These Forests Within

Bound by Katy Starr-Baum

These Forests Within
by Lionel Ray
Illustrated by Julius Baltazar
Printed in Montreal at Atelier-Galerie A. Piroir
December 2019
137mm x 183 mm x 21 mm

Full Pentland Goat binding sewn on stubs with alum tawed goat inlays treated with gold foil and speckled black dye. Handsewn silk endbands. Handpainted flyleaves and edge-to-edge paper doublures.

I wanted to keep the binding as simple as possible and let the poem and the vibrant artwork speak for themselves. I chose to highlight the unusual layout of the artwork inside which creates several spreads where only the furthest edge of one side of the textblock has artwork. I also chose to limit the cover design to black and white as a nod to the poem's interest in the mundane binaries of life, while the flecks of gold and overlapping layers speak to the beauty and wonder of the world.

You can see more of Katy's work on her web site at Wallflower Bindery.