Bookbinder

Shepherds, Sangorski & Sutcliffe

Originally established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe is a firm of bookbinders considered to be one of the most important craft bookbinding workshops of the 20th century, famous for its luxurious jeweled bindings that used real gold and precious stones in their book covers. The founding partners, Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe, established a business specializing in only the finest quality work, and within a few years the workshop had grown into the most important hand bindery of the Edwardian era.

Over the many decades of operation, the firm continued to craft fine bindings when it was inherited by Stanley Bray after the passing of Sutcliffe, then merging with other binderies, changing hands and then ultimately in 1998, Shepherds, a bookbinding company bought the bindery and revived the Sangorski & Sutcliffe name. The bindery now operates out of its premises in Rochester Row, London where it continues the tradition of fine, hand-crafted bindings.