Book rebinding is the renewal or replacement of the cover of a book. Typically, this requires restitching or renewal of the glue which holds the pages in place. Libraries may rebind books for durability or archival purposes, or for repair. Collectors of antique books such as incunabula have often had items rebound.

Most book repair projects run anywhere from $165-$235 with the exception of family Bibles, which typically include an additional cost due to the large size and intricacy.

There are book rebinding costs in the range of $250 to $500 for elaborate work, light restorations for $50, and basic new cover replacements for about $100.

New bindings done in cloth can cost $70 to $120 and up, depending on the size, whereas a new binding in leather can cost $175 to $275 and up, depending on the quarter binding and leather being used.

Rebinding can cost less than USD $100 for an unadorned binding up to hundreds of dollars and more for a binding designed by an artisan. That cost may well be worth it, but the other important consideration is the value of the book you are considering having rebound. Alterations tend to devalue a book.

How To: Restore An Old Book

1. Take everything apart.
2. Clean out any dust and dirt.
3. Restore the book block.
4. Replace the old cloth with a new one to strengthen the binding.
5. If necessary, make new letters using a Ludlow machine for typesetting followed by a Kensol stamping press.

Yes! You can bind just one book. You don’t have to be anyone special, or a publisher, or a library. You can be just the person that needs a book rebound because it’s falling apart, or because you want to print & bind a story that you wrote for your 5 year old daughter.

When a book becomes damaged, whether due to an accident, deliberate abuse, or simple wear and tear, it requires mending. These materials are segregated from the other books while library staff attempt to repair the damage. During this time, the book’s status will appear as “MENDING” in the library catalogue.

Well, if you bring in your own printed pages to Office Depot, you’ll pay only $3 for the binding and an optional 50 cents for a clear plastic cover.

The use of the old binding methods is often the reason why the book is in need of rebinding. We prefer to use a binding method that allows the spine leather to be loose from the binding instead of having it pasted down onto the spine and creating a potential for creases in the leather.

We can rebind in a strong new binding, but then peel the old front, back or spine (or all three) off the old binding and glue that onto the new. You get the strength of a new cover, but the look of what you remember your treasured book to be.

There are chemical solutions that can be applied to harden things, but binding experts still disagree on the usefulness of these treatments and the long-term effects. However, for restorable leather, we can condition, and often touch up the dye as well, to bring back the beauty of the original binding.

The name was changed to “Leonard’s Books” to reflect our new focus on both book sales and bookbinding. Today, the vast majority of our business is book and Bible rebinding. What We Can Do For You! Click here to find out all the things that we can do for you.