The History of Bookmaking:
Bookmaking really began with the invention of writing. The first forms of writing were ideas expressed through pictorial forms such as drawings on cave walls, inscriptions on rocks and clay tablets. There are many examples of such early forms of writing:

The Egyptians were the first to develop a material similar to today's paper called papyrus. This material made writing and keeping records much easier because paper is flat, lightweight, and easy to store (much different from a large stack of clay tablets!)

The first book to be made with paper was the scroll. This was made from many sheets of papyrus which were glued together in a long strip, then rolled up and stored in a jar.

Bookbinding as we know it today began in the first century (1-100 AD). The first step was to take the scrolls and fold them into accordion style books (like we will be making today). Later, these folded pages were sewn at the side to make a book similar to the books we use today. Over time, decorative covers of leather were developed to protect the contents of the book and the bindings along the side.

Today there is a wide variety of books. Kids use many types of books:

Parents and other adults also use many different types of books:

Artists use special "sketchbooks" to come up with ideas for works of art. Some books are meant only to be looked at and read and other books are meant to be written in or drawn in. The accordion book The accordion book (also called a zig-zag book) is made from one long continuous piece of paper which is folded into pages and is enclosed between two covers.

Materials List:

Directions:
1. Take the long sheet of paper and measure the long side into 5 inch sections. (Measure along the top and the bottom of the long side. There should be 6 of the 5 inch sections.)

2. Line your straight edge up between the first mark at the top and the first mark at the bottom of your paper. Score the paper along the straight edge with the bone folder. (see picture below) Do this at every set of marks across the paper.

3. Fold the paper at each scored line in a zig-zag manner. Use the bone folder to help fold the paper. This will give you a good, sharp fold.

4. Choose one of your cover papers to be the "back" cover. In the middle of the back cover cut two small slits to make a slot for your ribbon. (see diagram) Run the ribbon through the paper and adjust it so that it will tie where you would like it to on your book. (Have an adult help you cut the slits and adjust the ribbon.)

5. Glue the cover papers on the front and back pages of your book. Let it dry for a few minutes.

6. Now decorate your book any way you like with crayons, collage, drawings, words or anything you want!

Create a book about:

Art Terms:
Accordion book – also called a "zig-zag" book; is made from one long continuous sheet of paper folded back and forth like an accordion and is enclosed between two covers
Bone folder – a tool made from a piece of bone; it is used for scoring and folding paper
Hieroglyphics – writing developed by the Egyptians; writing developed from pictures in which symbols were created to represent words and were read from right to left
Papyrus – an early form of material used to write on; similar to todays paper but made from flattened reeds woven together
Pictographs – pictures drawn on cave walls, rock cliffs, or animal skins to record an event
Score – to crease with a tool (such as a bone folder or dull butter knife) to make folding heavier paper easier and keeps the fold straight scroll—the first type of "book;" made from a long continuous piece of papyrus which was rolled up and stored in jars
Straight-edge – usually a ruler; something with a straight, flat edge that can be used to score or cut against to give you a "straight- edge"

Sources:
Johnson, Pauline. Creative Bookbinding. Dover Publications, New York. 1963.

Shannon, Faith. The Art and Craft of Paper. Chronicle Books, San Francisco. 1994.

Richards, Constance E. Making Books and Journals. Lark Books, Asheville, NC. 1999.

Related Web Sites:
This is a WWW index with links to many sites related to book arts.

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