Tao

Jim’s Description

Overview

Number of Pages: 872

Year of binding: 2004

Dimensions: H: 13.8 cm, W: 11.5 cm, T: 6.3 cm*

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

Materials

Paper - Mostly flax and hemp paper from the Frog Mill (a water powered stamper at my home) made in the 1990’s. 766 pages were from the stamper. 106 pages were beater made. Gelatine sized and burnished with bone. 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.

European paper aficionados appreciate paper made with a water powered stamper (pre 1680 in Europe).

Sewing - Handspun flax by Melody. Pack sewing on 88 Clarkson cord

Boards - Quarter split New Jersey Mulberry from Denise Carbone’s yard. Worked totally by hand. Split on the quarter, hewn flat with a hewing hatchet. Hand planed.

Trim - Plough, bone burnished

Endbands - Idaho homegrown flax, processed and spun by binder

Clasps - Idaho antler (deer) made into an egg shape. The hinges are Hmong Hemp over a core of University of Iowa, flax papercase paper.

Covering - Hmong Hemp: Thousands of years of unbroken hemp tradition

31 Illustrations by Melody - my 5th Tao that I’ve copied “If you think you know, then you don’t”.

Price: $14,260