The Nine Gates - NEW PHOTOS (page 12)

Flattery said:

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Very soon I'll be posting photos of a "new and improved" version that I've been working on for a member here. Stay tuned.

"New and improved"...you only can talk about screen-accuracy, correct?
And many thanks for your video you posted above. Love it.

I am looking forward to see more pictures

Flattery, is it ok to discuss some things about the prop/book itself in your thread (not related to your work in specific)?

For example, while having a closer look on some screenshots, i found some page-titles differing from time to time. So, some pages are titled "Novem Portis" while others are named "Novem Port". Is this due to the fact that they are from different book-versions (Kessler, Balkan, Fargas)? Couldn't find any info. out there.

Anyone can help out?

This really is a thing of beauty dude! One of my personal favourite props from a fav movie too!

All I can say is that I'm deeply impressed and humbled by the quality of this project. Absolutely stunning work!

Mmm, this is definetely a thread I want to follow... This really starts to look like the ultimate nine gates book is in the make .

Thanks again, folks -- I appreciate the support.

Here's a little update for those who like the weathered look. This is a copy in progress for a member here. What you're seeing is the forward edge of the textblock screwed up in a hickock lay press after the edges are trimmed.



A couple of years ago I formulated a natural mixture to age the edges of pages to give the illusion that the book was originally bound some time ago. It comes out as a medium tan:



And here's a comparison shot with an actual 17th. Century book:



The real book is darker of course. There's a bunch of dirt and crud on those edges. But under non-direct lighting, they appear nearly identical.

"New and improved"...you only can talk about screen-accuracy, correct?
And many thanks for your video you posted above. Love it.

I am looking forward to see more pictures

Flattery, is it ok to discuss some things about the prop/book itself in your thread (not related to your work in specific)?

For example, while having a closer look on some screenshots, i found some page-titles differing from time to time. So, some pages are titled "Novem Portis" while others are named "Novem Port". Is this due to the fact that they are from different book-versions (Kessler, Balkan, Fargas)? Couldn't find any info. out there.

Hey, Murdoc.

By "new and improved" I mean some screen-accuracy things, but also just improvements to a few features that didn't quite come out the way I wanted them to in my prototype. The coloring for example can be improved, and the pentacle itself was a bit too large. I've located the tools I need to make it the exact size of the prop.

And other things. Staining the edges then burnishing them to give the feel of some age, adjusting the endband colors to be an ivory color (the prop's were glued on white, so the ivory linen sewn band is a great medium between screen accuracy and Venetian practices), and so on.

Feel free to discuss anything related to the book here -- I don't mind one bit.

I've noticed the inconsistency in printing. My guess is that they had different people working on the text concurrently prior to binding, but I don't know anything for sure. It takes a long time to print a book by yourself. There's formatting differences between the title pages that I've noticed. The Hero prop had a large sized and centered title plate, whereas the Fargas book (and another copy of the Balkan) had smaller, off-center title plates... then Kessler's copy (in the library) had the smaller title plate but centered. It's all over the place, suggesting that people were working on different copies in siloed settings.

Hi there Many thanks for your reply and detailed information

The aging looks really nice. I used, self-made, walnut-ink (made out of the walnut-shells)
to age the edges of my (some of them) book-blocks. Spraying it up with small spray bottle to get some irregulations in it. Depending on how "aged" the pages should apear, i scratch every single page, so that the papers "frazzles" out a little bit, and then spray it up. In addition you can age those areas a little bit more with the inks, where the books usualy gets to be oppend or flipped through.

About the irregulations in printing.. many thanks for your opinion. It has been my "wild-guess" as well, that the books, may have produced by different persons. While the the different title plates and page headline is very courious in my opinion. So i thought there might be a "story behind" that.

Keep going with your work Always love to see more pics of it. Thanks in advance!

Yeah, walnut extract works extremely well. I've used it often. Even just the decocted liquor from the shells is enough without any gum or other additives. A while ago I switched over to boiled chestnuts. It's a light brown but works great as a base coat and is a good choice if you question the pH of the walnut solution.

Wait you said this was a personal project and nothing was for sale
you now are selling books? bit confused

He put a for sale thread in the junkyard. I don't think he ever said he was stopping at his personal copy.

Clutch is correct.

I have not gone back through every post I made in this particular thread, but I did not state that I wouldn't sell them, nor that it would stop at the single prototype. I did state in the beginning that I had intended to bind all three copies.

There were also some behind-the-scenes events that could not be witnessed publicly. I was on the fence as to whether I would do a run for sale, but because I got a flood of PM's from interested parties, I decided to clear my schedule enough for a limited run. I'm making very little cash off these. Most of it goes into material for other projects -- daily work not related to props.

Cheers!

I HOPE, HOPE, HOPE, that i can pick up one of your copies. I have a replica from the only maker here on the RPF, but would LOVE your's.

Just found this thread, fabulous project, thanks for sharing the documenting.
I've always loved fictional illustrated "antique" books in movies and this is a good (? - ) one. I have a rather nice reproduction of The Grail Diary from Indy J and the Last Crusade.

No untoward after effects or unexplainable occurrences, I trust, once the book was completed?

If you're looking for another project there were a lot of "old" occult books in the Buffy, Vampire Slayer Tv series with lots of very neat "woodcuts and engravings". Too many to do but maybe a compendium of all the best pages in one book would work.

I've seen some really nice real books and must say bookbinding is a terrific artform. Only if I had more time in my life to learn it.

Cheers!

Heh, the grail diary was one of the first books I had bound years ago. I didn't know anything then of what I know now -- now I wish I had done a few things different!

No untoward after effects or unexplainable occurrences, I trust, once the book was completed?

Oh no, not at all. Out of the hundreds of books I've bound so far, none of them have ever exhibited problems -- endpapers peeling, endbands becoming loose, something becoming detached, etc. I have yet to get a single piece of negative feedback. Which means it's bound to happen sometime.

--I've thought about those books, honestly. But I don't think I'd have time to pursue them when fall comes. I'm getting ready for a years-long deluge of historical binding and repair/conservation of valuable books in NY. Some of that time will be collaborating on reproductions of Gutenbergs and the Nuremberg Chronicle, and others. So the clock is ticking on what projects I can work on before that time comes.

Just a short video I took while mid-way through the covering process.

Kessler copy during covering - YouTube

I should have clarified I was thinking "supernatural after effects or unexplainable occurrences"

I should have clarified I was thinking "supernatural after effects or unexplainable occurrences"

Ha! Man, my head is loose or something. That's the third time I failed to get something today!

Now that you mention it, the cats have been unusually disturbed, the lady has been having trouble sleeping, and I actually enjoyed a Miller High Life the other night. Hm.

Flattery said:

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Ha! Man, my head is loose or something. That's the third time I failed to get something today!

think everybody knows such days

Thanks for the video Flattery Personaly i would like to see, how you attach/tuck in the leather at the top and bottom spine (behind the sewn bands)

And many thanks again for letting us being part of the process
All that "stuff" is why to me, no technical device will ever replace a REAL book.

Personaly i would like to see, how you attach/tuck in the leather at the top and bottom spine (behind the sewn bands)

That can probably be done if I can find someone willing to capture the video for me. I really need both hands in order to do it. I do need to be careful, though, on how much how-to information I give. The world of bookbinding is pretty cut-throat, and it's generally frowned upon to freely give out how-to information and it affects one's reputation.

All that "stuff" is why to me, no technical device will ever replace a REAL book.

Agreed! They can't be replaced. And if you drop one, it still works!

Flattery said:

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That can probably be done if I can find someone willing to capture the video for me. I really need both hands in order to do it. I do need to be careful, though, on how much how-to information I give. The world of bookbinding is pretty cut-throat, and it's generally frowned upon to freely give out how-to information and it affects one's reputation.

Total understand your point Flattery
If it is possible i would highly appriciate it. If not i do understand that.

Flattery said:

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Agreed! They can't be replaced. And if you drop one, it still works!

lol, another good reason

I know you said it was a personal project and you would not make any .
well thats cool can i ask what your asking i would be int in one if its reasonable

sorry saw the Junkyard price
not something that interest me

Some new photos.

The new one is on the left, the original prototype on the right. The new version has aged page edges and an ivory linen 18/3 endband for better screen accuracy and historical accuracy. You can also see that the new version's pentacle has been slightly scaled down to be exactly to scale with the props.



In this photo the new version is in the foreground. The lighting really brings out the texture within the pentacle, and the bands on this one are more sharp than the prototype (I used thinner hemp).



Close-up of the pentacle tooling and 22k leaf:



And three more of the new one. In these photos you'll want to make note of the trimmed edges, the precision corners and endband beneath the caps.







Any questions, ask away.

Cheers!

Dude that is just beautiful. And Planet, you need to learn some forum etiquette.

Congrats Flattery. Awesome work. I do like the smaller pentacle and the embossing on same.

May i ask the final size of your book? For the cover and/or the pages itself?

And a "tecnical" question on the pentacle. How many tools (i think different sizes needed)
you need to do it?