The Art of Bookbinding

by Emily Olson

Born in Madrid, Spain, Carlos SanchezAlamo learned bookbinding at his father’s knee. When he became interested in adding his personal touch to bookbinding, he attended the Estienne School in Paris and graduated with a degree in art bookbinding. Since then, he has opened two workshops of his own; proudly displayed his work in Paris and New York and in areas of Belgium, Germany and Spain; and taught numerous bookbinding courses. He recently spent some time with Stylus to give us a bit of insight into the art of bookbinding.

What is art bookbinding?

Art bookbinding is a binding discipline that appeared in France at the beginning of the twentieth century when large artist books printed on high-quality paper were first made. It is a creative, personal discipline based on a rigorous technique, and the end result is closely linked artistically to the person who makes it. The most important aspect of bookbinding is to make an original binding based on a flawless technique, without betraying the book’s content.

How did you begin practicing the art?

My father instilled in me the love and passion for this trade. Since I was a child, I was influenced by his bookbinding business, and I worked in his workshop for two years. My father’s semi-commercial bookbinding is very different from art bookbinding, but I wanted to learn as much as I could from him to prepare myself to go to the Estienne school in Paris. While I worked for my father, I took art bookbinding lessons at the school of Ana Ruiz-Larrea, who is a well-known art binder in Madrid. She taught me everything that can be done on a book. With her, I learned not only to cover or protect a book, but also to embellish it with the binding.

Other than your father and Ana Ruiz-Larrea, who were the other important teachers in your life?

Florent Rousseau, a prestigious French bookbinder, gave me the freedom to create new decorations working with all types of materials. With Florent Rousseau
there were no limits on the techniques used in decoration. Another teacher in Paris, François Brindeau, taught me how to be efficient and accurate, and most importantly, to conceive the decoration of the binding as a personal style.