Adam Savage Learns How Old Books Were Made!
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- Опубликовано: 1 май 2023
- Among the objects Adam collects and reveres are old books, some of which were bound and made in the era of the industrial revolution. But the craft and art of bookmaking began long before machines were invented to manufacture books, and Adam learns the storied history of bookbinding at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco. It changed the way Adam looks at and appreciates books forever!
Learn more about the American Bookbinders Museum at bookbindersmuseum.org/ and / bkbindersmuseum
Shot and edited by Joey Fameli
Music by Jinglepunks
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#adamsavage #makers #books 
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Learn more about the American Bookbinders Museum at bookbindersmuseum.org/ and twitter.com/BkBindersMuseum
You're keeping the book written by an ancestor of the actor who impersonated Mary Poppin's loved one in the film eponymous to the character. Happy bookbinding!📖
Madeline: Books are Jars, prove me wrong.
LOL!
She is awesome and her passion for this process and it's history is very visible.
sad part is that if this is in SF they will burn it down and make to a crackhouse or something. cant believe ppl in usa still live in that city
"The whole point of a book is to protect the information that is inside it."
The little snippet about 'why gilded page edges?' was a definite "Oooooooh, that's brilliant" moment.
+
Yeah, that was a big revelation for me. 🤯
i felt my brain wrinkle with that one!
It reminds me of a line from Carl Sagan, that writing was the first method of storing information outside of our own heads.
I was not prepared for a museum curator as old as my mum to use the phrase "Its not a bug, its a feature".
The phrase dates back to at least 1975, so 48 years ago.
Memes transcend generations! 😂
My artist grandmother said that phrase in the 1960’s
A Mum can be 16 when she bears a child. “As old as my Mum” is meaningless.
The internet breakthrough was around 1995, so i suppose it happened in the middle of the Curators career (as it did in mine). And the PC from around -85, without internet but with software like "Word Perfect", liberally supplied with bugfeatures.
When I got to the end of the video, my main thought was, "Wait, the video's over already?" I could have watched hours of this. I love learning about the history of books and bookbinding, and I loved both Madeline's explanations and demonstrations as well as Adam's fascination with everything.
I also loved Madeline's casual mention that human skin was sometimes used as book covers. That's the voice of someone who's had to answer questions about that way too many times, and she is more than ready to talk about anything but that.
I always love Adam's enthusiasm for so-called 'esoteric' areas of expertise, but this one hit me right in the feels, as an amateur bookbinder and daughter of a librarian and a historian.
Thank you!
His enthusiasm Judy’s fuels my hunger for knowledge. His energy to learn and know things is so uplifting. I usually start my day watching an episode of him. It puts a smile on my face and in my heart to start my day like him!
I'd say his enthusiasm in general.
Adam has managed to retain a spark of that child-like wonder that our society seems to love burning out of adults.
Giddy appreciation of the tiny details simply because they are pretty, or clever, or even just pretty clever, is a thing we should be cultivating in our children and ourselves.
@azteclady : You're an amateur bookbinder - that's impressive! There's a librarian in my family and I like the history of math, so I guess we're somewhat alike.
Adam, you are at your best in conversation with these super knowledgeable people, the Met and now this beautiful lady. The subject almost doesn’t matter, it’s gonna be awesome. Please find more of them and put them in front of a camera.
P.s. wouldn’t mind at all if the post was an hour or more, fascinating from start to finish.
I second the idea of longer, more in-depth videos of stuff like this. Give me all of the minutia!
Adam already knows more about this topic than the docent. He’s helping her hit her talking points and recall interesting details he thinks are very cool for his viewers. They work really together. It’s so cool to see this museum featured on the channel. If I lived closer I’d love to check it out myself.
I actually laughed out loud when she derisively just said human skin binding was boring.....
This is a woman who had, well deserved and valid, strong opinions on book coverings.....
Was a lovely video to watch someone share their passion and work.
“Unless you’re the human concerned” got me.
"...unless you're the human involved." Ha!
Obviously she is not impressed by the Necronomicon.
I love how opinionated she is about the niche field of bookbinding.
@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 Huh? Do you really think there any specialist in any "niche" who would not have strong opinions in their area of study??
She is outstanding. This is a killer look into things most of us didn't even know.
She really is... "Yes, the used human skin, which is very boring. Unless you're the human involved." has me DYYYYING!
I love museums where the stuff they display still works and is still be used for demonstrations
I grew up literally above our family printshop (sixth generation), my grandmother was a bookbinder, and I worked in the prepress and design industry for a long time. I still learned a lot about the history of bookbinding from this video. Fascinating!
Madeline (sp?) is such a wonderful book geek. You can really tell she care so much for the craft and loves the whole process, and as always Adam just soaks it all up. If I ever get out to the west coast I definitely will be making a stop at this museum.
Yeah, most of my reaction was "I love her"
Her name is Madeleine Robins, also known as author Madeleine E. Robins.
Egg whites for gilding!?! Full stop. I think that just solved a long time problem I've had with gilding with modern size. In that one tidbit you made my day!
My oldest book is a Bible printed 1911 in England. It was presented, brand new, to my great grandmother. Its a full old and new testament with all the geographical maps of the places written about in the Bible. I know my great grandmother was the original owner because it was written on the first page.
Found in the copyright, there are only 12,000 copies made of this specific Bible edition.
Books are such a beautiful element of human history and deserve this moment of appreciatition. Well done Tested crew.
it's crazy how it mimics the auto industry in that the early creations were made to last almost forever but slowly books just like autos turned into almost disposable products not meant to be used for long.
This was fascinating to see.........I kind of want to see Adam attempt to bind a book from start to finish in his shop now.
It’s an incredibly intricate thing to do. Lots of simple small things you have to get right. It’s an unfortunately dying skill.
I’d be more than happy to show him. It’s definitely something that could be done in a day, at least for a simple flat back hard cover book.
Nerdforge just did a huge book using many of these methods.
@@Blazer02LS Yeah, Nerdforged actually has a lot of bookbinding videos, even rebinding newer books in gorgeous, embossed leather covers.
This is all incredibly fascinating! I had never even considered the existence of a "book sewing machine". Thank you both for this lovely walkthrough.
This is another museum I could spend *hours* in marveling and admiring the craftsmanship and skills of book binding. The docent was excellent, and I could see myself having an extended conversation with her, given the chance.
I went here as a birthday gift to myself this past year and it was such a treat! You can listen to an audio narration that guides you through time and describes the history of the items on each table. Very very interesting!
When you were looking at the book by the printing presses, at about 30 minutes into the video. I ended up crying. That book, was my father's very favorite book. and he'd have LOVED to have such a gorgeous edition of it. The Blue Flower by Henry Van Dyke. I am fascinated by hand made books, so I was watching this with my husband. Thank you for that unexpected moment of bitter sweet.
What an interesting person. And how wonderful is it to see somebody speaking about their passion? I really enjoyed this.
This should be it's own show alltogether. I'd binge watch these like crazy. Adam visiting passionate people in their own element.
It’s amazing to see how not just books, but other things are made in the past, and how much effort it took. So many things come to us so easily these days that I think it’s hard to appreciate sometimes how difficult it was to make some things in the past. Thanks for the video and keep up the good work.
Agreed. What amazes me is how engrained people are to just run to the big box store to buy something.
I look for and accept new challenges to make things, which also develops new skills. You have to know your limits but expand them too.
It's still difficult to make things well. There is a saying, "You can have it done well, fast, or cheap. Pick 2." True artistry takes time and is very expensive, but our consumerist culture has lost appreciation for it, so we'd rather buy it cheap and replace it.
@@catatonicbug7522 There is, indeed, a level of chatoyancy that can only be achieved with hand crafted items.
Just finished a book history class in my library program. Where was this video when we were going over book binding in the early 1900's!?!? Love it.
As both a book-lover and a graphic designer, this video was endlessly fascinating. Kudos to the wonderful conversation with Madeline, who really knows her stuff and communicated it in such an understandable way.
Thank you Adam. This vlog brought back memories the many happy hours I spent in high school helping our school librarian shelving, cataloging, checking in, and even repairing books that were damaged. I was even given credits towards graduation due to all of the hours I spent helping do the aforementioned duties as well as helping other students find things they needed and teaching elementary students beside the librarian.
This is truly one of my favorite episodes. The amount of detail and knowledge is astounding. Anyone born before the 2000’s should have a great appreciation for what value books really hold. The internet has really spoiled what was once one of the very few ways to gain knowledge; print on paper.
This honestly reminded me of an old Mr Rogers segment, where he loaded the picture frame with small rolls of film. There were so many cool places he went to and honestly was probably the first variation of a “how it’s made” on tv.
For those of us who had graphic arts class (up to the late the seventies), we know the real meaning of "cut & paste".
We also bound books, tin & type set, film developing, silkscreening and so on. Life is easier today, but very expensive!
"cut & paste" - yes, indeed! I went to a vocational high school to study Graphic Arts / Printing, and did some "paste-ups" to produce the "flat" that would then be photographed to be used to make a printing plate for an offset press. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. :)
I simply love knowledgable people talking with such enthusiasm about what is clearly a passion. Thank you, Madeleine.
*i truly appreciate well made and crafted objects and a well made book is a work of art unto itself*
As a small-time collector of books, this was truly a fascinating journey into some of the evolution of bookbinding in the 19th Century. Wonderful.
Honestly, this is one of the very best channels on all of youtube. Very few channels have me interested in every single video they put out, but somehow I never miss one. Keep doing what you do.
One of the best Adam Savage 'field trips' I've seen.
Whilst mechanical bookbinding in several forms is now the norm, hand-binding for short runs and individualized gifts is still alive and well! I have worked in a print-shop where a modern-day industrialized version of that guillotine cutter was used, as workmanlike a machine as anything you might see in Adam's shop, and well-loved, it operated much like the lever-powered version demonstrated in this video.
It had an electronically controlled backstop for careful alignment to within the millimeter, and was hydraulically powered, so that part was different. I will always remember the noise it made as it made to cut- it looked and sounded very much like it could take off every finger on your hand in a single stroke, which of course it could.
It's lovely to see in operation the romantic old cast-iron version of a tool I knew so well and used so often.
Retired printer here, I went through the whole process, started off as a hot metal compositor, ended up a proper printer. Go and see how a modern day newspaper press works and admire tensions and timing. Mind blown.
My first question was going to be 'what is your oldest book Adam?' Mine is a tattered Mrs Beaton's book of household management. Passed down from my great x3 grandmother from the 1860s. It was like a household instruction manual that was given to newly married daughters and taught them how to do every single thing necessary from posture, to gardening, to kids, husband(ry) etc.
I love that Adam always find the other nerd like him on any given subject and then they just go to town
What an amazing series of practical demonstrations! Big thanks to Madeline at the American Bookbinders Museum in San Francisco for the wonderful walk through history. You can tell she loves her job by how excited and hands-on she gets. And her earrings!
Adam I remember my junior high shop class in San Lorenzo. We learned to make a book! This was in 1970! We sewed the the pages. Trimmed them on the giant chopper thing. Glued the cardboard to the seized fabric and set the pages into the covers. Creased the spine. I now marvel at the amount of cool things we built in school that just isn’t done anymore. Such a shame. I’m 64 and feeling old!
Perfect timing... I just finished building a solid Black Walnut Book Press.
I visited Wyvern Bindery back in 2018 (guys who made the prop books for the harry potter series as well as other films and tv shows) and I gotta say it was an amazing experience seeing them hot press gold foil onto the book covers as well as seeing them binding the books.
This is such a fascinating look into the history of bookmaking. It's amazing to see how much effort and skill went into creating each individual page by hand.
I have two friends who run a rare book store, and the husband is a bookbinder who does repairs when customers request them.
He has done everything from cleaning up a book to completely rebinding the whole thing as if it was being built the first time.
That woman is great. Explains everything in a nice way. She awnsers all adams questions. Knows her numbers and the awnsers to the questions and even let adam feel some items. Great museum employe👍👍👍👍
Adam, I've been watching a fantastic channel that shows that binding of books from start to finish. It's called "Four Keys Book Arts". He uses the same tools as shown here. It's so cool to see the craftsmanship used and needed to make something as beautiful as a hand-bound book from long ago.
Just amazing! Loved every minute of it and I wish it were longer!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. A competitor in the top 10 best videos yet.
I just recently bought an old lexica off eBay printed in the 1830s. I was surprised how well the books were manufactured. How convenient that this video now gives the info how they made them.
The Docent is AMAZING - Thanks to her and Adam for a fantastic amount of information.
Man, I love old books. Two of the fave I own are a gold gilded Complete Works of Robert Burns from 1876, and a rather battered atlas from 1764. The atlas is so detailed, that it lists and names a whole bunch of old local landmarks in and around Scotland that even my town museum were unaware of.
I was fascinated each and every minute of this video; also wonderful to see Adam just as fascinated.
I did not expect this video to be as enthralling and educational as it was! I LOVE her! She's an absolute natural and a treasure! ❤
I can't believe I grew up my entire life from well before I even learned to read LOVING books... and never thought to question how they were put together and why. This was amazing.
I imagine this would be a great introduction to bookbinding. Thanks for sharing the tour!
I noticed several great demonstrations by master bookbinders in the suggested videos. A few years ago I got into paper marbling for work and ended up heading through book binding all the way to masters programs in book preservation from Oxford. Same year I made a comment on a video about wanting to tour German bakeries some day which lead to 6 months of behind the scenes, daily routines of German bakeries. I still want to taste the real thing though and learn to really make it.
I wish this video were even longer! So fascinating!
Two of my favourite things - books and listening to someone that knows and loves their subject.
The excitement, and critical eye of a maker that Adam brings to this videos is really what makes them special.
13:52 I love the exchange over 'skive'.
I really hope Adams workshop and all his stuff gets preserved forever. If I would ever go to the USA, a visit to his museum would be my number 1 priority.
This may be the best museum tour you've done so far.
Oh wow. So much thought and effort went into the how and why. I never would have guessed that everything was actually done that way for a specific reason. The reasoning behind gilded edges was fascinating.
After watching this I watched the 1981 "Hands: A Dublin Bookbinder" and enjoyed understanding the process thanks to this video and seeing the skills in serious use.
So glad I tuned in for this!!
Incredible documentary piece Adam. Super enjoyable to watch someone equal parts knowledgeable and passionate talk about something we all take for granted
That was fascinating! It helped to have someone well versed in the craft who also spoke well and did not constantly mumble over her words.
Speaking of books and museums, Internet Archive is under attack from publishers right now, it would be fantastic to see a video in support of them!
this was cool as heck, thankyou so much to the American bookbinders museum and everyone who works their and all of the tested team for showing this to us!!!
As someone who has loved both books and museums for as long as I can remember, this was a real treat!
What a great and enthusiastic woman. I really loved the stories.
Loved this! I taught myself bookbinding in college (instead of doing my homework). Books will never die out because it is the only form of recording information that does not need a device to decode.
I would love to see some more content on this subject, that was so interesting!
THIS IS SO COOOL!! Paper making and book binding was one of my covid crafts. SO COOOL ADAM AND TEAM thank you for sharing!!
This has to be one of the best RUclips videos ever. Amazing.
I'm in love!!! As a novice book binder, this is awesome. I hear paste was also used because the amount of liquid used to make the paste could be adjusted depending on the temperature and humidity, giving better control over how it dried. And a fragrance could be added, like clove to give it a pleasant smell and perhaps repel bugs. And yes, sewing signatures together is a very special skill.
Great interview thank you Evelyn, Adam and the Tested team.
This is absolutely brilliant and the development of the process is such an archetypical example of industrialisation. Thank you for this, it's truly excellent.
Such a delight!! Please feature more of this museum and its curator!
This was genuinely fascinating to me and I never thought of looking it up before. Thank you for the video!
That museum is literally next door to my old office. I always wanted to go in (though, IIRC, you have to book a tour (pun unintended) and don't just walk-in). Very cool that I get to experience it via this video.
You should visit and let her know you've seen the video from Adam Savage, and that you appreciate her perspective/passion.
A lot of curators and educators love hearing that their work is being seen and appreciated, even if you don't have the time for a full tour.
@@flynn3649 that's actually a great idea. my company got bought and I got let go, so I'm not anywhere near there anymore. but TF i got going on with no job that I cant just train it downtown to just say I appreciate them.
@@tastyneck In fact, you don't have to book a tour in advance. These days (post-covid) we offer self-guided/audio tours, chock full of even more information and context about this stuff. We'd love to have you visit!
@@MadeleineRobins-mn2eh Thank you for the info!
One of the most interesting segments I've seen on here! Thank you for sharing :)
This place is amazing. A friend and I spent over an hour here in 2019. I learned a lot more in this video than I did on my own. Thanks!
A true and fascinating delight to watch! Thank you, Adam!
"Bookbinding was a badly paid profession."
Still is! 😂
Signed,
A bookbinder
But seriously, as a professional bookbinder, this makes me very happy to see. I'm going to be visiting that museum this fall and I can't wait!
I love watching people speak of things they are passionate about. You can see she takes so much joy from explaining the process to anyone, especially willing ears like Adams. It's like getting a second-hand high from their happiness. Also, I learned a lot from her. I am going to be crafting my own books of poetry. I have decided that this is how I am going to make them. Might even do the gold leafing.
Safe to say Adam’s favourite word at the moment is ‘iterative’! Superb video, how generous with her knowledge and clear in her explanations. I learned several new things.
Adam, Thank you for this video. Madeline is a treasure. I feel excited to have learned something I've taken for granted and never realized how much technology was involved so long ago. Interesting that, as so many things, as technology can improve the speed of making the quality diminishes. Yet that lower quality provided a huge benefit for providing more people something they otherwise couldn't benefit from. Enlightening.
Thank you Adam and Madeleine! Thank you for your enthusiasm and your expertise and the heart behind your videos.
WOW, this Lady is amazing. The amount of knowledge she shows about this art is incredible. Very nice visit to that fantastic place. Greetings from Paraguay.
Thank you kindly, Adam and Madeline. That was lovely.
Such a cool video. I love when the same tools are used across different mediums, e.g. the scraper and plough from woodworking
While I was institutionalized, I used to make blank books for people so this fascinating. Hoping to make some handmade journals now. Learning how to cut wooden threads has been fun.
Thoroughly enjoyed that! Thank you kindly Mr Savage
truly fascinating video, so cool to learn about this
Madeline, your enunciation, articulation, knowledge and passion made this captivating above and beyond the information shared. Thanks!
And here I am, taking PDFs, combining them, printing them out into signatures, and binding them! The cyclicity pleases me greatly.
First shot in the museum: love the old Dutch text on the wall
I have always loved books. I just discovered a channel by a gentleman who does bookbinding. I'm not a D&D fan but I was fascinated watching him turn his rule books into one large, very lovely bound book. It was very informative.
thank you for the history
Bookbinding is part of my art practice and I loved every second of this video
I made several books already, most notably a photobook as a present for my mother with single page signatures so it lays completly flat, "bound" in leather. Took ages to makes but the smile on her face was reward enough. I made a couple more notebooks later, it's a handy skill if you know someone who really likes taking notes ...
Great collection Adam sir you are fantastic Awesome collecters
The knowlege and passion for this trade just shines so true in this woman.
And i'm as impressed and intrigued as Adam. Nice video!
Always loved books, and this is awesome to watch.