Term: Double Fold

Name: Double Fold
Size: varies but often Size 5
Cover: Leather or All Leather
Pages: 600 (approximately)
Paper: 75 lb
Elements: Varies but often will include Decorative Symbol (Raised or Recessed), Book Ribbons, Buckle closures, etc.
Estimated Value: $50.00 

A Double-Fold book is essentially two books bound within the same cover. Books such as these have been used for a myriad of purposes but were popularized in the movie, Practical Magic, as a Book of Spells. One of the books was for the 'good' spells and the other was for the 'bad' spells.

Double-Folds can be of almost any size (1-5) but are commonly made 'big' (size 5) because people wish to pour plenty of work into each page and need the additional space. Some have opted for a smaller version and gone with a smaller size but that is a matter of personal preference.

When designing a double-fold book there are a lot of terms and elements that need to be discussed (the cover material, any design that might be added and upon what cover will it go, etc.).

To make things easier for those people who want me to make them such a book I've tried to keep the terms fairly simple.

The cover for a double-fold is much larger than a standard book as it has to wrap around two separate blocks of pages. 

 It's important to note where a client wants a symbol or image place so that mistakes aren't made in the construction process. Additionally - images on the Interior covers have to be RECESSED as opposed to RAISED because the raised image will press into the pages of the Primary Book.

Double Fold books are divided into two sections: the Primary Book and the Secondary Book. The Primary book is usually the thicker of the two sections (usually 2/3rds of the total pages) and is the book  that one first sees when they open the book. The Secondary book is often thinner or equal to the Primary book (the distribution of the pages can be equal - it's a matter of the client's wishes) and is often where the author will keep 'reserved' information.

In the case where books such as these were used by the medical profession in the 16th and 17th century, the Secondary book was a book of known cures; things that the physician knew worked as treatments for various maladies. Essentially the Secondary book was the 'Physician's Desk Reference' of the time. The Primary Book was a written record of all of the cases that he had come across in his work. It would most closely be associated with a the charts and medical histories kept by the medical profession on their patients.

For my "Standard Double-Fold" I will often encourage the client to pick a symbol for the Exterior cover of the book - something that's meaningful to them. Normally I will try and keep the design down to an inch-shorter than the dimensions of the exterior cover. So an 8.5" x 11" cover would have a design space of 7.5" x 10". It's just easier to fit the design into the space allotted.

The only problem is when someone wants to add buckles to the book - the design space will shrink as the buckles attach to the Exterior Cover in two or three places and that can either A) shrink the design to near obscurity or B) move the design to the Interior cover.

Other binders or book suppliers charge STUPID amounts of money for their versions of Double-Fold books.

Studio Lapulia: $635.00