Review of Books, Boxes, and Portfolios Binding, Construction, and Design Step By Step by Franz Zeier

Books, Boxes, and Portfolios

Binding, Construction, and Design

Step By Step

Franz Zeier

ISBN: 9780630654835

Recently, in addition to my photography, I have become interested in bookbinding and box making. This interest stems mainly from my photography - I make photobooks and boxes for my photos. I have written about my first photobook previously. I have constructed a few more since that time. Therefore lies my interest in the subject.

I saw this book in The Talas catalog. A quick search and Barnes and Noble found a like new copy for $16.77. The copy came promptly and the book looks unused and brand new.

The first thing I noticed about the book is the font. I don't find it pleasing at all to read and it would not have been my choice. This is a personal thing and others may be fine with it. There are no photos, just line drawings and colored drawings.

The book starts off with an introduction to materials including paper, book cloth, and tools. I liked the idea presented to create a paper sample scrap book. I plan on doing this. There is a section on adhesives - when to use paste and when to use glue. When to use a mix. Good information. He discusses the Platonic Solids - what they are and how to make them. Interesting stuff if you want to make a Tetrahedron from paper.

There is a chapter on mats.

Next he gets into boxes. He presents a way of making boxes from a single sheet of cardboard. I was not familiar with this technique. The board is cut 3/4's of the way through then folded up for the sides. Interesting - but not sure I like this method - but it's worth a try.

He has a good section on portfolios. This is what I was mostly interested in. There are many examples: without flaps, 2 flaps, 3 flaps, etc. How to attach ties. A good bit of material is covered and I got many ideas for my next portfolio venture.

Then he discusses book forms - the different types of books that can be made. After that he goes into detail on how to make a hardcover book. 

Lastly, he includes a few pages on making photograph albums. I may try one of these soon.

Overall the book is very detailed on construction techniques and methods. There are layout drawings but none are dimension. That is left as an exercise for the reader.

At less than $17, this book is a good source of knowledge for bookbinding, box making, and portfolio making. If you are interested in these things, I highly recommend it.