the gathering · est. mdccclxxii
she sews in signatures of sixteen and presses overnight under stones lifted from the river. the stones have names — she does not say what they are. the linen comes from the tailor's offcuts, which arrive on thursdays in a bundle tied with the same string each week.
the needle painted on the sign has no eye. children always notice. she tells them the eye is on the other side of the cover, threaded through the spine, and that to see it they would have to open the book — which is more or less the point of any book at all.
field-note: she will not bind blank books. she will mend any.library · letter · palimpsest · tailor · jeweller