Gallery - Mark Ramsden

MARK RAMSDEN

After completing his studies at the London College of Printing, Mark took up a job at the Bindery in the University of Aberdeen. He enjoys competition work but has recently been concentrating on repair and restoration coupled with a passion for teaching bookbinding. He has a small private bindery where he tutors individual students.

Mark also runs an evening class in all aspects of bookbinding in Aberdeen, as well as taking workshops in the city.
email: bookman@btinternet.com

click on the thumbnails to see a bigger picture

Rime of the Ancient Mariner
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Bound: 1998.

"The design was built up by cutting and piecing the leather together; very much like a marquetry picture or jigsaw, fitting each piece in turn."

"I put a 'glitter' in the Mariner’s eye by setting a sapphire under the leather. The stone was then covered by the Mariner’s pupil which had a small hole cut in it. The sapphire is not immediately noticeable but when the book is moved about it catches the light and draws one’s eye to his."

From Rebel To Hero -
The Image Of The Highlander 1745-1830.
Bound: 1999.

The binding was built up with small pieces of leather placed over sculpted boards and sanded down to represent brush strokes of oil paint. The sculpturing was created by building up the boards with paper and sanding the edges to give the depth and effect of the flags hanging in folds. The sanding of the leather cut through the top surface and exposed a different shade underneath.

The red dragon on the gold background is the flag of the House of Stewart, the banner the Jacobites fought under in 1745. The white saltire is, of course, the Scottish National flag which the Highland regiments fought under in the British Army. The background is a representation of the highlands and glens built up in the same manner as the flags.

The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
Bound: 2004.

The binding was undertaken as a commission for the Scottish Executive as a gift from Scotland to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.

"I wanted to give the binding a Scottish feel without resorting directly to the full 'tartan' theme. The colours used are from the Burns' tartan but they are also mentioned in the Scottish Ballad 'My Bonny Moorhen' which remembers the Jacobites and their struggle. This gives the book an extra 'underground' dimension which was prevalent during Burns' life."

"The bold blocks of colour hark back to the art nouveau period and are reminiscent of Macintosh but they give the book a modern contemporary feel."

The binding is made from goatskin with grey silk headbands and the slipcase is covered in buckram.


	MARK RAMSDEN After completing his studies at the London College of Printing, Mark took up a job at the Bindery in the University of Aberdeen. He enjoys competition work but has recently been concentrating on repair and restoration coupled with a passion for teaching bookbinding. He has a small private bindery where he tutors individual students. Mark also runs an evening class in all aspects of bookbinding in Aberdeen, as well as taking workshops in the city. email: bookman@btinternet.com
	click on the thumbnails to see a bigger picture

Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Bound: 1998. "The design was built up by cutting and piecing the leather together; very much like a marquetry picture or jigsaw, fitting each piece in turn." "I put a 'glitter' in the Mariner’s eye by setting a sapphire under the leather. The stone was then covered by the Mariner’s pupil which had a small hole cut in it. The sapphire is not immediately noticeable but when the book is moved about it catches the light and draws one’s eye to his."

	From Rebel To Hero - The Image Of The Highlander 1745-1830. Bound: 1999. The binding was built up with small pieces of leather placed over sculpted boards and sanded down to represent brush strokes of oil paint. The sculpturing was created by building up the boards with paper and sanding the edges to give the depth and effect of the flags hanging in folds. The sanding of the leather cut through the top surface and exposed a different shade underneath. The red dragon on the gold background is the flag of the House of Stewart, the banner the Jacobites fought under in 1745. The white saltire is, of course, the Scottish National flag which the Highland regiments fought under in the British Army. The background is a representation of the highlands and glens built up in the same manner as the flags.

The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns Bound: 2004. The binding was undertaken as a commission for the Scottish Executive as a gift from Scotland to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. "I wanted to give the binding a Scottish feel without resorting directly to the full 'tartan' theme. The colours used are from the Burns' tartan but they are also mentioned in the Scottish Ballad 'My Bonny Moorhen' which remembers the Jacobites and their struggle. This gives the book an extra 'underground' dimension which was prevalent during Burns' life." "The bold blocks of colour hark back to the art nouveau period and are reminiscent of Macintosh but they give the book a modern contemporary feel." The binding is made from goatskin with grey silk headbands and the slipcase is covered in buckram.