Anselmo Polliero

Bookbinder

©SusannaPozzoli

Paper decoration, bookbinding and a family legacy

Anselmo believes that the art of bookbinding in period styles is destined to die out
He decided not to pass on his know-how to his children
He prints paper in Venetian red, in memory of his father

The Polliero bookbindery was established in Venice after the Second World War and passed from father to son, from one generation to the next, right down to Anselmo Polliero today. He reproduces authentic 19th-century paper decorated with over a hundred designs, marbled paper, as well as printed fabric in his Campo dei Frari workshop. A specialist in the field of book restoration and bookbinding, Anselmo is a master of colouring and decorating with pure gold leaf on leather. Both of these techniques have largely died out. He carries out repairs on family leather goods, restorations of antique books from the 16th to the 19th century, with complete, stylish bindings, as well as more conventional bindings for dictionaries or old family books.

Interview

©SusannaPozzoli

©SusannaPozzoli

Do you have any childhood memories of growing up with a craftsman?: My dad could make paper sing. I used to play outside with the other children, and he would make aeroplanes out of scraps of paper for us to throw out into the field. Colours were his passion. He invested heavily in screen printing frames, and his paper is still perfect decades later.
What kind of relationship do you have with Venice?: I was born and raised here. I feel incredibly lucky to have an atelier here. So many people pass through the city, and even if the most complex work is only requested by a select clientele, the tourists allow me to keep up a business that would otherwise struggle to survive.
Is there something that not many people know about your work?: If you added up the stock of paper of all the workshops in Venice that make their own paper, you would still not reach the amount of decorated paper I keep in stock. Many people find it hard to imagine that making paper means printing your own paper. In three years, I print 10 000 sheets.
What is your favourite type of work?: Applying gold leaf to leather. It is a very delicate technique that has almost been lost. All it takes is one puff of air, and the gold is blown away. Bookbinding in period styles, which is what I specialise in, is no longer in great demand, so instead we focus on philology bookbinding.

Anselmo Polliero is an expert artisan: he began his career in 1996