A steampunk-ish journal with some history and romance

Years ago, I purchased a pair of 1930s leather motorcycle pants at an estate sale. They were jodhpur style with canvas-lined pockets and they laced up at the waist like football pants. The leather was a rich, warm brown, beautifully weathered and worn. They were wonderful. For a long time now, I have been wanting to make a leather journal out of them and I finally did. The journal/sketchbook was given as a thank you gift to a friend of mine who is an artist.



The journal fits down inside a canvas bag fashioned from one of the pants pockets.

 
The journal's wraparound cover is cut from one of the pant legs. I believe the fore-edge of the wrap is the hem of the pant leg.
 


I added a metal stud where the stitching on the leather terminates.
 


The rawhide tied around the journal is the lacing out of the pants. Click for a larger view to see the wires wrapping around the ends of the rawhide lacing. This is an original detail.
 



The book has three signatures, each wrapped in a piece of handwritten sheet music from an Italian-American Marine band composer. I got two boxes full of his hand-written musical scores at an estate sale on The Hill, the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis.
 


The book is bound with a long stitch, or more
accurately, running stitch.
 

It's got kind of a steampunk feel, don't you think?
I hope he enjoys it.

Sharon