Hymn Book - Further thoughts

After discussing my hymn book project idea with one of my tutors, I have decided to pursue the original plan of filling it with football chants. I think the line about football being like a religion is the clincher, plus using the format of an austere old hymn book filled with often obscene lyrics is too good to pass up.

I managed to get hold of an old hymn book from my parents' house:



I will look at other examples, so long as I don't spontaneously combust upon entering a church, but I do really like the idea of this sort of format. It is pretty small, measuring approximately 75mm x 115mm, so I can imagine it may be quite tricky to sew the sections together. Speaking of which, I must remember that the number of pages must be divisible by four - each section will consist of four double-sided spreads, or sixteen pages. I just hope I can find enough good football chants to make it a thick book, at least thick enough to have a substantial spine.

I want it to be case bound, using cardboard covered in some kind of cloth, which I will then screenprint on the cover and spine. I am not sure if I should make the cover up prior to printing or just print onto the cloth. If it's the latter I will do a few copies in case I make mistakes with the binding. I will research binding techniques over the next day or so, plus chase up our course leader to see if we are getting another bookbinding workshop.

Typography-wise, I want it to look as much like an old hymn book as possible, so I will probably opt for a classic serif font like Garamond or Baskerville. I will obviously do a few legibility tests at small sizes first, probably at 6pt.

On the cover I will have an image of a football, or maybe one of those old spinning rattle things that people used to take to matches. The title could be "Songs of Praise" or maybe something like "Hymns from the Terrace".