CALF COLOURING.
Although coloured calf-skins may be bought almost as cheaply as smooth
calf (the term given to uncoloured ones), yet there are so many reasons
why coloured calf should not be used, that I give such instructions as
will enable any one to colour, sprinkle, and marble his own leather.
The skins may, however, be procured already sprinkled or marbled at
most leather shops. This plan of sprinkling and marbling the whole
skin is good enough for cheap or |101| half-bound work, but for extra
work it is far better to sprinkle, marble, or otherwise colour the
leather when on the book. Hand-colouring is coming again into use,
and by degrees getting known more and more throughout the trade; but
a great many secrets in the art have been lost. Before giving the
names of the chemicals to be used, I must give a general caution, that
if any acid be used on the leather, it is essential to wash as much
as possible of it out with water _immediately after it has done its
work_, or after a few months the surface of the leather will be found
to be eaten away and destroyed. It is a fault of some of our binders
at the present day, that if they use any chemical, either on their
leather or on their paper, they are not satisfied to use their acid
weak, and allow it to do its work slowly, and when the proper moment
has arrived stop its further action, they frequently use the acids as
strong as possible, and, either to save time or through ignorance of
their chemical properties, do not wash out the residue. The consequence
is, the leather or the paper rots. In order to avoid this, I will
not recommend any chemicals that will destroy the leather, but give
instructions for harmless preparations, by the use of which as great a
variety of different styles may be executed as will, I trust, satisfy
any reasonable expectation.
_Black._—Sulphate of iron or copperas is the chief ingredient in
colouring calf black. Used by itself, it gives a greyish tint, but if a
coat of salts of tartar or other alkali be previously used it strikes
immediately a rich purple black. The name copperas is probably from the
old and mistaken idea that the crystals contain copper. They have a
pale greenish blue colour. It can be purchased at the rate of one penny
per pound from any drysalter.
1. Into a quart of boiling water, throw a 1/4-lb. of sulphate of iron,
let it re-boil, and stand to settle, and then bottle the clear liquid
for use. |102|
2. Boil a quart of vinegar with a quantity of old iron nails or steel
filings for a few minutes. Keep this in a stone jar, and use the clear
liquid. This can from time to time be boiled again with fresh vinegar.
An old iron pot must be kept for boiling the black.
_Brown._—1. Dissolve a 1/4-lb. of salts of tartar in a quart of boiling
water, and bottle it for use.
This liquid is mostly used for colouring; it has a very mellow tone,
and is always used before the black when a strong or deep colour is
required. It is poisonous, and must not be used too strong on the calf
or it will corrode it.
2. For a plain brown dye, the green shells of walnuts may be used. They
should be broken as much as possible, mixed with water, and allowed to
ferment. This liquid should then be strained and bottled for use. A
pinch of salt thrown in will help to keep it. This does not in any way
corrode the leather, and produces the best uniform tint.
_Yellow._—1. Picric acid dissolved in water forms one of the sharpest
yellows. It is a pale yellow of an intense bitter taste. It must not
be mixed with any alkali in a dry state, as it forms a very powerful
explosive compound. It is a dangerous chemical and should be carefully
used. It may be bottled for use.
2. Into a bottle put some turmeric powder, and mix well with methylated
spirit; the mixture must be shaken occasionally for a few days until
the whole of the colour is extracted. This is a very warm yellow, and
produces a very good shade when used after salts of tartar.
* * * * *
For all the following, a preparation or ground of paste-water must
be put on the calf, that the liquids may not sink through too much.
The calf must be paste-washed all over equally, and allowed to get
thoroughly dry. It will then be ready for the various methods. Perhaps
to wash it over night and let it stand till next morning will |103| be
the best and surest plan. It matters very little whether the calf is on
the book or in the skin.
_Sprinkles._—There are so many sprinkles, that it would be useless for
me to enumerate a number, they are all worked in the same manner, by
throwing the colour on finely or coarsely, as it may be wanted light or
dark.
Presuming that the paste or ground-wash be thoroughly dry, take liquid
salts of tartar and dilute with cold water, one part salts to two of
water, in a basin; wash the calf with this liquid evenly, using a soft
sponge. The calf will require the wash to be applied two or three
times, until a proper and uniform tint be obtained. Each successive
wash must be allowed to get thoroughly dry before the next be applied.
The next process will be to sprinkle the book, with the boards extended
or open. Two pieces of flat wood, about three feet long, four inches in
width, and half an inch thick, will be found very useful for supporting
the book. These rods must be supported at each end, so that the book
may be suspended between them, with the boards resting on the rods
nearly horizontally. Now put into a round pan some of the copperas
fluid, and into another some of the solution of salts of tartar. Use
a pretty large brush for each pan, which brush must be kept each for
its own fluid. The sprinkling may be commenced. The brushes being
well soaked in the fluids, should be well beaten out, using a piece
of broomstick or a hand pin to beat on before beating over the book,
unless a coarse sprinkle is desired. Whilst beating over the book, the
hands should be held up high, and also moved about, so that a fine and
equal spray may be distributed; and this should be continued until the
desired depth of colour is attained.
This may be varied by putting some geometrical design, cut out of thin
mill-board, on the cover; or if the book is on any special subject, the
subject itself put on the cover |104| will have a very pretty effect,
and may be made emblematical. A fern or other leaf for botanical work
as an instance. The sprinkle must in these cases be very fine and dark
for the better effect. The leaf or design being lifted from the cover
when the sprinkle is dry, will leave the ground dark sprinkle with a
light brown leaf or design. _Cambridge calf_ is done in this way by
cutting a square panel of mill-board out and laying it on the sides.
The square on the cover may be left brown or may be dabbed with a
sponge.
_Marbles._—As the success of marbling depends upon the quickness with
which it is executed, it is important that the colours, sponges,
brushes and water, should be previously disposed in order and at hand,
so that any of them can be taken up instantly. Another point to which
attention must be directed is the amount of colour to be thrown on, and
consequently the amount that each brush should contain. If too much
colour (black) is thrown on, the result will be an invisible marble,
or, as I once heard it expressed by a workman, “it could not be seen on
account of the fog;” if too little, no matter how nicely the marble is
formed, it will be weak and feeble.
Marbling on leather is produced by small drops of colouring liquids,
drawn, by the flowing of water down an inclined plane, into veins and
spread into fantastic forms resembling foliage—hence, often called
_tree-marble_. It is a process that requires great dexterity of hand
and perfect coolness and decision, as the least hurry or want of
judgment will ruin the most elaborate preparation.
To prepare the book paste-wash it evenly all over, and to further
equalize the paste-water, pass the palm of the hand over the board
after washing it. When dry, wash over with a solution of salts of
tartar two or three times to get the desired tint. When dry, glaire the
whole as even as possible, and to diminish the froth that the sponge
may |105| occasion, put a few drops of milk into the glaire. Again
allow it to dry thoroughly. Put some fresh copperas into a pan, and
some solution of salts of tartar into another, and soak each brush in
its liquid. Place the book upon the rods, the boards extending over and
the book hanging between. Should it be desired to let the marble run
from back to foredge the back must be elevated a little, and the rods
supporting the boards must be level from end to end. If the marble is
to run from head to tail, elevate the ends of the rods nearest to the
head of the book. The elevation must be very slight or the water will
run off too quickly.
Place a pail of water close at hand, in it a sponge to wash off; and
a bunch of birch to throw the water with. A little soda should be
added to soften the water. Charge each brush well, and knock out the
superfluous colour until a fine spray comes from it. A little oil
rubbed in the palm of the hand, and the brush well rubbed into it, will
greatly assist the flow of colour from the brush, and also prevent the
black colour from frothing. Throw some water over the cover in blotches
with the birch, just sufficient to make them unite and flow downwards
together. Now sprinkle some black by beating the black brush on a press
pin, as evenly and as finely as possible. When sufficient has been
thrown on, beat the brown in like manner over the extended boards. When
the veins are well struck into the leather, sponge the whole well with
clean water. Have no fear in doing this as it will not wash off. Then
set the book up to dry.
_Tree-marbles._—The cover is to be prepared and sprinkled in the same
manner as stated in marbling; the boards, however, must be bent a
little, and a little water applied by a sponge in the centre of each
board to give the necessary flow of water; when the water is thrown on,
it will flow towards the centre or lowest part of the boards, and when
the sprinkle is thrown on, a _tree_, as it were, will be |106| formed.
The centre being white forms the stem, and from it branches will be
formed by the gradual flow of the streams of water as they run down.
For marbling, every thing must be ready at hand before any water is
thrown on, so that the water may not have time to run off before the
colour is applied. The water must run at the same time that the spray
is falling, or a failure will be the result.
It has been said that marbling was discovered by an accident; that a
country bookbinder was sprinkling some books, when a bird, which was
hung up in the shop, threw or splashed some water down on his books;
the water running, took some of the colour with it and formed veins.
Liking the form it gave, the workman improved upon it and thus invented
marbling. There is, however, no doubt that it had its origin in Germany.
Tree calf seems to be coming into general use again, and to meet the
demand for cheapness, a wood block has been cut resembling as closely
as possible one done by the water process, and blocked in black on the
calf; but, as might have been expected, it has not found much favour.
_Dabs._—This is a process with a sponge, charged with the black or
the brown liquid, dabbed on the calf either all over the cover or in
successive order. Give the proper preparation to the calf, and be very
careful that the ground tint of brown be very even. Take a sponge of
an open nature, so that the grain is pleasant to the eye; fill it with
black and squeeze out again, now dab it carefully over the calf. Repeat
the operation with another sponge charged with brown. Cat’s paw, French
dab, and other various named operations all emanate from the sponge.
When done properly this has a very good effect, and gives great relief
to the eye when placed with a number of other books.
All these marbles and sprinkles require practice, so that |107| a
first failure must not be regarded with discouragement. When one’s
hand has got into the method with these two or three colours it is
astonishing how many different styles may be produced. In all this
manipulation a better effect is obtained if a yellow tint be washed
over the leather after the sprinkle or marble has been produced. Again,
by taking _coloured calf_ and treating it in the same manner as white,
some very pleasant effects are brought out; and when the colours are
well chosen the result is very good. Take for instance a green calf and
marble a tree upon it, or take a light slate colour and dab it all over
with black and brown.
In all operations with the copperas care must be taken that it does not
get on the clothes, as it leaves an iron stain that cannot be easily
got rid of. Keep a bason for each colour, and when done with wash it
out with clean water. The same with the sponges: keep them as clean
as possible; have a sponge for each colour, and use it only for that
colour. A piece of glass to put the sponges on will be of great use,
and prevent the work-table or board from catching any of the colour. A
damp book or damp paper laid on a board that has been so stained will
most probably be damaged, even though it has waste paper between the
work-board and book. No amount of washing will ever take away such a
stain.
When the book has been coloured, the edges and inside are to be blacked
or browned according to taste, or in keeping with the outside. The book
is then ready for finishing.
Some very good results may be obtained if the binder, using coloured
calf of a light brown, treats it as if it were white calf, marbling
with the usual colours; or a yellow calf, splashing it all over with
salts of tartar only, the boards being placed in a slanting direction
to allow the colour to gently run down. |108|
Or the whole of a cover may be blacked with tartar and copperas, then
with a diluted solution of acid it may be sprinkled, this will give
grey-white spots on black or slate ground: if, after washing, the cover
be sponged over with some colouring liquid, such as analine dyes, the
spots will be of the colour used.
* * * * *
I do not give many methods or receipts for producing colours for calf,
because, as before stated, the introduction of fancy calf has rendered
obsolete the old-fashioned way of boiling and preparing the different
woods for making colours, and the above will be found useful for
colouring calf in many different ways.
[Illustration]
PART II.
FINISHING.
[Illustration: RENAISSANCE.
Roy folio.
T. Way, Photo-Lith.]
|111|
CHAPTER XXIII.
FINISHING.
Finishing is the art of embellishing the covers of books with different
designs. Finishing comprises the embellishment of the covers either
with blind work, gold, silver or platina leaf, or with metal ornaments
fastened through the boards, or by only a lettering on the back of the
book.
The art of finishing does not comprise any embellishment done with
the “blocking press.” Therein the art is more that of the block or
tool cutter, who, working in concert with the artist who drew the
design, cuts the metal accordingly. The binder’s use of these blocks is
mechanical only.
The monks who cultivated all the arts, and enriched their _Hours_ and
their _Missals_ with marvellous miniatures, gave great zeal to the
occupation of binding. So charmingly were the bindings ornamented with
tools and small blocks reproduced from the text, that we must regret
that so few of these monastic bindings are now left to us.
A great number of these books were executed in Germany, where this
mode of decoration remained a long time in use; and we find that other
countries borrowed from the printer this primitive mode of decoration.
As the art progressed the binder’s mark was impressed on the cover as
an ornament, or as a distinction, such as we find at the present day at
the end or after the title of books to denote by what printer the work
was executed. Later on, when the Renaissance shone in all its glory and
beauty, we find that it freed itself from this limited practice. A new
mode |112| of decoration came into use, which we may well study, even
at the present day; a style at once rich and varied. If we follow the
bold interlacing lines which form the skeletons of those infinite and
varied designs, we catch the imaginative caprices of their authors; and
the details of their transformation gives us a guide to the different
schools and art of their time. The execution of these linear designs
is extremely difficult. It can be easily seen that they have not been
done by a block engraved in one piece, but with small segments.[8] The
art of putting together these small pieces, so as to form one complete
and artistic pattern, is the skill of the _finisher_. Many books are
now finished by means of the blocking press; but on close examination,
these imitations may be readily distinguished. A blocked cover never
has the life and spirit that a hand-finished one has. Of blocking I
must speak in subsequent pages.
[8] There are a few exceptions to this on a few old books of
12mo. size. One may now and then see such designs worked in one
piece certainly by a block.
[Illustration: Monastic Tools.]
[Illustration: ANTIQUE WITH GOLD LINE.
Imperial 8^{vo}.
T. Way, Photo Lith.]
[Illustration: Venetian.]
[Illustration: Grolier.]
These intrinsic designs were very much used by the |113| binders
contemporary with _Grolier_, and the use of lined or azuré tools are a
distinctive mark of the period. This is the connecting link with the
Italian bindings. It will be observed that the Italian or Venetian
tools are solid, while in the other style the tools, although of the
same shape, are lined or azuré. A little later on other artists, not
satisfied with this modification, dispensed with the |114| fine cross
lines, and retained their outlines only. France, during the reign of
Henry II., left Italy far behind, and executed those grand compositions
of _Diane_ bindings. They are marvellous subjects, and are sometimes
imitated at the present day, but are never surpassed in their wonderful
originality.
[Illustration: Le Gascon.]
[Illustration: DEROME.
4^{to}
T. Way, Photo-lith.]
After these masterpieces we find the curious bindings of Henry III.,
which instantly mark a distinct transformation. The interlacings are
less bold and free, but more geometrically traced. The absence of
filling in with small tools gives a coldness, which is increased by a
heavy coat of arms on the sides. This form of decoration exercised a
great influence, and from this epoch another school sprung up. Later
on in time these interlacings served as a ground plan only for the
brilliant fantasies of _Le Gascon_, a master who no doubt has had the
least number of imitators. Although he followed and to a certain extent
kept the shapes, the aspect of his bindings was very much changed
by the application of pointed tools. _Le Gascon_ rests for ever as
the most renowned master of the 16th century. The number of tools
necessary for the execution of a composition like one of _Le Gascon’s_
is large; and when one considers that these tools are repeated,
perhaps a thousand |115| times on each side of the book, a fair
idea may be formed of the magnitude of such a work. I am of opinion
that _Le Gascon_ brought bookbinding to its highest point of richness
and finish. His drawings are always pure and correct; his squares,
lozenges, triangles, and ovals are so brought together as to form a
series of compartments interlacing the one within the other, with an
incomparable boldness and perfect harmony; above all, one must remark
with what richness the compartments are filled. There is no doubt the
ground work of the style was _Grolier_, but he never filled his panels
with such richness or with such taste as that displayed by _Le Gascon_.
The difficulty of adapting such designs to the different sizes of books
has no doubt deterred the various masters from imitating such works,
so that we see less of _Le Gascon’s_ style than of any other ancient
master.
[Illustration: Derome.]
From _Le Gascon’s_ period the tools became thicker and thicker, until
we have the heavy tools of _Derome_, which are much in keeping for
books of a serious character. They are original in shape, but their
employment was only in borders, leaving the centre of the book free
from ornament. |116| I do not pretend to give a history of the various
masters, but rather a practical description of the art of bookbinding.
Much has already been written about the various works executed by these
grand old masters; my endeavour has been to show, that whilst the
various masters of the art of bookbinding worked with tools but little
altered from their original forms, they so modified and changed them
in their character and use, as to form a distinctive mark of style for
each artist, by which his work may be recognized.
A pamphlet, published in Paris, 1878, says: “One of the branches of
artistic industry in which France possesses unquestionable superiority
is certainly bookbinding; the International Exhibitions, and still
more the sales of private or other collections, have each day given
evident proof of this. Italy, which initiated herself so perfectly in
the Renaissance style, and Holland, once her rival in the 17th century,
have long ceased to produce any work worthy of remark; everywhere books
are being bound, but the ‘art’ of bookbinding is practised only in
France.”
I cannot agree with its authors that one must go to France now to have
a book bound properly. The method of bookbinding is quite differently
managed and worked there than it is here. I have witnessed both
methods, and prefer the English one as being more substantial.
HAND-FINISHING.—We were first taught to work the gold leaf on books by
a method not now employed, except, perhaps, by a novice, who wishes to
get his books done before his glaire has dried. This method was to damp
the cover well with water, either with a wet sponge or by other means.
The gold leaf was then laid on, and the tool worked rather warm on the
gold. Through the heat or steam generated the gold was burnt in, and
the overplus washed off with a damp sponge or rag, the gold being left
only in the impressions. If, however, any block or centre |117| was
used, it was impressed with heat upon the side in a small lying press
in use at the period. This press was known then as an _arming press_,
because used commonly for impressing armorial bearings and monograms on
the sides. The term arming press is still used for the lighter kinds of
blocking presses.
Hand-finishing, as before stated, is really an _art_. The finisher
should be able to draw, or at least have some knowledge of composition,
and also know something about the harmony of colours. The workman
not having any knowledge of drawing cannot expect to be a good
finisher; because he cannot possibly produce any good designs, or by
a combination of the small tools form a perfect and correct pattern.
Taste has no small influence in the success of the workman in this
branch of the art. It is better to finish books plainly, rather than
put on the least portion of gold more than is necessary. If the
intentions of the books’ owner is to put some special style or design
into his bookcase, it will be well to think over the various styles
before deciding upon any particular one. Before going thoroughly into
the working details a few preliminary words may be permitted.
Let the tools be always in keeping with the book, both in size and
character. Large ones should be used only on a large book, and those of
less size for smaller works. A book on Natural History should have a
bird, insect, shell, or other tool indicative of the contents. A flower
should be used on works on Botany, and all other works be treated in
the same emblematical manner; so that the nature of the book may be
understood by a glance at the back. In lettering, see that the letters
are of a size proportionate to the book—legible, but not too bold.
They should neither be so large as to prevent the whole of the title
being read at one view, nor so small as to present a difficulty in
ascertaining the subject of a book when on the shelf. |118| Amongst a
large number of books there should be an agreeable variety of styles,
so that the effect may be in harmony with the colours around, and
produce as pleasing a contrast as possible.
[Illustration: Type-holder.]
[Illustration: Pallet.]
[Illustration: Fillet.]
_Tools and Materials required for Finishing._—_Rolls_, _fillets_,
_pallets_, centre and corner tools of every possible class and
character; type of various sizes for the lettering of books or labels.
The type may be either of brass or of the usual printer’s metal; if the
latter be chosen, care must be taken that it be not left at the fire
too long, or it will melt. Type-holders to hold the type, which are
made to fit the respective sizes are necessary, but one or two with a
spring side, adjusted by screw at the side, will be found convenient
for any sized type. In England it is the custom to letter books with
_hand letters_, each letter being separate and fixed in a handle. I
have, however, little doubt that these will in time be laid aside, and
that the type and type case will be found in every bookbinder’s shop.
_Polishing irons._ Of these two are necessary—one for the sides and one
for the backs. There is generally a third |119| kept for polishing
the board end papers when pasted down, which should be kept for this
purpose only.
[Illustration: Polishing Iron.]
_A gold-rag_, to wipe off the surplus gold from the back or side of a
book. It should have a little oil well worked into it, so that when it
has been wiped over the back or side the gold may adhere and remain in
it. This rag when full of gold will be of a dirty yellow, and may then
be melted down by any of the gold-refiners and the waste gold recovered.
_India-rubber_, cut up very small—the smaller the better—and steeped
in turpentine, so as to render it as soft as possible, to be used for
clearing away any gold not taken off by the gold-rag. This should also
be melted down when full.[9]
[9] Messrs. Cow and Co., Cheapside, have lately prepared my
rubber ready for use. I find it of great convenience.
_Gold-cushion_, for use as explained in Chapter XVII.
_Gold leaf._ The best should be used, it keeps its colour better, and
is much more easy to work than the commoner metal usually sold.
_Sponges_, both large and small—the large ones for paste-washing, the
smaller for glairing and sizing.
_Glaire_ may be purchased already prepared, or it may be made from the
white of egg, which must be very carefully beaten up to a froth with
an egg whisk. In breaking the egg care must be taken not to let any of
the yolk get amongst the white. A little vinegar should be mixed with
the white before beating up, and a drop of ammonia, or a grain or two
of common table salt, or a small piece of camphor, will in some measure
prevent it from turning putrid, |120| as it is liable to do. Some
workmen always have a stock of “good old glaire,” as they term it, by
them, fancying that it produces better work, but this is a mistaken
notion, often productive of annoyance, and destructive to the comfort
of the workmen. I advise the finisher to beat his glaire from an egg
as he may require it. When well beaten, allow it to stand for some
hours, and then pour the clear liquid into a bottle for use. I have
had some dried albumen sent me, but its working has not given me such
satisfaction as that freshly prepared; it may answer the purpose in
other hands, but with me the gold appears to have been burnt in.
_Cotton wool_, for taking up the gold leaf and pressing it firmly on
the leather.
_Varnish_ should always be used on that part where glaire has been
applied, after it has been polished; the object being to retain the
brilliancy, and to preserve the leather from the ravages of flies and
other insects which are attracted by the glaire; these pests do great
damage to the covers of books which have been prepared with glaire,
by eating it off. They also take away the surface of the leather and
spoil the good appearance of the books. Varnish may be purchased at all
prices: use only the best, and be very sparing with it.
A small pair of spring _dividers_, some _lard_, _sweet oil_, and
lastly, but most important, the _finishing stove_. Before gas was
introduced the finishing stove in use was the now almost extinct
charcoal fire. A bookbinder’s gas stove can now be purchased at almost
any gas-fitter’s shop or bookbinders’ material dealers. The price
varies according to size.
[Illustration: Leo’s Oil Finishing Stove.]
A stove burning paraffin oil may now be had from Leo of |121|
Stuttgart, which he guarantees smokeless and free from soot; where gas
is not obtainable, this will be found very handy.
[Illustration: Finishing Press. The reverse side is quite flat, used
when sides of books are being finished.]
Many still prefer the charcoal fire. To such a stove a pipe should be
fixed to conduct the fumes away into the open air or up a chimney. To
make such a stove any old tin may be utilized. Make a number of large
holes through the sides; fill it with some live charcoal, and place a
perforated tin plate on the top. It will keep alight for hours, and
impart quite enough heat for any purpose required. This primitive
stove, however, must be placed on a stand or on a piece of thick iron,
lest it become dangerous.
A _finishing press_ is a small press, having two sides of solid wood
with wooden screws at each end, the cheeks should be of width enough to
allow the sides of a book to be finished comfortably when the boards
are extended, the book itself being held by the press which is screwed
up tightly. The press should, however, be light enough to enable the
finisher to easily turn it round, as it frequently must be, while
finishing a book.
Mr. Leo has a press (patented) which he claims gives more freedom for
finishing a book, but with it one can only finish the back of a book;
there are, however, many good points that our English makers may well
study. |122|
_Finishing_ is divided into two classes—_blind_ or _antique_, or, as it
is sometimes called, _monastic_ and _gold-finished_.
The term antique is mostly known in the trade; and when _morocco
antique_ or _calf antique_ is mentioned, it means that the whole of the
finishing is to be done in blind tooling. Not only this, but that the
boards should be very thick and bevelled, and the edges either dull
gilt or red, or gilt over red. This class of work is used extensively
for religious books. A gold line introduced and intermixed with blind
work gives a great relief to any class of antique work.
It is not necessary that a special set of tools be kept for antique
work, although some would look quite out of keeping if worked in gold.
As a general rule antique tools are bold and solid, such as Venetian
tools, whilst those for gold work are cut finer and are well shaded.
The greater number work equally well in gold and in blind, but when a
special style has to be followed the various tools and their adaptation
to that style must be studied.
[Illustration: Leo’s Finishing Press.]
The general colour of the blind work is dark brown, and the proper way
of working these antique tools is to take them warm and work them on
the damp leather a number of times, thus singeing or burning as it were
the surface only, until it has assumed its proper degree of colour.
|123| Antique work, as a decoration, requires quite as much dexterity
and care as gold work. Every line must be straight, and the tools must
be worked properly on the leather, both in colour and depth; and as
the tools have to be worked many times on the same spot, it requires a
very steady hand and great care not to double them. Some consider blind
work as preparatory to gold work, and that it gives experience in the
method of handling and working the various tools, and the degree of
heat required for different leathers without burning them through. The
leather on which this work is mostly executed is morocco and calf.
[Illustration: Antique Stamps.]
In finishing the back of a book it must always be held tightly in the
“finishing press.” When in the press, mark the head and tail as a
guide for the pallets by running a folding-stick along the edge of a
piece of parchment or vellum held by the finger and thumb of the left
hand against the sides of the volume across the back at the proper
place. When two or more books of the same character and size are to
range together, the backs must be compassed up so that the lines head
and tail may run continuous when finished. In using the pallet, hold
it firmly in the right hand, and let the working motion proceed from
the wrist only, as if it were a pivot. It will be |124| found rather
difficult at first to work the pallets straight over the back and even
to the sides of the bands, but after a little practice it will become
easy to accomplish.
_Morocco_. Flexible work, as a rule, has blind lines, a broad and a
narrow one, worked close to the bands. Damp the back with a sponge and
clean water, and work the moisture evenly into the leather with a hard
clean brush. Take a pallet of a size suitable to the book, warm it over
the stove, and work it firmly over the back. As the leather dries, make
the pallet hotter; this will generally be found sufficient to produce
the required dark lines. Sometimes it will be necessary to damp the
different places two or three times in order to get the proper colour
in the blind tooling.
The tools may have a tendency to stick to the leather and possibly burn
it. To obviate this, take 1-1/4 oz. of white wax and 1 oz. of deer fat
or lard, place them in a pipkin over a fire or in a warm place, so that
they may be well mixed together; when mixed allow them to cool. Rub
some of this mixture upon the rough or fleshy side of a piece of waste
morocco, and when working any tools in blind, rub them occasionally
over the prepared surface. This mixture will be found of great service
in getting the tools to _slip_ or _come away_ from the leather in
working. Lard alone is sometimes used, but this mixture will be found
of greater service to any finisher, and the advantage of adding the wax
will be apparent.
The lines impressed on the back must now have their gloss given to
them. This is done by _giggering_ the pallets over them. Make the
pallet rather hot, rub it over the greased piece of leather, and work
it backwards and forwards in the impression previously made. Great
care must be taken that the pallet be kept steadily in the impressions
already made, or they will be doubled. The back is now ready for
lettering. This will be found further on, classed under gold work.
|125|
To blind tool the side of a book it must be marked with a folder and
straight edge, according to the pattern to be produced, and as a guide
for the rolls and tools to be used. These lines form the ground plan
for any design that has to be worked. Damp the whole of the side with
a sponge, and brush it as before directed; then work the fillets along
the lines marked. Run them over the same line two or three times. When
dry, make the fillet immovable by driving a wooden wedge between the
roll and fork, and gigger it backwards and forwards to produce the
gloss. If tools are to be worked, make them slightly warm, and as the
leather dries make the tool hotter and hotter. This must be repeated
as often as is necessary, until the desired depth of colour and gloss
is obtained. In using a roll that has a running or continuous pattern,
a mark should be made upon the side with a file, at the exact point
that first comes in contact with the leather, so that the same flower,
scroll, or other design, may always fall in the same place in the
repeated workings. It is impossible for a roll to be cut so exactly
that it may be worked from any point in the circumference without
doubling the design. All blind work is done in the same manner, whether
in using a small or a large tool, _viz._, the leather must be damped
and repeatedly worked until the depth of colour is obtained. It is
then allowed to dry, and re-worked to produce the gloss. The beauty of
blind work consists in making the whole of the finishing of one uniform
colour, in other words, avoiding the fault of having any portion of the
work of lighter tint than the rest.
* * * * *
_Gold Work_ is far more complicated than blind or antique work, so that
it will be better if one practises upon some spare pieces of roan,
calf, or morocco before one attempts to finish a book. Gold work is
not more difficult than blind tooling, it is only more complicated.
The |126| different kinds of leather require such different degrees
of heat, that what would fail to make the gold adhere upon one leather
would burn through another. The various colours each require their
different degrees of heat; as a rule, light fancy colours require less
heat than dark ones. The finisher has not only to contend with these
difficulties, but he must also become an adept in handling the gold
leaf and in using the proper medium by which the gold is made to adhere
to the leather. This medium is used in two ways—wet and dry. The wet is
used for leather, the dry for velvet, satin, silk, and paper.
The wet medium is again divided into two classes, one for non-porous
and another for porous leather. Morocco is the principal of the
non-porous leathers, with roan and all other imitation morocco.
The porous varieties consist of calf of all kinds, russia, and sheep.
The non-porous leathers need only be washed with thin paste-water or
vinegar, and glaired once; but if the glaire be thin or weak it will be
necessary to give them a second coat.
The porous varieties must be paste-washed carefully, sized all over
very evenly, and glaired once or twice; care being taken that the size
and glaire be laid on as evenly as possible.
All this, although apparently so simple, must be well kept in mind,
because the great difficulty that apprentices have to contend with is,
that they do not know the proper medium for the various leathers, and
one book may be prepared too much, while another may have a deficiency,
and as a consequence, one book will be spoilt by the preparation
cracking, and the gold not adhere to the other. By following the
directions here given the finisher will find that his gold will adhere
without much trouble, beyond the practice necessary in becoming
accustomed to an accurate use of the various tools. |127|
Suppose that a half morocco book is before us to be neatly finished and
lettered. Take a broad and narrow pallet of a suitable and proper size,
and work it against the bands in blind as a guide for finishing in
gold. As the impression need be but very slight, warm the pallet on the
gas stove but very little. Choose some suitable tool as a centre piece
to go between the bands. Work this also lightly on the back exactly in
the centre of each panel. This must be worked as truly as possible and
perfectly straight. A line made previously with a folding-stick along
the centre of the back will greatly assist in the working of a tool in
its proper position. Now wash the back with vinegar, and brush it well
with a hard brush to disperse the moisture and drive it equally into
the leather; some use paste-water for this purpose instead of vinegar.
Paste-water has a tendency to turn grey in the course of time, and this
is avoided in using vinegar; vinegar also imparts freshness to the
morocco, and keeps it moist a longer time, which is very desirable when
finishing morocco.
The impressions made by the broad and narrow pallet and the centre tool
are now to be pencilled in with glaire; when dry, pencil in another
coat; allow this again to dry, then rub them very slightly with a piece
of oiled cotton wool. Take a leaf of gold from the book and spread it
out evenly on the gold cushion; cut it as nearly to the various shapes
and sizes of the tools as possible. Now take up one of the pieces of
gold upon a large pad of cotton wool, previously greased slightly by
drawing it over the head. (There is always a sufficient amount of
natural grease in the hair to cause the gold to adhere to the cotton
when so treated.) Lay the gold gently but firmly on the impressed
leather. See that the whole of the impression is covered, and that the
gold is not broken. Should it be necessary to put on another piece of
gold leaf, gently breathing on the first will make the second adhere.
When all the impressions are covered |128| with gold leaf, take one
of the tools heated to such a degree that when a drop of water is
applied it does _not hiss_ but _dries_ instantly; work it exactly in
the blind impressions. Repeat this to the whole of the impressions, and
wipe the overplus of gold off with the gold rag. The impressions are
now supposed to be worked properly in gold; but if there are any parts
where the gold does not adhere, they must be re-glaired and worked in
again. A saucer should be placed near at hand, with water and a piece
of rag or a sponge in it, to cool any tool and reduce it to its proper
heat before using. If the tool be used too hot, the gold impression
will be dull; if too cold, the gold will not adhere. To use all tools
of the exact degree of heat required is one of the experiences of the
skilled workman. The back is now ready for the title. Set up the proper
words in a type-case, of a type sufficiently large and suitable to the
book. The chief word of the title should be in somewhat larger size
than the rest, the others diminishing, so that a pleasant arrangement
of form be attained. In order to adjust the length of the words, it
may be necessary to _space_ some of them—that is, to put between each
letter a small piece of metal called a _space_. Square the type, or
make the face of the letters perfectly level, by pressing the face of
them against a flat surface before tightening the screw. They must be
exactly level one with another, or in the working some of them will be
invisible. Screw up the type-case, warm it over the finishing stove,
and work the letters carefully in blind as a guide. Damp the whole of
the lettering space with vinegar. When dry, pencil the impressions in
twice with glaire. Then lay the gold on and work them in gold.
But with lead type and a spring type-case (a method more suitable for
some binders on account of its relative cheapness and the convenience
of the case fitting itself to the different sizes of the type, of
which the binder will want |129| a selection of various sizes), the
type-case must be warmed before the type is put in. The heat of the
case should impart sufficient heat for the type to be worked properly.
If the case and type be put on the stove, the type will probably be
melted if not watched very narrowly. Hand letters are letters fixed in
handles, each used as a single tool. The letters should be arranged in
alphabetical order round the finishing stove, and as each letter is
wanted it is taken from the order, worked, and replaced. They are still
very much used in England, but where two or more books are to have the
same lettering, brass type is very much better. It does its work more
uniformly than hand letters, however skillfully used.
[Illustration: Showing progressive Stages of Finishing.
Pallets.
Panel entirely finished.
Band.
Panel mitred in gold, with title and small corners.
Band.
Panel mitred and cornered with centre tool.
Band.
Panel mitred and cornered.
Band.
Panel mitred.
Band.
Panel marked out in blind for finishing.
Small tail panel with date.
Pallet.]
[Illustration: Cut showing the use of Mitrepiece.]
When this simple finishing can be executed properly and with ease, a
more difficult task of finishing may be attempted, such as a _full
gilt back_. This is done in two ways, a “run-up” back and a “mitred”
back. As a general rule morocco is always mitred. Place the book on
its side, lift up the mill-board, and make a mark head and tail on the
back, a little away from the hinge of the back. Then with a folder
and straight edge mark the whole length of the back: this is to be
done on both sides. Make another line the whole length down the exact
centre of the back. With a pair of dividers take the measurement of
the spaces between the bands, and mark the size, head and tail, for
the panels from the top and bottom band; with a folder and strip of
parchment make a line across the back, head and tail, at the mark made
by the dividers. Work a thin broad and narrow pallet alongside the
bands in blind. Prepare the whole of the back with vinegar and glaire,
as above described, but lay the glaire on with a sponge. When dry,
lay the gold on, covering the whole of the back with it, mending any
breaks. For mitreing, take a two-line pallet that has the ends cut at
an angle of 45°, so that the joint at that angle may be perfect. Work
this on the side at the |131| mark made up the back, and up to the
line made in blind across the back. Repeat this to each panel. The
two-line pallet must be worked across the back and up to the lines
made in gold; the cutting of the pallet at the angle will allow of the
union or mitre, so that each panel is independent of the other. There
will be a space left, head and tail, which may be filled up with any
fancy pallet or repetition of tools. The corners should be in keeping
with the centre, and large enough to fit the panel. Work these from
the sides of the square made, or from the centre of the panel, as will
be found most convenient, according to the thickness of the book and
style of finishing, and then fill in any small stops. When the whole is
done, rub the gold off with the gold-rag, and use the india-rubber if
necessary. The title has now to be put on, which is done in the same
manner as before described.
It is not always necessary that the finishing be done in blind first.
I have explained it, and advocate its being so worked first as easier
for a learner. One who is accustomed to finishing finds that a few
lines marked previously with a folding-stick is all that is required.
When working the title, a thread of silk drawn tightly across the gold
produces a line sufficient, and is the only guide that an experienced
workman requires.
To finish a side, make a mark with the folder and straight edge as a
guide for any rolls or fillets. Prepare the leather as before described
where the ornamentation is to come; but if the pattern is elaborate
it must be worked first in blind. As a greater facility, take a piece
of paper of good quality and well sized. Draw the pattern you wish
to produce on the paper, and if any tools are to be used, hold them
over the flame of gas; this will smoke them so that |132| they may be
worked on the paper in black. When the pattern is complete in every
detail, tip the four corners of the paper with a little paste, then
work the pattern through the paper on to the leather, using the various
sized gouges as the scrolls require, and a single line fillet where
there are lines. Work thus the complete pattern in blind. This being
done completely, take the paper off from the four corners, place it on
the other side, and work it in the same way. Prepare the leather with
vinegar, and pencil out with glaire the whole of the pattern. If the
whole side be glaired with a sponge it will leave a glossy appearance
that is very undesirable. The whole of the side is now to be laid on
with gold, and the pattern worked again with the warm tools, in the
previous or blind impressions.
The inside of a book is generally finished before the outside. This
should be done as neatly as possible, carefully mitreing the corners
when any lines are used. Most frequently a roll is used, thus saving a
great deal of time. A style was introduced in France called “doublé,”
the inside of the board being covered with a coloured morocco different
to the outside, instead of having board papers. This inside leather
was very elaborately finished; generally with a “dentelle” border,
while the outside had only a line or two in blind. It is a style which,
although very good in itself, is not now in great request, many prefer
to have the finishing outside rather than to have it covered up and not
seen when the book is shut.
[Illustration: GROLIER.
Demy folio.]
The edges of the boards and the headbands must be finished either in
gold or blind, according to fancy, but in keeping with the rest of
the embellishment. A fine line worked on the centre of the edge of
the board by means of a fillet looks better, and of course requires
more pains than simply running a roll over it. If it is to be in gold,
simply glairing the edge is sufficient. Lay on the gold and work the
fillet carefully. Place the book on its ends in the |133| finishing
press to keep it steady, or it will shake and throw the fillet off. If
a roll is used, take the gold up on the roll, but grease it first a
little, by rubbing the gold rag over the edge to make the gold adhere.
Then run the roll along the edge of the boards: the roll generally used
for this purpose is called a _bar roll_—that is, one having a series of
lines running at right angles with the edge of the roll.
Imitation morocco is generally used for publishers’ bindings, where
books are in large numbers and small in price, and the finishing is all
done with the blocking press: To finish this leather by hand, it is
advisable to wash it with paste-water and glaire twice.
Roan is generally used for circulating library work, and is very seldom
finished with more than a few lines and the title across the back. This
leather is prepared with paste-wash and glaire, and, when complete,
varnished over the whole surface.
_Inlaid Work._—Inlaid, or mosaic work, is used only in the higher
branches of bookbinding. Formerly books were not inlaid, but painted
with various colours. Grolier used a great deal of black, white, and
green. Mr. Tuckett, the late binder to the British Museum, took out a
patent for extracting one colour from leather and substituting another
by chemical action. This method, however, was in use and known long
before he turned his attention to the subject, although he improved
greatly upon the old practice. As the patent has long expired, it may
not be out of place to give an extract from the specification: “Take
dark chocolate colour, and after the design has been traced thereon, it
is then to be picked out or pencilled in with suitable chemicals, say
diluted nitric acid; this will change the chocolate, leaving the design
a bright red on a chocolate ground.” But to lay on the various colours
with leather is, no doubt, by far the better plan. Paint has a tendency
in time to crack, and, if acids are used, they will, to a certain
|134| extent, rot or destroy the leather; but if leather is used
it will always retain both colour and texture. To choose the proper
colours that will harmonize with the ground, give tone, and produce a
pleasing effect, requires a certain amount of study. Morocco is the
leather generally used, but in Vienna calf has been used with very good
results. If the pattern to be inlaid be very small, steel punches of
the exact shape of the tools are used to punch or cut out the patterns
required. To do this, work the pattern in blind on the side of the
book; take morocco of a different colour to the ground it is required
to decorate, and pare it down as thin as possible. Lay it on a slab of
lead. Lead is better than anything else on account of its softness;
the marks made by the punch can always be beaten out again, and when
quite used up it may be re-melted and run out anew. Now take the steel
punch of an exact facsimile of the tool used that is to be inlaid, and
punch out from the leather the required number. These are to be pasted
and laid very carefully on the exact spot made by the blind-tooling;
press each down well into the leather, either with a folding-stick or
the fingers, so that it adheres properly. When dry, the book should be
pressed between polished plates, in order that the pieces that have
been laid on, may be pressed well into the ground leather. When it has
been pressed, the whole of the leather must be prepared as for morocco,
and finished in gold. The tools in the working will hide all the edges
of the various inlaid pieces, provided they are laid on exactly.
[Illustration: MAIOLI.
Royal folio.
T. Way, Photo Lith.]
If interlacing bands are to be of various colours, the bands must be
cut out. Pare the leather thin, and after working the pattern through
the paper on to the sides of the book, lay it on the thinly pared
leather; with a very sharp and pointed knife cut through the paper and
leather together on a soft board. Or the design may be worked or drawn
on a thin board, and the various bands cut out |135| of the board as
patterns. Lay these on the thin leather and cut round them. Keep these
board templates for any future use of the same patterns. The various
pieces are to be well pasted, carefully adjusted in their places, and
well rubbed down. The leather is then to be prepared and worked off in
gold.
Another method is to work the pattern in blind on the sides. Pare the
morocco thin, and while damp place it upon the portion of the pattern
to be inlaid, and press it well with the fingers, so that the design
is impressed into it. Lay the leather carefully on some soft board,
and cut round the lines made visible by the pressure with a very sharp
knife. When cut out, paste and lay them on the book and prepare as
before, and finish in gold. I do not recommend this last method as
being of much value; I give it only because it is sometimes chosen;
but for any good work, where accuracy is required, either of the plans
mentioned previously are to be preferred.
The Viennese work their calf in quite a different manner, in fact, in
the same way that the cabinet-makers inlay their woodwork. With a very
sharp and thin knife they cut right through two leathers laid the one
on the other. The bottom one is then lifted out and replaced by the top
one. By this method the one fits exactly into the other, so that, if
properly done, the junctions are so neatly made that no finishing is
required to cover the line where the two colours meet.
The frontispiece to this treatise is a copy of a book bound by my
father for one of the Exhibitions. The ground is of red morocco,
inlaid with green, brown, and black morocco. The pattern may be called
“Renaissance.” The inside of the boards are “Grolier,” inlaid as
elaborately as the outside. Seven months’ labour was expended on the
outside decoration of this volume.
_Porous._—_Calf_, as before described, requires more and |136|
different preparation than morocco, on account of its soft and
absorbing nature. As a foundation or groundwork, paste of different
degrees of strength is used, according to the various work required.
Calf books have generally a morocco lettering piece of a different
colour to the calf on the back for the title. This is, however,
optional, and may or may not be used, according to taste. Leather
lettering pieces have a great tendency to peel off, especially if the
book be exposed to a hot atmosphere, or if the paste has been badly
made, so that it is perhaps better if the calf itself be lettered.
There is no doubt that a better effect is produced in a bookcase when
a good assortment of coloured lettering pieces are placed on the
variously coloured backs, and the titles can be more easily read than
if they were upon light or sprinkled calf; but where wear and tear have
to be studied, as in public libraries, a volume should not have any
lettering pieces. All such books should be lettered on their natural
ground.
For lettering pieces, take morocco[10] of any colour, according to
fancy, and having wetted it to facilitate the work, pare it down as
thin and as evenly as possible. Cut it to size of the panel or space it
is intended to fit. When cut truly, pare the edges all round, paste it
well, put it on the place and rub well down. Should the book require
two pieces—or one for the title, and one for the volume or contents—it
is better to vary the colours. I must caution the workman not to allow
the leather to come over on to the joint, as by the frequent opening
or moving of the boards the edge of the leather will become loose.
A very good plan as a substitute for lettering pieces is to colour
the calf either dark brown or black, thus saving the leather at the
expense of a little more time. When the lettering |137| pieces are
dry, mark the back, head and tail, for the pallets or other tools with
a folding-stick. Apply with a brush paste all over the back. With a
thick folding-stick, or with the handle of an old tooth brush, which is
better, rub the paste into the back. Before it has time to dry, take
the overplus off with rather a hard sponge, dipped in thin paste-water.
The learner will perhaps wonder why paste of full strength should be
used for the back, and only paste-water for the sides. The reason is,
that through the stretching of the leather over the back in covering,
the pores are more open, and consequently require more filling up to
make a firm ground. Much depends upon the groundwork being properly
applied; and a general caution with regard to the working in general
may not be here amiss. Finishing, above all other departments, demands
perfect cleanliness. A book may have the most graceful designs, the
tools be worked perfectly and clearly, but be spoiled by having a dirty
appearance. See that everything is clean—paste-water, size, glaire,
sponges, and brushes. Do not lay any gold on until the preparation be
perfectly dry, or the gold will adhere and cause a dirty yellow stain
where wiped off.
[10] Other leathers are often used instead of morocco, even
paper; in fact a specially prepared paper is largely sold in
Germany for this purpose.
Should the calf book be intended to have only a pallet alongside the
bands, it is only necessary, when the paste-wash is quite dry, to
glaire that portion which is to be gilt: this is usually done with a
camel’s hair brush, by laying on two coats. When dry, cut the gold into
strips, and take one up on the pallet and work it on the calf. This is
what is termed calf neat. The band on each side is gilt, leaving the
rest of the leather in its natural state. Some binders polish their
backs instead of leaving them dead or dull. This, however, is entirely
according to taste, whether so large a space be left polished only.
[Illustration: Samples of Backs suitable for Calf Work.]
_Full Gilt Back._—_Run-up._ Make a mark up the back on both sides a
little away from the joint with a folder and |139| straight edge.
Put on lettering piece. When dry, paste and paste-wash the back. When
again dry, take some of Young’s patent size, melt it in a pipkin with
a little water and apply it with a sponge. Lay this on very evenly
with a very soft sponge, and be particular that it is perfectly clean,
so that no stains be left. When the size is done with, put it on one
side for future use. This size should not be taken its full strength,
and when warmed again some more water should be added to make up for
evaporation. When the coat of size has dried, apply two coats of
glaire. The first must be dry before the second is applied, and great
care must be taken that the sponge is not passed over the same place
twice, or the previous preparation will be taken off. It is now ready
for finishing. Cut the gold to proper size; rub a little lard over
the whole of the back with a little cotton wool. This requires great
attention. Very little must be put on light or green calf, as these
colours are stained very readily. Take the gold up on a cotton pad;
lay it carefully down on the back; breathe on the gold, and press down
again. If there be any places where the gold is broken, they must be
mended. Now take a two-line fillet; heat it so that it hisses when
placed in the cooling pan or the saucer with the wet rag in it, and run
it the whole length of the back on the line made before paste-washing.
Do this on both sides, and rub the gold off with the gold-rag up to the
line on the outside. Take a two-line pallet, and work it on each side
of the bands. Work the morocco lettering piece last, as it requires
less heat. The centre piece of each panel must now be worked. Impress
the tools firmly but quickly. The corner tools next; work them from
the centre or sides, using the right hand corners as a guide, and
judging the distance by the left ones. The press must be turned when
it is required to bring the left side to the right hand in working the
corners. The requisite pallets may now be worked to finish the book
|140| head and tail. As a rule these are worked when the two-line
pallet is imprinted.
Calf requires very quick working. The tools should not be held over
the various places too long, or the heat will destroy the adherent
properties of the albumen. With morocco time does not signify so much,
as the heat used is not so great.
_Mitred back_ must be prepared the same way as for “run-up back,” and
the mitreing is to be done as explained in working morocco. As before
stated, this is superior work and requires more skill; takes longer,
but looks much better: each panel should be an exact facsimile of the
rest. If the tools do not occupy precisely similar places in each
panel, the result will be very unsatisfactory, and an evidence of a
want of skill. When the backs are finished, rub the gold off with the
gold-rag, and clear off any residue with the india-rubber. Be very
careful that every particle of the surplus gold be cleaned off, or
the delicate lines of the ornaments will be obscure and ragged in
appearance.
The book is now ready for lettering. Set the type up in the case, and
work it carefully in a perfectly straight line over the back. The whole
of the back is now to be polished with the polishing iron, which must
be perfectly clean and bright before it is used. Prepare a board from
an old calf binding, by rubbing some fine emery or charcoal and lard
over the leather side of it. By rubbing the iron over this prepared
surface it will acquire a bright polish. It must be used over the back
by holding it lightly, and giving it an oblong circular motion. Go over
every portion of the back with very even pressure, so that no part may
be made more glossy than another. The polishing iron should be used
rather warmer than the tools. If the iron be too hot the glaire will
turn white; if too cold the polish will be dull. The grease upon the
leather will be quite sufficient to make |141| the polisher glide
easily over the surface, but the operation must be rapidly and evenly
done. All light and green calf require less heat than any other kinds.
These will turn black if the iron be in the least degree too hot.
It is in finishing the sides that the workman can show his good taste
and skill. The sides should be always in keeping with the back; or,
more strictly speaking, the back should be in keeping with the sides.
Before the sides can be finished, the inside of the boards must occupy
our attention. With a “run-up” back, the edge of the leather round
the end papers is to be worked either in blind or have a roll round
it in gold. In any case it should be paste-washed. If for blind, the
roll is to be heated and worked round it; if for gold, it must be
glaired twice. The gold, cut into strips, is to be taken up on the roll
and worked, and the overplus taken off with the gold-rag as before
directed. Extra work, such as mitred work, should have some lines,
or other neat design impressed. Paste-wash the leather, and when dry
glaire twice. When again dry lay on the gold all round, and work the
roll or other fillets, or such other tool that may be in keeping with
the exterior work. When the gold has been wiped off, the leather should
be polished with the polishing iron.
The outside must now be finished. Are the sides to be polished, or left
plain? If they are not to be polished, paste-wash the whole of the side
up to the edge of the back carefully, then glaire only that portion
which is to be gilt. Generally a two-line fillet only is used round the
edge, so that the width of the fillet or roll must determine the width
to be glaired. When glaired twice and dry, take up the gold on the
fillet or roll and work it evenly and straightly round the edge. The
corners where the lines meet are next to be stopped by working a small
rosette or small star on them. Clean off any gold that may be on the
side, and |142| work a small dotted or pin-head roll at the edge of
the glaire. This will cover and conceal the edge.
Extra calf books generally have the sides polished. Paste-wash the
sides all over, and when dry size them. Hold the book, if small, in the
left hand, if large, lay it on the press and work the sponge over the
side in a circular direction, so that the size may be laid on as evenly
as possible. Be very careful that it does not froth; should it do so,
squeeze the sponge out as dry as possible, and fill it anew with fresh
size. Some workmen work the sponge up and down the book, but if this
be not done very evenly it produces streaks. The finisher will find
he can lay a more even coating on by using the sponge in a circular
direction. Allow this to dry by leaving the book with boards extended.
When perfectly dry glaire once. This will be found sufficient, as
the size gives body to the glaire. When sizeing and glairing, be
assured that the book be laid down with the boards extended on a level
surface; if the book be not level, the size or glaire will run down to
the lowest portion of the surface, and become unequally distributed.
The gold is now to be laid on the respective places, either broad
or narrow, according to the nature of the finishing or width of the
rolls. As a general rule, the sides of the better class of calf books
have nothing more than a three-line round the edge and mitred in the
corners. This is, however, quite a matter of taste. Some have a border
of fancy rolls, but never any elaborate pattern as in morocco work.
To finish the sides, place the book in the finishing press with the
boards extended, so that they may rest on the press. This will afford
greater facility for working the fillets, rolls, and tools necessary
to complete the design on each side. The finishing press being a small
one, can be easily turned round as each edge of the border is finished.
To polish the sides, place the book on its side on some |143| soft
surface, such as a board covered with baize, and kept for the purpose.
Use the large and heavy polishing iron, hot and clean. Rub or work the
iron quickly and firmly over the sides, first from the groove towards
the foredge, and then in a contrary direction, from the tail to the
head, by turning the volume. The oil or grease applied to the cover
previous to laying on the gold will be sufficient to allow the polisher
to glide easily over the surface. Polishing has also the effect of
smoothing down the burr formed on the leather by the gilding tools, and
bringing the impressions slightly to the surface. The iron must be held
very evenly, so that the centre of the iron may be the working portion.
If held sideways the edge of the iron will indent the leather. The heat
must be sufficient to give a polish. It must be remembered that if the
iron is too hot it will cause the glaire to turn white. The temperature
must be well tested before it be applied to the cover. A practised
finisher can generally tell the proper heat on holding the iron at some
little distance from his face, by the heat radiated from the iron. Calf
books should be pressed, whether polished or not.
_Pressing._—Plates of japanned tin or polished horn are proper for
this purpose. Put pressing tins between the book and the mill-boards:
the tins must be up to the joint. Now place one of the japanned plates
on the side level with the groove; turn book and japanned plate over
carefully together, so that neither shifts; place another of the
polished plates on the top of the book, thus placing the book between
two polished surfaces. Put the book into the standing press, and screw
down tightly. Leave in for some hours. When pressed sufficiently, take
the book out, and if the sides be polished, varnish them.
Make a little pad of cotton wool, saturate the lower portion with
varnish; rub it on a piece of waste paper to equalize the varnish, then
work the pad over the side as |144| quickly as possible in a circular
direction. Renew the wool with varnish for the other side. Enough must
be taken on the pad to varnish the whole side, or the delay caused by
renewing the varnish on the cotton will cause a streaked surface. When
the varnish is perfectly dry—a few minutes will suffice—the book must
be again pressed. To do this, rub the gold-rag, which is greased, over
the sides, this will prevent the sides from sticking to the polished
plates. Place the book between the plates as before, leaving out the
pressing tins, and place in the standing press. Only little pressure
must now be given; if the press be screwed down too tightly the plates
will stick to the book. The varnish must be of good quality, and
perfectly dry, or the result will be the same. Half an hour in the
press will be found quite long enough. Should the plates stick, there
is no other remedy than washing off the varnish with spirits of wine,
and the glaire and size with warm water, and carefully re-preparing the
surface as before. This is, however, an accident that cannot happen if
due care and judgment be exercised.
_Graining._—Graining is now used very much on calf books. It may be
properly considered as a blind ornament. It is done by means of wooden,
or, better still, copper plates cut out in various patterns, so as
to form small squares, scales of fish, or an imitation of morocco.
Place the volume between two of these plates, level to the groove of
the back, in the standing press; screw down tightly. The pressure
should be equal over the whole surface. Nothing looks worse than a
bold impression in one place and a slight one in another, so that it
is rather important that it be evenly pressed; a second application
of the plates is impracticable. Graining has the advantage of hiding
any finger-marks that may accidentally be on the calf, and also partly
conceals any imperfections in the leather. |145|
The state of the weather must in a great measure guide the finisher as
to the proper number of volumes he ought to prepare at one time. The
leather should always be a little moist, or, in other words, rather
_fresh_. In winter double the number of books may be prepared, and the
gold laid on, than the dryness of a summer’s day will permit. If books
are laid on over night the tools must be used very hot in working them
the next morning, or the gold will not adhere. During summer, flies
will eat the glaire from various places while the book is lying or
standing out to dry, so that constant vigilance must be kept to avoid
these pests.
Russia is prepared in the same way as calf, but is usually worked with
more blind tools than gold, and the sides are not as a rule polished,
so that the size and glaire are dispensed with, except on those parts
where it is to be finished in gold; those portions need be only
paste-washed and glaired once, without any size.
_Finishing with Dry Preparation._—The dry preparation is used for silk,
velvet, paper, or any other material that would be stained by the
employment of the wet process. There are a number of receipts in the
trade and in use.
Take the white of eggs, and dry by spreading it somewhat thickly over
glass plates, taking care to preserve it from dust. When dry it will
chip off readily, if the glass has been previously _very slightly_
oiled or greased. It must not be exposed to more heat than 40° Reaum.,
or the quality of the albumen will be destroyed. The dried mass is to
be well powdered in a porcelain mortar.
Or, take equal portions of gum mastic, gum sandrac, gum arabic, and
powder them well in a mortar. This powder, if good work be desired,
must be ground into an impalpable powder. When powdered put it into a
box or bottle, and tie three or four thicknesses of fine muslin over
the mouth. By tapping the inverted box, or shaking |146| it over the
lines or letters, the dust will fall through in a fine shower. The
powder should fall only on the part to be gilt. Cut the gold into
strips, take it up upon the tool, and work rather hot. The overplus
of the powder can be brushed away when the finishing is completed.
Finishing powder is now sold commercially.
_Velvet_ is very seldom finished beyond having the title put on, and
this should be worked in blind first and with moderately large letters,
or the pile will hide them.
_Silk_ is finished more easily, and can, if care be taken, have rather
elaborate work put upon it. In such a case, the lines or tools, which
must be blinded-in first, may be glaired. For this purpose the glaire
must be put in a saucer or plate in the free air for a day or two,
so that a certain amount of water or moisture of the glaire may be
evaporated; but it must not be too stiff so as to prevent the brush
going freely over the stuff. Great care, however, must be taken, or
the glaire will spread and cause a stain. A thin coat of paste-water
will give silk a body and keep the glaire from spreading to a certain
extent, but I think the best medium for silk is the dry one, and it
is always ready for instant use. In using glaire the gold is laid on
the silk, but on no account must any oil or lard be rubbed on it for
the temporary holding of the gold. Rub the parts intended for the gold
with the finger (passed through the hair), or with a clean rag lightly
oiled, and when the tools are re-impressed a clean piece of flannel
should be used to wipe off the superfluous gold.
Blocking has been used lately on silk with some success in Germany.
The blocking plate is taken out of the press, and the gold is laid on
it, and then replaced in the press. The finishing powder is freely
distributed over the silk side, which is laid on the bed of the press.
On pulling the lever over, the block descends and imprints the design
in gold on the silk. This process may be applied to velvet, |147| but
velvet never takes the sharpness of the design on account of the pile,
so that as a rule it is left in its natural state.
_Vellum._—The Dutch, as a nation, appear to have been the first to
bind books in vellum. It was then a simple kind of casing, with hollow
backs. A later improvement of theirs was that of sewing the book on
double raised cords, and making the book with a tight back, similar to
the way in which our flexible books are now done, showing the raised
bands. The ornamentation was entirely in blind, both on the back and
sides, and the tools used were of a very solid character.
This art of binding in vellum seems to be entirely lost at the present
day; its imperishable nature is indeed its only recommendation. It has
little beauty; is exceedingly harsh; and little variety can be produced
even in the finishing.
There are two or three kinds of vellum prepared from calf skins at the
present day, thanks to the progress of invention. First, we have the
prepared or artist’s vellum, with a very white artificial surface;
then the Oxford vellum, the surface of which is left in its natural
state; the Roman vellum, which has a darker appearance. Parchment is an
inferior animal membrane prepared from sheepskins after the manner of
vellum, and this is very successfully imitated by vegetable parchment,
made by immersing unsized paper for a few seconds in a bath of diluted
oil of vitriol. This preparation resembles the animal parchment so
closely that it is not easy to distinguish the difference. It is
used very extensively in France for wrappering the better class of
literature, instead of issuing them in cloth as is the custom here.
The method of finishing vellum is altogether different to leather.
On account of its very hard and compact nature, it requires no other
ground or preparation than glaire for gold work. |148|
The cover should be very carefully washed with a soft sponge and
clean water, to clean off any dirt or finger-marks, and to make the
book look as fresh as possible. This washing must be very carefully
done by going over the surface as few times as possible. This caution
applies particularly to the prepared or artist vellum, as each washing
will take off a certain amount of the surface, so that the more it
is damped and rubbed the more the surface will be disturbed and the
beauty destroyed. It requires some experience to distinguish the flesh
and leather surfaces of prepared vellum, but this experience must be
acquired, because it is absolutely necessary that the leather side
should be outward when the book is covered, for two reasons: the flesh
side is more fibrous, and adheres better to the boards than the leather
side, and the leather side is less liable to have its surface disturbed
in the process of washing.
The parts that are to be gilt must be glaired, but as the glaire will
show its presence, or, more strictly speaking, leave rather a dirty
mark, the tools should first be worked in blind, and the glaire laid on
carefully up to their outer edge. When dry, lay the gold on and work
the tool in. Let the tools be only moderately warm; if too hot they
will go through to the mill-board, leaving their mark as if they had
been cut out with a knife.
As a rule no very heavy tooling is ever put on vellum, the beauty
lies in keeping the vellum as clean as possible. The tooling being,
comparatively speaking, on the surface, owing to the thinness of the
skin, requires a very competent and clean workman to produce anything
like good work on vellum.
Vellum is of so greasy a nature that, if a title-piece of leather has
to be put on, it will be found that there is a great difficulty in
making it adhere properly unless some special precaution be taken. The
best plan is to scrape |149| the surface where the leather is intended
to be placed with the edge of a knife. This will produce a rough and
fibrous ground on which to place the pasted leather. This _leather_,
when dry, must be prepared with paste-water and glaire, in the same
manner as with other books.
In the foregoing instructions for finishing a book, the most that can
be looked for towards teaching either the apprentice or the unskilled
workman is to give him an idea how it is accomplished by practised
hands. Pure taste, a correct eye, and a steady hand, are not given to
all in common. The most minute instructions, detail by detail, cannot
make a workman if Nature has denied these gifts. I have known men whose
skill in working a design could not be excelled, but who could not be
trusted to gild a back without instructions. Others, whose ideas of
design were not contemptible, could not tool two panels of a back in
perfect uniformity. Some also have so little idea of harmony of colour,
that without strict supervision they would give every volume the coat
of a harlequin. In a word, a first-rate bookbinder is _nascitur non
fit_, and although the hints and instructions I have penned may not
be sufficient to _make_ a workman, I trust they will be found of some
value to the skilled as well as to the less practised craftsman.
_Blocking._—The growing demand for books that were at once cheap and
pretty, became so strong, that mechanical appliances were invented to
facilitate their ornamentation; and thus we have the introduction of
the present blocking press.
I will not follow too closely the various improvements introduced at
different periods, but roughly describe the blocking press, without
which cheap bookbinding cannot be done at the present day. There can be
no doubt that this press owes its extensive use to the introduction of
publishers’ cloth work.
Formerly, when the covers of books were blocked, a |150| small lying
or other press was used. The block, previously heated, was placed on
the book, and the screw or screws turned to get a sufficient pressure.
It often happened that the pressure was either too much or too little:
the block either by the one accident sank into the leather too deeply,
or by the other the gold failed to adhere, and it required a good
workman to work a block properly.
The first press to be noticed is a Balancier, having a moveable bed,
a heating box, heated by means of red-hot irons, two side pillars to
guide the box in a true line, and attached to it a screw connected at
the top with a bar or arm, having at each extremity an iron ball. The
block, having been fixed to a plate at the bottom of the heated box,
the side of the book was laid down on the bed, and by swinging the arm
round the block descended upon the book. The arm was then swung back,
and the next book put into place. It will be seen that this incurred a
great loss of time.
The next improvement consisted in having a press that only moved
a quarter circle, with almost instantaneous action; and another
improvement connected with the bed was, that by means of screws and
gauges, when the block was once set, a boy or an inexperienced hand
might with ease finish off hundreds of copies, all with equal pressure.
By referring to the woodcut opposite, the press and its action will
be seen and understood. The box may be heated with gas, and kept at a
constant and regulated temperature the whole time of working. It can
be adjusted to any amount of pressure, as it is regulated by the bed
underneath.
The next step in progress was the introduction of printing in different
colours upon the cloth, and intermixing them with gold. Messrs.
Hopkinson and Cope’s machines may be mentioned. They are made to be
driven by steam, and will print and emboss from 500 to 600 covers per
|151| hour, and are heated by steam or gas. The inking apparatus is
placed at the back of the press, so that while the workman is placing
another cover, the ink roller, by automatic action, inks the block
ready for the next impression. The inking or printing of the covers is
done without heat, so, to avoid loss of time, an arrangement is made
that the heating box can be cooled immediately by a stream of water
passed through it.
[Illustration]
Messrs. Kampe and Co. have just brought out a blocking machine, which
they claim to be superior to any in the trade. It will block at the
rate of 700 to 800 covers per hour. The pressure is obtained by one of
the most powerful of mechanical appliances, and it can be adjusted to
block either paper or leather.
The tools required for blocking are called blocks or stamps. These may
be composed of very small pieces, or may be of one block cut to the
size of the book. In any case, the block has to be fastened to the
moveable plate at the bottom of the heating box. To block the sides
of a book, take a stout piece of paper and glue it upon a moveable
plate.[11] Then take the book, and having set the blocks upon the side
in exact position, place the side or board upon which are placed the
blocks upon the bed of the blocking press, leaving the volume hanging
down in front of the press. The bed is now to be fixed, so that the
centre of the board is exactly under and in the centre of the heating
box. When quite true, the sides and back gauges are fixed by screws.
Pull the lever so that a slight pressure upon the plate be given:
release |152| the press, and take out the book and examine if all be
correct. Some of the blocks may require a small piece of paper as a
pad, so as to increase the pressure, others to be shifted a little.
Now glue the back of the stamps and replace them in their respective
places. Place the whole under the top plate in the press, heat the
box, and pull the lever over; and let the book remain for some little
time to set the glue. Take out the book, examine if perfectly square
and correct, but replace it with a soft mill-board under the stamps,
and pull down the press. The lever must remain over, and the blocks be
under pressure until the glue is hardened.
[11] The moveable plate is also called the _platen_.
Another method is to glue upon the plate a piece of thick paper and
mark upon it the exact size of the book to be blocked. Strike upon the
plate from the size the centre, and from that any other lines that may
assist in placing the blocks. Arrange the blocks upon the plate so as
to form the design; when correct, paste the blocks on their backs and
replace them on the plate. When the paste adheres a little, turn the
plate over and put it into the press. Apply heat to the box; pull the
lever over, and when the paste is set, regulate the bed and gauges.
When the press is properly heated, throw back the lever; take out the
mill-board from under the stamp, and regulate the degree of pressure
required by the side-screw under or over the bed. Place upon the bed
the side to be stamped, hold it firmly against the guides with the left
hand, and with the right draw the lever quickly to the front. This
straightens the toggels and forces down the heating box, causing a
sharp impression of the stamp upon the leather or other material. Throw
or let the lever go back sharply, and take out the book. If the block
be of such a design that it must not be inverted, the whole of the
covers must be blocked on one side first, and the block turned round
for the other side, or the design will be upside down. |153|
Work for blocking in gold does not require so much body or preparation
as if it were gilt by hand. Morocco can be worked by merely washing the
whole surface with a little urine or weak ammonia, but it is safer to
use a coat of glaire and water mixed in proportion of one of the former
to three of the latter. The heat should not be great, and slowly worked.
Calf should have a coat of milk and water or thin paste-water as a
ground, and when dry another of glaire. Both should be laid on as
evenly as possible; but if only portions are to be gilt, such as a
centre-piece, and the rest dead, the centre-piece or other design
should be pencilled in with great care. The design should be first
slightly blocked in blind as a guide for the glairing. The edge of the
glaire generally leaves a black or dark stain. The heat required for
calf is greater than for morocco, and the working must be done more
quickly.
Cloth requires no preparation whatever, the glue beneath and the
coloured matter on the cloth gives quite enough adhesiveness when the
hot plate comes down for the gold to adhere.
A great deal of taste may be displayed in the formation of patterns
in this branch, but as publishers find that books that are tawdrily
gilt are better liked by the public, they are, of course, very well
satisfied if their books are well covered with gold. It would be well
if those who have the principal charge of this work would strive, by
the cultivation of elegant design, to correct the vitiated taste of the
public, and seek by a study of classic ornamentation to please the eye
and satisfy the judgment rather than to attract the vulgar by glitter
and gaudy decoration.
However, of late years a great advancement has been made with
publishers’ block work; the samples given in the trade paper (“The
Bookbinder” now “Bookmaker”) will prove this.
[Illustration]
GENERAL INFORMATION.
|157|
CHAPTER XXIV.
WASHING AND CLEANING.
The binder is often called upon to clean books; to many he is a sort
of Aladdin, who makes old books into new; the consequence is that he
often has placed in his hands a lot of dirty, miserable-looking books,
and is expected to turn them into first-class copies. To renovate such
books requires time and experience, and unfortunately very little is
known among binders as a body about cleaning. Outside the trade, I am
sorry to say, even less is known, for if a book be received from a
binder bleached, it seems to satisfy the owner, and to be all that is
desired. By such treatment of bleaching a quantity of lime is generally
left in the paper, the goodness is destroyed, and naturally the paper
must suffer in a short time. To test such treatment one has only to
apply the tongue to the paper, it will at once absorb any moisture, as
blotting paper does, and often the lime can be distinctly tasted.
But books are often washed and given out to the binder to rebind in
this state. In such a case it remains with the binder not to associate
himself with the book; for if he rebinds such a book the stigma will
attach itself to him when the period of rotting, falling to pieces, and
other misfortunes has arrived.
It is the practice of many who profess to wash books or prints to use
chlorine at every washing; this is not necessary; often a simple bath
of hot water, with perhaps the |158| addition of a little alum, is all
that is required. An important thing is to know the different kinds of
stains when looking through the book; there may be many in one book,
each from a different cause. In such a case it will be best to go
for the majority, and to use the bath that will move them. Often the
one bath is sufficient, but should there be any stains that are not
touched, these leaves must be treated again.
When there are stains of different character in the one book, such as
oil stains on a few leaves, and, say, coffee stains in other parts, the
oil must be first removed; the one bath will not touch both stains.
Often when the bath is used wrongly it will fix the stain in the paper,
and not remove it, the chemical used acting as a mordant.
It is impossible for me to describe the various stains, the
intelligence of the workman must be brought to bear on the subject; and
I advise a small memo. book be used to jot down the difficulties that
may occur from time to time, and so to act as a guide for future work;
to the use of such a book I am enabled to lay before my readers the
methods of working with the various receipts collected in France and
Germany, and used by me in my business.
To wash a book it is absolutely necessary to pull it to pieces. Should
there be much glue on the back, and difficulty arise in the pulling,
the book may be treated as given in Chapter II.: or sections of six
or eight sheets may be left together; the hot water and soaking to
which the book will be subjected in the washing will dissolve the glue
or paste that may be on the back, and the sheets will readily part
whilst in the solution. Washing must be conducted with great care; the
handling of the wet sheets will demand the most delicate touch, for
one can reasonably understand that paper left in water for twelve or
more hours is likely to be very tender. In nearly every case when a
book has been washed it will be found necessary to size it: the size
|159| gives back the body or goodness that the hot water and chemical
has extracted. Often the virtue is extracted by damp, through the book
being left in some damp situation, or by imperfect sizing the paper
has first received; in such cases, although the book may not require
washing, sizing will be of benefit.
_Requisites._—The necessary articles required for washing, etc., are
dishes. Those of porcelain are perhaps the best; they may be bought
at any photographic material dealers. If much work is done, it is
advantageous to have a set or sets of two or three sizes. In using
the various dishes, ample room should be given to allow the hands to
enter the water and pick up the sheets or leaves without any danger of
tearing. Should the pans be of such a size as to be too heavy to move
when full of water, they may be emptied by means of a syphon, the short
end of the syphon placed, in preference, at one of the corners of the
dish, so as not to touch the sheets. The dishes may also be made of
wood, lined with zinc or lead: for very large work these must be used,
the porcelain are not made above a certain size.
A _kettle_ for boiling water in.
A _gas-stove_, or substitute, for heating purposes.
A _peel_, made of wood, to hang the sheets on the lines. The sheets are
placed on the peel, from which they are transferred to the lines.
_Chloride of lime for solution of chloride of lime._—Make a saturated
solution of chloride of lime by mixing intimately the lime with water
in a large jar. When clear the solution may be used. To every gallon of
hot water take from this stock solution two or three ounces.
NOTE.—_Chlorine bleaches all vegetable matter._
_Hydrochloric acid_, also known as muriatic acid or spirits of salts
(poison).
_Oxalic acid_ (poison).
_Powdered alum._ |160|
A _hair sieve_. This is not absolutely necessary, as a fine piece of
linen will answer as well.
_Size_:—
(1.) 1 quart of water.
1/2 ounce of powdered alum.
1 ounce of isinglass.
1 scruple of soap.
Simmer the whole for about one hour, then pass through a fine hair
sieve or piece of linen. Use this whilst warm.
(2.) 1 gallon of water.
1/2 lb. of best glue.
2 ounces of powdered alum.
Simmer and use as above.
(3). 1 quart of water.
2-1/2 ounces of isinglass.
2 drachms of alum.
Simmer the whole for about one hour, strain as above.
It must be remembered that a size too strong in glue or isinglass is
liable to make the paper too brittle; again, some papers require a
stronger size than others.
(4). A size that may be used cold, and is recommended in France, to
keep at hand and to use when only a single leaf requires sizing, such
as when a name has been erased from a title-page, is as follows:—Boil
about a quart of water in a saucepan. Whilst boiling, add about two oz.
of shellac and 1/2 oz. of borax; the borax will dissolve the shellac,
which will be held in suspension; the whole must then be passed through
a fine hair sieve, or piece of linen, to rid it of all pieces or
impurities. This will keep a very long time, and may be used over and
over again.
Great care must be exercised that not too much shellac is used, or the
paper will be rendered transparent. |161|
MANIPULATION.
_Dust._—The careful application of india-rubber or bread will generally
take away all dust. In using india-rubber, hold the sheet or leaf down
by the left hand, and rub gently away from it. If the rubber is used
in a to and fro motion, there is great danger of the sheet doubling
back and breaking. The bread may be used in a circular motion; and if a
book be cleaned from dust by this means without pulling to pieces, all
crumbs must be brushed away from the back very carefully before closing
the book.
_Water stains._—If the stains be from water, the application of boiling
water and alum will take them out. This stain is the one most usually
found in books, it may be distinguished from other stains by leaving a
mark having a sharp edge.
To take such a stain away, pull the book to pieces, strew on the bottom
of the pan a handful of powdered alum, on this pour a quantity of
boiling water. Immerse each section leaf by leaf in the liquid, and
allow to remain for some hours. It may be found rather difficult to get
the sheets to go under the water; and as one cannot press them under by
hand, on account of the heat, make a substitute by wrapping strips of
linen on the end of a piece of wood; keep this handy, it will be found
very useful; being round at the end, and soft, it does not tear or go
through the paper, as will anything sharp.
The alum water will, after a time, become very discoloured; this is
only the stain and other dirt extracted from the paper; throw this away
by tipping the dish, or by the use of the syphon; add fresh water,
either warm or cold, but preferably warm, to dissolve any excess of
alum that may have soaked into the paper, and to further clear it.
After a time the whole book may be taken out, placed between pressing
boards, and excess of water pressed away by the laying |162| press.
The sections are then carefully opened, and hung upon lines or cords
stretched across the workshop to dry. When dry, should the paper
require it, pass the whole book, section by section, or leaf by leaf,
through a size, press, and again hang up to dry. When dry, it will be
ready for re-binding. It may happen that only a single leaf is stained;
do _not cut_ this out as is usually done, but wet a piece of fine
string, which lay on the leaf as far in the back as possible; close the
book and allow to remain a few minutes; the leaf may then be readily
drawn out, the moisture of the string having made the paper soft where
it was placed. It may then be cleaned, and when dry and pressed,
replaced.
_Damp stains_ may be treated as for water stains, but, as a rule,
a book damaged by damp has little or no chance of being made good
again. A book so damaged can only be strengthened by re-sizing or some
artificial means. To re-size leaves that cannot be plunged into the
solution, the sizing may be done with a soft brush. Place the leaf on a
piece of glass or marble, and use the brush to the leaf as one would do
in pasting; when sized, lift the leaf up very gently and lay it out on
paper to dry; when dry, the reverse side is treated in like manner; or
a thin paper of a transparent character may be pasted over the pages,
either on one or both sides.
_Mud._—Luckily a book stained with mud is not of frequent occurrence.
Mud seems to be a combination of all that is objectionable, generally
it is a mixture of iron and grease. Wash the leaf well in cold water,
then in a weak solution of muriatic acid, after which, plunge in a weak
solution of chloride of lime. Rinse well, dry, and size. Sometimes
it will be necessary to wash the leaf with soap water. Make a soap
solution, and gently go over the whole sheet with a soft brush, a
shaving brush for instance; this may be done by laying the leaf on a
slab of glass: use great care with |163| the brush, or the surface of
the paper will be abraised; after which, rinse well with water.
Very often such stains, if fresh, will disappear if a fine jet of
water be allowed to play on the parts dirtied, the water being ejected
through a fine rose jet.
_Fox-marks._—Books so stained may generally be cleaned by immersing the
leaves into a weak solution of hydrochloric acid; one must not make
the bath too strong, 1/2 ounce of the acid to 1 pint of water, using
the bath hot, will be found about right. Should the marks not give to
this treatment, plunge the book, sheet by sheet, into a weak bath of
chlorine water. The book may be left in for some hours, taken out and
replaced in the hydrochloric bath; after a half hour it may be rinsed
with cold water, hung up to dry, and sized.
_Finger-marks, commonly called “thumb-marks.”_—These are the most
difficult to erase, the dirt being generally of a greasy nature, and
forced into the fibres of the paper. Make a jelly of white or curd
soap, apply to the stain, and leave it on for some time, then wash away
gently by means of a soft brush _while the leaf is in cold water_; this
will, as a rule, take all, or nearly all, away. A slight rinsing in
very weak acid water, again with cold water, and when dry size.
_Blood stains._—The leaves stained must be plunged into cold water;
when thoroughly soaked, the stains may be washed with a soft brush
charged with soap, then well rinsed with water again. Dry.
If hot water be used, the heat renders the albumen of the blood
insoluble, and the stain will be difficult to erase.
_Ink stains (writing)._—Some inks are more difficult to erase than
others. As a rule ink gives way if the writing be treated with a
solution of oxalic acid, and afterwards to a weak solution of chloride
of lime. It is perhaps better to immerse the whole leaf in the
solution, as the lime is likely to bleach and leave a mark; the leaf
should in any |164| case be plunged in warm water afterwards, to wash
away the lime and acid, and, after drying, it should be sized.
_Ink stains (marking ink, silver)_ may be removed by a solution of
tincture of iodine; nitrate of silver, the basis of the ink, is changed
into iodide of silver, this is then treated with a solution of cyanide
of potassium. It may perhaps be necessary to repeat this two or three
times; when quite dissolved out, it must be well washed. As the cyanide
is a deadly poison, one may substitute _hyposulphite of sodium_.
_Fat stains._—(1.) Place a piece of blotting-paper on each side of
the stain, apply a hot polishing iron very carefully to the paper;
this will, in most cases, melt the fat, which will be absorbed by the
blotting-paper.
(2.) Scrape pipe clay, or French chalk, which place on the stain, then
use the hot iron. The iron must not be used too hot, or the paper will
be scorched; a piece of paper should always be placed between the iron
and the leaf stained. The powder may be afterwards brushed away.
(3.) May be removed by washing the leaf with ether, or benzoline,
placing a pad of blotting-paper under and over the leaf, dabbing the
benzoline or ether on the spot with a piece of cotton wool. This
process must not be conducted near a flame, both are highly inflammable.
(4.) A mixture of 1 part nitric acid, 10 parts water, is useful in many
instances for oil stains. When erased, plunge the whole sheet or leaf
into water, changing the water several times. Dry and size.
_Ink._—When the writing-paper has been made from inferior rags bleached
with excess of chlorine the best ink becomes discoloured.
_Reviving old writings._—(1.) Brush the paper over carefully with a
solution of sulpho-cyanide of potassium (1 in 20). Then, while still
damp, hold over a dish containing hot muriatic acid; the writing will
develop deep red. |165|
(2.) Wash the writing with a very weak solution of hydrochloric acid,
then carefully apply infusion of galls.
(3.) For letters that have been in sea water, wash with warm water to
remove the salt, then soak in weak solution of gallic acid, about 3
grains to the ounce. If this does not make the writing legible enough,
wash thoroughly in clean water, and soak in a solution of protosulphate
of iron, 10 grains to the ounce.
_To restore writing effaced by chlorine._—(1.) Expose the writing to
the vapour of sulphuret of ammonia, or dip it into a solution of the
sulphuret.
(2.) Ferro-cyanide of potassium, 5 parts.
Water, 85 parts.
Dissolve and immerse the paper in the fluid, then slightly acidulate
the solution with sulphuric acid.
Guitaud discovered that sulphuret of ammonia and prussiate of potash
revives writing effaced by oxymuriatic acid.
_To restore MSS. faded by time._—A moderately concentrated solution of
tannin washed over the paper. The MS. to be carefully dried.
_To preserve drawings or manuscripts._—Mix with every 100 parts
of collodion 2 parts of sterine. Place the paper in question on a
perfectly level and even surface, such as a marble table or large slab
of glass. Give the paper a thin coat of this collodion, and in about
twenty minutes it will be protected by a transparent, brilliant, and
imperishable envelope.
_To fix drawings or pencil marks._—Pass the paper through a bath of
thin size, made either from gelatine or isinglass; or a bath of skim
milk.
_To render paper waterproof._—Take of borax 100 parts, water 2,250
parts; boil, and while stirring, gradually add powdered shellac 300
parts. When the whole is dissolved, strain through muslin. This will
keep a long time and may be bottled. |166|
_To render paper incombustible._—Pass the paper through a strong
solution of alum, and hang up to dry.
The following, taken from the “English Mechanic,” June 19th, 1874, is,
I think, of great use to the professional restorer of old books, and
will give the binder an idea of what has to be done sometimes:—
“DECIPHERING BURNT DOCUMENTS.
“M. Rathelot, an officer of the Paris Law Courts, has succeeded in an
ingenious manner in transcribing a number of the registers which were
burnt during the Commune. These registers had remained so long in the
fire that each of them seemed to have become a homogeneous block, more
like a slab of charcoal than anything else; and when an attempt was
made to detach a leaf it fell away into powder.
“He first cut off the back of the book; he then steeped the book in
water, and afterwards exposed it, all wet as it was, to the heat at
the mouth of a warming pipe (_calorifère_). The water as it evaporated
raised the leaves one by one, and they could be separated, but
with extraordinary precaution. Each sheet was then deciphered and
transcribed. The appearance of the pages was very curious—the writing
appeared of a dull black, while the paper was of a lustrous black,
something like velvet decorations on a black satin ground, so that the
entries were not difficult to decipher.”
_Insects._—A library has generally three kinds of enemies to be guarded
against, viz.: insects, dampness, and rats or mice.[12]
[12] Blades, in his “Enemies of Books,” includes bookbinders.
Everyone is supposed to know how to guard against dampness and rats or
mice. Several means are known how to keep insects at a distance. The
first consists in the |167| proper choice of woods for the book-case:
these are cedar, cypress, mahogany, sandal, or very dry and sound oak.
All these are compact or of very strong aroma, and are such as insects
do not like to pierce. Another source of danger is the use of chemicals
in the binding of books.
The insects that make ravages in books multiply very rapidly, and very
few libraries are free from them. The microscopic eggs that are left
by the female give birth to a small grub, which pierces the leather
boards and book for its nourishment, and to get to the air. These are
familiarly called bookworms, but by the scientific world they are
known as _hypothenemus eruditus_ which eats the leather, and _anobium
striatum_ which bores through the paper. The larvæ of the _dermestes_
also attack wood as well as books.
An instance of how these insects were once managed:—M. Fabbroni,
Director of the Museum of Florence, who possessed a magnificent
library, found, after a year’s absence, in the wood and furniture,
great havoc made by insects, and his books spoilt by the larvæ, so
much so that it gave a fair promise of the total destruction of the
whole, unless he could find a method to exterminate the pests. He
first painted the holes over with wax, but shortly after he found new
worms which killed every particle of wood they touched. He plunged the
ordinary wood in arsenic and oil, and other portions he anointed once
every month with olive oil, in which he had boiled arsenic, until the
colour and odour announced that the solution was perfect. The number
then diminished. But a similar method could not be employed for books.
M. Fabbroni resolved to anoint the back and sides with aquafortis; in
an instant the dermestes abandoned their habitation, and wandered to
the wood; the oil having evaporized they commenced to develop again,
and again began their attacks on the newly bound books. He saw amongst
the many spoilt books one |168| remaining intact, and on inquiry
found that turpentine had been used in the paste. He then ordered that
for the future all paste should be mixed with some such poison. This
precaution had the _beneficial_ result.
It is not only in Europe that these worms make such ravages in
libraries. In the warmer climes they appear to be even more dangerous.
And it is a fact that certain libraries are almost a mass of dust, by
the books (and valuable ones) falling to pieces. Nearly all authors
on this subject agree that the paste which is used is the first
cause, or a great help, to all the waste committed by these dangerous
_bibliophobes_. Then something must be put into the paste which will
resist all these insects and keep them at a distance. The most suitable
for this is a mineral salt, such as alum or vitriol; vegetable salts,
such as potash, dissolve readily in a moist air and make marks or
spots in the books. From experience, it is most desirable to banish
everything that may encourage worms, and as it is very rare that
persons who occupy themselves with books are not in want of paste,
for some repairs or other, either to the bindings or to the books,
subjoined is a method of preserving the paste and keeping it moist and
free from insects.
Alum, as employed by binders, is not an absolute preservative, although
it contributes greatly to the preservation of the leather. Resin as
used by shoemakers is preferable, and in effect works in the same
way; but oil of turpentine has a greater effect. Anything of strong
odour, like aniseed, bergamot, mixed perfectly but in small quantities,
preserves the paste during an unlimited time.
Or, make the paste with flour, throw in a small quantity of ground
sugar and a portion of _corrosive sublimate_. The sugar makes it pliant
and prevents the formation of crust on the top. The sublimate prevents
insects and fermentation. This salt does not prevent moisture, but as
two or |169| three drops of oil are sufficient to prevent it, all
causes of destruction are thus guarded against. This paste exposed to
the air hardens without decomposition. If it is kept in an air-tight
pot or jar, it will be always ready, without any other preparation.
Books placed in a library should be thoroughly dusted two or three
times a year, not only to keep them in all their freshness, but
also to prevent any development of insects and to examine for signs
of dampness. The interior of a book also asks that care, which
unfortunately is neglected very often. After having taken a book from
the shelves it should not be opened before ascertaining if the top edge
be dusty. If it is a book that has had the edge cut, the dust should be
removed with a soft duster, or simply blown off. If it is a book which
has uncut edges it should be brushed with rather a hard brush. By this
method in opening the volume one need not be afraid that the dirt will
enter between the leaves and soil them.
_Glue._—The best glue may be known by its paleness, but French glue is
now manufactured of inferior quality, made pale by the use of acid, but
which on boiling turns almost black. Good glue immersed in water for a
day will not dissolve, but swell, while inferior will partly or wholly
do so, according to quality.
In preparing glue, a few cakes should be broken into pieces and placed
in water for twelve hours, then boiled and turned out into a pan to get
cold; when cold, pieces may be cut out and placed in the glue-pot as
wanted. This naturally refers to when large quantities are used, but
small portions may be boiled in the glue-pot after soaking in water.
Glue loses a great deal of its strength by frequent re-melting. It
should always be used as hot as possible.
_Rice glue or paste._—By mixing rice flour intimately with |170| cold
water, and then gently boiling it, a beautifully white and strong paste
is made. It dries almost transparent, and is a most useful paste for
fine or delicate work.
_Paste._—For ordinary purposes paste consists simply of flour made into
a thin cream with water and boiled. It then forms a stiffish mass,
which may be diluted with water so as to bring it to any required
condition. It is sometimes of advantage to add a little common glue to
the paste. Where paste is kept for a long time, various ingredients may
be added to prevent souring and moulding. A few cloves form perhaps the
best preservative for small quantities; on the larger scale carbolic
acid may be used; salicylic acid is also a good preservative, a few
grains added to the freshly prepared paste will entirely prevent
souring and moulding.
Paste is now made on a commercial scale by various Paste Cos., who send
it out to all parts. The paste is exceedingly good, and keeps a long
time.
_Photographs._—A few words respecting the treatment of photographs may
not be out of place here.
To remove a photograph from an old or dirty mount, the surplus of the
mount should be cut away; it should then be put into a plate of cold
water and be allowed to float off. A little warm water will assist in
its coming away more easily, but should it not do so, the photograph
has probably been mounted with a solution of india-rubber, and in that
case, by holding it near the fire, the rubber will soften, and the
print may easily be peeled off.
Very hot water is likely to set up a reaction if the prints were not
well washed by the photographer when first sent out.
In mounting photographs, white boards should, as a rule, be avoided,
because the colour of the boards is more pure than the lights of the
photograph, and deaden the effect. A toned or tinted board is more
suitable. |171|
They should be damped, and evenly trimmed and pasted all over with thin
best glue or starch, and well rubbed down with a piece of clean paper
over the print. If any of the glue or starch oozes out from the sides,
it should be wiped off with a clean damp sponge. As photographs lose
their gloss in mounting, they must be rolled afterwards in order to
restore it. A special machine is used for this.
But it may be wished to introduce the silver print without mounting on
a board. To do so, and to keep the print straight, paste a very thin
paper on the back, stretching the paper well; this will counteract
the pulling power albumen has, and the print will, if this be done
properly, remain perfectly straight and not curl up.
_Albumen._—Desiccated egg-albumen is now well known in the market
in the form of powder. Three teaspoonfuls of cold water added to
every 1/2 teaspoonful of powder represents the normal consistency of
egg-albumen.[13]
[13] See Chapter on Finishing—“Albumen.”
The manufacture of egg-albumen in the neighbourhood of Moscow is
carried on in the houses of the country people. The albumen however is
generally roughly prepared and of bad appearance, and often spoils.
But egg-albumen is also produced on a manufacturing scale in the
neighbourhood of Korotscha, the largest establishment there numbering
sixty to seventy workwomen, using about eight million eggs yearly,
other establishments using less in proportion.
Albumen is also largely manufactured from blood; 5 oxen or 20 sheep or
34 calves are said to yield the same quantity of dry albumen, viz., 2
lbs. In producing blood-albumen for commerce, the objects borne in mind
are the attainment of a substance whose solution is free from colour,
possesses coagulation, and which is cheap.
_To prevent tools, machines, etc., from rusting._—Boiled linseed
oil, if allowed to dry on polished tools, will keep them |172| from
rusting; the oil forms a coat over them which excludes contact from air.
Dissolve 1/2 oz. of camphor in 1 lb. of lard; take off the scum, and
mix as much blacklead as will give the mixture an iron colour. All
kinds of machinery, iron or steel, if rubbed over with this mixture,
and left on for 24 hours, and then rubbed with a linen cloth, will keep
clean for months.
_To clean silver mountings._—To restore the colour of tarnished silver
clasps, etc., boil the goods, either silver or plated, in enough
water to cover them. For every pint of water put into it 2 ounces of
carbonate of potash and a 1/4 lb. of whiting. After boiling them for
about a quarter of an hour, clean with a leather, brush, and whiting.
They will then look as good as new.
_To clean sponges._—Soak the sponge well in diluted muriatic acid for
twelve hours. Wash well, then immerse in a solution of hyposulphate of
soda to which a few drops of muriatic acid has been added a few moments
before. When sufficiently bleached, wash well, and dry in a current of
air.
|173|
GLOSSARY
OF THE
TECHNICAL TERMS AND IMPLEMENTS USED IN BOOKBINDING.
ALL-ALONG.—When a volume is sewed, and the thread passes from
kettle-stitch to kettle-stitch, or from end to end in each sheet, it is
said to be sewed “all-along.”
ARMING PRESS.—A species of blocking press used by hand; so called from
the use of it to impress armorial bearings on the sides of books.
ASTERISK.—A star used by printers at the bottom of the pages meant to
supply the places of those cancelled (_see also_ CANCEL).
BACKING BOARDS.—Used when backing and for forming the groove. They are
made of very hard wood, and sometimes faced with iron; are thicker
on the edge intended to form the groove than upon the edge that goes
towards the foredge, so that the whole power of the lying press may be
directed towards the back.
BACKING HAMMER.—The hammer used for backing and rounding; it has a
broad flat face similar to a shoemaker’s hammer.
BACKING MACHINE.—A machine for backing cheap work.