Rebinding of the novel Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.
Published by Everyman's Library
Book size: 14 x 21.5 cm (5.5 x 8.5 inches)
564 pages
This unique leather binding was conceived as a visual meditation on the novel’s central theme: the duality of human nature. The front cover portrays a man, perhaps resembling Dostoevsky himself, his face emerging from a dense labyrinth of modest houses, evoking the struggles of poverty, conscience, and the human soul. The back cover, in contrast, presents the stern figure of a man in a top hat, framed by the domes of Russia’s grandeur, symbolizing wealth, pride, and the imposing structures of society. The ornate spine, hand painted with decorative elements and and the symbol of the axe with a double blade, binds these opposing worlds together, reflecting the tension between crime and morality, between suffering and redemption.
The design was blind tooled on vegetable tanned leather and then hand painted with leather dyes. The painting was sealed so it does not fade or rub off.
The endpages are made of hand marbled paper. The book has brown leather endbands. The edges of the bookblock were given a neutral tone and decorated with fine sprinkles.
The book is cased in a slipcase covered in black leather and tooled with a horizon line representing two contrasting landscapes on the front and back, in a minimalistic style. The inside is lined with matching handmade paper.
To see the video of the making of this book please go to my Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DOjO7C2DFOK/
