Pasting down End Papers--Opening Books
PASTING DOWN END PAPERS
When the finishing is done, the end papers should be pasted down on to
the board; or if there is a leather joint, the panel left should be
filled in to match the end paper.
To paste down end papers, the book is placed on the block with the
board open (see fig. 117, A), the waste sheets are torn off, the
joints cleared of any glue or paste, and the boards flattened, as
described at page 171 for pasting down leather joints. One of the
paste-down papers is then stretched over the board and rubbed down in
the joint, and the amount to be cut off to make it fit into the space
left by the turn-in of the leather is marked on it with dividers,
measuring from the edge of the board. A cutting tin is then placed on
the book, the paste-down paper turned over it, and the edges trimmed
off to the divider points with a knife and straight-edge, leaving
small pieces to cover the ends of the joint (fig. 117, A, c).
The cutting and pasting down of these small pieces in the joint are
rather difficult; they should come exactly to the edges of the board.
[Illustration: FIG. 117.]
When both paste-down papers are trimmed to size, one of them is well
pasted with thin paste in which there are no lumps, with a piece of
waste paper under it to protect the book. The joints should also be
pasted, and the paste rubbed in with the finger and any surplus
removed.
The pasted paper is then brought over on to the board, the edges
adjusted exactly to their places, and rubbed down. The joint must next
be rubbed down through paper. It is difficult to get the paper to
stick evenly in the joint, and great nicety is needed here. All
rubbing down must be done through paper, or the "paste-down" will be
soiled or made shiny.
Some papers stretch very much when pasted, and will need to be cut a
little smaller than needed, and put down promptly after pasting. Thin
vellum may be put down with paste in which there is a very little
glue, but thicker vellum is better put down with thin glue. In pasting
vellum, very great care is needed to prevent the brush-marks from
showing through. If the vellum is thin, the board must be lined with
white or toned paper with a smooth surface. This paper must be quite
clean, as any marks will show through the vellum, and make it look
dirty.
When one side is pasted down the book can be turned over without
shutting the board, and the other board opened and pasted down in the
same way (see fig. 117, B). In turning over a book, a piece of white
paper should be put under the newly-pasted side, as, being damp, it
will soil very readily. When both ends have been pasted down the
joints should be examined and rubbed down again, and the book stood up
on end with the boards open until the end papers are dry. The boards
may be held open with a piece of cardboard cut as shown at fig. 71.
If there are cloth joints they are put down with glue, and the board
paper is placed nearly to the edge of the joint, leaving very little
cloth visible.
In the process of finishing, the boards of a book will nearly always
be warped a little outward, but the pasted end papers should draw the
boards a little as they dry, causing them to curve slightly towards
the book. With vellum ends there is a danger that the boards will be
warped too much.
OPENING NEWLY BOUND BOOKS
Before sending out a newly bound book the binder should go through it,
opening it here and there to ease the back. The volume is laid on a
table, and the leaves opened a short distance from the front, and then
at an equal distance from the back, and then in one or two places
nearer the centre of the book, the leaves being pressed down with the
hand at each opening. If the book is a valuable one, every leaf should
then be turned over separately and each opening pressed down,
beginning from the centre and working first one way and then the
other. In this way the back will be bent evenly at all points. When a
book has been opened, it should be lightly pressed for a short time
without anything in the joints.
If a book is sent out unopened, the first person into whose hand it
falls will probably open it somewhere in the centre, bending the
covers back and "breaking" the back; and if any leaves chance to have
been stuck together in edge-gilding, they are likely to be torn if
carelessly opened. A book with a "broken" back will always have a
tendency to open in the same place, and will not keep its shape. It
would be worth while for librarians to have newly bound books
carefully opened. An assistant could "open" a large number of books
in a day, and the benefit to the bindings would amply compensate for
the small trouble and cost involved.