Search results for ""PAPERBLANKS""

This gold-tooled design comes from a 1990s binding crafted by Scott Husby, who used fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Originally published in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (or, First Folio) is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare’s plays, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world, with one being sold in 2001 for over $6 million. There are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed, and the Folger holds nearly one third of them, including the binding reproduced here.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.

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This striking Art Deco design comes from the British bookbinder Sybil Pye (1879–1959), heralded as one of the top female artisans of her time.Self-taught, Pye began producing her first works in the early 1900s using naturally coloured leather, before graduating to multi-coloured panels. By 1934 she was creating complex covers of up to six different inlays, and her work was regularly exhibited throughout England and around the world.This particular design was crafted to hold a collection of William Wordsworth’s poems illustrated by Pye’s lifelong friend Thomas Sturge Moore. Though we can’t be sure that Pye intended to evoke the image of a lion’s majestic head with this cover, the possibility offers an interesting connection between the binding and its original contents, as one of Wordsworth’s poems is titled “Picture of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, at Hamilton Place.”One of the youngest pre–First World War women binders, Pye was the only binder in England who specialized in inlaid leather bindings. With this series, we pay tribute to a pioneering woman in the art of book design.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat.Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem, written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the original binding incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.In the late 1980s, Sangorski & Sutcliffe was acquired by Asprey, joining forces with Zaehnsdorf under the SSZ umbrella. But the family name was restored in 1998 when Shepherds Bookbinders bought the company. It is an honour to work with such a luxurious bookbinding and to share the legacy of Sangorski & Sutcliffe with 21st-century stationery lovers and bibliophiles.

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Artistic, religious and cultural traditions unite in the handwoven fabric of this Sacred Tibetan Textiles design. For centuries, Muslim families in Varanasi, India, have practiced the art of handweaving silks to create cloths and vestments for sacred rituals. The city lies just 12 kilometres from the Buddhist pilgrimage site Sarnath, where the Buddha first gave his sermon upon becoming enlightened, and so Islamic, Buddhist and even Hindu practices have become woven together in the area.The fabric reproduced on this cover comes straight from the Kasim Silk Emporium in Varanasi and is an authentic expression of the weaver’s cultural heritage. In this design, created for a Buddhist monastery, the weavers have portrayed the path to enlightenment, both in the symbolic pattern and in the brightness of the colours chosen.With this Sacred Tibetan Textiles journal, we pay tribute to the rich heritage of Indian handweaving and to the craftspeople who continue this devotional practice today.

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The art of still life painting is a celebrated part of Dutch culture, but before still life emerged, there were illustrators who delicately illuminated handwritten manuscripts with images of flora and fauna to add emotional power to a written work.One of the most celebrated practitioners of this style was Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1601). In the 1590s the Emperor Rudolf II commissioned Hoefnagel to add his illuminations to the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a mid-16th-century manuscript on the art of calligraphy by Georg Bocskay. The page reproduced here is known as Martagon Lily and Tomato.

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Behold the majesty of the ancient cathedral of Ely! This striking notebook design comes from the 1830 cover of James Bentham’s The History and Antiquities of the Conventual and Cathedral Church of Ely, an exactingly crafted ode to the magnificence of the cathedral and the ancient curiosities held within its walls.Ely’s rich history begins with the Anglo-Saxon princess Saint Ethelreda, who founded a monastic community in the Cambridgeshire Fens in 673 ad. Over the centuries, the original abbey was built, destroyed and rebuilt in various forms, with today’s cathedral beginning construction in 1083. With architect George Gilbert Scott at the helm, the Ely Cathedral underwent restorations between 1845 and 1870, rebuilding the galilee porch, lady chapel and choir in an exuberant Decorated Gothic style.With such a rich artistic and spiritual history, it is no wonder that the cathedral would inspire James Bentham to dedicate his life’s work to documenting its artifacts. We are honoured to work with the Bodleian Library to celebrate Bentham’s passion project.

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Our cover reproduces a 1688 binding protecting L’office de la Semaine Sainte, which explained the many rites and observances to be followed during the most important period in the Christian calendar, the Holy Week.The original cover was adorned à la fanfare, a handtooled pattern edged in gilt. Fanfare, which was a style popular in the 17th century, required tremendous skill on the part of the bookbinder and was reserved for books of great importance.Poetry in BloomThis cover design, originally crafted by Riviere and Son, centres around a sensitive plant (mimosa pudica) surrounded by chambers containing snowdrops and other richly hued and contrasting flowers, foliage and butterflies. The original binding was used for The Sensitive Plant and Early Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley and is a celebration of the many moods of the creative spirit.

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Reproducing an original work by designer Pierre Legrain (1889–1929), this cover brings a sense of movement to the heavy geometric elements of its Art Deco influence.Legrain was a key figure in early 20th-century French bookbinding but began his career in illustration, theatre design and cabinetmaking. After leaving the French Army in 1916, Legrain became recognized for his eye for design and was commissioned by Jacques Doucet, a French bibliophile and collector, to create unique bindings for Doucet’s impressive library. Adopting an attitude of experimentation, Doucet encouraged Legrain to be “freely inspired by contemporary artists’ vibrantly coloured mosaics, bold play with geometric forms and straight-lined bands.”Legrain’s works, often using exotic materials, have revolutionized the relatively staid world of bookbinding, finding their way into the collections of art and architecture enthusiasts around the world. This modern mosaic design is now proudly a part of the Spencer Collection at The New York Public Library.

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Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionist painters. Though much of his work, like this Irises study, is filled with brightness and light, Van Gogh’s own life was filled with personal turmoil.A severe mental health crisis, in which he now-famously cut off his own ear, prompted Van Gogh to admit himself to the Saint-Paul Asylum at Saint-Rémy in the south of France. His recuperation began with painting of the asylum garden, Irises chief among the resulting output. The close study of nature was the foundation of Van Gogh’s art, as his precise delineation of individual flowers suggests, but he also brought to that study an astonishing degree of subjective intensity. One can emotionally feel the painting’s strong colours, thickly applied paint and powerful decorative rhythms, all of which convey the artist’s sense of nature’s surging vitality.We are honoured to feature this seminal painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum in our collection.

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Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionist painters. Though much of his work, like this Irises study, is filled with brightness and light, Van Gogh’s own life was filled with personal turmoil. A severe mental health crisis, in which he now-famously cut off his own ear, prompted Van Gogh to admit himself to the Saint-Paul Asylum at Saint-Rémy in the south of France. His recuperation began with painting of the asylum garden, Irises chief among the resulting output.We are honoured to feature this seminal painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum in our collection.

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Our Safavid Indigo design reproduces a leather filigree pattern incorporating handtooled motifs, retaining the elegance and style of the Islamic Golden Age even in our modern context. Originally released in a classic brown leather look, this new deep blue colour scheme pays tribute to the darkest tone of Persian Blue.

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This fiery Baroque-inspired cover comes from a 1725 binding of The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, a masterpiece of Italian literature.Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) was an Italian writer and poet who helped lay the foundations of Renaissance humanism. His defining work, The Decameron, is a collection of novellas, each narrated by one of ten main characters who find shelter from the Black Death in a secluded villa just outside Florence in 1348. With its scope from humour to tragedy and its vivid narrative structure, The Decameron remains an affirmation of humanity and moral values even when read today.

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The Musée Condé is home to over 1500 antique manuscripts, including Eusebius’ Evangelica praeparatione. What makes the 1540s edition so special is that it is the “editio princeps,” or first printing, of the Evangelica, which had existed only as a manuscript. Its regal binding is reproduced for this Evangeline journal cover.

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Taking their slightly sullen cues from previous artistic movements, the New Romantics of the 1980s brought their hairstyles and attitudes to new prominence. Our Peacock Punk journal celebrates the drama that made the New Romantic movement some of the most ironic good times popular culture has ever had.

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This deep blue Delphine journal celebrates the exuberance of the Florentine style. The original book of designs, published in the 1890s by Ginés Codina y Sert, contained over a hundred decorative patterns adorning everything from murals to wallpaper to tapestries.

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Featured on our Miroku journal cover is the Miroku Bosatsu Hanka Shiyui statue, a National Treasure at Kyoto’s Koryu-ji Temple, built in 603 AD. This sculpture depicts Maitreya, the Buddha “yet to come,” sitting in stillness as the guardian of the Teachings of the Buddha. As a metaphor for Compassion, Maitreya teaches that each of us possesses the potential to be Enlightened.

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Plaid has always been a pattern that crosses lines. Closely associated with Scottish clan tartans, plaid material has been unearthed in Central Asian tombs from as far back as 1500 BC. The plaid shown on our Kensington journal cover was collected in France in the 1800s, but looks as though it could have come from last year’s runway collection. So goes the cheeky versatility of plaid!

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Our Ironberry journal cover reproduces the binding of a prayer book belonging to the Archbishop Clemens August of Cologne. The interior contents were an extraordinary example of German calligraphic engraving. The prayers were written by Maria Joseph Clement Kaukol and the bound copies were given as gifts to the Archbishop’s friends, presumably to strengthen ties of friendship.

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French author and illustrator Benjamin Lacombe lends his unique spirit to our collection with this lively design. Lacombe describes his style as being a combination of pop surrealism and lowbrow art.

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Capturing the flavour of Renaissance-style binding at its zenith, this intricately embellished book cover is unique, tactile and so very pleasing to the eye. During this remarkable period in history, manuscripts were renowned for their exquisitely crafted covers made of fine moroccan leather. Brought into Europe via the flourishing trade routes to the Far and Middle East, this style of ornamentation lent a new vibrancy and lightness of design not found in medieval manuscripts.

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William Morris was one of the most celebrated practitioners of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century. Created using woodblock printing done by hand, his evocations of antique florals and plants in all their magical gradation of tints have become design classics gracing the decorative arts.

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Photographer Gérard Degeorge has travelled the world, capturing grand pieces of architectural design through the scope of his lens. This cover design comes from his vast collection of photography and is reminiscent of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The geometric pattern, floral design and arabesque setting are all suggestive of the art and architecture styles found in the western Islamic world.

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Inspired by the 17th-century binding that originally housed the Bustan, a seminal work by Persian author Saadi (1210–1291), this design features intricate birds and flowers that beautifully mirror the contents of the original volume. Today the historic binding can be found in the British Library.Saadi Shirazi, known by his pen name Saadi, was a poet and prose writer born in Shiraz, Iran. He was nicknamed “The Master of Speech” among fellow Persian scholars for the quality of his writing and the depth of his social and moral thoughts. Saadi’s work conveyed his worldview through the beauty of poetry. The strength of his writing not only impacted Persian literature but also influenced the use of Persian language in everyday life.The Bustan (known in English as The Orchard) is one of Saadi’s two best-known works. Written entirely in verse, the stories within are rich in moral thought and principles. Scattered throughout are aphorisms, practical wisdom and reflections on the human existence. With its delicate botanical patterns, this design reflects the fruits of Saadi’s wisdom.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.

Read more less

Capturing the flavour of Renaissance-style binding at its zenith, this intricately embellished book cover is unique, tactile and so very pleasing to the eye. During this remarkable period in history, manuscripts were renowned for their exquisitely crafted covers made of fine moroccan leather. Brought into Europe via the flourishing trade routes to the Far and Middle East, this style of ornamentation lent a new vibrancy and lightness of design not found in medieval manuscripts.

Read more less

This lovely, organic pattern comes from the illustrious carpet-making traditions of the Moldavian people. By mixing ideals of beauty and harmony with folk mysticism and mythology, Moldavian craftspeople elevate everyday carpets to works of spiritual and cultural expression. This particular design comes from a contemporary rug manufacturer, Floare Carpet, who design their floor coverings in the traditional ways.

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Capturing the flavour of Renaissance-style binding at its zenith, this intricately embellished book cover is unique, tactile and so very pleasing to the eye. During this remarkable period in history, manuscripts were renowned for their exquisitely crafted covers made of fine moroccan leather. Brought into Europe via the flourishing trade routes to the Far and Middle East, this style of ornamentation lent a new vibrancy and lightness of design not found in medieval manuscripts.

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A lifelong artist, Gary Grayson’s affinity for both antique prints and modern graphic design is on display in the digital artwork behind this cover. His distinctive style is an eclectic mix of vintage vector, impressionism and pop art.

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Our Blue Velvet design is inspired by a piece of a 15th-century velvet dalmatic. It is decorated in brocaded gilt metal thread with a seven-lobed shield, an artichoke-like botanical shape and tiny floral patterns.

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French artist Claude Monet (1840–1926) was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement. Monet was particularly fascinated with portraying the beauty of nature as the light, shadows and colours changed with each passing moment, day or season. The 1897 painting reproduced on our cover portrays a vibrant bed of colourful chrysanthemums captured in Monet’s distinctive heavy brushstrokes, which beautifully highlight the magnificence of nature.

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William Morris (1834–1896), one of the most celebrated practitioners of the Arts and Crafts Movement, created woven and printed textile designs using the ancient technique of hand woodblock printing. As seen on this pencil case, his evocations of the natural world have become design classics.

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This Baroque-inspired cover comes from a 1725 binding of The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio, a masterpiece of Italian literature. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375) was an Italian writer and poet who helped lay the foundations of Renaissance humanism. With its scope from humour to tragedy and its vivid narrative structure, The Decameron – his defining work – remains an affirmation of humanity and moral values even when read today.

Read more less

This striking Art Deco design comes from the celebrated British bookbinder Sybil Pye (1879–1959). It was crafted to hold a collection of William Wordsworth’s poems illustrated by Pye’s lifelong friend Thomas Sturge Moore. One of the youngest pre–First World War women binders, Pye was the only binder in England who specialized in inlaid leather bindings. With this series, we pay tribute to a pioneering woman in the art of book design.

Read more less

A brilliant 16th-century Cairo workshop is responsible for this journal cover design. Though the name of that atelier has been lost to history, the detailed pattern and fine materials used show why books from the workshop were so highly prized. Today the original binding can be found in the collection of the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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The classic look of a leather steamer trunk is captured in this pen loop design, crafted to complement and enhance any book cover.

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The eternal appeal of a classic floral design is captured in the work of Irish illustrator William Kilburn (1745–1818). With winding twigs and colourful petals set against an inky black background, this Floralia pencil case design is emblematic of Kilburn’s ability to blend local and exotic flora into a harmonious pattern.

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Among the finest poets America has ever produced, Emily Dickinson lived a life of quiet solitude. A master of the short lyric poem, her eccentric preoccupation with death and immortality permeated many of her greatest works. It is Dickinson’s handwritten draft of “I died for beauty – but was scarce” that we have reproduced for this journal cover.

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Nobility and grace are restored in this filigreed design. Originally crafted in 1675 by the Queens’ Binder “A,” the balance of open space and intricate elements make it a shining jewel of the period. The binding reproduced for our Restoration pencil case was designed to hold Richard Allestree’s The Government of the Tongue.

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Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, physicist, futurist and engineer. This Flexi softcover notebook features a sketch of his turbine research, reproducing a document held in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Belgrade. Today, Tesla’s legacy endures mostly notably in Tesla, Inc., which specializes in electric vehicles, solar panels and lithium-ion batteries.

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Olena Skytsiuk is one of the foremost practitioners of Ukrainian Petrykivka painting, a technique in which brushes crafted from cat hairs are used to create a visual effect unlike any other. In each design, like that reproduced on this Dayspring journal cover, thousands of small brush strokes combine to create miniature landscapes and floral scenes.

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In this Polished Pearl journal cover, inspired by an exquisite example of luxury fabric, one sees the absolute perfection of tone, magnificent embroidery and subtly beautiful hues that for which French artisans have become so celebrated. This fine French design has a timeless look of haute couture elegance.

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More sumptuous than even the finest arrangement, our Van Huysum pencil case is based on a painting by Jan van Huysum. A seduction of the eye and a jolt of passion for the soul, this still life is anything but static. The sturdy design always holds its shape, and the lid flap can fold around to create an open presentation case to showcase the items within.

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Inside the original 1910 version of this sumptuous binding laid one of the oldest and most effortlessly romantic stories ever written. The gilt and crushed blue levant morocco binding by Émile-Philippe Mercier contained Jacques Amyot’s French translation of the tale Daphnis and Chloe. The original story was composed by the second-century Greek author Longus, a little-known writer assumed to have been a freedman of a Roman family. Daphnis and Chloe were the fictional lovers against whom all others can be measured. Their story was the inspiration for one of contemporary cinema’s most beloved films, The Princess Bride. Daphnis and Chloe were naïve lovers separated by pirate abductions and battles aplenty. But love prevails and in the end they are restored to pastoral, wedded bliss.  

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Displaying astounding plays of naturalistic illusionism, the luxurious book known as the Spinola Hours is one of the most visually sophisticated 16th-century Flemish manuscripts. A book of hours contains a calendar of Church holidays, the Hours of the Virgin, the Office for the Dead, and other prayers, hymns and readings. The Spinola Hours also includes weekday offices and masses, providing even more possibilities for rich illuminations. The book was commissioned for a wealthy patron, perhaps Margaret of Austria, and in the 1700s it belonged to the Spinola family, for whom it is now named. We are honoured to reproduce this unparalleled example of illumination from the J. Paul Getty Museum.

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Laurel Burch was a self-taught artist who created brilliantly coloured, vibrant and moving themes with paint and paper, exquisitely embellished with gold and silver. A tribute to the infinite bliss of flowers, this Wild Flowers design symbolizes the blossoming of the spirit as much as the beauty of a lovely garden. With this motif, Laurel’s hope was to speak in the universal language of symbols that touch us all, and her flowers certainly have the ultimate ability to do just that. With a bursting of brilliant wildflower blooms, Laurel’s florals are a never-ending source of happy inspiration and joy.  

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This stately gold-tooled design comes from a unique 1990s binding crafted by book conservator Scott Husby, who pulled together fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare's First Folio. Originally published in 1623 in London and containing 36 of Shakespeare's plays, Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (known as the First Folio) is one of the most influential books ever published. It is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare's plays, 18 of which had previously never been printed, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night. Today, there are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed. Due to its influence and scarcity, the First Folio is one of the most valuable printed books in the world, with one being sold at auction in 2001 for over $6 million. The Folger Shakespeare Library itself holds 82 copies of the First Folio in their collection.

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In his Spring painting (1894), Lawrence Alma-Tadema represented the Victorian custom of children collecting flowers on May Day. By placing the scene in ancient Rome, he suggested the festival’s history through architecture, dress, sculpture and instruments. Alma-Tadema incorporated his knowledge of antiquity into over 300 paintings. We are honoured to feature a detail from Spring as part of our collaborative The J. Paul Getty Museum Collection.  

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