[Illustration: 1
_Montague Style_
_Harleian Style_
_Aldine Style_
_Harleian Border_]
A
MANUAL
OF THE
ART OF BOOKBINDING:
CONTAINING
FULL INSTRUCTIONS IN THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF
FORWARDING, GILDING, AND FINISHING.
ALSO,
+The Art of Marbling Book-Edges and Paper.+
THE WHOLE DESIGNED FOR
THE PRACTICAL WORKMAN, THE AMATEUR, AND THE
BOOK-COLLECTOR.
BY
JAMES B. NICHOLSON.
PHILADELPHIA:
HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO.,
INDUSTRIAL PUBLISHERS, BOOKSELLERS AND IMPORTERS,
810 WALNUT STREET.
1878.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by
JAS. B. NICHOLSON,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States
for the
Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO.
PHILADELPHIA.
PREFACE.
The progress of the Art of Bookbinding has made nearly all the works
written upon the subject obsolete; their descriptions no longer apply
to the methods practised by the best workmen. Throughout this work,
the opinions and remarks of other writers have been adopted without
alteration, unless they came in contact with practical knowledge.
Every thing that would not bear that test has been rejected, and in
lieu thereof those modes of operation described that the young binder
will have to learn and practise if he desires to emulate the skill of
the best artists.
The plan of the work is taken from "Arnett's Bibliopegia;" and every
thing given in that work that has any approach to utility will be
found in these pages. It was at first intended merely to revise that
production; but during the progress of revision so much was rejected
that it was deemed better to pass under notice at the same time the
labours of others. "Cundall's Ornamental Art" has furnished the early
incidents in the "Sketch of the Progress of the Art of Bookbinding;"
and, as the best authority upon the subject, "Woolnough's Art
of Marbling" has been adapted to this country. Mr. Leighton's
"Suggestions in Design" has been laid under contribution in order to
enrich the subject of Ornamental Art. The "London Friendly Finishers'
Circulars" have been a valuable acquisition to the writer, and it is
trusted will make this work equally so to the young finisher. "Cowie's
Bookbinders' Manual," "Arnett's School of Design," "Gibb's Hand-book
of Ornament," and "Scott's Essay on Ornamental Art," in addition
to those acknowledged in the body of the work, have supplied some
valuable hints.
It is hoped that this volume will prove useful to those forming
libraries, by imparting correct information upon subjects that to
the book-collector are important, and that its tendencies will be to
increase and strengthen a love for the art.
J. B. N.
PHILADELPHIA, 1856.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION.
PAGE
SKETCH of the Progress of Bookbinding 9
PART I.
Sheet-Work 34
PART II.
Forwarding 59
The Edges 74
Marbling 82
Gilding the Edges 130
Covering 141
Half-Binding 149
Blank Binding 151
Boarding 169
Cloth-Work 170
PART III.
Ornamental Art 178
Finishing:
Taste and Design 186
Styles 198
Gilding 215
Illuminated Binding 227
Blind Tooling 230
Antique 231
Colouring 236
Marbling 246
Uniform Colours 256
Gold Marbles, Landscapes, &c. 260
Inlaid Ornaments 270
Harmony of Colours 272
Pasting Down, &c. 273
Stamp or Press-Work 279
Restoring the Bindings of Old Books 289
Supplying Imperfections in Old Books 290
Hints to Book-Collectors 292
Technical Terms 297
INTRODUCTION.
SKETCH OF THE PROGRESS OF BOOKBINDING.
The earliest records of Bookbinding that exist prove that the art has
been practised for nearly two thousand years. In past ages, books were
written on long scrolls of parchment or papyrus, and were rolled up
and fastened with a thong which was made of coloured leather and often
highly ornamented. These scrolls were usually attached to one, or,
occasionally, two rollers of wood or ivory, or sometimes of gold, much
as our large maps are now mounted, and the bosses at the end of the
rollers were frequently highly decorated. This decoration may be
called the first step toward Ornamental Art applied to the exterior of
books.
A learned Athenian, named Phillatius, to whom his countrymen erected
a statue, at length found out a means of binding books with glue. The
sheets of vellum or papyrus were gathered two or four together, sewn
much in the same way as at the present day; and then, in order to
preserve these sheets, there came, as a matter of course, a covering
for the book.
The probability is that the first book-covers were of wood--plain
oaken boards, perhaps; then, as books in those days were all in
manuscript, and very valuable, carved oak bindings were given to those
which were the most decorated within.
To cover the plain wooden board with vellum or leather would, in the
course of years, be too apparent an improvement to be neglected; and
specimens of books so bound, of the great antiquity of which there are
undoubted proofs, exist at the present day.
There is reason to believe that the Romans carried the Art of Binding
to considerable perfection. Some of the public offices had books
called Dyptichs,[A] in which their acts were written. The binding of
one of these in carved wood is thus described:--"Seated in the centre
of each board is a consul, holding in one hand a baton, and in the
other, upraised, a purse, as if in the act of throwing it to some
victor in the games. Above these are miniature portraits, various
other ornaments, and an inscription; below, on one board, are two
men leading out horses for the race, and beneath them a group, with a
ludicrous representation of two other men, exhibiting their endurance
of pain by allowing crabs to fasten on their noses." A small print of
an ivory dyptich of the fifth century, in Mr. Arnett's "Books of the
Ancients," may be consulted as a specimen of the kind of ornament then
adopted. An old writer says, that about the time of the Christian
era the books of the Romans were covered with red, yellow, green, and
purple leather, and decorated with gold and silver.
[Footnote A: "The antiquity of illuminated missals has been
traced, conjecturally, even to the time of the apostles
themselves. At the beginning of the Christian era, missive
letters were usually written on tablets of wood, hollowed so
as to present something of the appearance of a boy's slate in
a frame. Two of these were placed face to face to preserve the
writing, which was on wax, and a pair of boards thus prepared
was called a Dyptich. The Epistles of St. Paul and the other
apostles to the primitive churches were, in fact, missive
letters despatched to their distant congregations; and there
is every probability that imaginary or real portraits of the
writers accompanied the letters, and headed the contents of
the Christian dyptichs, in order to insure to them the same
degree of reverence which was paid to the missives of the
government when headed by the imperial effigies.
"The compact form of the dyptich suited the purposes of
a movable altar-piece admirably. And the names dyptic or
triptic, which implied at first but a double or triple page,
came with time to designate those folding altarpieces so
frequently found in the earliest Christian churches."--_Lady
Calcott's Essay._]
If we pass on to a few centuries later, we find that the monks were
almost the only literati. They wrote chiefly on subjects of religion,
and bestowed the greatest pains upon the internal and external
decorations of their books. In the thirteenth century some of the
gospels, missals, and other service-books for the Greek and Roman
churches, were ornamented with silver and gold, apparently wrought by
the hammer; sometimes they were enamelled and enriched with precious
stones, and pearls of great value. Carved oak figures of the Virgin,
or the Infant Saviour, or of the Crucifixion, were also the frequent
adornments of the outside covers. One of these ancient relics is thus
described by the librarian of Henry VIII.
"All I have to do is to observe, that this book (which the more I have
look'd upon the more I have always admired) hath two thick boards,
each about an inch in thickness, for its covers, and that they were
joined with the book by large leather thongs, which boards are now by
length of time become very loose. Tho' I have seen a vast number of
old books and oftentimes examined their covers, yet I do not remember
I ever saw boards upon any of them of so great thickness as these.
This was the manner of Binding, it seems, of those times, especially
if the books were books of extraordinary value, as this is. 'Twas
usual to cut Letters in the Covers, and such letters were the better
preserv'd by having them placed in some hollow part, which might
easily be made if the boards were pretty thick. I suppose, therefore,
that even the copies of _Gregory's_ Pastoral that were given to
Cathedral Churches by King _Alfred_ had such thick covers also, that
these by the _Æstals_ might be fix'd the better. What makes me think
so is, that the outside of one of the covers of this book is made
hollow, and there is a rude sort of figure upon a brass plate that
is fastened within the hollow part, which figure I take to have been
designed for the Virgin _Mary_, to whom the Abbey was dedicated. Over
it there was once fastened another much larger plate, as is plain
from the Nails that fixed it and from some other small indications now
extant,--and this 'tis likely was of silver, and perhaps there was
an _anathema_ against the Person that should presume to alienate it,
engraved upon it--together with the Name of the Person (who it may be
was _Roger Poure_) that was the Donor of the Book. This will make
it to have been nothing else but an Æstal, such a one (tho' not so
valuable) as was fastened upon _Gregory's_ Pastoral. But this I leave
to every man's judgment."[B]
[Footnote B: Leland's Itin. vol. ii. p. 86, Oxford, 1769.]
At a later period we find on the binding of books gold and silver
ornaments of very beautiful design, enclosing precious stones of
great variety; carved ivory tablets let into framework of carved oak;
rich-coloured velvets, edged with morocco, with bosses, clasps, and
corners of solid gold; white vellum stamped in gold and blind tooling;
and morocco and calf covers inlaid with various colours and adorned
in every conceivable way. This was at the end of the fourteenth and
in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the love of Art was
universal, in the land where Michael Angelo, and Raffaelle, and Da
Vinci produced their great works, and where, under the auspices of
the Medici, the Art of Bookbinding as well as all other arts was
encouraged.
Mr. Dibdin, in his "Bibliographical Decameron," to which we are much
indebted, has given an account of the library of Corvinus, King of
Hungary, who died at Buda about the year 1490. This library consisted
of about thirty thousand volumes, mostly manuscripts of the Greek
and Latin poets and historians, and was contained in large vaulted
galleries, in which, among other works of art, were two fountains,
one of marble and the other of silver. The binding of the books
were mostly of brocade, protected with bosses and clasps of gold
and silver; and these, alas! were the subsequent cause of the almost
entire destruction of the library; for, when the city of Buda was
taken by assault, in 1526, the Turkish soldiers tore the precious
volumes from their covers for the sake of the ornaments that were upon
them.
The general use of calf and morocco binding seems to have followed
the invention of printing. There are many printed books, still in good
preservation, that were bound in calf with oaken boards at the end
of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries. These are
mostly stamped with gold or blind tools. The earliest of these tools
generally represent figures, such as Christ, St. Paul, the Virgin,
coats of arms, legends, and monograms, according to the contents of
the book. Afterward attempts were made to produce pictures, but these
were necessarily bad.
In England, the earliest binding with ornament was about the time of
Henry VII., when we find the royal arms supported by two angels; the
heraldic badge of the double rose and pomegranate, the fleur-de-lys,
the portcullis, the emblems of the evangelists, and small ornaments of
grotesque animals. There are in the British Museum and in the Record
Office many English bindings which undoubtedly were executed in the
time of Henry VII.
In the reign of Henry VIII., about 1538, Grafton, the printer,
undertook to print the great Bible. Not finding sufficient men or
types in England, he went to Paris and there commenced it. He had not,
however, proceeded far, before he was stopped in the progress of this
heretical book; and he then took over to England the presses, type,
printers, and bookbinders, and finished the work in 1539. The edition
consisted of 2500 copies, one of which was set up in every church in
England, secured to a desk by a chain. Within three years there were
seven distinct editions of this work; which, supposing each edition
to consist of the same number of copies as the first, would amount to
17,500 folio volumes. The binding, therefore, of so great a number of
this book would alone give some importance to the Art of Bookbinding
at that period. We know that Henry VIII. had many splendid volumes
bound in velvet with gold bosses and ornaments. In his reign the
stamping of tools in gold appears to have been first introduced in
England; and some beautiful rolls, probably from Holbein's designs,
were used as well on the sides as on the gilded edges of books still
in existence.
In the reign of Elizabeth some exquisite bindings were done in
embroidery. The queen herself used to work covers with gold and silver
thread, spangles, and coloured silk, for Bibles and other devotional
books which she presented to her maids of honour and her friends.
From these brilliant external decorations, many of them entirely
inappropriate for a book, we turn to a purer taste, the exercise
of which will be found to reside within the peculiar limits of the
Bookbinder's Art.
We return to Continental binding, and pass to the time of the
ever-famous Jean Grolier. This nobleman was the first to introduce
lettering upon the back; and he seems to have taken especial delight
in having the sides of his books ornamented with very beautiful and
elaborate patterns, said to have been drawn by his own hand. Many of
them exist at the present day, either original Groliers or copies.
Books from his library are eagerly sought for. All Grolier's books
were bound in smooth morocco or calf, the pattern being formed of
intersected line-work, finished by hand with a fine one-line fillet
and gouges to correspond, with the occasional introduction of a
conventional flower. Sometimes also the patterns were inlaid with
morocco of different colours; and it is our opinion that no style
of book-ornamentation has been since introduced that is worthy of
entirely superseding the Grolier, a specimen of which will be given
when treating on style. Very many of the Chevalier's volumes have
the Latin inscription "Johanni Grolierii et amicorum" at the bottom,
signifying that Grolier wished his books to be used by his friends as
well as by himself. Connoisseurs rejoice when they meet with a work
from the library of Maioli, a disciple of Grolier, or those of
Diana of Poictiers, the mistress of Henry II., and whose books, in
consequence of her influence and taste, are elegantly bound. It is
supposed that the bindings for Diana of Poictiers were designed by
Petit Bernard. They were bound in morocco of all colours, and usually
ornamented with the emblems of the crescent and bow and quiver.
Among the earliest French binders must be mentioned Padeloup, Derome,
and De Seuil. Pope celebrates De Seuil in one of his poems. Derome's
plain morocco bindings are excellent; they are sewn on raised bands,
are firm and compact, and the solid gilding upon the edges is worthy
of commendation; his dentelle borders are fine, but unfortunately
he was not careful of the trenchant steel. Padeloup's tooling or
ornaments consist chiefly of small dots, and the forms he invented are
elegant. When met with in good state, they look like gold lace upon
the sides and backs of the books.
The bindings of books which belonged to De Thou are highly prized.
He possessed a magnificent library, mostly bound in smooth deep-toned
red, yellow, and green morocco. De Thou died in 1617. The Chevalier
D'Eon used to bind books in a sort of Etruscan calf, the ornaments on
which were copied from the Etruscan vases. The use of the black and
red dyes have very frequently corroded the leather.
We must now resume our account of binding in England.
During the early part of the last century the general bindings were,
with the exception of what was called Cambridge binding, (from being
executed at that place,) of a depreciated character, many of them very
clumsy, and devoid of taste in their ornament. Toward the middle
some degree of attention had begun to be paid to the improvement of
bindings, the general kinds being, up to the end of the eighteenth
century, nearly all executed to one pattern,--viz.: the sides marbled,
the backs coloured brown, with morocco lettering-pieces, and gilt.
The artists of the earlier part of the period of which we have been
treating must have been numerous; but few are known. Two German
binders, of the name of Baumgarten and Benedict, were of considerable
note and in extensive employment in London during the early part
of this century. The bindings of Oxford were also very good at this
period. Who the distinguished parties at Oxford were has not
been recorded; but a person of the name of Dawson, then living at
Cambridge, has the reputation of being a clever artist, and may be
pronounced as the binder of many of the substantial volumes still
possessing the distinctive binding we have before referred to.
Baumgarten and Benedict would, doubtless, be employed in every style
of binding of their day, but the chief characteristics of their
efforts are good substantial volumes in russia, with marbled edges.
To these succeeded Mr. John Mackinlay and two other Binders, named
Kalth[oe]ber and Staggemier; but to Mackinlay may, perhaps, be
attributed the first impulse given to the improvements which have
been introduced into bindings. He was one of the largest and most
creditable binders in London of the period of which we are treating.
Several specimens of his, in public and private libraries, remain to
justify the character given of him; and of the numerous artists that
his office produced, many have since given evidence, by their work,
that the lessons they received were of a high character. The specimens
alluded to exhibit a degree of care, ingenuity, and skill, highly
creditable to them as binders. Though well executed, they did not pay
the time and attention devoted, in later times, to the finishing or
gilding of their work, and it was not till Roger Payne exhibited the
handiwork of the craft, that any decided impulse was given to the
progress of the art, which has gone on, under able successors, from
one improvement to another till there exists much doubt whether or no
we have not now, so far as mechanical execution depends, arrived at
perfection. About the year 1770 Roger Payne went to London, and, as
his history is an epoch in the history of the art, we will devote some
space to it.
The personal history of Roger Payne is one among the many of the
ability of a man being rendered nearly useless by the dissoluteness
of his habits. He stands an example to the young, of mere talent,
unattended with perseverance and industry, never leading to
distinction,--of great ability, clouded by intemperance and consequent
indiscretion, causing the world only to regret how much may have been
lost that might have been developed had the individual's course been
different and his excellences directed so as to have produced the best
results.
Roger Payne was a native of Windsor Forest, and first became initiated
in the rudiments of the art he afterward became so distinguished
a professor of, under the auspices of Mr. Pote, bookseller to Eton
College. From this place he went to London, where he was first
employed by Mr. Thomas Osborne, the bookseller, of Holborn, London.
Disagreeing on some matters, he subsequently obtained employment from
Mr. Thomas Payne, of the King's Mews, St. Martin's, who ever after
proved a friend to him. Mr. Payne established him in business near
Leicester Square, about the year 1769-70, and the encouragement he
received from his patron, and many wealthy possessors of libraries,
was such that the happiest results and a long career of prosperity
might have been anticipated. His talents as an artist, particularly in
the finishing department, were of the first order, and such as, up to
his time, had not been developed by any other of his countrymen.
He adopted a style peculiarly his own, uniting a classical taste in
the formation of his designs, and much judgment in the selection of
such ornament as was applicable to the nature of the work it was to
embellish. Many of these he made himself of iron, and some are yet
preserved as curiosities and specimens of the skill of the man. To
this occupation he may have been at times driven from lack of money to
procure them from the tool-cutters; but it cannot be set down as being
generally so, for, in the formation of the designs in which he so much
excelled, it is but reasonable to suppose, arguing upon the practice
of some others in later times, he found it readier and more expedient
to manufacture certain lines, curves, &c. on the occasion. Be this as
it may, he succeeded in executing binding in so superior a manner as
to have no rival and to command the admiration of the most fastidious
book-lover of his time. He had full employment from the noble and
wealthy, and the estimation his bindings are still held in is a
sufficient proof of the satisfaction he gave his employers. His best
work is in Earl Spencer's library.
His reputation as an artist of the greatest merit was obscured, and
eventually nearly lost, by his intemperate habits. He loved drink
better than meat. Of this propensity an anecdote is related of a
memorandum of money spent, and kept by himself, which runs thus:--
For bacon 1 halfpenny.
For liquor 1 shilling.
No wonder then, with habits like these, that the efforts of his
patron, in fixing him, were rendered of no avail. Instead of rising
to that station his great talent would have led to, he fell by his
dissolute conduct to the lowest depths of misery and wretchedness. In
his wretched working-room was executed the most splendid specimens of
binding; and here on the same shelf were mixed together old shoes and
precious leaves--bread and cheese, with the most valuable and costly
of MSS. or early-printed books.
That he was characteristic or eccentric may be judged by what has been
related of him. He appears to have also been a poet on the subject of
his unfortunate propensity, as the following extract from a copy of
verses sent with a bill to Mr. Evans, for binding "Barry on the Wines
of the Ancients," proves.
"Homer the bard, who sung in highest strains
The festive gift, a goblet for his pains;
Falernian gave Horace, Virgil fire,
And Barley Wine my British Muse inspire.
Barley Wine first from Egypt's learned shore;
And this the gift to me of Calvert's _store_."
The following bill is, like himself, a curiosity:--
"Vanerii Praedium Rusticum. Parisiis. MDCCLXXIV.
Bound in the very best manner in the finest Green Morocco.
The back lined with Red Morrocco.
"Fine Drawing paper and very neat Morrocco }
Joints inside. Their was a few leaves stained } 0 : 0 : 6
at the foredge, which is washed and cleaned... }
"The subject of the Book being Rusticum, I
have ventured to putt The Vine Wreath on it.
I hope I have not bound it in too rich a manner
for the Book. It takes up a great deal of time
to do these Vine Wreaths. I guess within Time
I am certain of measuring and working the
different and various small tools required to fill
up the Vine Wreath that it takes very near 3
days' work in finishing the two sides only of the
Book--but I wished to do my best for the Work--and
at the same time I cannot expect to charge a
full and proper price for the Work, and hope that
the price will not only be found reasonable but
cheap 0 : 18 : 0"
Roger commenced business in partnership with his brother Thomas Payne,
and subsequently was in like manner connected with one Richard Weir,
but did not long agree with either, so that separation speedily took
place. He afterward worked under the roof of Mr. Mackinlay, but his
later efforts showed that he had lost much of that ability he had been
so largely endowed with. Pressed down with poverty and disease, he
breathed his last in Duke's Court, St. Martin's Lane, on the 20th of
November, 1797. His remains were interred in the burying-ground of St.
Martin's-in-the-Fields, at the expense of Mr. Thomas Payne, who, as
before stated, had been his early friend, and who, for the last eight
years of his life, had rendered him a regular pecuniary assistance
both for the support of his body and the performance of his work.
Of the excellencies and defects of his bindings, Dr. Dibdin, in his
"Bibliographer's Decameron," has thus recorded his opinion:--
"The great merit of Roger Payne lay in his taste--in his choice of
ornaments, and especially in the working of them. It is impossible to
excel him in these two particulars. His favourite colour was that of
_olive_, which he called _Venetian_. In his lining, joints, and inside
ornaments, our hero generally, and sometimes melancholily, failed. He
was fond of what he called purple paper, the colour of which was as
violent as its texture was coarse. It was liable also to change and
become spotty, and as a harmonizing colour with olive it was odiously
discordant. The joints of his books were generally _disjointed_,
uneven, carelessly tooled, and having a very unfinished appearance.
His backs are boasted of for their firmness. His work excellently
forwarded--every sheet fairly and _bona fide_ stitched into the back,
which was afterward usually coated in russia; but his minor volumes
did not open well in consequence. He was too fond of thin boards,
which, in folios, produces an uncomfortable effect, from fear of their
being inadequate to sustain the weight of the envelop."
Though Roger Payne's career had not been successful, so far as he was
personally concerned, it had the effect of benefiting the whole race
of English bookbinders. A new stimulus had been given to the trade,
and a new and chastened style introduced among the more talented
artists of the metropolis. The unmeaning ornaments we have before
alluded to were discarded, and a series of classical, geometrical,
and highly-finished designs adopted. The contemporaries of
Roger--Kalth[oe]ber, Staggemier, Walther, Hering, Falkner,
&c.--exerted themselves with a generous rivalry to execute the most
approved bindings.
Mr. Mackenzie deserves to be mentioned with respect among modern
binders. Charles Lewis, so highly eulogized by Mr. Dibdin, attained
great celebrity, and his bindings are much prized. His style
of ornament was very neat, the panels of the backs generally
double-mitred, and the sides finished in a corresponding manner. Mr.
Clarke deserves especial commendation; for tree-marbled calf he
stands unrivalled, although Mr. Riviere has executed some beautiful
specimens. Mr. Bedford also enjoys considerable reputation; but it is
to Mr. Hayday that the leading position among the London artists is
now generally assigned. His quaint old-fashioned morocco bindings are
inimitable. Lady Willoughby's Diary has been extensively copied, but
not equalled. His Bibles and Prayer Books are well forwarded; the
edges are solidly gilt with gold of a very deep colour, while the
finishing is rich and massive without being gaudy. A book in
the library of J. W. King Eyton, Esq., bound by Hayday, is thus
described:--
"The work is a large paper copy of the late Mr. Blakeway's 'Sheriffs
of Shropshire,' in imperial folio, with the armorial bearings
beautifully coloured. The binding is of blood-coloured morocco,
extending an inch and a half all round the inside of the cover, on
which is placed a bold but open border tooled in gold, forming a fine
relief to the rest of the inside, which is in purple, elegantly worked
all over in hexagons running into each other in the Venetian style.
In each compartment is placed the lion rampant and fleur-de-lis
alternately. The fly-leaves are of vellum, ornamented with two narrow
gold lines, and the edges are tooled. The back consists of hexagons,
inlaid with purple, containing the lion and fleur-de-lis aforesaid,
but somewhat smaller than those in the interior. The design on
the outside is a triumphal arch, occupying the entire side, highly
enriched, with its cornices, mouldings, &c. executed in suitable small
ornamental work; from its columns, (which are wreathed with laurel,)
and other parts of the structure, are suspended the shields of the
Sheriffs, seventy in number, the quarterings of which, with their
frets, bends, &c., are curiously inlaid in different colours of
morocco, and, with the ornamental parts of the bearings, have been
blazoned with heraldic accuracy on both sides of the volume. When we
state that more than 57,000 impressions of tools have been required to
produce this wonderful exemplar of ingenuity and skill, some idea may
be formed of the time and labour necessary for its execution."
This volume was finished by Thomas Hussey, who is now employed in
Philadelphia, and who has in his possession the patterns executed upon
the sides and back.
The French degenerated in binding from the time of Louis XIV. until
they became far inferior to the English. This continued to the
beginning of the present century; the books bound for the Emperor
Napoleon, upon which no expense appears to have been spared, are
clumsy, disjointed, and the tools coarse and unevenly worked. They
were generally bound in red morocco, with morocco joints, lined with
purple silk, upon which the imperial bee was stamped repeatedly.
Thouvenin enjoys the honour of rescuing the art from its
long-continued degradation in France, and of founding a school whose
disciples are now acknowledged to rank with the great masters of the
art. His tools and patterns were designed and cut by artists in his
employ; his establishment was on a large scale; but at his death he
left nothing behind him but his reputation as an artist, to stimulate
others to attain excellence in workmanship and a cultivated taste in
ornament and design. Among the most celebrated binders of the present
day in France are, Trautz et Bauzonnet, Niédré, Duru, Capé and Lortic.
The books of these artists are distinguished for solidity, squareness,
freedom of the joints, firmness of the heads and back, and extreme
nicety of finish. The fore-edges are gilt with the round in them,
giving them a solid rich appearance, as yet unequalled. The material
employed is of the choicest kind,--soft, rich Levant morocco being the
favourite covering for choice books. This leather, in the hands of
an ordinary workman, would make a clumsy covering upon account of
its great thickness; for it cannot be shaved down by a skin-dresser
without destroying the natural grain of the leather, and, with it, its
velvet-like richness and beauty; and yet, under the manipulations of
these French artists, it becomes one of the most plastic of materials;
rare volumes of the smallest dimensions, containing but one or two
sheets, are not only covered on the exterior, but the interior of
the boards, and even the joints are of Levant morocco. There are many
specimens of binding executed in France for gentlemen of taste and
lovers of the art in this country; and, in speaking of the productions
of French artists, it is to these that we refer. As a binder, Lortic
appears to be the least known; but he will probably become more
so. Capé is rapidly growing into favour. Duru is celebrated for the
excellence of his forwarding. In this respect he cannot be surpassed.
The full morocco specimens that we have seen have generally been bound
_à la Janseniste_, and were truly exemplars. In exterior gilding he is
not so happy as some of his brethren. Niédré possesses fine taste;
his styles of finishing are varied and graceful in design, and the
execution admirable. The reputation of Trautz et Bauzonnet has been
established principally by the senior partner, Bauzonnet, Trautz being
his son-in-law, and whose name has recently been placed at the head
of the firm, perhaps to anticipate others in claiming to be the
inheritors of the skill, and pupils of his father-in-law's school.
Bauzonnet's bindings combine excellence in every department. They
are specimens of the art in its highest state, being solid, firm, and
square in every portion of the forwarding department. The covering,
joints, and inside linings are matchless. The finishing may safely be
pronounced perfection, so far as any thing produced by human agency
can be. In style of finishing he generally confines himself to
modifications of the Grolier, or to a broad border, composed of fine
tools; and in the tooling the execution is faultless. Those who are
accustomed to English bindings are apt to find fault with the firmness
of his backs, as they do not throw out like English loose backs; but
this subject of loose backs is but little understood; for, when it is
known that what is generally esteemed an excellence is often but an
indication of weakness,--that, in order to make the book throw out and
lie open flat, the substance by which the sheets are secured together
is a single strip of paper,--and that, where the band upon which the
book is sewn can be plainly seen upon the opening of the volume, there
is a strain upon it, the result of which must be its breakage, if
in constant use, (a catastrophe that will never happen to one of
Bauzonnet's books,)--the firm back will be preferred. In tracing
the progress of the Art, and upon comparing the merits of artists of
ancient and modern times, it is to the moderns that we assign the
palm of superiority, especially for perfection of detail in the
ornamentation.
MANUAL
OF THE
ART OF BOOKBINDING.
PART I.
SHEET WORK.
As the gathering of the sheets of a book, after they have been printed
and dried off, is nearly always performed at the printer's, it will
not be necessary to enter into any details on that subject, but to
consider, as the commencement of binding, the operation of
FOLDING,
which is of great importance, the beauty of a book depending on its
being properly and correctly folded, so that, when it is cut, the
margin of the different pages may be uniform throughout, and
present no transpositions, to the inconvenience of the reader and
deterioration of the work.
The various sizes of books are denominated according to the number of
leaves in which the sheet is folded; as folio, quarto, octavo, 12mo,
16mo, 18mo, 24mo, 32mo, &c. Each form presents a certain number of
pages, so disposed that, when the sheet is properly folded, they
will follow the numeric order. In commencing the folding of any work,
particular attention should be paid, in opening out the quires
or sets, to observe that the _signatures_ follow each other
alphabetically, and, if consisting of two or more volumes, that the
whole of the sheets belong to the right one.
Although each form is folded in a different manner, it will not be
requisite to detail the whole, as a description of the octavo and
twelvemo will amply furnish an idea of the proper way of folding the
larger and smaller sizes.
_Octavo._--The sheets being placed on the table with the signature,
which will be seen at the bottom of the first page, turned towards
the table at the corner nearest to the left hand of the workman,
will present pages 2, 15, 14, 3, below, and above, with their heads
reversed, pages 7, 10, 11, 6, (reading from left to right.) The sheet
is then taken with the left hand, by the angle to the right, and
creased with the _folder_ in the right hand, in the direction of the
_points_ made in the printing, taking care, by shading to the light,
that the figures of the pages fall exactly one on the other, which
will be 3 upon 2, and 6 upon 7, and thereby presenting uppermost
pages 4 and 13, and above 5 and 12. The top part of the sheet is
then brought down, with the left hand, upon the lower, pages 5 and 12
falling upon 4 and 13, directed properly, and again folded. The sheet
then presents pages 8 and 9, which are then folded evenly, 9 upon 8,
forming the third fold and finishing the sheet.
_Twelvemo._--The signature to this size, when placed before the
workman, should be at the top, on his left hand, and towards the
table, the sheet presenting pages 2, 7, 11; 23, 18, 14; 22, 19, 15;
3, 6, 10. On the right, pages 11, 14, 15, 10, are separated from
the others by a larger space, in the middle of which are the points,
indicating the proper place where the pages should be cut off. The
_folder_ detaches this part, and, placing page 11 upon 10, makes a
fold, and 13 upon 12, which will be uppermost, finishes the folding of
what is called the _inset_, and which bears the signature of the sheet
it has been separated from, with the addition of a figure or asterisk,
as A5 or A*. The remaining eight pages are folded in the same way as
the octavo, and when done the inset is placed in the middle of it,
taking care that the head-lines arrange properly.
Books are sometimes printed in what is called half sheets, but
they are folded the same, after cutting them up; the octavo in the
direction of the points, the twelvemo in _oblong_ direction of the
paper, and laying them apart from each other. There are also oblong
octavos, which are folded in the middle in a line with the points, the
second fold in the same direction between the heads of the pages, and
the third on the length of the paper.
In the first fold of the octavo sheet is shown the manner of folding
the folio, and in the second the quarto; the twelvemo also presents
us with the eighteens, after the sheet is cut into three divisions.
Little or no difficulty will be experienced in folding any other
size that may occur, attention to the disposition of the pages and
signatures being only required.
It will often be found necessary to refold a book which, previous to
being bound, may have been done up in boards, sewed, or otherwise.
This should in all cases be carefully attended to, after the book has
been taken to pieces, the back divested of the glue and thread, and
the corners or other parts which may have been doubled turned up. This
is usually done by examining if the margin at the head and fore-edge
is equal throughout, bringing those to their proper place that are too
short, and cutting those that are longer than the general margin. By
these means a uniformity will be presented after the edges of the book
are cut, which could never be attained if not attended to while the
book is in this state.
The sheets of the book, being all folded, are then laid out along the
edge of the gathering table, in the regular order of the signatures;
the gatherer then commences at the last sheet or signature, takes one
sheet from the parcel, one from the next, and so on until the first
sheet or title is placed upon the top of the rest. The sheets are then
held loosely in the hand, and allowed to fall lightly upon their backs
and heads upon a smooth board, until they arrange themselves in an
even, uniform manner. They are then
COLLATED,
to see that the whole of the sheets belong to the same work and
volume, as also that none are wanting. This is done by taking the book
in the right hand by the upper corner of the fore-edge, and with the
left opening the sheets on the back and letting them fall successively
one after the other. The signatures will be thus seen in alphabetical
or arithmetical order, as A, B, C, &c., or 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., to the
last, which should always be examined to ascertain that it is the
completion of the book. By these means any sheet incorrectly folded is
also detected. Books in folio and quarto are generally collated with
a needle or pricker, by raising the sheets singly from the table; but
this practice should be resorted to as little as possible, as the
work is liable to be damaged. If any sheet is wanting, or belongs to
another volume, or is a duplicate, the further progress of the work
must be suspended till the imperfection is procured or exchanged.
Those that have been wrong folded must be corrected, and any _cancels_
occurring in the work cut out and replaced by the reprints, which will
generally be found in the last sheet of the book. It is usual also
with some binders to place any plates belonging to the volume, at this
period; but as the liability of damage to them is great in the process
of _beating_, or rolling, it will be much better to perform that
operation after the book is brought from the stone, for which
directions will be given. The book, being found correct, will be ready
for the beating-stone, which, although it has been almost entirely
superseded by the introduction of machinery, will always be invaluable
to a binder of limited means; and the amateur will find it to be
an essential process to secure the first great requisite of good
binding,--solidity
BEATING, PRESSING, ETC.
The first operation is commenced by shaking the volume upon the stone
by the back and head, so as to make the whole even and facilitate the
division of it into as many equal parts, which are called _sections_
or _beatings_, as may be judged necessary according to the thickness
and other circumstances. A section is then taken and well beaten over,
drawing it with the hand towards the body so as to bring the various
parts successively under the hammer, and carefully avoiding striking
more blows in one part than the other, except giving the edges a
slight extra tap round. The section is then turned, and the like
proceeding gone through; as also on each side after it has been
separated and the bottom part placed on the top, the middle of the
section being thereby brought under the action of the hammer. This
being done, the sheets are replaced in their proper order, and two or
three taps of the hammer given to make them lie even. In beating those
books with which, from their value, greater care is required, it is
usual to place a guard or waste leaf of paper on each side of the
section, to avoid any stains or marks which the stone or hammer might
be liable to make.
It requires more skill than actual strength in beating, the weight of
the hammer being nearly sufficient for many works. Attention must be
paid to the hammer descending parallel to the surface of the stone, to
avoid marking or cutting the sheets with the edge.
[Illustration]
Before beating a book, care should be taken to observe if it has been
recently printed, for if so it would _set off_ by being beaten too
much. This will be easily ascertained by referring to the date at the
foot of the title, or by smelling the ink it has been printed with,
which, being composed partly of oil, will not have got perfectly dry.
This will particularly be the case with machine-printed works. As,
however, it is frequently necessary to bind a volume immediately after
being printed, it will be requisite to take every precaution against
its setting off, which would destroy the beauty of the work. It is the
practice of some to put the book into an oven after the bread has been
taken out, or into a stove heated sufficiently to dry the ink and make
it search into the paper; but, as these means are not without danger
of getting the paper blackened or soiled, it is a better plan to
interleave the sheets with white paper, which will receive all the
ink set off. Should the sheets have been hotpressed, which is readily
distinguished, this precaution will not be necessary.
When employed at the beating-stone, the workman should keep his legs
close together, to avoid _hernia_, to which he is much exposed if,
with the intention of being more at ease, he contracts the habit of
placing them apart.
A rolling-machine has been invented as a substitute for the beating
which books require previous to being bound. The book is divided
into parts, according to the thickness of the book; each part is then
placed between tins, or pieces of sole-leather; the rollers are then
put in motion, and the part passed through. This is repeated until the
requisite degree of solidity is obtained. The great objections to the
rolling-machine are the liabilities to cause a set-off, or transfer
of the printing-ink, upon the opposite page, by the friction which is
produced by passing between the rollers, and the bow-like appearance
which they give the book, and which is to the forwarder a serious
cause of annoyance, and sometimes all his skill and care are
insufficient to remedy the evil caused by the rollers.
A powerful embossing press, technically called a smasher, has lately
been employed with great advantage. A book is placed between tins, the
platen is adjusted to a proper height, and the large fly-wheels set in
motion. The platen descends in a perpendicular manner; then, upon its
ascending, by means of a small handle the distance between the platens
is decreased; the wheels still continuing in motion, the book, upon
the descent of the platen, is compressed more forcibly than at first.
The operation is repeated until the book has experienced the whole
power of the press. It has been calculated that by this process a
single volume will, if necessary, undergo a pressure equal to a weight
of from fifty to eighty tons.
This process has an advantage over every other hitherto employed
in which machinery has been engaged; and it is, in some respects,
preferable to beating, as the book is of the same thickness in every
part, while in beating there is a great liability to beat the edges
thinner than the centre; and the air appears to be as completely
forced out as if the beating-hammer had been used; and there seems to
be no disposition in the book to swell up again after undergoing this
crushing process.
In some binderies a hydraulic press is relied upon for compressing the
sheets, without their undergoing the beating or rolling process. For
publishers' work it has been found to answer the purpose for which
it is employed, as the press can be filled up by placing the books in
layers of from one to four or eight, according to their size, between
iron plates; and the immense power of the press is thus evenly
distributed through a large quantity of sheets at the same time.
[Illustration: HYDRAULIC PRESS, FROM THE MANUFACTORY OF ISAAC ADAMS &
CO., BOSTON.]
The power of compression is derived from the pump to the left of the
press, which is supplied with water from a cistern sunk under it.
The water thus sent, by means of the tube seen passing from it to the
centre of the foot of the press, causes the cylinder to which the bed
is fixed to rise and compress the books or paper tightly between the
bed and head of the press. When it is forced as high as can be by
means of the pump-handle seen, a larger bar is attached and worked
by two men. The extraordinary power of this press is so great as
to cause, particularly in common work, a saving of more than
three-fourths of the time required in bringing books to a proper
solidity by the common press. When it is wished to withdraw the books,
the small cock at the end of the tube at the foot of the press is
turned, the water flows into the cistern below, and the bed with the
books glides gently down in front of the workman. Two presses are
frequently worked by the same pump, one being on each side.
The hydraulic press is manufactured by nearly all the press-makers,
differing only in the general design, the application of power being
the same.
After beating, should there be any plates to the work, they, as before
stated, must now be placed among the text. Great care must be taken to
make the justification of the plates uniform with the text, by cutting
off any superfluity at the head or back, and by placing them exactly
facing the pages to which they refer, pasting the edge next to the
back. Any that may be short at the head must be brought down,
to preserve a uniformity. It is advisable to place a leaf of
_tissue-paper_ before each plate, particularly when newly printed,
as the ink of copper-plates is longer in drying than that of
letter-press. When a work contains a great number of plates, which
are directed to be placed at the end, they are sewn on the bands by
overcasting, which operation will shortly be treated of in full.
The book, being now ready for pressing, is taken in sections,
according to the work and the judgment of the workman, and placed
between pressing-boards the size of the volume, one on the other, and
conveyed to the _standing-press_, which is pulled down as tight as
possible by the _press-pin_, or fly-wheel, according to the nature of
the standing-press; although it must be premised that when a book has
been through the smasher, no further pressing will be required until
it reaches the hands of the forwarder.
After the book has been sufficiently pressed, it will be necessary
again to _collate_ it, to correct any disarrangement that may have
taken place during the beating and pressing. It is then ready for
being sawn out.
SAWING THE BACKS.
This operation is performed in order to save the expense of sewing
upon raised bands, and also to prevent the bands on which a book is
sewn appearing on the back. After beating the book up well on the
back and head, it is placed between two _cutting-boards_, the back
projecting a little over the thick edge, and tightly screwing in the
_laying_ or _cutting-press_, the whole being elevated sufficiently
to prevent the saw damaging the cheeks of the press. Then with a
_tenant-saw_ the proper number of grooves are made, in depth and width
according to the diameter of the band intended to be used, which will
depend on the size of the book. A slight cut must also be given
above the first and under the last band, for lodging the _chain_ or
_kettle-stitch_. It is very necessary that the saw should be held
parallel with the press, without which precaution, the grooves being
deeper on one side than the other, the work will present, when opened,
a defect to the eye.
The _end-papers_, which should consist of four leaves of blank paper,
folded according to the size of the book, are now prepared, and one
placed at the beginning and end of each volume.
SEWING.
According to the number of _bands_ wanted, must be attached to the
loops on the cross-bar of the _sewing-press_ as many pieces of cord,
of proper length and thickness, and fastened with the aid of the
_keys_ in the groove of the press as nearly equal in tightness as
possible. When this is done, the back of the first sheet in the
book is placed against the cords, which must be moved upwards or the
contrary to the marks of the saw, when the small screws at each end
under the cross-bar must be moved upwards till the strings are equally
tight. All this being disposed, the book is commenced sewing by
placing the end-paper, which has no marks of the saw, on the sheet
before laid down, and sewing it throughout, leaving a small end of
thread to form the knot, after sewing the first sheet, which is then
taken from under and sewn the whole length.
[Illustration]
There are various ways of sewing, according to the size and thickness
of the sheets of a book. A volume consisting of thick sheets, or
a sheet containing a plate or map, should be sewn singly the whole
length, in order to make the work more secure and solid. Great care
should also be taken not to draw the thread too tight at the head or
foot of the book. The thread, in order to keep the book of the same
thickness at the ends and centre, should be drawn parallel with the
bench, and not downwards, as is too frequently the case. Upon the
proper swelling of the back mainly depends the regularity of the round
and firmness of the back in the after-stages of the binding.
When a book is sewed _two sheets on_, three bands are generally used.
Taking the sheet and fixing it on the bands, the needle is inserted in
the mark made for the kettle-stitch and brought out by the first band;
another sheet is then placed, and the needle introduced on the other
side of the band, thus bringing the thread round it, sewn in like
manner to the middle band, and continued to the third, when, taking
again the first sheet, it is sewn from the third band to the other
kettle-stitch, where it is fastened, and another course of two sheets
commenced, and so continued to the last sheet but one, which is
sewn the whole length, as directed for the first sheet, as also the
end-paper. Three bands are preferable to two, the book being more firm
from being fastened in the middle, which is the only difference in
sewing on two and three bands.
Half-sheets, to obviate the swelling of the back too much, are usually
sewn on four bands, which admit of three on a course: the first sheet
is sewn as in three bands, from the kettle-stitch to the first band,
the next to the second, and the third takes the middle space; then the
second sheet again from the third to the fourth band, and the first
from thence to the other kettle-stitch. The third sheet having only
one stitch, it is necessary that, in sawing, the distance from the
second to the third band should be left considerably longer than
between the others. Quartos are generally sewn on five bands to make
the work firmer, but if in half-sheets, as in the folio size, six or
more are used, sewing as many sheets on as bands, giving each sheet
but one tack or sewing, and piercing the needle through the whole of
the course at each end or kettle-stitch before fastening the thread.
This, which gives sufficient firmness, is necessary to prevent the
swelling of the back which a less number of sheets in a course would
make and spoil the appearance of the binding.
When the book is composed of single leaves, plates, or maps, or, as
in the case of music, where, from the decayed state of the back, it is
necessary to cut off a portion with the plough in the manner pointed
out for cutting edges, the whole must be attached to the bands by
what is called whipping or overcasting. This is by taking a section,
according to the thickness of the paper, and forcing the needle
through the whole at the kettle-stitch, and on each side of all the
bands, at a distance sufficient to secure the stitches from tearing,
bringing the thread round each band, as before directed, and fastening
it at the end before proceeding with another course. To keep the whole
of the sheets properly even, the back is sometimes glued immediately
after cutting, and when dry divided into sections. Atlases and books
of prints, when folded in the middle, will require a guard, or slip of
paper, to be pasted to them, so as to allow them to open flat, which
they could not do if attached to the back, and which would destroy
the engraving. These guards must be of strong paper about an inch in
breadth and folded to the right size. They are sewn by overcasting, as
above directed.
A better method for books of plates, or single leaves, is, after
cutting the back evenly with the plough, to lay it between boards and
glue the back evenly over with thin glue. After it has become dry and
hard, separate it into thin sections; then let it be sawn out in the
usual manner; it should then be taken and whipped, or overcast in
separate sections with fine thread, care being taken in whipping the
sections that it be evenly and neatly done. After the sections are
all whipped, they should be sewn or affixed to the bands in the same
manner as folded sheets.
The old mode of sewing on raised bands combines many advantages. This
style is still adopted with many works, particularly with those having
a small margin; in fact, it is, both for elasticity and durability,
far superior to any mode that is practised; it is, however, a very
slow process, and necessarily an expensive one; and many binders who
pretend to bind in this manner, to obviate this, have their books
sewed in the ordinary way, and then, by sticking false bands upon the
back, give them the appearance of having been sewn on raised bands. If
it is intended to sew a book purely flexible, it should be knocked up
even and square, placed between two pieces of pasteboard, and placed
in a laying-press; then draw a line across the back, near the head,
where it will be cut by the forwarder in cutting the edges. Next
take a pair of compasses and divide the back lengthwise into six even
portions, except the bottom or tail, which should be longer than the
rest, in order to preserve a proper symmetry of appearance; then
draw lines square across the back with a black lead-pencil from the
compass-points of the five inner divisions, for the places upon which
the bands are to be sewed; then make a slight scratch with a saw about
one-quarter of an inch inside of where the book will be cut, for the
kettle-stitch at the head and likewise at the tail. Upon taking the
book out of the laying-press, take the pasteboards and saw them at the
points marked by the lead-pencil of a depth sufficient to allow the
cords upon which the book is to be sewn to enter. The boards will
then serve as a guide to set the bands of the sewing-press at the
commencement of the operation, and afterwards, during the progress of
the work, will be found useful to regulate any deviations that may
be inadvertently taking place. After the sewing-press is properly
regulated and the end-paper sewn as previously described, the sheets
should then be taken, one at a time, in their regular order, and sewn
all along, from one end of the sheet to the other, or, more properly,
from one kettle-stitch to the other, taking especial pains to observe
that in sewing each sheet, after the first kettle-stitch has been
caught, the needle must be passed to the farthest side of the nearest
band, then passed to the other side of the band, and so on for each
successive band. By this means the thread will have passed completely
round each band, upon which the sheet will revolve as upon a hinge,
without the slightest strain upon either the band or the thread. The
inner margin is thus preserved its full size, and the freedom of the
volume much increased.
If you desire to revel in the full enjoyment of a flexible back, have
it sewn with silk upon silken bands or cords, and you will have a
combination of elasticity and strength that cannot be surpassed.
For large volumes of engravings, the best mode of binding, so as to
secure strength and also to allow the plates to lie flat when the
volume is open, is to mount the plates with linen upon guards. To do
this properly, select paper of the same thickness as the plates, cut
it in strips an inch or an inch and a half wide, paste the back edge
of the plate about a quarter of an inch in depth, from top to bottom;
then lay a strip of thin linen or paper-muslin along the pasted edge
of the plate, and rub it so that it will adhere. The strips of linen
must be sufficiently wide to project beyond the plate as far as the
width of the paper guards. One of the latter is then to be evenly
pasted over and laid upon the projecting strip of linen, carefully
smoothed, and laid between pasteboards to dry after they are thus
mounted. The plates are then whipped along the back edge of the guard,
and sewed in the usual manner.
It was proposed by _M. Lesne_, bookbinder of _Paris_, in a Memoir
presented by him to the "_Société d' Encouragement_," January 18,
1818, that in order to give to books the three essential qualities
of binding, elasticity, solidity, and elegance, they should be sewn
similar to the Dutch method, which is on slips of parchment, instead
of packthread; but to remedy the inconvenience arising from one slip
being insufficient to make the back of a proper solidity, as well as
being liable to break, and, if doubled or trebled, presenting a bad
effect on the back when covered, he suggested the adoption of silk
for the bands, which in a much less diameter is far stronger than
packthread double the thickness. It is also preferable for sheets that
require sewing the whole length to use silk, this being much stronger
than thread, and insuring a greater solidity to the work. It will be
observed that the cuts of the saw, apparent in other bindings, are
not seen in opening the volume. When the volume is entirely sewn, the
screws are loosened, the cords detached from the keys, and about two
inches of the cord left on each side of the book to attach the boards
that are to form the sides.
INDIA-RUBBER BACKS.
In those instances where the leaves of a book are held together by
caoutchouc cement instead of by sewing, the sheets are cut up into
separate leaves, and every leaf made true and square at the edges. The
back edge is then brought to a rounded form, by allowing the sheets to
arrange themselves in a grooved recess or mould; and in that state
the leaves are all moistened at the back edges with a cement of liquid
caoutchouc or India-rubber. The quantity so applied is very small. In
a few hours, it is sufficiently dry to take another coat of a somewhat
stronger caoutchouc solution. In forty-eight hours, four applications
of the caoutchouc may be made and dried. The back and the adjoining
part of the sides are next covered with the usual band or fillet of
cloth glued on with caoutchouc; after which the book is ready to have
the boards attached, and to be covered with leather or parchment, as
may be desired.