This is my latest book, actually the second version. I’ve been working on it for more than a year. I fell in love with the Gingko tree growing in Robin and Steve’s backyard. It’s huge and has to date from before the house was built. I’m guessing it’s at least 200 years old. I’ve been photographing it, and talking to it, for a long time. Never been satisfied with the photos and, of course, the tree doesn’t answer me. Finally decided I had to make a book.
Unlike the tree, the book is small, 5 inches by 6 inches. Most of the pages are printed on Talas unbuffered bond, trimmed to size. The cover is 100% recycled Shizen watercolor paper, a thick, mostly cloth-feeling textured material. The binding is something I saw online as I was perusing soft cover materials.
Inside the book are lots of photos, a little text, 4 sheets of prints made from gingko leaves with poems printed on them, and vellum endpapers.
I don’t like the look of the binding on the inside and probably won’t use it again.
And, if I can get more gingko prints, I may create Gingko 3; particularly since I have a new spring photo to add to it.
Male sperm carriers for pollination. Gingko trees are either male or female.
My pages were single sheet so I created a small book block with fourteen folded signatures then glued each of the sheets to the inside of each side of the signature. I made tapes out of book cloth to affix the covers and sewed each of the signatures around the tapes. I did not use good thread and probably not very good glue. Here you can see the glued on maple seeds, many of which have fallen off, and how the book is coming apart. Someday I may rebind it.
Maple seeds are printed on this page, probably before I wrote the text. On the left is an accordion-fold pull out with many of the pictures I couldn’t fit into the regular pages. Paper for the signatures was created in the workshop using some kind of rust mixture. Sandy was very big on rust at that time.
I think Robin still has the book. She reminded me about it; I had forgotten entirely. This book was made before the two books I made in the printing shop.
This book, a kind of tribute to my mother who had recently died, was the only other book made in the printing/copy shop. Designed and printed in 1994, it is 4″ x 5″, 26 single sheets bound with a machine we had in the shop, and an edition of 400 copies. I included a portrait of my mother as a young woman, her wedding picture (top), her parents at the wedding of her oldest brother (below) and a picture of my grandmother and her three sisters when they arrived in the US. The story is about our search for a special apple kugel recipe Mama kept experimenting with and we thought was lost, some historical material about that particular kind of kugel also known as a shalet and a few really good recipes. I gave the books to my customers as a Christmas present and I’m still giving them away to friends and relatives.
The cover is a print called “Santa Fe Typical” by McCarthy. Binding is the 
Here is the book in progress showing inside the binding. I used the folded over sheet for both text and smaller photos.
In 1990 Richard and I bought a printing/copy franchise. The business seemed to consume my life, but it also gave me some opportunities: first to learn to use the computer; then to make a book. This book, titled Alas Art Aches Awesomely, was made entirely on the computer or a copier. I don’t remember all of the details of its creation or the number of copies I finished. Possibly I made the entire book on the computer and printer using only the shop cutter and stapler for binding. It has a transparent cover, text weight paper, folded, and is bound with a single staple. Size is approximately 4″x 3½”. I used CorelDraw, the only program I knew at that time.
Recently (2016), I decided to redo the book. I now use a more powerful computer, a much more sophisticated program, Adobe Indesign, an archival printer and carefully selected papers. Much of the original book is a kind of plaintive rant. I modified the new book to reflect my more relaxed attitude.
This book has proven very popular with friends. I made five copies and gave away two of them. The one above was the first one I made. The translucent paper I used doesn’t show up well in the photo; it’s really beautiful. Unfortunately I don’t know where to get more. This copy is a tabbed accordion, 4″ x 5″, printed on Talas unbuffered bond with Epson Claria inks.
My last attempt is 5″ x 8″, single sheet stab binding. I like the way it looks but the book doesn’t open easily.
Using a single sheet format limits options for binding. Folded signatures provide many more choices. I have been struggling with this since I began seriously making books.
100 Books Before I Die 