Book 1

Above:This book, English Hearts and English Hands by Catherine Marsh (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1861), had been handled by many working-men's hands--English or otherwise. The title on the spine had nearly rubbed off. The cloth was soiled and worn thin, tearing at several places, and the corners of the boards were badly bumped, causing the layers of the boards to separate. The endsheets had torn at the hinges, and the cover remained attached to the text-block only by the strength of deteriorating "super" or "crash"--the loosely woven and stiffly starched fabric that is glued to both the spine and the boards near to the hinge. The endpapers were soiled and marked up. A torn bookplate bore the name of a Baptist Church.

Below:A book by Miss Marsh might have called for a more feminine cover, but since the subject matter was clearly the "hearts and hands" of English laborers ("navvies"), I chose a masculine look. The soiled endsheets, cloth, and boards were all discarded and replaced by new ones. I embedded a "title plate" on the front cover, using a cut of black-dyed leather, and provided a black background to the title on the spine. The author's name I added a couple of inches lower on the spine. I chose decorative endsheets that complemented the cover and added headbands and a ribbon.