materials

Our standard endleaf choice for flexible cover leather bound books will either match or compliment the leather color. On hard cover volumes the endleaf may be a standard white or sometimes colored papers to compliment the cover. We normally make this choice but you may, of course, request a color that you prefer.

Marbled papers are available in a variety of patterns. They are usually reserved for use with antique books. Marbling was very common in 19th century classic books. However, these papers can also be used on modern books if desired.
Modern patterns can also be obtained.

Some patterns may not always be available.

Endpapers are sometimes called "end leaf" or "end sheets".
Along with the hinge cloth, they help attach the case to the body of the book.
Endpapers can be plain, textured, colored, or with special designs. We keep a variety in stock.

Leather makes the difference in the quality of your book, Bible or other leather-bound volume. Pigskin is the least expensive, though the grains and colors are beautiful.
Cowhide is the most costly but is also the most durable.

* Note: Colors may vary slightly from batch to batch and according to your monitor's capabilities..

Leathers in stock:
Pigskin, lambskin*, and cowhide, and occasionally, goatskin and others. Hides are stocked in various popular colors (not all shown here).
Click button to view color samples

As with cloth, many textures, colors and patterns of cover papers are available. Although these have not been very popular, we stock some and can order to fit your needs.

We use only quality materials and whenever possible, the same materials (cloth, paper, leather) used by the original binderies.

Quality leathers, including: pigskin, goatskin, lambskin and cowhide selected for their applications in bookbinding.

Other cover materials are specifically manufactured for quality binding applications. Whenever possible, acid free and archival materials are used.

Cover materials are available in various colors and patterns. Leathers are stocked in popular colors such as red, burgundy, tan, brown, dark blue and black. Special hides are hand selected for their application to

book binding.

Some color and material images are displayed below.

Case-bound books (non-paperback) can be covered in a wide variety of materials. Most common are paper, cloth and leather. Some newer soft-bound books are covered with synthetic material such as vinyl. All of these come in many textures and colors.

Bonded leather is actual leather fibers mixed with a bonding emulsion and pressed with a leather grain appearance. This is less costly but not as durable or as elastic as genuine leather. Some leather Bibles have a bonded leather lining inside the cover.
(See example at the right)

** We do not recommend bonded leather for flexible covers or books used daily because it tends to dry and crack when flexed repeatedly. Hardcover shelf books such as reference & display books however, can be enhanced economically with bonded leather covers. See our leather special >>>

Buckram is a tough, durable cloth preferred by libraries for its quality and durability. We stock a variety of popular colors. Others can be ordered if quantities require it.
Colors may vary slightly from batch to batch and according to your computer monitor's capabilities.