Repairing books: Bookbinding

Bookbinder Muharrem Kalenci, a member of the Western Thrace Turkish Minority, talked about the importance of bookbinding in preserving historical values, and the details as well as intricacies of the art.

The art of bookbinding, which has an important place in the history of Turkish Islam and Western Europe, plays an important role in the transfer of works to future generations.

Muharrem Kalenci underlined that Turkish-Islamic and Western European book bindings have bindings with their own characteristics, and the most fundamental difference of these is that they have a small cover called 'miklep' in Turkish-Islamic works, which can also be used as bookmarks.

He explained that he restored historical Turkish-Islamic books after receiving training from İslam Seçen, who is a master of Classical Turkish Bookbinding.

“BOOKS ARE BRINGING LIFE TO LIFE”

Kalenci said, “We can transfer this book treasure to future generations only by preserving and restoring them correctly. When I was studying, my Islamic teacher used to say, ‘Thank God, this too has been saved’ when he finished the restoration of a book. In fact, we ensure that these artifacts, which are on the verge of being lost, are restored correctly, allowing them to witness history for another 300 years.” said.

Emphasizing that the biggest problem in realizing this art is that the tools used cannot be easily found, and that they are sold at very high prices because they are antiques, Kalenci said, “One of the most important elements of Turkish-Islamic bookbinding is gold leaf, it is important to crush gold correctly and make it usable. '' he said.

'WE CONTINUE THE ART OF BOOKING'

Kalenci stated that he found a dictionary published by the Istanbul Greek Patriarchate and that his enthusiasm for antique books increased after this incident.

Stating that he took a step into the art of bookbinding by starting a course in 2010, Kalenci said that the lesson he took from İslam Seçen was very useful and continued; "He is also an expert in this subject and has restored the books in the Gulbenkian Manuscripts Museum in Portugal. And I received training from my master for about 2 years.”

Stating that he established a workshop in a foundation in Istanbul as of 2017, Kalenci said that he not only trained students but also continued the art of bookbinding.

Bookbinder Muharrem Kalenci also shares his work and experiences with his followers on the 'ottoman_bookbinding' instagram account.

By Numan Hasan Kahya