An illustrated concertina book made in China ~
The front cover and first few pages are shown ~
(Reminder: 'front' and 'back' are reversed in Chinese books)
Some people consider Concertina Booklets as novelties. I am not writing these notes for such folk. I not going to waste time and effort in trying to convince them otherwise. Please ignore such a line of thought and accept that quite apart from their value as 'books' they are a great way for introducing and practising basic exercises in bookcraft [127064].
Learning and developing techniques is doubly useful if the results can be put to use. Exercises are boring if ~ on completion ~ they are recycled or thrown into the bin.
Here is an illustrated souvenir booklet acquired by my father in the early 1940s when he was working in China. I suspect that all the makings were 'handmade' ~ because of the typical miniscule signs that machines are not permitted to make.
The message I make is encourage the making of such books. Do not mention that one purpose of such manufacture is gaining experience ~ groan, moan ~ 'boring' ~'not again'. To further this approach please provide good materials and push for tidy working ~ so that effort can be felt as worthwhile. Finished results make good presents or saleable items ~ another advantage of such books!
Finally ~ I have kept this bee in my bonnet until now ~ this is a wonderful project for students to be aware of the helpfulness of their own thought and forethought.
Are they books? []
Detailed instructions to make []
Brief instruction for tyros []
Novelty versions []
