The International Federation of Bookbinders and Kindred Trades was a

global union federation A global union federation (GUF) is an international federation of national trade unions organizing in specific industry sectors or occupational groups. Historically, such federations in the social democratic tradition described as international t ...

representing unions of

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, ...

History

In 1902, the Austrian bookbinders' union suggested organising an international conference of bookbinders, and this took place in Germany in 1904. The conference agreed to build closer relationships between the unions in attendance, and the Union of Bookbinders and Paper Workers of Germany issued a questionnaire on what form these should take. The responses were inconclusive, but the Austrian union was keen on forming an international federation, and in 1907, the German union agreed to host a founding conference in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. The headquarters of the federation were established in Berlin, but in 1920 they moved to

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. By 1925, the federation had 17 affiliates, with a total of 79,800 members, dropping to 42,072 in 1935. At this point, its largest affiliate was the British

National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers The National Union of Printing, Bookbinding and Paper Workers (NUPBPW) was a British trade union. History The union was founded in 1921 as the National Union of Printing, Bookbinding, Machine Ruling and Paper Workers when the National Union o ...

, with other affiliates in Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Hungary, Finland, France, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. In 1939, the federation agreed to merge with the Lithographers' International and the

International Typographers' Secretariat The International Typographers' Secretariat (ITS) was a global union federation bringing together unions of printers around the world. History An International Typographical Congress was held in Paris in July 1889, and this led to a determinati ...

. However, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, no progress was made until 1946, when the British

Printing and Kindred Trades Federation The Printing and Kindred Trades Federation (P&KTF) was a trade union federation in the United Kingdom. History The federation was established at a conference in Manchester on 8 September 1890, organised on the initiative of George D. Kelley. Th ...

established a committee which drafted a constitution for a merged organisation. This was established in 1949, as the International Graphical Federation.

Affiliates

In 1922, the following unions were affiliated:

Leadership

General Secretaries

:1907: Emil Kloth :1920: Heinrich Hochstrasser :1936: Kristian Eriksen

Presidents

:1920: Eugen Haueisen :1933: Corneel Mertens? :1935: Jos Van Staeyen

References

{{Authority control Trade unions established in 1907 Trade unions disestablished in 1949 Global union federations Bookbinders' trade unions