Norwood StudiosBookbinders (ca. 1961)

Shows the work of bookbinders and the final steps in the process of manufacturing printed books. From the "Americans at Work" series.

This item is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Norwood Studios
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Communication: Books; Occupations: Bookbinding; Occupations: Printing

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - January 9, 2004
Subject: The Romance of Ink and Page

Part of the America at Work series made by the AFL-CIO, this vocational film portrays the bookbinding trade in a romanticized fashion. Most romanticized is the first part of the film, which shows the restoration of antique books, while romantic strings play in the background. The rest of the film shows the mass production of books in a step-by-step fashion and fairly straightforwardly. Actually, this is pretty interesting stuffthe bookbinding trade is a little closer to its craftsmanship roots than many other industries. This makes for a film that is pretty fun to watch, especially if you like factory tour films.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: **. Weirdness: **. Historical Interest:****. Overall Rating: ****.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - January 30, 2003
Subject: How to build a book

In this short, sponsored by the AFL-CIO, we learn how books are created, maintained, and fixed by union workers. This process is very detailed, and provides the viewer with many aspects of book-making processes that were a mystery until now. Take that for what you will :)