User:Simon/Deschooling Society

bootleg book: Deschooling Society

First edition

Printed: 13.01.20
Dimensions: 110x170mm
Cover stock: Clairefontaine Trophee (white) 210gsm
Text stock: Laser 80gsm
Binding: Perfect bound, cold glue
Pages: 160pp

I made this book with and for Luke (a friend), as a favour, and also to show him how to bootleg a book. I'd already redesigned the text, and printed it double-sided on laser paper. What he wanted to know how to bind books. Luke had been helping me out a lot with getting the bookscanner running, and it seemed like a nice way to repay him. The problem came when we tried to bind the book using the hot-glue machine, which was once again not working as it should and the result we got was less than optimal. So, I showed him how to notch-bind using cold glue, and he took the text block home with him to try out the technique himself, using a DIY book press made from two chopping boards. One the text block was dry, he brought it back to me to show him how to apply the cover. I'd already printed the cover on a piece of paper, but had been using it to write quick notes on in the interim. It's ironic, I'm surrounded by paper, but scrap paper can be hard to come by. Rather than printing the cover again, I decided to tear away all the areas I'd written notes on it, and then photocopy this with the lid open, leaving black where there was no paper. It was another impromptu, make-do decision, but one that lent an interesting mark - removal of all that is not necessary - and in line with the type of radical pedagogical approaches the author of the text was aiming at.

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  Luke's DIY book press

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  Front cover

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  Spread

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  Spine

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  Back cover

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  The book, left with keys I borrowed from Luke while staying with him and Alice in January, 2020

Second edition

Printed: 29.01.20
Dimensions: 110x170mm
Cover stock: Clairefontaine Trophee (white) 210gsm
Text stock: Laser 80gsm
Binding: Perfect bound, hot glue
Pages: 160pp

I decided to print another copy of Deschooling Society for the physical bootleg library when the hot glue machine was working properly again. It was interesting to compare the differences between the two different binding methods - not something I usually see as I don't often bootleg more than one copy of a book.

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  Front cover

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  Spread

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  Spread

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  Spine

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  Back cover

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  Spines: First edition (top), second edition (bottom). The difference in cold vs hot glue is apparent here - hot glue ensures a smooth, square spine

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  Back covers: First edition (left), second edition (right)