Bespoke books crafted in the European tradition

Handmade editions from a US printer with a royal following

Housed in a complex of old factory buildings in New York’s Hudson Valley sits Thornwillow Press, a maker of beautiful papers and bespoke books of all kinds. Thornwillow’s founder, Luke Ives Pontifell, modelled it after the classical English binderies of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He believes strongly that there is a place for such craftsmanship in today’s busy, BlackBerry-filled world.

Perhaps because of the 14 years he owned a paper mill in the Czech Republic producing handmade papers, as well as working with skilled bookbinders in England, he brings a distinctively European approach to the increasingly rare craft of making books; though, of course, his business is now entirely based in Newburgh, New York.

Pontifell has achieved no small degree of success over the years. His custom work is found not only in private collections, but also in the White House, the American Museum in Bath, the British Library and New York’s Morgan Library and Century Club. He also counts royal bibliophiles such as Prince Charles and the Queen herself among Thornwillow’s ardent fans.

The commissioning process is simple. Once a client has selected a text that he or she would like specially bound (or restored and re-bound) – these have ranged from first editions of Dostoyevsky and Dr Seuss to family heirlooms – the process of “co-creation” begins. The options for book types and finishes are almost endless. From wedding memory boxes to guest books (from $1,250) to self-published novels, Thornwillow can create full or half-leather versions (from $2,000) – complete with exquisite papers, decorated gold or blind tooling, hand-sewn head bands and custom leather spine labels – to fulfil a client’s wishes. Leather colours range from deep scarlet to emerald green to traditional beige; archival-quality materials and even decorative carnelians make each tome a true work of art.

Thornwillow turns its talents to requests both large and small. A recent commission of Moby Dick included an exquisitely carved roundel made of mastodon ivory tusk embedded into the book’s front cover ($20,000), while smaller projects, such as love-letter compilations and photo albums, are always popular. For the person who is truly passionate about the written word, a private printing of an entire edition (from $5,000 to upwards of $350,000) is the ultimate bespoke option. There are also “extra-illustrated books” – those that have added letters (for example, a biography of President Johnson including original correspondence), introductions, poems, or images – that allow a collector to further personalise or update a particular text.

Every work of published art can be housed in a custom cloth-and-leather clamshell box (from $825), a keepsake available in a vibrant range of saturated hues (canary yellow, cherry red and grey are particularly lovely) that serves to protect the book, while also decorating any room that houses it.

Regardless of the size and scope of the commission, a client is involved from start to finish; initial meetings are always followed by emailed proofs that detail everything from the book’s spine to fonts to titling – right down to the decorative endpapers.