Bookbinding

There are several types of bookbinding, ranging from normal to luxurious forms. Bookbinding can be done with paper, leather, gauze, light metal sheets and wood.
There are various tools and materials linked to this industry including; paper, cardboard, leather, glue, mixture of water, flour and alum, linoleum, iron, gold solution, gauze, pins, cutter, puncher and sponge.
The stages of the bookbinding process are as follows: gathering the book sections, assembly and knitting, hammering, 80 gm paper inner binding, cupboard lining, covering cupboard with leather, writing on the cover with gold solution and finally quality control which may lead to total rebinding of the book.
This craft has been developed through many generations. The first materials used for binding were papyrus, sheep leather and natural glue. The knitting of the books are now done with special sewing machines. However, manual knitting is said to be of a higher quality.
There are certain stages in the book binding process that must be done manually, such as the paper assembly and genuine leather binding.

Reference: توثيق الحرف والمهن الشعبية (الجزء الأول

The challenge

Traditional manual book binding was initiated to protect precious manuscripts. Unfortunately this traditional industry is now in jeopardy, as are the craftsmen linked to it, by the widespread of modern publishers.

Manual bookbinding is a traditional industry of binding paper books using leather, paper, etc.
This industry was said to be initiated by the Coptic monks in Egypt, followed by Muslims during their rule. The craft was then transferred to the west in Sicily and Andalusia.