The History of Starr Bookworks
In 1981 Chris and I developed an interest in book collecting. We had both been lifetime lovers of books,
but it was at this time that we were bitten by the collecting bug. After several years of collecting we
realized that we needed to find someone to help us with the preservation of our books. Living in
Connecticut at the time, this seemed to be an impossible task. After a bit of searching we found the
"Creative Arts Workshop" where the conservator for Yale Universities rare book library was teaching a
course on bookbinding. After several semesters of instruction we began showing some of our work to
fellow collectors and book shop owners we knew and our hobby soon became a business.
In February of 2002 we relocated to Arizona and left the frozen north behind. Our daughter
Samantha, who relocated with us, Joined us in the business in 2004 and has been a great asset. Her
eye for color and her restoration abilities are unsurpassed.
When we established our bindery in 1990 we were driven by our passion for books. Our desire was to
help to preserve the integrity of our printed history. After more than 30 years in this craft we still have that
same drive to save books from the devastating effects of age and neglect.