The Chelsea Bindery Celebrates 25 Years With a Special Anniversary Catalogue

Peter Harrington is marking the 25th anniversary of its in-house fine bindery The Chelsea Bindery with the publication of a special catalogue showcasing 140 bindings.

Founded in 2000, The Chelsea Bindery was established by Peter Harrington to bring book repairs and conservation in-house, as well as to meet a growing demand from collectors for beautifully-bound books and protective solander boxes. It has since built a reputation for its hand-crafted leather bindings, gilding, and multi-coloured onlay designs.

The bindery is also celebrating its move from Battersea to a spacious new workshop which will now serve as its permanent home close to Peter Harrington’s Chelsea headquarters, and which will provide room for expanded operations, new team members, and enhanced opportunities for collaboration and public engagement.

“Reaching our 25th anniversary feels like a significant milestone,” said Emma Doyle, Bindery Manager at The Chelsea Bindery. “The new bindery workshop has given us space to grow and to welcome new talent, such as our apprentice box-maker Michael who represents the next generation of British bookbinders. While the bindery has evolved significantly over the years, what remains unchanged is our dedication to the traditional techniques and artistry that have defined us since day one.”

The new catalogue brings together a selection of the bindery’s recent creations including:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar reimagined in a vibrant, playful design by Head Binder Tony, featuring hand-dyed leathers and a dynamic onlay pattern inspired by Eric Carle’s illustrations
• a signed limited edition set of Rockwell Kent’s classic interpretation of Moby-Dick bound in three volumes with Kent’s abstract whale motif blocked in silver across the boards
• Nineteen Eighty-Four presented in a new design by Senior Designer Nigel Bents with a crisp modernist approach to Orwell’s work through minimalist geometric forms and deep, contrasting leathers

Each binding is crafted in-house by a small team of five artisans who together oversee every stage of the process, from cleaning and sewing to gilding, covering, and finishing. Three members of the original team – Trevor, Bill, and Tony – were former apprentices of the celebrated Zaehnsdorf Bindery and continue to use traditional tools including an intertype lettering machine dating back 90 years. Books take between eight and twenty weeks to complete. The bindery produces around 150 finely bound editions for Peter Harrington’s shops in Chelsea, Mayfair and now Manhattan each year.

“The Chelsea Bindery is integral to who we are as a bookshop and is one of very few in the world to still be owned by a bookshop,” said Pom Harrington, owner of Peter Harrington. “It allows us to offer customers something truly special beyond the rare and first editions in their original form.”

Select items from the catalogue are on display at Peter Harrington’s rare book galleries in London and New York.