First edition book ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ bound by Kate Holland

Today is World Book Day (March 7), an opportunity to highlight QEST’s network of talented bookbinders, illustrators and conservators including bookbinder Kate Holland.

The 2023 QEST Penhaligon’s Scholar was part of a team of British craftspeople who worked on a special project to bind a first edition of ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, signed by the author Truman Capote.

Kate bound the book in full black goatskin with a design of a 1950s New York street map. The main streets are platinum pavé set with over 1000 white diamonds – totalling nearly 30 carats – by London jewellers Bentley & Skinner.

The side streets are blind-tooled and the location of Tiffany’s flagship store at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street is marked by a single 1ct emerald-cut sapphire.

The title is hand-tooled on the spine in platinum and the endpapers are photographic prints from David Attie’s original series of photomontages. 

The book is completely unique, never to be repeated, and limited to a single copy – and currently valued at around $1,500,000.

Kate said it was a career highlight to bind the book, having worked on the project for the last three years.

“It was really exciting to have this opportunity to push the boundaries of contemporary bookbinding, to make something that might be noteworthy outside our small world, and to raise the profile of our craft in the luxury market,” Kate said.

“I can’t wait to see where it lands in its new home.

“I am really thankful for the funding and support I have received from QEST which has helped so much with bringing this project together – not just the technical bookbinding skills but also the professional development skills I learned on the course, in collaboration with Cockpit Arts.”

The book is displayed in an ebonised birdcage, designed and made by master cabinetmaker Dom Parish of Wardour Workshops and inspired by the recurring motif of the vintage birdcage in the book.

It rests, as if floating, on a cast glass plinth designed by Kate and made by acclaimed artist glassmaker Jade Pinnell. The entire piece is housed in a custom-made vintage trunk, based on a classic Louis Vuitton grey Trianon canvas wardrobe trunk.

The prototype will be displayed at the New York International Antiquarian Bookfair from April 4-7 2024- Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue, New York on Lux Mentis stand, A10.