Marking up--Sewing--Materials for Sewing
MARKING UP
This is drawing lines across the back of the sections to show the
sewer the position of the sewing cords.
Marking up for flexible sewing needs care and judgment, as on it
depends the position of the bands on the back of the bound book.
Nearly all books look best with five bands, but very large, thinnish
folios may have six, and a very small, thick book may look better with
four. Generally speaking, five is the best number. In marking up
trimmed sheets for flexible sewing, the length of the back should be
divided from the head into six portions, five equal, and one at the
tail slightly longer. From the points so arrived at, strong pencil
lines should be made across the back with a carpenter's square as
guide, the book having been previously knocked up between
pressing-boards, and placed in the lying press. It is important that
the head should be knocked up exactly square, as otherwise the bands
will be found to slope when the book is bound. In the case of a book
which is to be cut and gilt in boards, before marking up it will be
necessary to decide how much is to be cut off, and allowance made, or
the head and tail division of the back will, when cut, be too small.
It must also be remembered that to the height of the pages the amount
of the "squares" will be added.
About a quarter of an inch from either end of the back of a trimmed
book, and a little more in the case of one that is to be cut in
boards, a mark should be made for the "kettle" or "catch" stitch. This
may be slightly sawn in, but before using the saw, the end papers are
removed. If these were sawn, the holes would show in the joint when
the ends are pasted down.
If the book is to be sewn on double cords, or on slips of vellum or
tape, two lines will be necessary for each band.
It has become the custom to saw in the backs of books, and to sink the
bands into the saw cuts, using "hollow backs," and putting false bands
to appear when bound. This is a degenerate form, to which is due much
of the want of durability of modern bindings. If the bands are not to
show on the back, it is better to sew on tapes or strips of vellum
than to use sawn-in string bands.
SEWING
The sewing-frame need by bookbinders is practically the same now as is
shown in prints of the early sixteenth century, and probably dates
from still earlier times. It consists of a bed with two uprights and a
crossbar, which can be heightened or lowered by the turning of wooden
nuts working on a screw thread cut in the uprights (see fig. 29).
To set up for sewing, as many loops of cord, called "lay cords," as
there are to be bands, are threaded on to the cross piece, and to
these, by a simple knot, shown at fig. 28, cords are fastened to form
the bands. The "lay cords" can be used again and again until worn
out.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.]
To fasten the cord below, a key is taken (see fig. 28) and held below
the press by the right hand; the cord is then pulled up round it by
the left, and held in position on the key by the first finger of the
right hand. The key is then turned over, winding up a little of the
string, and the prongs slipped over the main cord. It is then put
through the slit in the bed of the sewing-press, with the prongs away
from the front. The cord is then cut off, and the same operation
repeated for each band. When all the bands have been set up, the book
is laid against them, and they are moved to correspond with the marks
previously made on the back of the book, care being taken that they
are quite perpendicular. If they are of the same length and evenly set
up, on screwing up the crossbar they should all tighten equally.
It will be found to be convenient to set up the cords as far to the
right hand of the press as possible, as then there will be room for
the sewer's left arm on the inner side of the left hand upright.
A roll of paper that will exactly fill the slot in the sewing-frame is
pushed in in front of the upright cords to steady them and ensure
that they are all in the same plane.
When the sewing-frame is ready, with the cords set up and adjusted,
the book must be collated to make sure that neither sheets nor plates
have been lost or misplaced during the previous operations. Plates
need special care to see that the guards go properly round the sheets
next them.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.]
The top back corner, on front and back waste end paper, should be
marked. When this has been done, and all is found to be in order, the
book is laid on a pressing-board behind the sewing-frame, the
fore-edge towards the sewer, and the front end paper uppermost. As it
is difficult to insert the needle into a section placed on the bed of
the sewing-frame, it will be found convenient to sew upon a largish
pressing-board, which will lie on the bed of the frame, and may have
small catches to prevent it from shifting. When the board is in place,
the first section (end paper) is taken in the left hand and turned
over, so that the marks on the back come in the proper places against
the strings. The left hand is inserted into the place where the sewing
is to be, and with the right hand a needle and thread is passed
through the kettle stitch mark (see fig. 29). It is grasped by the
fingers of the left hand, is passed out through the back at the first
mark on the left-hand side of the first upright cord, and pulled
tight, leaving a loose end of thread at the kettle stitch. Then with
the right hand it is inserted again in the same place, but from the
other side of the cord, and so on round all five bands, and out again
at the kettle stitch mark at the tail, using right and left hands
alternately. The centre of the next section is then found, and it is
sewn in the same way from tail to head, the thread being tied to the
loose end hanging from the first kettle stitch. Another section is
laid on and sewn, but when the kettle stitch is reached, the under
thread is caught up in the way shown in fig. 30. These operations are
repeated throughout the whole book. If the back seems likely to swell
too much, the sections can be lightly tapped down with a loaded stick
made for the purpose, care being taken not to drive the sections
inwards, as it is difficult to get such sections out again. When all
the sheets and the last end paper have been sewn on, a double catch
stitch is made, and the end cut off. This method is known as flexible
sewing "all along."
[Illustration: FIG. 30.]
[Illustration: FIG. 31.]
When one needle full of thread is exhausted, another is tied on,
making practically a continuous length of thread going all along each
section and round every band. The weaver's knot is the best for
joining the lengths of thread. A simple way of tying it is shown at
fig. 31. A simple slip knot is made in the end of the new thread and
put over the end of the old, and, on being pulled tight, the old
thread should slip through, as shewn at B. The convenience of this
knot is, that by its use a firm attachment can be made quite close up
to the back of the book. This is a great advantage, as if the knot is
made at some distance from the back, it will have to be dragged
through the section two or three times, instead of only once. The
knot, after having been made, must be pulled inside the section, and
remain there. Considerable judgment is required in sewing. If a book
is sewn too loosely, it is almost impossible to bind it firmly; and if
too tightly, especially if the kettle stitches have been drawn too
tight, the thread may break in "backing," and the book have to be
resewn.
One way to avoid having too much swelling in the back of a book
consisting of a great many very thin sections is to sew "two sheets
on." In this form of sewing two sections at a time are laid on the
sewing-frame. The thread is inserted at the "kettle stitch" of the
lower section, and brought out as usual at the first cord, but instead
of being reinserted into the lower section, it is passed into the
upper one, and so on, alternately passing into the upper and lower
sections. This will give, if there are five bands, three stitches in
each section instead of six, as there would be if the sewing were
"all along," lessening the thread, consequently the swelling by half.
It is usual to sew the first and last few sections "all along."
The common method of sewing is to make saw cuts in the back, in which
thin cords can be sunk, and the thread merely passes behind them and
not round them, as in flexible sewing. This method, although very
quick and cheap, is not to be recommended, on account of the injury
done to the backs of the sections by the saw, and because the glue
running into the saw cuts is apt to make the back stiff, and to
prevent the book from opening right to the back. Indeed, were a
sawn-in book to open right to the back, as it is expected a
flexibly-sewn book will do, showing the sewing along the centre of
each section, the saw marks with the band inserted would show, and be
a serious disfigurement.
Mediaeval books were usually sewn on double cords or strips of leather,
and the headband was often sewn at the same time, as shown at fig. 32,
A. This is an excellent method for very large books with heavy
sections, and is specially suitable for large vellum manuscripts, in
many of which the sections are very thick. An advantage of this
method is, that the twist round the double cord virtually makes a knot
at every band, and should a thread at any place break, there is no
danger of the rest of the thread coming loose. This is the only mode
of sewing by which a thread runs absolutely from end to end of the
sections. The headband sewn at the same time, and so tied down in
every section, is firmer and stronger than if worked on in the way now
usual. In the fifteenth century it was the custom to lace the ends of
the headbands into the boards in the same way as the other bands. This
method, while giving additional strength at the head and tail, and
avoiding the somewhat unfinished look of the cut-off ends of the
modern headband, is, on the whole, of doubtful advantage, as it is
necessary to cut the "turn in" at the point where strength in the
leather is much wanted.
At fig. 32 is shown in section the three methods of sewing mentioned.
A is the old sewing round double bands; with the headbands worked at
the same time with the same thread; B is the modern flexible sewing,
and C the common sawn-in method.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.]
Books that are very thin or are to be bound in vellum, are best sewn
on tapes or vellum slips. The easiest way to set up the sewing-frame
for such sewing is to sling a piece of wood through two of the lay
cords, and to pin one end of the vellum or tape band round this, pull
the other end tight, and secure it with a drawing-pin underneath the
frame. The sewing, in the case of such flat bands, would not go round,
but only across them. To avoid undue looseness, every three or four
threads may be caught up at the back of the band, as shown in fig. 33.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.]
MATERIALS FOR SEWING
The cord used should be of the best hemp, specially made with only two
strands of very long fibres to facilitate fraying out. For very large
books where a double cord is to be used, the best water line will be
found to answer, care being taken to select that which can be frayed
out. If tape is used it should be unbleached, such as the sailmakers
use. Thread should also be unbleached, as the unnecessary bleaching of
most bookbinder's sewing-thread seems to cause it to rot in a
comparatively short time. Silk of the best quality is better than any
thread. The ligature silk, undyed, as used by surgeons, is perhaps the
strongest material, and can be had in various thicknesses. It is
impossible to pay too great attention to the selection of sewing
materials, as the permanency of the binding depends on their
durability. The rebinding of valuable books is at best a necessary
evil, and anything that makes frequent rebinding necessary, is not
only objectionable on account of the cost involved, but because it
seriously shortens the life of the book.
Experience is required to judge what thickness of thread to use for
any given book. If the sections are very thin, a thin thread must be
used, or the "swelling" of the back caused by the additional thickness
of the thread in that part will be excessive, and make the book
unmanageable in "backing." On the other hand, if the sections are
large, and a too thin thread is used, there will not be enough
swelling to make a firm "joint." Broadly speaking, when there are a
great many very thin sections, the thinnest thread may be used; and
coarser thread may be used when the sections are thicker, or fewer in
number. In the case of large manuscripts on vellum it is best to use
very thick silk, or even catgut. Vellum is so tough and durable, that
any binding of a vellum book should be made as if it were expected to
last for hundreds of years.
In selecting the thickness of cord for a book, some judgment is
required. On an old book the bands are best made rather prominent by
the use of thick cord, but the exact thickness to be used is a matter
for taste and experience to decide.
A very thick band on a small book is clumsy, while a very thin band on
the back of a heavy book suggests weakness, and is therefore
unsightly.
In bindings of early printed books and manuscripts an appearance of
great strength is better than extreme neatness.
When the sewing is completed, the cords are cut off close to the lay
cords, and then the keys will be loose enough to be easily removed.
The knots remaining on the lay bands are removed, and the keys slung
through one of them.