I recently visited Grimm Book Bindery in Monona, Wisconsin. I always wanted to check it out because my dad told me that his mom’s dad used to own it. He also said that the business was still around. Their family were well-known book binders in the Madison area, but the name he said had no relation to the Grimm’s fairytales. I took note, placing this information in my memory like a bookmark between the pages of the current chapter this conversation was included in.
I also recently got sent a link to join my dad’s Ancestry project he’s been working on. He’s always been very into history and looking into where we came from. I’ve always been the recipient of listening to his current project and soaking up as much as I can, sometimes filtering out information to avoid overload. I didn’t get very far in Ancestry however, more like I set up a username and password and clicked around a bit.
Since having recently finished writing my first novel, a collection of nostalgic stories from my youth growing up in the 1980s and 90s, I’ve been more motivated to explore my roots. Since visiting the Grimm Book Bindery, I’m also a lot more curious since I couldn’t even remember what my relative’s name was. I wish I would have looked that up, or at least called my dad before venturing over.
This adventure went more like this, I typed the name “Grimm Book Bindery” into my cellphone and an address popped up, but not in Madison like I expected. It’s now located in Monona. That surprised me, but apparently it moved decades ago. I had always thought it was in downtown Madison, near the UW campus. I later learned that the old building is now a registered historical landmark. I noticed that the current location is not open on the weekend, so I’d need to plan my visit.
A rare day-off from my day job, in the middle of the week, I planned my journey coming from a morning appointment, and snuck in a stop for brunch at the Hubbard Avenue Diner in Middleton first. I took one wrong turn into a neighboring parking lot and had to turn around in a stockyard I probably shouldn’t have been driving in, but I found it. Tucked just slightly back from the frontage road, I saw the building with my family name on it. I also noticed it said established in 1874.
I spoke to a gal at the Grimm Book Bindery, a little disappointed in myself that I couldn’t remember a name to share. I simply said “My great or great great grandpa I think owned the Grimm’s Book Bindery in Madison.” Oh, and then was like… “Can I take a look around?” It wasn’t quite that grim, pun intended, but I wished I had at least done a little bit of homework.
The front of the Book Bindery had a small office, with stacks of books and papers in boxes and on shelves and bookcases surrounding a few workspaces. I was graciously showed a wall of photographs and memorabilia of the family history and the Bindery.
I also took a look at all the types of covers they have available, as well as beautiful satin ribbons for marking pages. She explained that they can print one single book, or many books, can restore and re-bind books, and print brand new books. She showed me a massive sized family bible they were working on restoring, and talked about archival paper and a special rice paper tape they can use for fixing tares and repairing damage. I asked her how long she’d been there, which was over a decade. Much like the other workers and current owner there, the Bindery is like a family. Many of them have been there a really long time.
I peeked into the back work area, which looked like a factory with stacks of projects in progress. There were books turned on their sides in some state of production, and workers busy doing their carefully trained craft.
I left wanting to return. I left wanting to look into my family history a bit more. I became curious about my connection to the book binding business, and believing that my love of writing has deeper roots than I ever imagined.
How amazing it would be to bind a book that I wrote into a beautifully leather bound book, with a satin ribbon in the color of my choosing.
This adventure is definitely not over. Read More
Update: After looking at my Ancestry, simply clicking on what my dad had already completed, I discovered that the founder of Grimm Book Bindery is actually my great, great, great grandpa. His name was Gottlieb Grimm. My great great grandpa John Grimm, his son, took on the business, and then my great grandma’s family kept it running from there. There’s a fantastic history on the Grimm Book Bindery website, including that Gottlieb was also a founding member of the singing group called the Madison Maennerchor that still performs today. Read More
