jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 15/07/2026I only stood these cases on end like this to allow the covers to dry properly post-waxing, I did not intend for them to look like an ancient marine creature, and yet… 160
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 13/07/2026though the wax is only to be applied very gently, in small circular motions [wax on… wax off], doing so over so many covers has worn a hole in the cloth, which is of course better than if it had worn a hole in the book; so that’s good, at least as an inadvertent test of the book’s robustness… 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 13/07/2026one issue with using relief printing for covers is that inked art of this sort is not usually meant to be handled, whereas books most certainly are the answer: a very fine layer of archival wax (should protect the book from, say, imperceptiblly damp fingertips, though not from, say, bath water) 151
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 10/07/2026all paper covers on and cases stacked but, something, hmm… something is missing here 030
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 10/07/2026adding hand-printed paper sides this can be tricky as the moisture in the glue seeps into the paper and re-wets the ink, so you have to be very careful not to smear/smudge the artwork when pressing the paper flat 030
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 03/07/2026some folk really like their books with ribbons some folk really loathe them… what’s the thinking there, I wonder 141
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 01/07/2026all the cases folded, just awaiting cover art… and the book itself, of course 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 01/07/2026haven’t done this sort of sewing for many years; thought I’d try it again and yet… it’ll be glued over, mulled over, and then completely hidden by the cover looks pretty though 041
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 30/06/2026a tower block of book blocks waiting to be trimmed (avec le chien) 061
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 29/06/2026not very good pictures these, and not really book-related, except that from where I work I’ve been watching (for the last week or so) this woodpecker feed his two children, with the juveniles chirping noisily all the while (last picture wonky only in order to get all three birds in single frame) 030
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 29/06/2026“…thank you for your support, but this is not as helpful as you think it is…” 0102
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 29/06/2026yet another stage in making the book where precision is vital; even half a millimetre off here will skew the hinges, and indeed the spine 082
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 29/06/2026boards don’t cut themselves, alas [which is to say: if anyone can think how I can cut these boards more efficiently (that is, in less than ten cuts) do please let me know] 000
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 28/06/2026some of the stages in making the book blocks: firstly how the pages start out (printed in royal octavo), before being folded, punched, sewn, then clamped and glued 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 28/06/2026they don’t serve any great structural purpose in the making of the book, merely decorative, but I do like making headbands for these I use matka silk, which gives a good sheen and texture just a little detail to cap each spine, that’s all 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 28/06/2026while waiting for various things to properly dry I used up various oddments to make two notebooks a bit garish, perhaps, but at least I won’t lose them 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 23/06/2026In the drying room… not even half of those I mean to do, 25copies in all; may not seem like many, but it sure does take a while 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 22/06/2026and here are some of the previous sheets with the words now printed into the spaces; these will then be trimmed and fixed to cases half-bound in cloth… when those are themselves made — but still a lot to do before then 122
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 22/06/2026some of the progress on the main title front cover plate from last few days; always looks a bit scrappy mid-cut, especially with the fiddly bits, but gets a little smoother later 030
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 19/06/2026and here’s the plate all inked up, plus the first lot of prints; coverage a little patchy in places because of the paper texture, but overall… okay… I hope 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 19/06/2026progress with one of the new book’s front cover plates as to what words might eventually go in the gaps… anyone want to guess? answers on a postcard 173
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Relief cut for rear cover finished, plus some prints on rough textured cotton rag paper. 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 06/06/2026rear cover plate fully marked up, plus first cuts; with border collie’s general if hesitant approval 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 05/06/2026final design for rear cover transferred by hand to back plate as a mirror image — took a lot longer than one might expect; it‘s very dizzying looking at these sorts of close wavy lines for extended periods 172
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 04/06/2026pro-bookbinding tip: following the careful application of beeswax it is vital to keep any newly waxed thread both near at hand and tangle-free 0287
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 04/06/2026rocks, contours, oysters? who can say; a couple of test cuts/prints for a new cover design; the close lines in each pattern create a motion illusion if viewed at the right distance 072
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 01/06/2026these pictures are much clearer than those I took; glad it arrived okay 130
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 01/06/2026book-making interlude: the guardian of curious things 060
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026several steps later: the finished books; half-bound in black cloth 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026test printing on very thick (320 gram) cotton rag paper; the texture is too deep to get full coverage in a print, but the building up of ink layers creates a good effect by the end 040
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026some relief cuts (book title and name-beetle) with test inkings… 050
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026the glued and trimmed book blocks have their spines rounded 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026trimming the book blocks leaves all these tops & tails… 020
jomorganbooks @jomorganbooks.bsky.social · 31/05/2026Some of the early stages in handbinding copies of Pupa, recently. 1102
![relief-printed book covers (sans book) with title [Out, Leviathan!] and author name [J.O.MORGAN] bordered by blue-black stonelike patterns](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:elts226a4ifpm3k5klyyiji3/bafkreiaztpyxly7dnwsfe5dgzkdju2buaoot5bvfrhg6gftoxn7ckkbfeq)
