Enrico Giannini's Workshop

The Work Process

Two of the most common aspects of Enrico's work involve carefully marbleizing paper and binding custom books by hand. Each process is a painstaking system of labor and craftsmanship developed over more than a century.

Marbleizing Paper

The technique of marbleizing paper was born in the Orient and developed in Europe during the Renaissance. It first arrived in Italy at end of the 1500s. Used to adorn book covers, marbleized paper fell into disuse during the 1900s partly because it involved a labor-intensive process that commercial publishers found too costly.

Marbleizing paper is a multi-step process. First, Enrico makes his own specialized glue. He boils dried seaweed in water for a few minutes, strains the liquid, then waits a day for the sediment to settle. Sometimes he adds preservatives to the solution so that the glue doesn't spoil.

Next, he adds the paint. Although more difficult to use, he only uses water-based paints, as they do not contain the toxins of other paints. Using his grandfather's recipe, Enrico mixes these paints himself. In order for the process to function, he must also carefully balance the density of the glue with the density of the paints, controlling such factors as temperature and humidity.

After completing these preparations, Enrico dips his paintbrush into a color, holds it over the tray, then uses a metal wand to tap the handle of the paintbrush, spattering the glue into the tray. The paint floats on the surface of the glue. To create the design, he swirls the colors around the surface of the glue with various tools. Such tools include skewers, porcupine quills, and different combs Enrico makes himself by driving nails into thin lengths of wood. At this stage, it is important that the glue be the perfect consistency: the colors can be moved along the surface, but the glue must be just sticky enough so the colors will stay in place once Enrico stops manipulating them.

Once the design is ready, he puts the paper on top, where it absorbs the color and the design. Enrico uses many different types of paper, but what is most important is that the density of the colors be balanced with the absorbency of the paper. The paper must absorb the color immediately. If it doesn't, as the sheet is picked up, the excess color will run down and destroy the design.

After a final design is perfected and transferred to the paper itself, it is ready to transform a book, frame, box or other item into a true work of art.

Binding A Book By Hand

Bookbinding also requires a great deal of patience and skill, and Enrico has perfected the process over the years.

Enrico meticulously sews the books together by hand, using a wooden sewing frame and threading the string through the pages of the book. The spine is then finely rounded to protect its longevity using a press and a hammer. Once the book is bound by hand, the cover can be finished in a number of ways. Leather, marbled paper, inset glass and other materials can be incorporated over the cover.