Spent 3 hours at the Brattle Book Shop in Boston and couldn't stop staring at the hand-sewn signatures

Jason Scott · 2026-09-24T13:45:04.812988+00:00

I was in Boston last month and wandered into the Brattle Book Shop, and the old books on the outdoor carts had these hand-sewn signatures you just don't see anymore. The thread work on a 1910 ledger was so tight and even that I stood there for 20 minutes trying to figure out how they got the kettle stitch so flat. Has anyone here tried matching that old sewing style on a modern rebind, or is it just not worth it with the paper we get now?

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Spent 3 hours at the Brattle Book Shop in Boston and couldn't stop staring at the hand-sewn signatures | Bookbinders - Rigidtalk