>>> A BAY AREA BUSINESS IS CELEBRATING ITS 50th ANNIVERSARY CREATING SOME OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS. OUR ITAY HOD TAKES US TO WHAT'S CALLED A FINE PRESS SHOP FOR A LOOK AT THE ART OF CREATING BOOKS. >> Reporter: NESTLED IN SAN FRANCISCO'S PRESIDIO IS A PLACE WHERE THE CLANG OF CENTURY OLD MACHINERY TELLS A TALE OF A DIFFERENT TIME. >> IT'S A SENSE OF HONOR IN CARRYING FORWARD A CRAFT THAT IS ONE OF THE FEW IDEAL TECHNOLOGIES THAT HAS EVER BEEN INVENTED. >> Reporter: LAKE RILEY IS THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF ARYAN PRESS WHERE BOOKS ARE CRAFTED ENTIRELY BY HAND FROM BEGINNING TO END. >> OUR INTEREST IS IN REALLY KIND OF EXCAVATING AND UNCOVERING NOT JUST THE TEXT, BUT THE STORY BEHIND THE TEXT. >> Reporter: LAKE AND HIS TEAM PRODUCE ONLY THREE TITLES A YEAR, EACH WITH A LIMITED RUN OF ABOUT 300 COPIES. THESE METICULOUSLY DESIGNED BOOKS TAKE MONTHS TO MAKE AND SELL FOR UP TO $10,000. THE RESULT, MUSEUM QUALITY BOOKS BOUND TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION. >> ULTIMATELY WE CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA. >> Reporter: FOR EXAMPLE, THIS EDGAR ALLAN POE COLLECTION INCLUDES A COVER CREATED BY ARTISAN JOHN SULLIVAN THAT FEATURES A BUST OF THE AUTHOR MADE OUT OF CRUSHED BRICKS FROM HIS ACTUAL HOME. WOODWORKER JONATHAN ENZALONE CREATED A BOX FOR SEA OF CORTEZ MADE FROM THE BOAT JOHN STEINBECK SAILED IN. TODAY LAKE IS PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON OCTAVIA BUTLER'S 1979 CLASSIC "KINDRED" WITH ARTWORK FROM RENOWNED SCULPTURE ALLISON SARR, PRICED AT $1,300, THEIR CLIENTELE INCLUDING LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, AND COLLECTORS LIKE MELINDA HIGHTOWER, A BANKER FROM SAN FRANCISCO, WHO RECENTLY JOINED THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. >> SOME PEOPLE WILL LOOK AT THIS AND THINK $1,300 FOR A BOOK. >> I THINK THAT'S CERTAINLY A FAIR REACTION, BUT I DON'T THINK OF IT THAT WAY. I THINK OF IT AS 5,000 HOURS PER BOOK. >> Reporter: LAKE SAYS THE ENDURING DEMAND OF HAND PRINTED BOOKS SPEAKS VOLUMES. >> THAT KIND OF TACTILE EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING I THINK PEOPLE ARE HARD WIRED TO SEARCH OUT. >> Reporter: AND HE'LL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU THAT SOMETIMES IT'S PERFECTLY FINE TO JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. >> VERY
