Bookbinding & Gilding

A handicraft that binds books and manuscripts and adorns them with fine gold ornament, devoted to keeping texts safe from one generation to the next.

About Bookbinding & Gilding

Bookbinding sews, secures and covers the gatherings of a book in leather or cloth, while gilding lays an ornament of gold leaf or powdered gold on covers and pages. The craft demands patience, precision and an understanding of paper, leather and adhesives.

In Madinah and Makkah the craft grew up around copying and conserving the Qur’an and other manuscripts, and today it lives on in restoring treasured volumes and producing fine editions.

How it is made

Step 1: Ordering and sewing the gatherings
Step 2: Securing and lining the spine
Step 3: Covering the book in leather
Step 4: Laying out the ornament on the cover
Step 5: Applying and burnishing the gold leaf

Tools

Sewing needle
Press
Gilding tools

Raw materials

Leather
Paper
Gold leaf
Thread
Glue

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