Sophia Kramer

Sophia Kramer is a bookbinder and book conservator who discovered bookbinding as an elective in art school in 1991 and never looked back. She studied printmaking and book arts at Pratt Institute obtaining a BA before moving to Minneapolis to work in a large bindery for two years. She returned to NY in 1998 to work with private bookbinders and conservators while also volunteering at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She moved to London, UK to study book conservation at Camberwell College of Art earning an MA in 2002 and continued on to work at Shepherds Bookbinders in conservation for four years in London. She has taught cloth and leather rebacking at the Center for Book Arts, Shepherds, and Yale and is presently on her second year on the NY State grant funded project of French Illustrated bindings 1850-1900 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She takes on freelance jobs in bookbinding, custom boxes, and book conservation and is available for teaching private bookbinding lessons. She finds all styles of bindings beautiful but is particularly interested in 18-19th century bindings, Victorian cloth and early children’s bindings and making bookcloth.