An Age-Old Profession

(No, not THAT profession, silly!) I'm talking about book binding. B. and I paid a visit to Frank Lehmann, a book binder, an artisan/craftsman who basically follows the same procedures as bookbinders have done for centuries. His tools are amazing, and quite beautiful. (Those above and below are for stamping leather bindings...)

 Rolls of paper for endpapers...

 Gigantic paper presses...

Various tools of the trade...

Twine/thread to sew up printed signatures before binding.

So very cool...I have the utmost admiration for those who carry on the noble traditions of the past: if they aint' broke, don't fix them. Carry on!