Ars Obscura Bookbinding & Restoration — Local services in Seattle

If you love old books, I don't need to explain the kind of magic that can be felt when one is surrounded by boxes of old type and pots of glue and dusty volumes waiting to be reawakened by skilled and callused hands. If you aren't a lover of old books, it's unlikely that anything I say will help you understand what that kind of magic feels like. Ars Obscura is filled with that kind of magic and the proprietors could easily be characters out of the very best of the books that they create and care for. Today was my first time visiting the shop. I brought in a 130+ year old copy of Alice in Wonderland and Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass that needs a little TLC. After chatting with Joel and M.H.R. about what I was hoping they could accomplish, I knew that my book was being left in the very best of hands. They have a significant backlog of work, which tells me that people are willing to wait for quality work and so am I. I plan to update my review as the work progresses. Right now, I am very pleased with my...

Just received my Bible back from Mia today and I am absolutely stunned. She was able to reattach the body of the Bible to the cover flawless, ironed out all my wrinkled pages, and SOMEHOW beautifully reattached all of the end pages/maps that had fallen off. She even added paper to the edges of the damaged end pages such that now they re-align with the rest of the pages again. The Bible was pressed and feels absolutely brand new... except the binding is probably way better now than it ever was brand new AND this was a way for all of my notes to be saved. I am absolutely in awe and cannot recommend her services highly enough. I have never done something like this and was not sure what to expect, but she blew any expectations I had out of the water. The price was incredibly reasonable for the work that she did. I'm honestly a bit regretful that I did not fork over the money for a genuine leather cover as well... my old cover feels so cheap compared to the quality of work that it now contains inside. Thank...

This unassuming little shop provided both excellent customer service and artisan level, craft. They repaired our beloved but badly sun damaged, author inscribed, first printing of the Rutabaga Stories. They handled the book with care and respect and the repair with clearly evident craftsmanship. I could not be more pleased and my daughter can't wait to hear some of her favorite stories again. Bring your precious books here and put your faith in...