DENVER (KMGH) — The Denver Bookbinding Company has something in common with the books they work on every day: They’ve both been around a while.
“A Bible just left us from 1702. It was a Dutch Bible,” owner Gail Lindley said.
The company repairs old books and has been doing so since the business came into the family decades ago.
“In 1946, my grandfather, who was a Danish immigrant, bought it from Mr. Bring,” Gail said.
The shop has been in the family for the 75 years since.
“The percentage of having a business five generations is like .002%,” Gail said with a smile. “It’s really unusual.”
Denver Bookbinding is actually the last remaining family-owned bookbindery in the country.
“We’re kind of the last women standing,” Gail said.
They’ve been women-owned since 1972, including Gail, her sister, her daughter and grandchildren. They plan on writing future installments of this family-run business for years to come.
“People say. 'Well, what are you gonna do when you retire?' I’m not retiring. They’re gonna have to dig a hole in the back and bury me. That’s not the tradition in our family. Our tradition is we don’t retire. We actually die out of the business,” Gail said with a laugh.
This story was originally reported by Jason Gruenauer on thedenverchannel.com.
