Condit Bible: Restoration Journey

It would have been easy to declare a project this big and this expensive as a lost cause. But we just couldn't. And, we're glad we didn't.

"Working on this particular late 1800's Project is going to be a task!!. Warped and smashed boards, mold and deteriorating pages, Binding coming apart, Spine missing." - Facebook post by our restoration specialists

"Working the dents out and adding some color to the back cover. Restoration of a late 1870's Family Bible." - Facebook post by our restoration specialists

With so much damage, the Bible had to be completely disassembled and rebuilt. Check out photos from the restoration & recovery work...

Bookbinding is a specialized trade requiring skill, artistry and training in techniques mastered over centuries.  We chose to work with two brothers who are continuing the intricate Bible restoration work their father mastered and trained them in for decades.

Artur Bookbinding International works with clients all over the world, but is nestled in the center of Fort Gibson, OK. Artur and Norbert Niebieszczanski pride themselves on the integrity of their work using methods and techniques that have long been handed down through generations of bookbinders, including their father whose nickname was Dr. Bible.

“He understood he wasn’t just preserving leather and paper, he was preserving family history.”  Norbert Niebieszczanski said recently in an interview with the Ottumwa Courier. “The book binding industry, as far as preservation side, is almost like a lost art and a dying breed because it is not taught a lot of places.”

Artur Bookbinding International is one of the few bookbinders in the United States that specializes in restoration.