Handcrafted Books

Old times

Way back, in the times so ancient that today’s people can’t even imagine them, people had a lot less of, well, everything. And that means technology as well. They had less than even today’s inhabitants of Wasteland have, if you can imagine that. Today this may only be Wasteland, but back then that was the whole world. Much like today’s Wasteland, they didn’t have much, but they did the best they could with what they had. And if we for example take books, they were much harder to come by, each had to be written and illustrated by hand, but boy did they make the best of it. Many of these books are still today known for their elaborate fancy calligraphy and intriguing illustrations on each page. Later, with the invention of printing, producing books became much quicker and easier, but at the cost of losing all these fancy fonts and drawings that the older books were known for. Later still, with the invention of new technologies, people could have easily created books featuring all the fancy fonts and illustrations that would put these old books to shame, but as we know, the last ancient civilization is especially known to be an equivalent to a soggy cornflake; they would never allow themselves to do anything creative and interesting.

Handcrafted books today

But let’s not dwell on the past, people of today’s world know and do better than that. While in today's world we do have technology helping us in our daily lives, people now, more than ever, particularly value all the handcrafted items, and books are no exception. Sure, many books still get printed as they did in the ancient times (though one might argue even those have more thought and creativity put into them), but our people, especially the ones living in wealthier areas, have acquired new appreciation for these handcrafted books. They are especially popular in Fairy Gardens, Central District of Ä+*4~, East T@Ö#Å3, and among the bat people of Wasteland, if they truly exist that is.

As already said, these books are completely handcrafted - from writing, illustrations and binding, all of it is made by one and the same creator of the book. As you may imagine, they can take a really long time to make - months or even more than a year. With our today's technology and modern tools, making these books is easier and faster than it used to be in the old days, but it’s still a pretty big project. Because of this, as you can imagine, these are very expensive, and only the richest moles can afford them. Because of how special these books are, they aren’t meant to be just read through and through multiple times or just taken with you on a long train ride or be mistreated in any way. People usually keep them more as a decor and a status symbol, or buy them as gifts for their loved ones. When they do read them, they do it carefully so as to not damage the book. Most people don’t even really read them, these books are just a joy to just flip through and admire.

The stories in these books can be just about anything. These are the only things that aren't the creators original work, usually. The book is chosen by the commissioner of the book, as well as any of the details, such as fonts, the illustrations, the artstyle and so on. Of course, there are many different creators that create in different styles, so you can always pick one whose style speaks to you the most.

Glitter Bibles in particular are a popular book to make in this way, but this will cost you an arm and a leg (in T@Ö#Å3 maybe even literally), and you will probably on be able to have it made if you are a fairy or Satan’s priest.