One day, I came across a Marketplace listing of a retiring bookbinder located a few hours away. After spending life as a university professor - binding student thesises and documents as his bread and butter - he made the decision to pass on his collection. While his bindery doors were closing, mine were beginning to open. From Murray's collection, I was lucky enough to purchase a variety of quality bookcloth, foils, and a book press (or nipping press), forming the backbone of my own bindery.

Rolls upon rolls of bookcloth now adorn my kitchen and a cast iron book press sits upon an old bedside table under the coat rack. These materials and hefty equipment are set to last me almost a lifetime themselves, being made for practical durability. However, accurately naming the type and brand of each cloth has proven difficult.

Rather than letting that uncertainty diminish their value, bookcloth from this collection has been affectionately labelled as Murray’s Cloth and will be used in the spirit of honouring secondhand materials and keeping good resources from going to waste.