Posted on 28. Dec, 2011 by Thatcher Wine in Blog, Book Styles
Leather bound books are beautiful, they always have been and they always will be. In 2011, we built a number of leather bound book collections for clients so I thought I’d take the opportunity to highlight a few of the ways we sell leather books and build curated collections out of them. If you are looking for a curated collection of leather books, note that we recently added a number of photographs to this page:
And just to start, here are a few points of differentiation for what we do compared to some other book sellers:
- Nearly all of the leather bound books we sell are in English, a few are in French or German, none are in Scandinavian languages
- We have leather books in all budget ranges – we don’t just specialize in fancy leather bindings, however we do have access to plenty of them
- When we work with you on your order, you can tell us what is most important to you – if the books are for decoration, or you would like a particular author/subject, or both and we will choose and provide the books that are best for your home library
- If we don’t have a particular author or color, we will source the books and if something doesn’t exist in a leather binding, we will create it (custom leather bindings) – no grumpy booksellers here making you look through dusty musty stacks of books – we source books from all around the world and ship them around the world.
There is a big price range for buying leather bound books that is driven primarily by rarity, completeness (for sets) and condition. However size and color also influence pricing.
Starting with the least expensive, most commonly available leather bound books up through the most expensive antique leather bindings, here is a quick summary of the type of leatherbound books we sell along with links to pages with more photos and information:
1. Leather Bound Law Books: We love the look of old law books- they are usually just like the photo below- golden brown with red and black spine labels. Since most of the content has been digitized, they can be pretty affordable (unless they have some rare legal case in them) and they are a nice way to fill shelf space in a uniform manner. The books are in English and usually have pretty innocuous sending names (e.g., “Bligh’s New Reports”) so they are good for decoration and still readable if you flip through them (unlike some foreign language leather).
Antique Leather Law Books
2. Foreign Language Books: Leather bound books in foreign languages are generally more plentiful than their English counterparts, and are a little less sought after, therefore they are priced less. Some companies specialize in importing inexpensive Scandinavian leather books – Juniper Books doesn’t sell these books. When we do sell foreign language leather books they tend to be Romance languages such as French, Italian, German and Spanish. Many European classics are readily available in leather bindings and they make nice additions to a library even if the language is not spoken – ie works of Dumas, Moliere, Cervantes, Dante, etc.
- Foreign Language Antique Leather Books
3. Antique Leather Books by the Foot: When building a collection to fill a certain amount of shelf space, we always ask the clients what colors they are looking for, what size books their shelves will hold, what degree of wear is tolerable, what languages are desired, and whether particular subjects or authors are important. We also work with clients to determine whether a very uniform look using many matching sets is desired or if individual volumes are preferred/acceptable. Since Juniper Books is such a large buyer and seller of antique leather books, we offer excellent pricing on leather books by the foot. Brown and red tend to be the most common and least expensive, black, blue and green are also available.
- Antique Leather Mix
4. Custom Curated Antique Leather Books : When a client is looking for a handpicked selection of leather books or a set by a particular author, we source books from all around the world, evaluating multiple offerings, and custom building book collections one book or set at a time. We have helped clients assemble collections of literature, Americana, European history, philosophy, and other subjects. We have fielded requests for leather bound sets of Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and many others. If an antique leather edition of a desired book/set/subject exists, we will find it, and if it doesn’t exist we will create it (see further below).
- Washington Irving Set
5. Modern Leather Books: Easton Press makes nice luxurious leather books that are well designed and tend to be literary classics and other important books (although some we must admit are trendy bestsellers and not destined to be classics). We love their sets of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others. Some other companies make modern leather books including Franklin Library, Gryphon Editions, and others. When we build collections of modern leather books, we do so for clients who like the bright colors, the contemporary style, and who want books in leather that are simply not available in leather any other way (at least not in a timely and economical manner). A collection of these books by the foot yields all English language books and mostly classics, so that can be a good way to go. Or we can build a custom curated collection by author, subject, etc. We also help clients source many of these books as special gifts as a leather bound edition of a favorite work is always more appreciated than a standard hardcover.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
6. Custom Bound Leather Books: When a leather bound edition of a desired book simply doesn’t exist, we will create it. Custom bindings do take some time as it’s a true craft, and they can be expensive, but the result is usually one-of-a-kind. We have created leather bound editions of classics such as The Catcher in the Rye, bound designer portfolio books, histories of The Beatles, a series of economics classics and various other books. Some projects involve rebinding books that have sentimental value or are rare and would benefit from a beautiful binding for resale. Feel free to contact us about your project, anything is possible with custom leather bindings.
- The Beatles Custom Leather Bound
7. Vellum Books: A relative of leather books (perhaps their rich uncle) are antique vellum books. These are white leather (usually goat or sheepskin) books. Vellum bindings are one of our specialties – they are beautiful in tones of white, cream, ivory, and gold. They tend to be literary classics and important works in limited editions. For all these reasons, and that they are hard to keep bright and clean over the years, they are more expensive than leather books in other colors. We love building collections of vellum books – they look great with golden brown leather books by the way.
- Vellum Books
8. Leather Style Book Covers: Juniper Books invented and introduced custom book covers that look like antique leather bindings in 2010 as a means of converting a hardcover library into something more uniform and classical, at a fraction of the price (and time frame) of rebinding books in leather. Our custom leather style book jackets can be printed in any color - we have made them in brown, black, red, blue, pink, purple, you name it. We customize the typefaces and accents on the books, drawing inspiration from actual antique leather books. Please inquire for details and options.
- Simulated Leather Book Jackets
To contact us about any of the above styles of leather books and any of the options mentioned, please contact thatcher@juniperbooks.com, call 303-946-1494, or use the form below.
Tags: antique leather books, antique vellum, books by the foot, books for interior design, custom book collections, custom library, easton press, franklin library, leather bound classics, leatherbound, modern leather books
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