PASTING DOWN.
This is to cover up the inside board by pasting down the end papers to
the boards.
The white or waste leaf, that has till this process protected the end
papers, must now be taken away or torn out. The joint of the board must
be cleaned of any paste or glue that may have accumulated there during
the course of either gluing up or covering, by passing the point of a
sharp knife along it, so that when the end is pasted down, the joint
will be quite straight and perfectly square. Morocco books should be
filled in with a smooth board or thick paper, the exact substance of
the leather. This thickness must be carefully chosen, and one edge
be cut off straight, and fastened to the inside of the board very
slightly, in fact only touching it in the centre with a little glue or
paste, just sufficient to hold it temporarily. It must be |98| flush
with the back-edge of the board. When dry, this paper or board is to
be marked with a compass about half an inch round, and both paper and
leather cut through at the same cut with a sharp knife. The overplus
board will fall off and the outside of the leather may be easily
detached by lifting it up with a knife. The paper or board, which will
now fit in exactly, should be glued and well rubbed down with a folding
stick, or it may be pressed in the standing press if the grain of the
morocco is to be polished, but not otherwise.
As morocco books only have morocco joints, I may as well explain at
once how they are made. Morocco of the same colour is cut into strips
the same length as the book, and about one inch and a half in breadth
for 8vo.; a line is drawn or marked down each strip about half an
inch from one edge, either with a pencil or folder, as a guide. The
leather is now to be pared from the mark made to a thin edge on the
half inch side, and the other side pared as thin as the leather turned
in round the board, so that there will be two distinct thicknesses on
each piece, the larger half going on the board to correspond with the
leather round the three sides, and the smaller and thinly pared half
going in the joint and edge on to the book. The end papers, only held
in with a little paste, are to be lifted out from the book, and the
leather well pasted is to be put on the board, so that the place where
the division is made in the leather by paring will come exactly to the
edge of the board; the thin part should then be well rubbed down in the
joint, and the small thin feather edge allowed to go on the book.
Great care must be taken to rub the whole down well, that it may adhere
properly; the grain need not be heeded. With regard to the overplus at
the head and tail, there are two ways of disposing of it: first, by
cutting both leathers slanting through at once, and making the two |99|
meet; or, secondly, by cutting the cover away in a slant and doing the
same to the joint, so that the two slant cuts cover each other exactly.
This requires very nice paring, or it will be seen in the finishing.
The book should be left till quite dry, which will take some five or
six hours. The boards are then to be filled in by the same method as
above described, and the end papers fastened in again properly.
_Cloth Joints._—If the cloth has been fastened in when the ends were
made, after cleaning all unevenness from the joints, the boards are to
be filled in as above, and the cloth joint stuck down with thin glue,
and rubbed down well. The marble paper may now be put on the board by
cutting it to a size a little larger than the filling in of the board,
so that it may be well covered. When cloth joints are put in, the board
paper is generally brought up almost close to the joint; but with
morocco joints, the space left all round should be even.
_Calf, Russia, etc._—After having cleaned the joint, the leather must
be marked all round a trifle larger than the size intended for the end
papers to cover. Then with a knife, the leather is cut through in a
_slanting direction_ by holding the knife slanting. The boards should
be thrown back to protect the leather, and the book placed on a board
of proper size, so that both book and board may be moved together,
when turning round. When the leather is cut, a piece of paper should
be pasted on the board to fill up to the thickness of the leather,
and to curve or swing the board back; the boards otherwise are sure
to curve the contrary way, especially with calf. When this lining is
dry, the end papers may be pasted down. As there are two methods of
doing this, I give the most exact but longest first. The paper is to be
pasted all over, and being held in the left hand, is to be well rubbed
down, particularly in the joint. The paper is then marked all round—the
head, foredge, |100| and tail, with a pair of compasses to the width
required for finishing inside the board. With a very sharp knife the
paper is to be cut through to the _depth_ of the _paper only_, by
laying the straight edge on the marks made by the compasses. This has
the advantage of procuring an exact margin round the board, but it must
be done quickly or the paper will stick to the leather round the board
from the paste getting dry, the leather absorbing the watery particles
in the paste.
The other way is to lay the paper back, and down on the board, and then
to mark it. A tin is then to be placed between the book and paper,
and the paper cut to the marks made. The paper is then pasted down as
above. When pasted down, the book should be left standing on its end,
with boards left open until thoroughly dry, which will be about six
hours. A tin should be kept especially for cutting on, and the knife
must be as sharp as possible. This latter method is used for all half
bindings.