I’ve been musing over what to do with a set of photos I’d like to display. I’ve also got some postcards I want to store for safe-keeping while still being able to take them out to look at once in a while without having to shuffle through a messy pile. And I’ve got envelopes filled with tickets, receipts, and other souveniers from recent vacations that I’d like to put into a book. I’d been stuck over what type of portfolio, display book or scrapbook to use, spending too much time inside art supply stores looking at their pricey selections when I realized I’d completely overlooked one of the simplest but most sophisticated-looking book forms out there — the accordion.

(Pictured above, photographer Carlos Motta’s “SOA: Black and White Pain-tings I” is a letterpress printed and handbound accordion book created while in residency at the New York Center for Book Arts)

The accordion book (also known as the concertina) is one of the most popular forms that is used by book artists because it is one of the best ways to display images. The book expands when you pull out the cover, and you can stand it up to get a full view of each page, just like the long panels and walls of a gallery exhibit. And when you’re done admiring the pictures, your entire collection can be tucked away safely and put onto the bookshelf.

(Pictured above: Book artist Dennis Yuen’s Atlas Accordion and miniature books)

If you’d like to try making one yourself, I’ve put together these instructions for how to make an accordion book, based on instructions from hgtv and a high school art class handout:

Materials: 2 pieces of bookboard or thick cardboard, very long sheet of paper (this will be the full length of your book when open, and the height of this sheet should be at least the height of the largest picture you want to stick on the page), 2 sheets of decorative paper (for the front and back covers), glue, scissors, bone folder

1. Folding the accordion: Cut the long sheet of paper to whatever height you choose. Fold the paper in half. Then fold each half to the middle. You should have a mountain/valley fold sequence. (If you want to make an extra-long book, make two of these long folded sheets and join them together with either glue or tape.) Use a bone folder when folding to get crisp clean folds.

2. Making the book covers: Apply glue to one piece of the book board. Attach it to the backside of a sheet of decorative paper, centering it on the sheet of paper. Trim triangular corners off the four corners of the paper, then fold the edges of paper over the book board and glue them down. Repeat the process for the back cover.

3. Assembling the book: Apply glue to the top page of your folded accordion. Attach it to the backside of the front cover. Use the bone folder to smooth down the paper. Repeat for the back cover.

4. Attach your images to the pages of the accordion book using glue, rubber cement, double-sided tape, or photo corners.

You might want to make a whole series of accordion books to hold artwork with different themes, or start a separate one as a scrapbook for each vacation you take. Besides being a great way to exhibit pictures and memories in your own home or workspace, it’s also a great book form to use as a portfolio — hence, you sometimes hear the accordion book referred to as an artist’s book. Also, for all you moms, dads and teachers out there, this is a good one to make with kids and students. It’s easy for them to put together themselves, and it’s a great way for them to display their artwork and writings.

July 14th, 2006