A Binding in Fish Skin
Title
A Binding in Fish Skin
Description
I believe that engaging with the larger community of book artists and craftspeople is an important—and arguably essential—part of being a book collector. I enjoy occasionally commissioning custom bindings for my books. This copy of Hallock’s The Fishing Tourist was recently bound in fish skin by Winnipeg binder and book artist, Debra Frances. The skin is Lake Trout, which Debra caught in a Northwestern Ontario lake and then cleaned and tanned herself before executing the binding. The Fishing Tourist is a significant book, as it was the first to widely publicise the presence of an important gamefish, the Michigan Grayling. Unfortunately, the fish became so popular that overfishing, combined with habitat loss and introduction of other fish species, led to its extinction by the 1930s.
Creator
Justin Hanisch (photographer)
Source
The Fishing Tourist: Angler's Guide and Reference Book
Publisher
Harper & Brothers
Date
1873
Contributor
Debra Frances (binding in fish skin); Charles Hallock (author)
Format
Small octavo
Language
English
Coverage
New York (published); bound in lake trout caught in northwestern Ontario
Citation
Justin Hanisch (photographer), “A Binding in Fish Skin,” Bruce Peel Special Collections Library Online Exhibits, accessed July 10, 2025, https://omeka.library.ualberta.ca/items/show/3312.