Dominic's Lectures

Dominic is one of the most renowned book restorers of his generation. He works for major libraries, booksellers and collectors, and teaches book restoration to other bookbinders internationally. In this lecture, he will talk about the process of restoring valuable antiquarian books. He will show how the book is taken apart and repaired at every stage, from removing and restoring old leather covers to cleaning and washing damaged paper and reproducing missing text pages. Close-up images show in detail the intricacies of the repairs undertaken. This is a fascinating insight into an obscure world of specialised craftsmanship.

With the advent of the Arts and Crafts movement bookbindings became works of art in themselves. Dominic is one of a small number of bookbinders working today who create these unique Design Bindings. He has created around a hundred bindings to date, most of which are in major collections worldwide and have won him over thirty prizes. In this lecture, he will show a range of bindings he has made for collectors, exhibitions, competitions, libraries and a few Booker shortlisted authors. He will show how each design grows from a response to the text and illustrations, and explain the technical aspects of their execution. 

This lecture celebrates the book as a three dimensional object. From pop-ups, peep-shows, hidden compartments and intriguing surprises, whatever the reason for the creation of these unusual books, playfulness and humour is always a guiding principle. Dominic will begin with a brief history of ‘moveables’ through time, and then show unique works from some of the most talented book artists working today. He will share a few of his favourite commercially printed pop-ups, as well as examples of experimental book structures from his own collection, and some he has made himself as part of his interest in this creative genre.

Completed in 1912, the Great Omar was the most elaborate and opulent binding ever created. It was embellished with over one thousand jewels, five thousand leather onlays and a hundred square feet of gold leaf, and took over two and a half years to make. It went down with the Titanic. This lecture tells the story of the Great Omar and the bookbinders Sangorski and Sutcliffe, who were known for their fabulous jeweled bindings. It is also the story of life after the tragedy, and of one young man in particular, who decided against the odds to recreate the binding – a venture which occupied him for the rest of his life.

This lecture tells the story of fine bindings in Britain over the last five hundred years. Our story begins with William Caxton, England’s first printer, and the glory days of the Renaissance and Regency bindings. Then comes William Morris, who produced the greatest books of the Arts and Crafts period, and the amazing work of Sangorski and Sutcliffe, the finest bookbinders of the twentieth century. Dominic will then discuss the new world of Design Binding, which emerged after the Second World War, as modern design entered the craft, and will finish with examples from some of the best artistic bookbinders working today.

Why was the best paper made from worn out clothes? Why did leather have to be tanned outside the city walls? Why can gold leaf not be touched with the hands? And why is the art of bookbinding as beguiling and enchanting today as it was when it was invented on the banks of the Nile 2,000 years ago? Covering all the crafts associated with traditional book production, Dominic will explain papermaking, leather tanning, printing, bookbinding, edge gilding and gold tooling. This lecture is a ‘Through the Round Window’ for grown-ups, and tells the fascinating story of everything that makes a traditional hand bound book.

Printed in 1636, Annalia Dubrensia - the Annals of Dover - is an exceptionally rare and valuable little book, which celebrates the famous Cotswold Olympics and their founder, Robert Dover, who is credited with inventing the modern Olympic Games in England in 1612. The book contains tributes from his friends, among them Ben Johnson. In 2013 the Dover Games Society acquired its own copy, which was very poorly bound, and asked Dominic to create a historically sympathetic binding for it. This lecture tells the fascinating story of the Olympics, and shows in detail the cleaning, mending and rebinding of this charming little book.

Published in 1896, the Kelmscott Chaucer was the last book printed at Morris’s press in Hammersmith. With illustrations by Burne Jones and decorations by Morris, it was universally hailed as the greatest book of its age. In 2012 Dominic was presented with a copy, in poor condition, with a view to creating a contemporary artistic binding for it. This lecture is the record that process. He will give an overview of the press, and then talk about his very demanding commission, from the early designs to the completion of the project. The completed binding is now in the Special Collections of the Victoria and Albert museum.

The bible is the most printed book in history, and yet rarely are the physical books themselves ever considered. Drawing on his expertise as a book restorer and historian, Dominic will talk about the extraordinary range of typographical, structural and decorative variations that have been employed in the making of these beautiful books. For these remarkable objects tell the story of the evolution of book production over the past four centuries. Each is unique in its own way, and together they show the variety of ways that everyday books have been printed and bound through periods of religious tension and change.

Some of our most beautifully bound books are held in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle — surely one of the most impressive collections in the country. They are variously encrusted with jewels, coloured leather and masses of sumptuous gold tooling. From his perspective as a fine binder and bookbinding historian, Dominic will introduce you to some of the best of these books. As a sometime teacher of the apprentices at the Royal bindery, he has led students through a study of these handsome volumes, and will now share them with you, including a special binding from every reign from Henry V11 to the current monarch.

Each year six Fellows of Designer Bookbinders create commemorative copies of the six shortlisted Booker books which are presented to the author. Dominic has done the Booker many times, and he will share with you the bindings he has made, explaining the evolution and execution of the designs. In 2022 he bound Treacle Walker by Alan Garner. When he found out that the house the book is set in is an actual house, and that Alan lives ten miles from him in Cheshire, he had to meet him. What follows is not just the making of the binding for Alan, but an extraordinary tale of collaboration and friendship.

When he died in 1616, there was no authoritative version of Shakespeare’s works. It was left to his friends from his company to complete the job. Their task was overwhelming — they had to gather what existing copies they could find, remember some from their days performing, and get a few more from Anne Hathaway. Dominic will talk about how the book was compiled, printed and bound, including all the raw mistakes associated with making a book on a budget. He will chart what has happened to these books over the last four hundred years, including his own experiences meeting them in some remarkable libraries.

Historically, bookbinders worked for longer hours and for less pay than most artisans. By the time the industrial revolution was changing the landscape of labour, it was common for them to work from six in the morning till nine at night, six days a week, and longer during busy periods. In the revolutionary ferment of the late eighteenth century, the London bookbinders decided to strike for a reduction in their working day. This landed them in trouble, and four of them in gaol. This is an extraordinary story of labour struggle, fine bookbinding, early trade unionism, and the long journey towards the forty hour week.