Seahorse

This archival, hand-sewn journal/sketchbook is made from 100 gsm, antique white 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 green and yellow cotton, and its bookmark is goatskin.  Its spine is covered goatskin from Rocky Mountain Leather Supply in Utah, and its boards are wrapped in paper that was hand-marbled by Betty Caponi in San Monte Giusto, Italy.

 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 printed cameo featuring a seahorse that was collected at an antiques store on an island off the coast of the United States.  Seahorses are part of the Syngathidae family which also includes seadragons.  They are among the few organisms on Earth for which the male of the species carries gestating offspring.

This book is approximately 6.5 x 9” with a few more than 150 blank pages.