Pilar

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 sheepskin ribbon.  Its spine is covered sheepskin, and its boards are wrapped in a 1954 map of the Atlantic Ocean, featuring Cuba.

 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 sailfish cameo, snagged in an antiques store along the gulf coast of the United States.  In 1954 the dictator of Cuba, Fulgencia Batista y Zaldivar won the general election for President of Cuba after his opponent withdrew from the running.  These early events led to the Cuban Revolution and the eventual installation of Fidel Castro as Cuba’s dictator in 1959.  American Writer, Ernest Hemingway, who may or may not have been working for the FBI, was living in Cuba during this time.  Larga vida a Cuba!

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