Join us for March Late Night at the Museum and explore the 18th century art of book binding. Participants will bind their very own mini-book, "West Chicago's Irish Immigrants of the 19th Century." Choose your binding (cover), assemble your book, and bind it with a hand-tied method. ALL AGES! Free! 

Until the 19th century, when hand-work was superseded by machine, bookbindings were essentially unique hand-made artifacts. Each book tells us specific information about its status and use. For example, the cheapest books are bound in sheepskin, run-of-the-mill books in calfskin, and the most expensive books in goatskin leather. Decoration too comes at a cost, and elaborate gold-tooling on fine bindings reflects the status of the owner.