Luqman showing the process of 'threading' where pages are aligned in the sewing frame before being bound together. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Luqman Azhar is a rare breed in the Malaysian old trades scene – a young man with a knack for breathing new life into antiquarian books.
The 36-year-old avid reader and book collector turned his passion for antiquarian books into Shady Scrivener Co, a part-time bookbinding and restoration service he started in 2020. He also prints facsimiles of vintage books.
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Luqman Azhar's Shady Scrivener Co
Luqman showing the process of 'threading' where pages are aligned in the sewing frame before being bound together. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A closer look at ‘threading,’ where individual book pages are sewn together using a sewing frame before the cover is added to the spine. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A book with a damaged spine – typically caused by aggressive folding – needing a new dust jacket. Luqman’s book-binding charges average between RM200 and RM360, depending on the materials. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Luqman, who currently helps in a family catering business, hopes to make his book-binding passion a full-time job. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
Luqman hard at work during an on-call service in a client’s home library. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
‘Other than buying books for my own collection, antiquarian book fairs are also where I look for potential clients and other collectors, although many are hesitant, understandably, to let me service their books, some of which may be family heirlooms,’ says Luqman. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A closer look at the spine of the book 'Salmon Botanologia, 1710' while Luqman sets up the book-binding equipment. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
A view of books with damaged spines – typically caused by aggressive folding – needing new covers and dust jackets. Luqman’s book-binding charges average between RM200 and RM360, depending on the materials. Photo: The Star/Azlina Abdullah
