Is Bookbinding a Dead Art with eReaders?

No! Printing and bookbinding is not a dead art - in fact, in its rarity, it becomes more of an art. Every year, my hometown hosts a small press book fair to show some of the unique books being hand-printed out there. This place in Buffalo called The Western New York Book Arts Center has old letterpresses. I've been in their basement studio - it's filled with printers boxes and thousands of hand-crafted zinc plates, carved blocks, and stencils...all for hand-crafting unique books.

Some publishers also print "collectible" editions of books to last a long time. I recently received a book that was leather-bound, printed by Easton Press, which focuses on creating high-quality, lasting books. I have a Coleridge book that was printed in 1995, and I know it will last long past its centennial in 2095, so I can pass "Kubla Khan" and the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" to my kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. The book is leather with gold engravings, pages painted gold. The only difference from the old books is that the pages aren't hand-cut, so they are smoothly intact.

As enchanting as old things are and intriguing their pasts, I'm not opposed to printing new books in the old way. It's wonderful when books can last 100+ years, but paper isn't made to last ages past that. My book of Whittier abolitionist poems from the late 1800s is falling to pieces, to the point where I'm afraid to open it. The pages have all detached from its glue binding. But the cover is beautiful - hand painted and still vibrant. My point is we don't necessarily need to preserve the books forever; but we should preserve the art of creating quality books.

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