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Bookbinders

196113 min 24 sec64 shots

This 1961 film shows bookbinders restoring old volumes by removing damaged covers and threads, resewing pages, shaping the spines, and pressing the books. Workers marble the page edges, attach new cloth- and leather-covered boards, apply gold leaf, and stamp titles onto the spines. These hand processes demonstrate the patience and precision required to preserve older books.

Modern mass production begins with printed sheets that machines fold into sections called signatures. Workers and machines gather and sew the sections, compress and trim the pages, round and glue the spines, prepare hard covers known as cases, and join each book to its cover before inspection and final pressing. Additional scenes show workers assembling pamphlets, ruling paper for ledgers and notebooks, and attaching wire bindings to stenographers’ pads.

The film describes books as a means of preserving writing and sharing knowledge. Its closing identifies the workers with the Brotherhood of Bookbinders and the AFL-CIO and credits their combined craft skills and machine work with supporting literacy.

Provenance and rights

Original producer: Norwood Studios
Collection: Prelinger Archives
Original title: Bookbinders
Date: 1961
Original link: Open on Internet Archive
Rights: public_domain