The Bookbinder`s Workshop

Until the end of the 19th century, bookbinding was a distinct craft. The art of binding books involved several stages, different binding methods and a wide range of decorative techniques.  

The Bookbinder’s workshop at Skansen recreates a small workshop in the 1840s. The workshop consisted of one room with a large table positioned next to the window for light. An open fireplace provided heat and light during the darker months of the year. Various tools used for bookbinding were hung along the walls

From apprentice to master 

The city’s craftsmen were organised into guilds, and only those who were members were allowed to practise the craft. In order to learn a trade, a boy could begin as an apprentice and advance after a few years to the position of journeyman. 

Once a journeyman was sufficiently skilled at his craft, he had the opportunity to become a master by passing a master’s test that had to be approved by the guild. The master took care of his apprentices, and they could live with him or in the workshop. At the Bookbinder`s, the table also served as a sleeping place for one or two apprentices.  

Binding a book 

In Sweden, literacy rates increased during the 1830s and 1840s and bookbinders bound different types of literature. The pages for a book were printed at a printer’s workshop before being taken to the bookbinder, who put them together. The bookbinder began by folding the printed sheets in half. The sheets were sorted into sections and placed in a press overnight to flatten them. The sections were then attached with a needle and thread, in a process called binding. After that, the sheets were cut and attached to the cover of the book.  

There were different ways to design a book. Cheap entertainment literature was bound together in simple pasteboard bindings, while more expensive books were given leather covers with gold detailing. Other books were covered with cloth. Endpapers and covers could be marbled with paste and paint using a technique known as paste marbling, and a thin comb could be used to produce different patterns. 

An evolving craft

At the turn of the 20th century, print-runs of books became larger and machines were introduced into production. Today, bookbinding is more or less computerised. However, it is still possible to train in the traditional craft of bookbinding.

With the Bookbinder’s workshop, where real craftspeople can demonstrate and describe the art of bookbinding, Skansen wants to contribute to the preservation of our intangible heritage and keeping craft skills alive today.   

Interior donated to the Nordic Museum in 1892 

In the late 1920s, Skansen began planning to build a block of buildings from the city. At the same time, the City of Stockholm had bought up old properties to demolish and create space for new, larger buildings. The building at Bondegatan 50 was demolished in 1929 and donated to Skansen, where it was rebuilt in 1935.  

Today, the Bookbinder’s is located next door to the Old Shop. The two-storey building is clad with vertical cornice panels. The façade is painted with red whitewash, with the woodwork painted in grey linseed oil paint and the window frames in Venetian red. The gable roof is covered with turf. 

The interior of the Bookbinder’s comes from Henrik Wilhelm Palmér’s workshop, which was located at Österlånggatan 23 in Stockholm. Palmér became a master bookbinder in 1854 and worked at his workshop until 1892 when its fittings and fixtures were donated to the Nordic Museum.