Eidolon House

Collect the Past. Conserve Skills. Restore Tradition. Become Part of the History.

The Joe & Jill Chronicles

Crossing the Bench Lately

We've been crazy busy lately!

We've been taking books apart, aging pages, making mini notebooks, and restoring really old books.

Doing what we love to do is hard work, but we sure do love it!

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A few custom brass hand tools I recently made. I love that making a tool combines several different creative techniques, just like bookbinding and restoration does.
The tool handle in the middle is turned from Osage Orange, the tools on the left and right are turned from hickory; one handle is finished with a layer of stain. (Swipe 👉🏼)
Now, back to the books!
#eidolonhouse

Custom made portfolio made to look slightly used with marbled paper boards. Portfolio is made with hidden magnets to ensure secure closure, and the lovely marbled paper is by @jemmalewismarbling.
Happy #marbledmonday friends!
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #custommade #bookarts #bookbinder #bookbinding

Custom enclosure for a first edition Time Machine, 1895; complete with leather onlays, and a brass engraved center time piece with a reference to Doctor Who. I made this fun box in 2013.👌🏼
#tbt #throwback #eidolonhouse #custommade #bibliophile #thetimemachine #collectibles #rarebooks #whovian

The Raven bookplate I drew, carved, and printed a few years ago; one of my favorites!
(10 pack bookplates are available through our web-shop.)
#tbt #eidolonhouse #bookplate #exlibris #printmaking #art #poe #bibliophile

Cats paw leather bindings. Sometimes I prefer leather treatments to tooling.🐾🐈
#eidolonhouse #finebinding #bookbinding #rarebooks #leatherwork #bibliophile #bookbinder #booklife

A few before and after photo of collectible books (swipe 👉🏼).
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #restoration #collectibles

Last night was a late night handle turning for custom brass tools we’re making. This wood is beautiful Osage Orange, also known as Bois D’arc.🍊 Fun fact: Two of our animals are named after this tree, both cats. Osage is an orange cat, technically a stray, we take care of when he comes around. He travels around the county for weeks at a time, but checks in every now and then to say hi and carbo load before leaving on his next adventure. Bois D’arc is a house cat we adopted from our vet clinic, not orange; we call him Bodie and Joseph is his mate; the only human he’ll allow to hold him and pet him.🐈🍊
#eidolonhouse #woodturning #woodworking #handtools #toolmaker #osage

Hello beautiful.🐑
(Merino, two ply, hand spun, semi-worsted.) #eidolonhouse

Sometimes a cover needs more than tooling, and so a little painting fulfills that need.👌🏼
(Custom enclosure made to beautifully house Queen Anne’s personal copy of the Bible, 1709.)
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #bookarts #custommade #leatherwork #painting #myart

If you know my wife you know that as soon as she decides she wants to do something she basically becomes obsessed with it (remember when those sheep showed up so she could learn about wool and how to process it from animal to yarn?). Last year she became obsessed with brass and the tools I use for my bindings; so much that on our way home from participating in the East Texas Fiber Fest, she says to me, and I quote, “that was fun, now moving on to brass”, and of course I was on board as I’ve never met a bookbinder who isn’t obsessed with brass.
I’ve designed beautiful tools that we’ll make available to the public throughout the year beginning in a couple weeks; everything from tools specific for restoration to tools specific to countries and time periods, and of course fun modern designs too! We’ve been having so much fun designing and making these tools, I can’t wait to share them with you. #brasstoolsarecoming.🎉
#eidolonhouse #brass #toolmaker #bookbinding #bookbinder #handtools #leathertooling #leatherwork

The ladies are happy it’s #friyay !🐔🐔
Actually, this is what chickens looks like when they’re super hot; they pant (see their mouths open), and they hold their wings out to air out and cool off. Also, a chicken’s body temp. is warmer than a human’s. Let those ladies out of their coops, and make sure they have plenty of water.💦
#eidolonhouse #layinghens #freerangechickens #chickens #animallovers

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.” - Hans Christian Andersen.🧚‍♂️

Not everything is bigger in Texas, only the things that shouldn’t be.😧 (Pulled this guy off one of my sheep this morning.) #horsefly #texas

May your day end better than it began, just like this leather book.👌🏼
#eidolonhouse #restoration #rarebooks #collectibles #bookrepair #bibliophile

A bit of late night brass tool making.💫
#eidolonhouse #custommade #brass #toolmaker #leathertooling #handtools #bookbinding

Another one saved! I have been cranking out the books lately and it feels so good.
My wife did tell me this evening has to be spent outside making our yard look less abandoned, and apparently I need to take a break from the bench once in awhile.🤷🏻‍♂️ #TGIF
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #bookrestoration #collectibles #bookbinder #bibliophile

Before & After Historical Rebind: Times and Seasons. 1839-1841. (Swipe for detail pics.👉🏼) This one was a blast!
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookbinding #bookbinder #leathertooling #custommade #bibliophile

Mirror mirror on the wall. . .📖
#antique #brass #collector #eidolonhouse

Before & After Historical Rebind: Geographia Universalis, 1542.
Instead of saving the old rotten leather we decided to give the book a completely new leather binding replicating the original.👌🏼
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookcollection #bookbinding #bookbinder #igbooks #restoration #bibliophile

Before & After Restoration: 1785 Hieroglyphick Bible. Bible stories for children with a type of picture rebus for children to figure out as they read the book (swipe to the last photo 👉🏼).
I bound this book in leather and gave it a nice used finish with a bit of gold tooling.👌🏼
#eidolonhouse #rarebooks #collectibles #bookbinding #bookbinder #Bible #restoration

30 Masonic Educationals HERE !

30 Masonic Educationals HERE!

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