One of 26 Deluxe Copies from a Master Binder

My World of Bibliophile Binding [Watashi no seihon sotei geijyutsu no sekai] [Bound by Miura, Lettered Issue]

Miura, Kerstin Tini

Notes: The first survey of the work of one of the great bookbinders of the late 20th century, finely bound in full inlaid goatskin by the artist.

This is one of 26 folio-sized, lettered deluxe copies, signed by Miura, and originally published at Y900,000 (about $9,000 at the time). The binding is dark blue calfskin inlaid with colorful small flower designs and whimsical silver foil spots, like pollen in a breeze. The hand-marbled chemise has a matching calf spine and edges and a burgundy suede lining. The inner slipcase is covered in red marbled paper with dark blue calf around the opening. The outer slipcase in plain sky-blue cloth. The outer box is finely crafted from paulownia wood (similar to balsa). The box is enclosed in a paper portfolio case with bone closures.

My World of Bibliophile Binding offers of an illustrated introduction to bookbinding techniques in Japanese (translated by Einen Miura), followed by dozens color images of Miura's custom bindings, captioned in Japanese, with the books' authors and titles in English, along with the name of the person who commissioned the work. My World of Bibliophile Binding was published in English in 1984 in a much smaller format.

Miura (b. Germany, 1940) studied bookbinding in northern Europe in the 1960s, including a stint with the Royal Bindery in Stockholm, and then opened her own bindery. She married Einen Miura in 1975 and moved to Tokyo, where she continued to work for clients around the world. She is a co-founder of the American Academy of Bookbinding, and her work has been the subject of at least three large retrospective books, of which this is the first.

Edition + Condition: First edition (first printing). This is a spectacular fine copy, with very light wear to the outer paper portfolio case. Letter H of 26, signed at the front by Miura with a brief sentiment, "Books in my heart."

Publication: Tokyo: Kyuryudo, 1980.

Item No: #93096

Price: $5,000