A book repair service

For those older books needing some care and attention


Bespoke Bindings offers custom made books made specifically to order. Whilst I enjoy creating new books I am proud to also offer a respectful book repair service, where each book is sensitively repaired to give their owners many more years of pleasure. 

Customers may like to have a book repaired for a relative. They hold sentimental value and are often given as thoughtful gifts to elder family members.


Books can be repaired in a number of ways. Please view the examples below. No two books are alike and each comes with it's own challenges. I have a broad experience in repairing all types of traditional books. The importance for me is that each one is mindfully repaired and strengthened, as was initially intended by the original binder.


I use PH neutral acid free adhesives, acid free board and genuine bookbinding cloths and plant-based leathers upon all my books.


The process of repairing a book is very much a 'make-and-mend' project. I love to extend the life of the book, it has a purpose once again and can be enjoyed for many more years (and lifetimes!). Repairing a book is a sustainable process, as the book can then be reused and is therefore diverted away from going into landfill.

Read more about Bespoke Bindings and Sustainability

Do you know a book that needs some TLC?

View some repair examples below

The image shows a small red vintage book from the 1950's with Mickey Mouse on the cover. It is laid on a white background. Next to it is some old pieces of yellow sellotape and a seperate pile of stacked pages which are old and torn and are covered in old brittle sellotape.
The image shows a small red vintage book from the 1950's with Mickey Mouse on the cover. It is laid on a white background. There is a close up detail from the bottom of the book which shows the spine and neatly trimmed pages within the book, because it has now been repaired and restored. The spine is covered in a blue book cloth and the book has been made into a hardback book.
The image shows a repaired small red vintage book from the 1950's with Mickey Mouse on the cover. It is laid on a white background. It has a new blue cloth spine and the original front cover has now been repaired and restored.

Mickey Mouse children's midget book, circa 1950's


A customer contacted me about a book from her childhood. As the book held a lot of sentimental value, she wanted it to be repaired and strengthened for reference, whilst keeping it's original charm.


The book was barely held together and was covered page to page in sellotape, which had aged and become brittle over the years. I carefully removed the tape from the pages and neatly trimmed the damaged centre of the pages. I then lined each page with a protective translucent tissue and began re-joining the pages into pairs, to then sew the sections of the book. A new spine was made so that I could create a hardback book, using the original covers. There was damage to the print on the covers and to the corners and edges of the boards. I repaired them using japanese tissue and colour matched to the design.

The customer was very pleased with the result and shared the book and it's memories with her sisters at a reunion.

The image shows a an old book on a white background. The front book cover is green fabric on board but the fabric is patchy and faded. The book cover reads Holy Bible in capital gold lettering.
The image shows the back of an old book. A map is the back page of the book and this is ripped and separated from the rest of the book. The spine of the book is very old and the cover of the book has completely separated from the pages of the book. The cover is shown laid flat underneath the pages.
The image shows close up detail of the front of an old book. The pages of the book have pulled away from the front cover board of the book. There are old spine linings which can be seen hanging loose where have detached from the book, making the book very weak.
The image shows the back of the repaired book. The back cover is open and the pages are neat and repaired. A map is the back page of the book and the rips on the map have now been repaired. The map now looks smooth and is attached to the book. The book sits on a white background.
The image shows close up detail of the top of the book. The edges of the pages are red with the initials N. M drawn in pen in capitals, probably from the original owner of the book. The spine is rounded and curved for ease of reading the pages when the book is opened. The book now has a new black fabric cover and the pages have decorative end bands at the top and bottom of the book which are both black and bright green woven colours. The book sits on a white background.
The image shows the fully repaired Holy Bible book. The book now has a new black fabric cover and there are 4 lines of gold text in capitals. The top line reads Holy Bible, and the second third and forth line of text has the owners name, regiment number and the title 145th Regiment RAC. The book sits on a white background.

Pocket Holy Bible


I received a request to repair a personal bible which held a lot of sentimental value to the customer. They had retained some information about it's origin and wanted this to be included in it's restoration.


There was a map at the back of the book which was torn with areas of the print missing and some pages were also torn and needed repair. The covering cloth of the book was extremely old and worn along the hinges of the book. The book needed a lot of care and attention. It was strengthened and repaired to serve as a dedication to the original owner who had been in the War. The customer requested that a new cover be made and tooled with extra gold lettering on the front cover. The original owners name and regiment number were added within the title.
The customer was very happy with the result!

An image of a damaged blue and yellow hard back book called Designed in the USSR 1950 TO 1989. The paper covered spine board from the book is torn and seperated from the book. It is missing some of the text on the spine.
An image of the repaired blue and yellow hard back book called Designed in the USSR 1950 TO 1989. The paper covered spine board is now in place and has been reattached to the covers of the book using a dark blue book cloth and blue paper hinge strip on the front and back of the book.
A close up detailed image of the repaired blue and yellow hard back book called Designed in the USSR 1950 TO 1989. The paper covered spine board is now in place and has been reattached to the covers of the book using a dark blue book cloth and blue paper hinge strip on the front and back of the book. The book has a decorative yellow end band on the head and tail of the book pages. The finished result is very neat.

Designed in the USSR 1950 - 1989


I received a request from a customer to repair a book which he was very fond of. The customer wanted the book spine to be made good again, for it to be re-attached and the book strengthened to be used regularly. The book had become very worn with use and needed some careful attention. 


I carried out repair work to the text block linings and the outer spine which had pieces of the print missing. The spine was lined with tissue to protect the text from further wear and the head and tail of the book were reinforced with a contrasting blue fabric book cloth. Finally the joints of the book were tidied, strengthened and covered using a contrasting blue bookbinding paper. The customer was very happy with his book, to which he commented "it has been given a new lease of life".

The image shows a dark blue coloured book with gold lettering on the front cover. The book is damaged and very scruffy where the hinges of the book are torn causing the spine to be loose.
The image shows the dark blue book repaired and laid open flat on the table. The black pages have optical circular patterns on them in green with different coloured circles in red inside the pattern to create numbers. The book is used to test colour blindness.
The image shows the dark blue book repaired and laid face up with the front cover visible on the table. The spine and hinges and corners of the covers have all been repaired with a dark blue book cloth to match the book.

Ishihara's Tests for Colour Blindness 1984


A client contacted Bespoke Bindings regarding a book she used for work purposes, it had become very worn with use by her patients over the years. I carried out repair work to the spine and corners of the book with a matching colour book cloth, paying attention to the areas where it needed strength and protection. The client was above impressed with her repaired book, which she commented was "as good as new!"

The image shows a damaged book with lots of loose pages falling out. The book covers are dark green and have been water damaged stained and the covering fabric is torn.
The image shows the damaged book open and the first page has foxing which means the page is speckled with brown mould. The next page has writing and reads Hobbies a weekly journal for amateurs of both Sexes. The book is vintage and old.
The image shows a repaired green vintage book of Hobbies. The image shows the detail from the top of the book where the pages are neatly in place and the spine is curved and rounded as it traditionally would have been. The original green cover from the spine area has been attached to the new book so that this now has the lettering on the spine.

Hobbies 1915


The owner of this book had told me that his book was very old and had suffered damp to the outer cover. He requested that the book be fully repaired with a new cover for sentimental value. The book belonged to his father and had been passed down through generations.


The pages were repaired and some sections were resewn back into the book. The text block was then strengthened on the spine to allow the book to be opened and read once again. The book was given new front and back boards and a case was made with brand new book cloth. The original spine piece was trimmed from the old cover to show the title of the book and retain a piece of the original cloth. 

Recipe Book repair on Instagram