Towards Automated Detection of Bookbinding Tool Impressions: A Pilot Study

This paper presents a pilot study on the automated recognition of historical bookbinding tools using deep learning and synthetic image generation. The work focuses on the documented collection of Czech binder Jenda Rajman (1892–1965), whose complete set of metal stamping tools provides an ideal reference dataset. Each tool leaves a characteristic blind-stamped impression on leather bindings, forming a unique visual signature that can support attribution, documentation, and conservation of histor