This is not something I sought out. It came up in my youtube recommendations. This is an RTE documentary from 1981. RTE is the Irish equivalent of England's BBC.

In the youtube comments, someone notes that this bookbinder is still in operation, and I think that's marvelous.

Not for everyone, but I found it quite interesting.

Gentleman across the street from me does archival book binding and restoration.

For my wife’s last birthday he rebound a 40s/50s cookbook which was passed down from wife’s great grandmother. Tattered and with pages missing, he rebound it with a new leather cover and embossed with the great grandmother’s name. (As a surprise, that was fun to get. Lol)

It’s an art and skill few are willing to learn anc keep alive.

As a book collector and enthusiast, this looks right up my alley -- thank you for the heads-up, Para.

That was fascinating. I had no idea what went into that kind of work.