Marius Vachon's Images of Industrial Bookbinderies

1894
Workers using a machine for gilding and printing covers for books at the bindery for the Librairies-Imprimerie Reunie.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Workers using a machine for gilding and printing covers for books at the bindery for the Librairies-Imprimerie Réunie.
A more general view of the bookbindery of the Librarie-Imprimerie réunie. The machine for gildng and printing bookcovers (shown in the previous photograph) is in far background of the image.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
A different view of the bookbindery of the Librarie-Imprimerie réunie. The machine for gildng and printing bookcovers (shown in the previous photograph) is visible in the back end of the long narrow room.
Workers at the Lenegre bookbindery operating high power presses for printing and embossing book covers in color.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Workers at the Lenegre bookbindery operating high power presses for printing and embossing book covers in color.
In this drawing of the large scale bindery operated by Librairie Masson the machines visible are mainly the stam engine in the near foreground and a powerful guillotine for trimming pages fai
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
In this drawing of the large scale bindery operated by Librairie Masson the machines visible are mainly the steam engine in the near foreground and a powerful guillotine for trimming pages fairly close behind it. Most of the bindery work appears to be done by hand.
Detail map of Paris, Île-de-France, France

A: Paris, Île-de-France, France

Bookbindery of Berger-Levreault, Nancy, France.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
 Bookbindery of Berger-Levreault, Nancy, France.  Few machines are visible except on the wall at the left.
Few images of industrial or mechanized bookbinderies showing people at work appear to have been published during the 19th century. Possibly the best images this type appear in Marius Vachon's Les arts et les industries du papier en France 1871-1894. From this book I have reproduced selected images.

Timeline Themes

Bookbinding by Machine
Workers using a machine for gilding and printing covers for books at the bindery for the Librairies-Imprimerie Reunie.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Workers using a machine for gilding and printing covers for books at the bindery for the Librairies-Imprimerie Réunie.
A more general view of the bookbindery of the Librarie-Imprimerie réunie. The machine for gildng and printing bookcovers (shown in the previous photograph) is in far background of the image.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
A different view of the bookbindery of the Librarie-Imprimerie réunie. The machine for gildng and printing bookcovers (shown in the previous photograph) is visible in the back end of the long narrow room.
Workers at the Lenegre bookbindery operating high power presses for printing and embossing book covers in color.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
Workers at the Lenegre bookbindery operating high power presses for printing and embossing book covers in color.
In this drawing of the large scale bindery operated by Librairie Masson the machines visible are mainly the stam engine in the near foreground and a powerful guillotine for trimming pages fai
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
In this drawing of the large scale bindery operated by Librairie Masson the machines visible are mainly the steam engine in the near foreground and a powerful guillotine for trimming pages fairly close behind it. Most of the bindery work appears to be done by hand.