Bookbinder with tools. Albumen print carte-de-visite by Schreiber & Son, ca. 1865.
Sometime between 1863 and 1869 the bookbinder shown here brought examples of his work and some of his tools to the Philadelphia photographic studio of Schreiber & Son. Dressed in a work apron, he proudly posed with his handiwork. Even the photographer’s rather crude studio set up consisting of a board sitting on a paper-covered table could not detract from the beauty of the leather bindings on display.
In his right hand, the bookbinder holds a fillet, a tool resembling a pie crimper. The fillet would be heated and rolled onto the leather as a way to stamp a line in the binding. In his left hand, he holds a gouge that would also be heated and pressed into the leather to make lines, particularly on the cover of a book.
McElroy’s 1866 Philadelphia City Directory lists over 40 individuals or businesses involved in bookbinding in the city, but none of the names seems to correspond to the signature on the back of this photograph.
Cartes-de-visite, small photographs mounted on cardboard measuring approximately 2 ½ inches by 4 inches, were introduced into America from Europe in 1859, and soon became an enormously popular, inexpensive form of photography. The Library Company’s collection includes a number of other cartes-de-visite and stereographs by the Schreiber studio. Francis Schreiber began his photography business in Philadelphia around 1857 and in 1863 opened a studio with his son, Gerhard at 818 Arch Street. The firm grew and by the mid 1870s six Schrieber family members worked in the studio. Their photographic business continued to operate into the twentieth century.
