I get paper back books not available as hard cover copies bound by a Book Binder about two Kms away from home. I have been doing this for a couple of decades. Due to parking problems near his shop however, I have stopped going there personally and send our help Mangal with whatever book that needs to be bound. This is more efficient as she lives just two doors away from his shop.
There are some books that I keep separately from my others for being on matters spiritual / religious and these are inevitably bound in black rexene covered cardboard covers like this one below.
I recently got a copy of the book Hindutva by Savarkar considered to be the guiding spirit of the Hindu Right movement in India.
Since only paper back was available I bought it and sent it to be bound in Black just like the one shown above. To ensure that there will no mistakes, I sent a black covered specimen along with the book with Mangal.
This is the original cover of the book.
The binder called me after he bound it to get it collected and on asking if he had followed instructions on covering it in black rexene, he said no he had not but had in saffron coloured rexene. On further enquiry and on expressing my disappointment, he said, that he could not bind the book in any other colour as the topic was Hindutva and Saffron is the colour of Hindus. This is what the bound book looks like now.
I quietly accepted defeat and have got the book now standing out among a host of black bound books.
Bhagwa is flying inside your bookshelf 🙂
As long as the binder, a very pleasant young man, does not ask me to fly one in my compound, I don’t mind the book!
He has bowled you over..
Absolutely! I did not know all these years that he even cared!
At least it will be easy to find. 🙂
Yes, that consolation is there indeed.
Never in a million years would I have thought to have a paperback custom bound! I’m sure it is a lot better for the books.
Maybe you can get all your religious books re-done in saffron? it’s much prettier than black 🙂
That is a thought that occurred to me too. Considering the expenses involved, I have decided that I will do this in future for all books on this subject.
The rules must be followed.
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I have known this young man now for over fifteen years and I never knew that he cared!
It is great that you can bind books at all. I am not sure if it can be done at all in Australia and even if it is it would financially forbidding. My mother used to have her books covered, but it was so long time ago. However Poland has such possibilities, I may find out about it when in Poland.
There is another method that I use, again using a shop that specialises only on it. I shall post a blog on it soon.
Saffron has my vote. Such an earthy, warm, sensual colour. And I stand in admiration of your bookbinder who clearly knows his Hindu and will not be beaten into black.
U
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You have just made my day!
interesting that the bookbinder does indeed care, particularly for the type of book.
magazines used to be bound for one of my craft groups as it gave the magazine a longer life – plus anything not hard cover. But then it got harder to obtain at a good price, so they changed to some type of plastic sleeve that would hopefully protect whilst in a home, in transit and on the shelves. I don’t know well that has worked.
I’m impressed with services you have in your country – that we don’t seem to keep traditionally happening, here, although maybe there is more issues in hardcover…
You are right that we get all kinds of services here that are not available in many other parts of the world. We can repair just about anything and get made to order things too at very reasonable prices.
repairs can be got…but in today’s’ race for all the best things, the way forward it buy a new one.
I remember finally after many repairs my washer (I inherited it from my Mother who died in the mid 1970s so it wasn’t new then) it also gave up the ghost somewhere about 2007. The man who installed a newer machine, was older and he said the “earlier machines, just are better” …
same happened when old landlord wanted the Venetian window blinds fixed. The young servicemen who came – had never seen such blinds, the wooden surrounds – fortunately he came with an older man, who knew it could be fixed.
Made to Order – usually comes with a huge price tag… and if you really want that type of thing, best you learn yourself how to make it!
There is also this perceived value that if as an artist I’m commissioned to make something – I shouldn’t be charging an arm/leg because you shouldn’t.
This happens all the time, M/Jane sees you wearing a scarf, that you knitted and she wants one – but doesn’t want to pay $100 or more for it because she can get a “made in China” one from the Warehouse for $9 (that’s actually not a scarf it’s cut from a long length of machine made material which is also acrylic)
and on it goes…many examples