Making Books by Hand: A Step-By-Step Guide

by Mary McCarthy, Philip Manna

Describes the techniques and equipment used in making books, provides instructions for making accordion books, journals, scrapbooks, and other projects, and offers a selection of artists' books.

Genres: Crafts, Nonfiction, Art

108 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Mary McCarthy's one-of-a-kind and limited edition artist's books have been collected by private collectors and major institutions across the United States, including the Library of Congress and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She has taught bookmaking and she is the co-author of the popular manual Making Books by Hand. Mary McCarthy lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This just wasn't the book I was looking for - it has lots of creative and foofy books you could make with lots of pictures, but it wasn't for me. If you scrapbook, you'll love the book.

[Kalie]

Want this for future projects! Great step-by-step guide with pictures.

[LadyS · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you have taken up a new hobby..scrapbooking or journaling for instance, this is an excellent book that provides visuals on how you can make your own books by hand. With a few materials at minimal cost, one can make their own books and get creative. I appreciate the organization of this book in terms of materials needed/used and the pictures were very helpful. A starting point for beginners.

[Margaret Leeper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a pretty book and not what I was looking for. This book has plans for folded accordion books and box shaped books . It does have easy instructions for basic booklet and hardcover books which I found helpful. I was hoping for instructions on sewing the signatures for books where the stitching shows and plans for beautiful journals . There are several pages of pictures in the book showing works of a few artists books. They are all quite dark, disturbing books.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Instructions aren't always clear. Pictures are often not helpful. Bad graphic design.