Welcome to the world of decorating and finishing book covers. For Bookbinders, Finishing includes lettering, decorating and other processes that complete the binding process to identify, beautify and finish a book. Those who focus solely on this aspect of bookbinding are called Finishers. When impressions are made by hand it is called Tooling, and by machine, Blocking.
For more than five hundred years, hand tooling of leather bindings has utilized heated brass or metal stamps, pressed into the leather to make an impression. If the impressions are left unadorned it is called Blind Tooling. A common embellishment is to make the impression through gold leaf for Gold Tooling.
The American Bookbinders Museum is proud to share its collection of finishing tools with you and to provide an overview of Finishing, including hand stamping tools and machine blocking plates. We hope you are inspired to finish your own masterpiece
