Earl Fankhauser

This archival, hand-sewn journal/sketchbook is made from 100 gsm, rose Hahnemühle Ingres mouldmade paper from Germany, sewn with Irish linen thread in the linked stitch pattern that dates back at least to the Ancient Copts.  It allows the book to lay open easily to any page.

 This book’s endbands are blue and white cotton, and its bookmark is blue satin ribbon.  The book’s spine is covered in Dubletta cloth from the Netherlands, and its boards are wrapped in hand silk-screened paper from Japan, printed in the factories where kimonos are decorated.

Treasure binding began with monks in the 6^th Century who would encrust volumes with jewels. During the Renaissance, there was a resurgence in treasure binding. This is a contemporary revival of the treasure binding in which a lucky charm has been embedded in the cover of this book.  

 The talisman in this book is a cased penny from Fort Wayne, Indiana where 1948-1965 Earl Fankhouser became known as “The Penny Man,” dealing in encased coins as advertising chits.  Find your niche and fill it up.

This book is roughly 6.5 x 10” with a few more than 150 blank pages.