Mending
Loose pages, broken hinges, a spine that's given up. Repairs that hold, on the book you already own.
What I can do
✦ Torn and loose pages — patched and reattached with wheat starch paste and Japanese tissue, so the repair moves with the paper instead of fighting it.
✦ Broken hinges and failing spines — reinforced or rebuilt so the book opens without tearing itself further.
✦ Missing or damaged endbands and endpapers — replaced to match as closely as the materials allow.
✦ Text blocks pulling away from the case — re-glued or re-sewn depending on what the book needs.
✦ Keeps your original cover. Mending works with the book you have, so the cover, the spine lettering and any inscriptions stay exactly as they are. If the cover itself is beyond saving, that's a recase or a rebind — I'll tell you which one your book needs.
Which one does your book need?
-
Mending
I fix what's there. Your cover stays, inscriptions and all.
$45/hour · $45 minimum -
Recasing
A new cover, with the original text block left alone. For a book that reads fine but looks wrecked.
$110–160 -
Rebinding
The binding itself is re-sewn or re-glued and the cover is new. The full rebuild.
$150–250
Not sure? Send photos. I'll tell you which one it is — and I'll tell you if it isn't worth doing.
Honest work
A repair may show. I can make a book sound and safe to read again, but I can't make the damage never have happened, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. My repairs are functional, durable, and honest about what they are.
If you want the book to look untouched, that's a different job — a recase or a rebind — and I'll say so rather than quietly doing the wrong work.
A mending project, start to finish
The Golden Treasury of Caroline and Her Friends — a quarter-bound mending job, from torn pages and a failing spine to a book sturdy enough for another generation of reading.
What it costs
Mending is $45 an hour, with a $45 minimum per book. Most repairs take one to three hours, so a typical job is $45–135 plus any materials. Bigger structural work runs longer, and I'll tell you the number before I start.
Even a quick repair means assessing the book, doing the work, and letting it dry flat overnight before it's safe to handle, so the smallest job is an hour of bench time either way.
Send me photos of the damage and I'll tell you honestly whether mending will hold, or whether a rebind makes more sense. If it isn't within my abilities, I’ll tell you who you can go to that can do what you’re asking.
| Rate | What it's for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| $60/hour | Fully custom work | Two-hour minimum. Design time and project management included. |
| $45/hour | Mending & repair | $45 minimum per book — even a quick fix needs a night under weight. |
| $30/hour | Semi-custom templates | Designs from my shop. Known specs, so the time is predictable. |
| $30/hour | Typesetting | Print & bind only, if you'd like me to lay out your file. |
| $15/hour | Machine time | Foiling and engraving — I can't leave the room while it runs. |
$150 minimum on custom projects — that's the floor for the whole job, materials and labor together. Materials are quoted separately, and labor is estimated as a range and billed at the hours your book actually takes.
Send me photos of the damage
A few pictures — the spine, the worst page, the book closed — and I'll tell you what it needs and what it costs. No charge for the assessment, and no hard feelings if the answer is that it isn't worth it.