produced.

Paper marbling at Libre Livre is done using water colours and acrylic paints in a variety of styles, traditional and modern. To see some examples of ourwork visit www.librelivre.com

Wayzgoose Print Fair

The Libre Livre team visited the Wayzgoose Printing Fair in Witney this weekend. An excellent fair it was too: there were stalls selling type, equipment, books, examples of fine printing and more. Two presses were set up for demonstrations, by the British Printing Society and the Oxford Guild of Printers respectively (see the links on the right for both).

The fair is held every other year, with the Oxford Fine Press Book Fair in the alternate years.

Unfortunately some ink I bought got sold twice, which gave me an excuse to visit John and Louisa Hare, of the Evergreen Press ("site on the right") at their new premises near Chipping Norton. John has specialised in letterpress printing for many years and showed me some examples of his work as well as selling me a rainbow of letterpress inks ranging from lime green to purple

Several months ago Libre Livre managed to pick up in a auction some magnificent and rare printing blocks of historical buildings in Lewes.

Over coming months we will be producing a series of cards made using these beautiful blocks.

Here is a sample to whet your appetite.

Anybody interested in acquiring their own set of these rare prints should, of course, feel free to contact us.

Hand Printing Begins at Libre Livre

This week the presses began rolling in our new workshop at Castle Ditch Lane, Lewes.

Printing Fair

For those interested, news has reached me of a printing fair next Saturday, 5 July, at Langdale Hall, Witney, Oxon. I have not been to a fair there before, so I have no idea what to expect, but entrance is free, so....why not give it a go?

Work Ethic

At Libre Livre we believe in hard work 24/7.

Here is a snap of our head marbler going flat out

Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington, the Kensington rare book dealer has also run the Chelsea Bindery since 2000. This top notch bindery specialises in traditional bindings of rare and valuable books. To see the bindery and photos and price list of some of their recent work click the site on the right

On blog News

Hope you enjoy the new feature "What's happening in the World of Bookbinding" added to the blog this morning

Groans of a letterpress printer

Last week Libre Livre was lucky enough to be offered some second-hand type at a very ccompetitive price by a retired printer who just chanced to be walking by our workshop. The only snag is that he wants to keep the trays in which it is held.

For those who don;t know, a type tray is a wooden tray about 30 inches long and 14 wide. It is divided up into around 75 compartments to keep each letter and character separate. To empty one tray into another (no, you can't just swap them over, type trays come in matching sets) takes about two hours laboriously picking up the contents of each compartment with tweezers and transferring those that don't ping away to the correspondong compartment in the other tray. And I've got 14 trays to do. Ahhhhh

Libre Livre Web Site

Completed the first draft of the Libre Livre web site today, and managed to get it all written and uploaded using Open Source software, which was gratifying. For those who are interested, click the site on the right to take a look.