Exclusively available in the US through Colophon, these beautiful finishing presses are handmade in northern Portugal by James Oliver, proprietor of Olive and Oak.  

Traditionally used to gently but firmly hold books spine-up for gold or blind tooling, these presses are useful for a variety of other conservation and bookbinding applications such as sewing endbands, rebacking, cleaning spines, and even light backing. 

James makes his finishing presses out of solid sapele, a beautiful tropical wood from West Africa that shares many visual and structural characteristics with mahogany. The handles are hand turned and threaded, and each part of the press is finished with a durable satin varnish. 

Large Press  
Overall size: 20 x 14 x 6 inches 
Distance between spindles: 14.5 inches 
Max distance between cheeks: ~4 inches 
 
Small Press 
Overall size: 14 x 14 x 5 
Distance between spindles: 9 inches 
Max distance between cheeks: ~4 inches 
 

SHIPPING: Please consider the shipping calculated for this tool to be an estimate. On average, the shipping for large tools is overcharged and any difference will be refunded.