I'm very pleased to let you know that the leather books I designed and made as props for Roman Villa Ventorum at The Newt in Somerset are now available to purchase. You can buy them in 2 sizes and 4 different colour combinations at the retail store at the entrance to the Villa experience.
Mustard Yellow A6 leather journal; Forest Green A5 leather journal
Each book is invidually bound by hand in finest Forest Green or Mustard Yellow calfskin covers with a matching strap that winds around the books. The inner surface of the leather is left in its natural state.
Choose from Rust, Chocolate or Maroon exposed spine stitching in linen thread. Each size has 256 pages of white parchment effect paper, suitable for all writing instruments and dry art mediums. The paper is 100gsm and FSC certified.
I bound the books in the simple yet attractive Longstitch style, which calls to mind the earliest books used in the 2-4th centuries alongside the wax tablet and scroll. The books lay open on a surface so they're a delight to use, whether for writing or sketching. They'd make a great gift for the artist, writer or historical enthusiast in your circle.
Leather books coordinate with the linens and murals in the bedroom of Villa Ventorum; similar books are available to buy in the retail store.
As the information plaque next to my books says:
These leather books represent a significant turning point in the history of written records and are a testament to the ingenuity of the Roman period.
Their design is based on the earliest codex - the forerunner of the modern book form - fragments and examples of which have been found dating back to the second to fourth century AD. The Romans innovated the codex out of the wax tablet and, proving so useful, the codex gradually replaced the more cumbersome scroll.
Although their design is simplified, they retain key defining features of the earliest books: pages bound to a limp leather cover with a protective envelope flap and a leather wrapping band fasted with a simple stitch.
The gardens at Villa Ventorum
Purchase your leather journal in 2 sizes and 4 colour combinations when you visit Villa Ventorum. Entrance to the Roman Villa Experience is by appointment - book online here - and is included within Newt garden membership. For more information visit The Newt in Somerset's website or contact them on +44 (01)1963 577750
For further information on the leather journals, please feel free to contact me.
Susan Green
info@boundbyhand.co.uk
+44 (0)7748 759371
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What do those professional bookbinding terms mean? Can I use any kind of glue? Where do I find waxed linen thread? Do I need special paper? Is that awl as good as the one I already have? I hear you. I was you.
