Resources
I have compiled the following resources for photobook collectors, lovers and makers.
These include publishers, retailers, workshops, materials, printers, recommended reads, tutorials and articles and general photobook resources.
None of the links are affiliate links and I am not recommending them - you use them at your own risk.
Publishers
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In 1999, the Wall Street Journal described 21st Editions as following “in Alfred Stieglitz’s footsteps.” Stieglitz’s groundbreaking journal, Camera Work (1903-17) elevated photography to a fine art, an equal of painting and sculpture. 21st Editions (1998-present) picked up where Stieglitz had left off and indeed surpassed it in developing the art of the book.
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Art Deco Magpie is a small independent publisher based in Worcestershire, England.
Founded in 2017 by Philip Butler, it was initially set up as an imprint to self-publish books featuring his photographic work documenting the surviving inter-war modernist architecture of Great Britain.
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Established in 2015 by Iain Sarjeant, Another Place Press is a small independent publishing press based in the Scottish Highlands. We showcase contemporary photography projects which explore our relationship with 'place'.
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Founded in 2002 by Xavier Barral, Atelier EXB publishes works that address new forms of photography, contemporary art and sciences.
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Besides Press is a newly-founded publishing company which celebrates a particular approach to photography. We publish projects created with an impulsive curiosity, without deliberation and often without an audience in mind. This includes spontaneous side projects, playful collaborations, and offbeat experiments.
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Brown Owl Press is an independent publisher of photo books and zines based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2013 by Al Palmer, we focus on narrative photographic stories in printed form. We care.
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We release weekly publications, focussing on post-war documentary photography linked to Britain and Ireland — ISSN 2752-5619. This includes the work of photographers from all backgrounds, the widely known, the unseen and the underrepresented. Much of the work we publish, regardless of the maker, is previously unpublished. Each book focuses on a single body of work, and each book is part of the larger, extensive series. As a series they provide a valuable resource into cultural and social shifts in Britain and Ireland.
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Corbel Stone Press is an artist-run multi-media publisher based in Scotland. We make beautiful books, pamphlets, CDs, cassettes, records, artworks and editions. All of our work is focused on the natural world, and we are particularly interested in animism and other-than-human consciousness. In May and November of each year we publish Reliquiae, the pre-eminent small-press literary journal of nature, landscape and mythology.
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Founded in 1994, its photography list has an international reputation and has included books by leading British and international photographers such as Laia Abril, William Klein, Martin Parr, Simon Norfolk, Fay Godwin, Tom Wood, Sergio Larrain, Frank Horvat, John Blakemore, Paolo Pelegrin, Simon Roberts and Bruce Gilden. The aim of the company is to bring to the attention of a wider public, accessible but challenging contemporary photography by both established and lesser known practitioners. The company has a worldwide distribution network and is recognised as one of the leading photographic publishers in the world. It publishes around 20 new titles each year. Dewi Lewis Publishing also works in close collaboration with a number of European publishers and was a founding member of The European Publishers Award for Photography, which ran from 1994 to 2016. In 2014 Dewi Lewis Publishing received the PHotoEspana’s prize for Outstanding Publishing House of the Year.
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We are an indie publisher from East London making collectable photography books. Our goal is to bring photobooks to a wider audience... and make them so beautiful you'll keep them for your grandchildren.
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Founded in 1995 by Klaus Kehrer, it is also one of the few independent publishing houses in Germany. In addition to photography, further focal points include contemporary art, art of the 17th through the 20th centuries, and international sound art.
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We publish high quality limited edition Landscape Photography books.
We provide support, knowledge and four generations of Printing experience to help Photographers bring their Photobook ideas to life.
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Libraryman, founded in 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden by Tony Cederteg, produces and publishes contemporary photobooks by initiating a preserving liaison with artistic perceptions from varied paths. Sans intrusion of prevailing trends, Libraryman embraces its titles as intimate, ageless and prolonged poems—drawing inspiration from concise printed matters, unspoken language and an immense romanticism for the vocation.
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Established in London in 2010, our founder Michael Mack wanted to create a publishing house that connects new and established authors to a wider audience in beautifully designed editions. Rooted primarily in photography books, our publishing has expanded into art, literature and critical studies, working with some of the world’s most pioneering creative minds and institutions.
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Founded in 1990, Nazraeli Press has published over 600 titles on the fine and applied arts. The press is known for its unorthodox use of common materials - such as papers, wood, plastic, metals - and for introducing elements of handwork into otherwise mass-produced objects. The press’s books have themselves been the subject of exhibitions and books about books.
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Out of Place is a platform developed to promote photography as a way of exploring and learning about places. We focus on publishing photobooks and we are committed to developing community and educational programs.
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Radius Books was founded in 2007 by David Chickey, Darius Himes, David Skolkin, and Joanna Hurley. At the time, public libraries were rapidly losing funding for high quality art books, so the founders laid the groundwork for a nonprofit publishing company that would help to fill this need.
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the(M) editions was founded in 2015 by Marie Sepchat.
Specializing in the publishing of photography books, the(M) éditions publishes books that “feel good”, designed as singular objects, in limited editions. Each book offers a unique aesthetic and sensory experience, in harmony with the work of the artist.
Retailers
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Beyond Words is a specialist retailer of photographic books, founded by Neil McIlwraith in January 1998. We ran a bookshop on Edinburgh’s Cockburn Street until the summer of 2010. Since then we have concentrated on selling online.
We scour the planet looking for the finest photographic titles from a wide range of publishers, often importing from Japanese publishers and from independent small publishers books that are not widely available.
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UK based photobook store specialising in 1st editions/rare/signed/pre-owned & new books.
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Photobookstore started in 2007, at a time when there were few online outlets to buy the diverse range of photobooks being published around the world. Many titles were hard to source outside their native markets and the general online buying experience was often unsatisfying. After a couple of years building a following and finding a place in the market, we set out to make Photobookstore the best place to buy photobooks online.
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photo-eye was founded in 1979 by Rixon Reed, photo-eye Director and Owner as a mailorder photography book source. It has since grown to become one of the world's foremost websites devoted to contemporary photography.
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Specialising in current, signed, rare, and out of print photobooks.
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Setanta Books is a photography and rare fiction online bookseller based in London. We ship worldwide daily. We specialise in collectable rare first edition photography and fiction books.
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An online photobook store aimed at making Japanese and Asian photography more accessible to a worldwide audience. The core goal of shashasha is to allow and encourage its visitors to engage with Japanese and Asian photography.
shashasha’s collection of photobooks ranges from rare and out-of-print artists books to recent and popular publications. shashasha plays an active role in the dynamic and expanding Asian photographic sphere, supporting both publishers and artists by providing a space in which their works become be easily accessible to the entire world at minimal cost. -
Online Photobook Store Open Library represents publications by artists and independent creative collectives from around the world. All books and zines are available for purchase and will be shipped directly from an artist.
Workshops
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Offering online and in person workshops taking you through the stages of preparing your images for a photobook through to the process of making your book.
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I run one-day London-based workshops and one-week residential courses in NW Scotland.
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he Studio Workshops are a series of relatively low cost, intensive one day workshops I began to run from my studio in south London in 2019. In 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic the workshop program was reimagined for online delivery, and it will remain in this form for the forseeable future. The workshops were partly borne out of my experiences as a teacher and a student, and the dawning sense that many photography workshops don’t really live up to the name. My workshops are designed to be highly specific in focus, learner orientated and emphasise as practical an approach as possible.
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We're John Ash and Paul Gotts, keen photographers and photography book evangelists and we run small group, one-day workshops where you can construct your very own handmade photobook.
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Two workshops, The Project and The Sequence, which are perfect if you are interested in producing a photobook of your own work.
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You will learn how to make a basic Japanese style stab-bound A5 size book with approximately 20 pages, book-cloth covered end-boards and decorative endpapers. The book will be bound with silk thread.
tiltandshift
Materials
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From the idea of founding a company that makes work easier for artists, over the past 35 years it has become one of the leading providers of professional artist materials. With over 26,000 items, the boesner product range offers an overwhelming selection - from paints, brushes, stretcher frames, canvas and paper to picture frames and art books. More than 40 boesner branches in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France, a shipping service and the online shop ensure that artists and art enthusiasts always get what they need for their art.
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Every photo, no matter how fantastic, cannot develop its full effect if the photo paper does not depict it optimally. Fine-Art-papiere.de is your online shop for high-quality photo paper in many different designs and from many different brand manufacturers. In order to capture their works in an excellent way for eternity, professional and amateur photographers order their photo paper from Fine-Art-papiere.de, the experts for fine art printing.
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Fotospeed today has a comprehensive range of exceptional digital inkjet papers, inks and accessories shipped globally. We’re also a key distributor of numerous market leading brands such as Hahnemühle Fine Art Papers, Kaiser Photographic equipment, Herma adhesives and Canson Infinity Papers.
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For over 135 years, G . F Smith has been obsessed with the simple beauty and limitless possibilities of paper. Our desire is that, through the hands of the design community, we can bring creativity to life and constantly innovate with one of the world’s oldest materials.
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We are a well established company with a 200 year History of manufacturing the finest quality leathers for bookbinding and leathergoods production.
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The company has always offered more experience and strives always to provide an excellent level of customer service, combined with the best value pricing. Started in 1999 as the pioneer in selling paper online, the business has now grown from strength to strength. We now supply ink, paper and Epson Printers.
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Suppling high quality materials.
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We are an owner-managed, medium-sized family business with headquarters in Hamburg. With the experience and know-how of five generations, we are active in two core business areas: Wholesale for bookbinding supplies and manufacturing of bookbinding machines. In this market we are one of the leading suppliers. We sell our products worldwide and our range includes more than 10,000 items. Our customers, no matter how small or large, find in us a dedicated partner with high expertise and excellent service.
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Suppliers of fine papers, bookbinding materials and stationery.
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he Tiny Box Company only offers recycled packaging and eco-friendly packaging. We offer a huge range of cheap and stylish recycled jewellery boxes, gift boxes, recycled presentation boxes, gift bags, recycled carrier bags and other recycled gift packaging for all your packaging needs.
Printers
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Wells Printing, a family business that has been producing beautiful print for some of the country’s most prestigious brands, charities & environmental organisations for over 25 years.
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Recommended Reads
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Different techniques for cutting and folding are demonstrated, and, once you are happy with the various techniques, you will then begin to bind your own books with stitches such as ladder, dash and chain. Projects include The Slit Book, A Concertina with Pockets and The Five-Hole Pamphlet, which can then be developed further to create unique and personal handmade notebooks, books and keepsakes that are not only fun and satisfying to make, but also make wonderful gifts.
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Craft Bookbinding introduces some of the numerous binding styles that can be achieved with little or no experience, from simple structures that can be made with folded paper to the classic case binding. Techniques for handling paper and glue are explained in detail, along with a range of different methods of sewing and a variety of cases to be used as covers. There are various ideas for how the different binding styles can be lettered. Lavishly illustrated with photographs and diagrams, clear instructions describe the bindings, which can be adapted to bind books that are uniquely yours.
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For designers working in every medium, layout is arguable the most basic, and most important, element. Effective layout is essential to communication and enables the end user to not only be drawn in with an innovative design but to digest information easily.
Making and Breaking the Grid is a comprehensive layout design workshop that assumes that in order to effectively break the rules of grid-based design, one must first understand those rules and see them applies to real-world projects.
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Accessible enough for complete beginners, while full of inspiration for those with more experience, this is the ultimate guide to making beautiful books by hand. Starting with an introduction to the bindery and a useful inventory of necessary tools and equipment, you’ll also learn about different paper types, and special finishes such as cloth coverings, headbands and ribbon markers.
Tutorials and Articles
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How Not to Design a Photobook, a conversation with Stuart Smith, the prolific London-based photobook designer and editor.
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Photobook mentoring is a key part of my work and most days I’ll get an email or a phone call from a photographer wanting to discuss a book project. Some of these projects are at the initial ideas stage, and the photographer wants to talk through the concept (to hear themselves think). Or they might be part-way in to producing their book and want a fresh, unattached eye cast over it. In the case of John Hoath’s book here, he had subscribed to my on-line journal and when I wrote back asking what he had been working on, he sent the above images.
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Over 22 videos, Ed Thompson shows you how to self-publish your own zine or photo book in a step by step low budget punk rock DIY spirit.
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This article covers everything you need to understand when it comes to printing your zine and owning the selection process for paper, binding, finishing and preparing your file(s) for print.
This article was written by Adam Smith from Mixam.
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These brief instructions show you how to bind a book with an interesting pattern of weaving which laces the front and back covers to the spine. Included is the sewing of the text block (a set of four signatures) which is attached to the inside spine of the cover. Some binding experience is necessary.
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To address the issues many find and I hear, this is my simple guide on how to make and self-publish a photo book, and yes it is a series of questions that you will need to ask yourself! But only you can provide the answers…
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Joseph Wright writes about his experience… I had the real pleasure of meeting one of the greatest living British photographers recently; John Blakemore. Not only did I get to meet him, but I was able to spend two days with him, listening and learning from the master. That said, I did have to share him with nine others, all as part of a weekend workshop organised by the Redeye Network covering book binding and sequencing.
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A step by step tutorial covering the creation of a stitched bound book, one of the simplest variations of traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc, early bookbinding techniques.
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Keith writes wonderful articles covering printers and printing.
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What makes a successful photo book different from a slide show of images? Experienced book editors say they strive to create a narrative arc that carries the reader from the first page to the last.
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Shona Grant’s bookmaking blog.