Four Inch Journal

Jim’s Description

Overview

Number of Pages: 1,120

Year of binding: 2005

Dimensions: H: 24.5 cm, W: 19.9 cm, T: 9.5 cm*

*H= Height, W = how wide the cover is, T = Thickness of book

Materials

Paper - First and last sections Frog Mill flax and hemp. It’s very difficult to make paper with flax or hemp that doesn’t turn grey. Even clean looking fibers will turn dark grey when made into paper. One must go the extra step of months of natural bleaching in the weather to achieve a light paper with flax or hemp. Flax is mostly old firehose. Most of the hemp is Russian, but also some Chinese, which was just breaking into the hemp market in the mid 90’s. The only other place I know that made paper with flax or hemp was the University of Iowa, and they don’t make it anymore.

Sewing - Pack sewn on 88 Clakson cord

Trim - Plough and scrapers

Leather - Harmatan (English) British Museum Leather

Boards - Quarter split air dried Oregon White Oak (mid 80’s) totally by hand

Splines - Quarter split air dried Idaho Yew, totally worked by hand. The tapered dovetail spline, rarely seen today, was an all-wood cross grain reinforcement often seen on old panel paintings and antiphonals. They weren’t glued, allowing the main board to swell and shrink with the changes in humidity and temperature, but still firmly held flat with the tapered dovetail spline.

Note to buyer: In 2005, I totally rebound the book, because I didn’t like how the spine was acting (no extra charge to buyer). It has to function and read well.

Price: $5,625