The first thing many people say when they come into this small San Francisco museum is “I never knew this place existed.” The thing they say on their way out? “I didn’t think it would be this fascinating.” The American Bookbinders Museum tells the story of a familiar object, the book, from its earliest forms (think: scroll or clay tablet) through hand-bound, leather-covered tomes, to the glittering cloth-bound books made by the first industrial machines–many of which are on display. There’s a ton of cast iron machinery–a huge arming press in the…
