​Phèdre by Jean Racine

The binding, crafted by Magdalena Bulanda, was commissioned as a bespoke order for one of her clients. It features a three-part leather Bradel binding and a foldable clamshell box covered in fabric.

The creation of this book's binding took nearly six months. The process began with outlining the concept, followed by sewing, sanding, and dyeing the leather. Everything was progressing smoothly until it came time to cut out the letters from leather just 0.2 mm thick. By that stage, the project was so advanced that making corrections was almost impossible, and the deadline loomed large. Cutting just a few letters for the book's cover took an entire day—requiring precision akin to surgery.

A standard edition of Phèdre, also bound by Magdalena Bulanda, can be found here: [click]

Jean Racine, Phèdre, translated by Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Rambler Press, 2022. The book features painted edges, endpapers made from hand-painted paste paper, and leather headbands.