drew55•1mo ago

Talking to a retired binder changed how I think about endpapers

I was at a shop in Portland last weekend and got to chatting with this older guy who used to bind books for a university library. He told me he never uses machine-made papers for endpapers because they just don't hold up over decades. Said he once had to replace a whole set of endpapers from the 1800s that were still fine while newer ones were turning brown. That hit me because I've been grabbing whatever decorative paper looks good at the craft store without thinking about acid content or grain direction. He spent about 20 minutes showing me how to check grain by folding a corner and how to tell if paper is archival just by looking at the edge. I've been binding for three years and never once thought about longevity that way. Has anyone else here switched to handmade or acid-free papers for their endpapers after a similar wake up call?

3 comments

3 Comments

carter.casey1mo ago

That's the kind of conversation that sticks with you, isn't it? Hearing someone who's been doing this for decades talk about stuff falling apart hits different than reading about it in a book or online. I had a similar moment about a year ago when I pulled an old binding I'd made off the shelf and saw the endpapers were already going yellow and brittle. Felt like a punch in the gut, honestly, because I'd spent all this time on the cover and sewing but cheaped out on the paper inside. Now I'm paranoid about grain direction and acid content in everything I use, even for small projects like notebooks. It's wild how one conversation can totally shift your whole approach to a craft.

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ivanross1mo ago

A buddy of mine had a similar rude awakening with his leatherworking. He spent months on this custom tool roll for a customer, fancy hand stitching, the works. Then a couple years later the customer brought it back saying the leather dye was rubbing off on everything. Turned out he'd used a cheap dye that wasn't set right. He's been checking dye batches and doing lightfast tests ever since. Makes you realize how the hidden stuff, like endpapers for you or dye for him, is what actually decides if the thing lasts. So yeah, @carter.casey, that kind of conversation just rearranges your brain a bit.

morgan_martinez29d ago

Read a blog post once that said the same thing about old book glues, @ivanross.