=List of Technical Terms, Leathers and Other Binding
Materials, Tools, Styles of Ornament Used
in Binding=
The quotations are from the report of committee on leather of the
Society of Arts, England, 1901.
=Aldine or Italian Style.= Ornaments of solid face without any shading
whatever, such as used by Aldus and other early Italian printers.
The ornaments are of Arabic character. A style appropriate for early
printed literature.
=All-along.= When a volume is sewed, and the thread passes from
kettlestitch to kettlestitch, or from end to end in each sheet, it is
said to be sewed all-along.
=American Russia.= See Cowhide.
=Antique.= See Blind-tooled.
=Arabesque Style.= A fanciful mixture of animals, birds, insects, and
of plants, fruits and foliage, involved and twisted.
=Arming press.= See Blocking press.
=Art canvas.= A book cloth, made in several colors by the Holliston
Mills, 67 Fifth Ave., New York; Jos. Bancroft & Sons, Wilmington, Del.
(A. D. Smith, 35 Thomas St., New York, agent); the Interlaken Mills,
111 Duane St., New York, and others.
It is known both as art canvas and buckram. The Newark library, in
experimenting to find a substitute for leather, tried in succession the
green, red, brown and blue. The green proved the poorest, the blue made
by Holliston Mills the best in wearing quality. One reason for the poor
results with all the colors tried, with the exception of the blue, is
that the cloth of these colors is made with a colored thread running
one way and a gray or white thread the other; the colored thread soon
wears off on the edges and corners and the gray thread gives the book
a very dingy appearance. Dark blue has given us the best results. Art
canvas costs 22 cents a square yard by the roll of 40 yards.
=Art vellum.= A book cloth made in several colors and styles of finish
by the firms which make art canvas. It is not suitable for full binding
on books subject to much wear. It costs about 16 cents per square yard.
Most publishers' bindings are in cloth of the art vellum grade.
Our own experience with art canvas and art vellum for full bindings
on books much used seems to have been that of many other libraries.
Popular books in these materials from about a dozen public libraries
all seem to have worn poorly. The joints soon become soft and loose;
the corners fray out and look ragged; the gold of the titles does not
stand out well when first put on and rapidly grows dim.
=Azure' tools.= Used in binding, where the heavy and wide marks,
instead of being a solid mass, are made with horizontal lines.
=Azured style.= Ornamentations outlined in gold and crossed with
horizontal lines in the manner of indicating azure in heraldry.
=Back, tight and loose.= Binding is said to be tight back when the
leather, cloth or other material of the back is pasted or glued to the
back of the book. This style of binding is commonly used in fine work.
Most books, often quite large ones, were formerly bound in this way.
Binding is said to be loose back when the leather, cloth or other
material of the back is fastened to the book only along the joints.
To the question, which is the better binding for library books, no
definite answer can be given.
=Backing.= Bending over the folds at the back of a book to form a ridge
or projection called a joint.
[Illustration: (L) Backing Boards, Metal
(R) Backing Boards, Wood, Steel Faced]
=Backing boards.= Used for backing or forming the joint. They are made
of very hard wood or faced with iron, and are thicker on the edge
intended to form the groove than upon the edge that goes toward the
fore-edge of the book, so that when placed one each side of the book
and all are placed in the laying press, the whole power of the press
is directed toward the back.
[Illustration: Backing Hammer]
=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 books. If not carefully
handled it is apt to injure books by crushing and breaking the paper at
the folds. Used on publishers' binding.
=Backing press.= A press having two, vertically mounted, steel plates
brought together by a screw. A book is held in this press with the back
slightly projecting above the plates, and then backed with a hammer.
=Band-driver.= A tool used in forwarding to correct irregularities in
the bands of flexible backs.
=Band nippers.= Pinchers with flat jaws used for straightening bands by
nipping up the leather after it is in place. They should be nickeled to
prevent the iron staining the leather.
=Bands.= The strings, cord or twine on which a book is sewed. They are
usually made of hemp, are loosely twisted, are 2, 3, 4-ply according to
the size of the book, and cost about 35 cents per pound. This twine is
loosely twisted that it may be flexible and less likely to break when
glued and dried, and that it may be easily frayed out at the ends for
pasting down on the inside of the covers.
When the book is sewed flexible the bands appear upon the back. When
the back is so sewn as to let in the twine, the appearance of raised
bands is produced, if at all, by gluing narrow strips of leather across
the back before the volume is covered. A hard, closely twisted cord is
also sometimes used in fine binding.
[Illustration: Backing Press]
=Bastard title.= See Half-title.
=Bead.= A little roll formed by the knots of the headband.
=Beating hammer.= The heavy, short-handled hammer used in beating,
weighing generally about 10 lbs. Books are beaten to make the leaves
lie close to one another.
[Illustration: Beating Hammer]
=Beating stone.= The bed of stone or iron on which books are beaten.
=Beveled boards.= Very heavy boards for sides, chamfered along the
edges.
=Binder.= A temporary cover for periodicals and pamphlets, usually so
arranged that it may be taken off and attached to successive numbers of
a publication.
=Bindery.= A book-binding establishment.
=Blank books.= Applied to a large variety of books which are bound with
blank leaves, or leaves having ruled lines and little or no printing:
account books, memorandum books, ledgers, etc. The binding of such
books is a special trade.
=Bleed.= When a book on being trimmed is so cut that some of the print
is taken off it is said to bleed.
=Blind-tooled.= When tools are impressed upon the leather, without
gold, they are said to be blind or blank, and the book is blind-tooled.
This tooling is sometimes called antique.
=Blocking press.= Another and more general term for the stamping or
arming press; one of the chief implements used in cloth work. Used for
finishing or decorating the sides and back of a cover by a mechanical
process.
=Board papers.= Those parts of the end papers which are pasted onto the
boards.
=Board shears.= Heavy shears, usually fitted to a table, and with a
gauge for cutting boards.
[Illustration: Boards, Brass Bound, in Case]
=Boards.= Are of several kinds, such as pressing, backing, cutting,
burnishing, gilding, etc. The paste-boards used for side covers are
termed boards. The boards used for cutting books "out of boards" are
called steamboat-boards. Tinned boards are used for finished work,
while brass or iron-bound boards are used for pressing cloth-work. See
also In boards.
=Bock morocco.= The name given to a leather made of Persian sheepskin
usually finished in imitation of morocco. It does not wear well and
soon decays.
=Bodkin or stabbing-awl.= A strong point of iron or steel fixed in a
wooden handle to form the holes in boards through which to lace bands.
Used also for tracing lines for cutting fore-edges.
=Bolt.= Folded edge of sheets in an unopened book.
=Books, sizes of.= See folio, quarto, octavo, sixteenmo, thirty-twomo,
etc.
=Bosses.= Brass or other metal ornaments fastened upon the boards of
books.
=Brass-bound boards.= See Boards.
=Broken up.= When plates are folded over a short distance from the
back edge before they are placed in the book, that they may be turned
easily, they are said to be broken up. The same process is sometimes
applied to an entire book.
=Buckram.= Properly a coarse linen cloth, stiffened with glue or gum.
Most buckram, so-called, is made of cotton. See also Linen-finish
buckram and Art canvas.
=Buffing.= The name given to the thin sheet of cowhide taken off in
the operation of buffing or splitting. It is usually of very inferior
quality.
=Buffingette.= See Keratol.
=Burnished.= The effect produced by the application of a burnisher to
edges.
=Burnishers.= Pieces of agate or bloodstone affixed to handles. With
them a gloss is produced on the edges of a book.
=Calf or calfskin.= Leather made of calves' skins. It has a smooth and
uniform surface. It was formerly much used in binding, and is very
beautiful; but that made in recent years lasts only a short time, soon
growing hard and brittle and even falling into dust. Even when new the
surface is easily broken and torn.
"During the latter part of the eighteenth century it became customary
to pare down calf until it was as thin as paper. Since about 1830
little sound calf seems to have been made, as, whether thick or thin,
it appears generally to have perished, turning red and crumbling into
dust."
"Sprinkled or marbled calf is in a specially bad state."
See also Divinity, Kip, Marbled, Sprinkled and Tree calf.
=Calf-lined.= When the inside of a limp cover is lined with calfskin,
this taking the place of that half of the end paper which is usually
on the inside of the cover. This calf lining is thin and soft and is
usually glued to the leather cover only at the latter's outer edges,
thus leaving the cover pliable.
=Cancels.= Leaves containing errors which are to be cut out and
replaced with corrected pages.
=Canvas.= See Duck.
=Caps.= Paper coverings used to protect the edges while the book is
being covered and finished. Also the leather coverings of headbands.
See Head cap.
=Case bindings.= The ordinary cloth binding of commerce. Books in
these bindings are folded and sewn, rounded and backed by machinery.
A machine also makes the cases, covering the two pieces of cardboard
which form the sides with cloth as needed. These cases are separately
printed before being put on the books. The book is then glued and put
into its case by machinery.
=Catchword.= A word placed under the last line on each page of some
old-time books, the word being the same as the first word on the next
page; a direction word.
=Center tools.= Tools cut for ornamentation of center of panels and
sides of book covers.
=Circuit edges.= Bibles and prayer-books are sometimes bound with
projecting covers turned over to protect the leaves; these are called
circuit or divinity edges.
=Clasp.= A hook or catch for fastening the covers of a book together,
usually at the fore edge.
=Clearing out.= Removing the waste paper and paring away superfluous
leather upon the inside, preparatory to pasting down the lining-paper.
=Cloth boards.= Stiff boards covered with cloth.
=Cobden-Sanderson style.= An arrangement of graceful curves or stems,
flowers, buds and leaves, treated conventionally; the background being
often powdered with nebulae of gold stars or dots. The lettering of
title, etc., on back and sides is treated fancifully and often made an
integral part of the design.
=Collating.= Examining the signatures, or sheets, after a volume is
gathered, to ascertain if they be correct and follow in numerical
order. Also, examining a book page by page to see if it is complete.
=Combs.= Instruments with wire teeth used in marbling. The colors being
upon the surface of water, the comb is drawn across a portion in such a
way that a new form is developed.
=Corners.= Leather pieces pasted on the corners of a half-bound or
three-quarter-bound book.
=Cowhide.= The thick, coarse leather made from the skin of a cow.
By binders it is commonly known as "American Russia," or "imitation
Russia." It is much used for binding popular books of fiction. It has a
slight grain or corrugation on the surface, is tough and strong, takes
gilding well, wears well and if of best quality and handled much is
usually quite durable; that is, will last five or six years on popular
fiction.
=Creaser.= The tool used in marking each side of the bands, generally
made of steel.
=Cropped.= When a book has been cut down too much it is said to be
cropped.
=Crushed.= Leather which has been pressed between sheets of metal to
smooth or give a finish to its coarse grain is said to be crushed. The
process is usually applied to morocco or its imitations. See Crushed
levant.
=Crushed levant.= Levant morocco with the grain crushed down until the
surface is smooth and highly polished. In fine binding this is done by
hand after the leather is on the book. Most crushed levant morocco,
however, is surfaced by a machine before it is applied to the book.
=Cut edges.= See Edges cut.
=Cut flush.= Means that the cloth cover, which is usually limp (without
boards), is drawn on the book and the whole cut at once, cover and all,
the edge of the cover being cut flush with the edge of the book. It
is a suitable way of binding only when strength and elegance are not
required.
=Cutter, or Cutting machine.= The machine on which the edges of the
leaves of books are cut or trimmed. Running such a machine is now a
special branch of the binder's trade. Sometimes called a guillotine.
=Cutting boards.= Wedged-shaped boards somewhat like backing-boards,
but with the top edge square; used in cutting the edge of a book and in
edge-gilding.
=Cutting in boards.= Cutting the edges of a book with a plough after
the boards are laced on.
=Cutting press.= When a lying press is turned so that the side with the
runners is uppermost it is called a cutting press.
=Dandy.= A roller affixed to paper-making machines. The wet web of
paper carried on the endless wire of the machine passes under this
roller and is pressed by it. It gives the laid or wove appearance to
the sheet, and when letters, figures, or other devices are worked in
fine wire on its surface it produces the effect known as water-marking.
=Deckle-edge.= The rough untrimmed edge of hand-made paper.
Deckle-edges are poorly imitated by cutting and tearing machine-made
paper, sometimes with the aid of a jet of water.
[Illustration: Oswego Hand Wheel Drive Cutter]
=Dentelle border.= A tooled pointed border with finely dotted or Gascon
ornaments in imitation of lace.
=Derome style.= This style has ornaments of a leafy character, with a
more solid face, though lightly shaded by the graver. The ornaments
are often styled Renaissance, being an entire change from the Gascon.
The Derome is best exemplified in borders, Vandyke in design; it is
simple in construction but rich in effect, and is appropriate for art
publications. Time, eighteenth century.
=Diaper.= A term applied to a small repeating all-over pattern. From
woven material decorated in this way.
=Divinity calf.= A dark brown calf bookbinding decorated with blind
stamping, and without gilding; so called because formerly used in
binding theological books.
=Divinity edges.= See Circuit edges.
=Double.= See Doublure.
=Doublure.= The inside face of the boards, especially applied to them
when lined with leather and decorated. When thus lined a cover is said
to be "double."
=Duck, sometimes called Canvas.= This is made by many firms in a wide
range of colors and qualities. It is in fact a heavy cotton cloth.
Slate-colored duck 28 in. wide, 10 oz. to the yard, costs about 20
cents per yard. This is a firmly woven, smooth material. We have used a
light green. It takes printers' ink for lettering fairly well, though
it soon soils if handled. It is a very desirable binding for heavy
books not much used. All such books should be stiffened by pasting or
gluing cloth on the backs, if loose back, and should be reinforced at
head and tail.
=Dutch metal.= An imitation of gold leaf, sometimes used on cheap
bindings. It soon grows dark or tarnishes.
=Edges cut.= A book or pamphlet cut down sufficiently to make all the
edges quite smooth.
=Edges gilt.= Book edges cut and gilded.
=Edges opened.= A book or pamphlet opened, the folds of the leaves
being cut by hand with a paper knife.
=Edges red.= Book edges cut and colored red.
=Edges rolled.= When the edges of the covers are marked with a roll,
either in gold or blind.
=Edges rounded.= Corners rounded to prevent their becoming dog's-eared.
=Edges trimmed.= A book or pamphlet with the edges cut enough to make
them tidy, but not enough to cut the folds of the leaves.
=Edges untouched.= A book or pamphlet with edges uncut and unopened.
=Edition de luxe.= Applied to large paper editions of books, and to
special editions which are in fact, or are claimed to be, unusually
well and expensively made.
=Embossed.= When a plate is so stamped upon a sheet or cover as to
produce a raised figure or design.
=End leaves or Lining papers.= Are the sheets which are pasted to the
inside of the covers, and are either plain white or colored, according
to the style of binding. Marbled papers are largely used on fine
leather work. Sometimes in fine bindings the end leaves are made of
silk or leather.
=End papers.= The papers placed at each end of the volume and pasted
down upon the boards. Also, the paper placed at each end of the volume,
a portion of which is usually removed when the lining-paper is pasted
down upon the boards.
=English linen or Low buckram.= A linen cloth, highly polished, well
colored, strong, durable, made in England, and costing in this country
about 70 cents per square yard. In De Jonge's list (De Jonge, dealer
in leather, book cloths, etc., 69-73 Duane St., New York) it is called
Low buckram. We have used it for the backs of books, light and heavy.
It promises to stand indefinitely if not much handled. Under handling
it grows soft and flabby like other book cloths, though not rapidly,
and without losing its strength. We have discarded it for the books on
which we first tried it, periodicals subject to much use. It is not
easy to letter in gold by hand, and does not hold gold well under wear.
=Eve style.= A framework of various geometrical-shaped compartments
linked together by interlaced circles; the centers of the compartments
are filled with small floral ornaments and the irregular spaces
surrounding them with circular scrolls and branches of laurel and palm.
An elaborate style of the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth century.
=Extra binding.= A trade term for the best work.
=Fanfare style.= When the compartments on a decorated corner formed by
fillets or curves, or both, are filled with little branches, vines,
etc., the style of decoration is said to be fanfare--from its first
having been used on a book of which this word formed the principal part
of the title.
=Fillet.= A cylindrical tool upon which a line, lines, or figures are
engraved. Used in finishing.
=Finishing.= The department which receives books after they are put
in leather, and ornaments them as required. It includes lettering,
tooling, polishing, etc. Also, the ornaments placed on a book. One who
works at this branch is termed a finisher.
[Illustration: Finishing Presses]
=Finishing press.= A small press with which a book is held firmly with
its back upward and exposed for work.
=Finishing stove.= A small gas heater, similar to a "hot plate," for
heating finishing tools.
=Flexible binding.= When a book is sewn on raised bands or cords and
the thread is passed entirely round each band, and the whole binding
is such as to permit the book to be opened readily.
[Illustration: Finishing Stand]
=Flexible glue.= This is usually made by adding about two
tablespoonfuls of glycerine to half a pound of the glue in a dry state.
This glue used on the backs of books makes the binding somewhat more
flexible. It cannot be recommended for all books in all cases as the
glycerine tends to weaken the glue, at the same time that it prevents
it from becoming very hard.
=Flexible sewing.= When the cord rests on instead of being sunk into
the back and the thread is carried around it; a book thus sewn usually
opens freely.
=Flush cut.= See Cut flush.
=Fly leaves.= The blank leaves at the beginning and end of a book,
between the end papers and the book proper.
=Folder.= A flat piece of bone or ivory used in folding the sheets and
in many other manipulations. Also applied to the person engaged in
folding sheets.
=Folio.= A sheet folded once, consisting of two leaves, or four pages;
the size of the sheet being usually understood as about 19×24 inches,
giving a leaf 19×12 inches. Also, the consecutive page numbers of a
book, pamphlet, etc.
=Fore-edge.= The front edge of the leaves.
=Forwarding.= All processes through which a book passes after sewing,
other than those of ornamentation by means of tools or rolls. Also that
department which takes books after they are sewed and advances them
until they are put in leather ready for the finisher. One who works at
this branch is termed a forwarder.
=French guard.= Made by turning over half an inch or more of the back
edge of a printed sheet or illustration and then folding it around the
next signature.
=French joint.= A joint in which the board is not brought close up to
the back, thus giving more play in opening.
=French morocco.= An inferior quality of levant morocco, having
usually a smaller and less prominent grain.
=Full-bound.= When the sides and back of a book are entirely covered
with one piece of the same material it is said to be full-bound.
=Gascon, Le, style.= The distinguishing feature of this style is the
dotted face of the ornaments instead of the continuous or solid line.
Wherever these dotted ornaments are used the style is called Le Gascon.
Time, the first half of the seventeenth century, immediately following
that of Nicholas and Clovis Eve.
=Gathering.= The process of collecting the several sheets which make a
book and arranging them according to the signatures.
=Gaufre edges.= Impressions made with the finisher's tools on the edges
of the book after gilding.
=Gauge.= The tool used in forwarding to take the correct size of the
volume and to mark it upon the boards for squaring.
=Gilding press.= A press made of two square blocks brought together by
screws, to hold books for gilding.
=Gilt.= Applied to ornamental work on covers and also to edges of a
book; in the latter case, chiefly used for the top.
=Gilt edges.= See Edges gilt.
=Gilt tops.= Books with the top edges cut and gilded. This prevents
their being soiled by the dust that may collect on them.
=Glair.= The white of eggs beaten up and used in finishing and gilding
the edges of the leaves.
=Goffered edges.= See Gaufre edges.
=Gold cushion.= A cushion of leather on which the finisher cuts gold
leaf into pieces.
=Gold knife.= The knife for cutting the gold leaf; long and quite
straight.
=Gold leaf.= Gold beaten into very thin leaves, occasionally used for
printing purposes, but more particularly for the decoration of book
covers.
=Gouge.= A gilding tool cut to impress a curved line or segment of a
circle upon the leather.
=Grain.= The term applied to the outer side of a piece of leather, from
which the hair was removed. This word is also used in describing the
different kinds of surface given to leather in the making, often with
a qualifying adjective, as, seal-grain, like the grain on sealskin;
coarse grain; pebble-grained, that is, grained in an irregular manner,
as though numerous small pebbles of different sizes had been pressed
upon its surface; water grain; smooth grain; brass board grain, usually
put into cowskin, etc.
=Graining.= The process of giving to leather surfaces of different
kinds.
=Grater.= An iron instrument used by the forwarder for rubbing backs
after they are paste-washed.
=Grolier style.= An interlaced framework of geometrical
figures--circles, squares, and diamonds--with scrollwork running
through it, the ornaments of which are of moresque character, generally
azured in whole or in part, sometimes in outline only. Parts of the
design are often studded with gold dots. Time, first half of the
sixteenth century.
=Groove.= That part of the sections which is turned over in backing to
receive the board. Also called the Joint.
=Guards.= Strips of paper inserted in the backs of books to which
plates or pictures or any extra leaves are to be attached. These strips
must always be cut with the grain. They make the back as thick as the
book will be when the plates have been attached to them. Also, the
strips of paper or cloth pasted along the folds of leaves to strengthen
them. Also, the strips pasted to the edges of single leaves, whether
plates or not, folded about the next signature and sewn through with it.
Books with thick, heavy leaves are sometimes guarded or hinged
throughout that they may open freely. A narrow strip is cut from the
back of each leaf. This strip is then again attached to the leaf from
which it was cut by a strip of thin paper or muslin which acts as a
hinge. The leaves are then bound together through and by the strips cut
from them.
=Guides.= The grooves in which the plough moves upon the face of an
old-style cutting-press.
=Guillotine.= A machine with a heavy knife having a perpendicular
action, used for cutting paper. Usually called a Cutter, or Cutting
machine.
=Half-bound.= When the back of a book is covered with leather and the
sides with paper or cloth. Some binders call a book half-bound when it
has leather on the back and small pieces on the corners. Three-quarters
bound means wide leather back and large leather corners.
=Half-title.= The brief title which precedes the main title page,
usually a single line in plain type; the bastard title.
=Hand letters.= Letters fixed in handles; used singly for lettering.
=Head and tail.= The top and bottom of the back of a book.
=Headband.= The silk or cotton ornament worked at the head and tail of
a book to give it a finished look, to strengthen it and to make the
back even with the squares or boards which form the sides. On cheap
binding the headband is cut from a strip of machine-made material and
pasted in merely for ornament.
=Heel-ball.= A preparation of wax used by shoemakers, in the form of a
ball, in burnishing the heels of shoes.
=Head cap.= The fold of leather over the headband.
=Imitation Russia.= See Cowhide.
=Imperial morocco cloth.= A grain-finished linen-thread cloth
manufactured by the Winterbottom Book Cloth Company of England. It is
made in different colors; of these the library has tried but one, the
green. On books which have some, but not constant use, it is a very
good substitute for leather. It takes lettering well, and wears better
than any of the cloths the library has tried. The price is 48 cents per
square yard by the roll, fast color, duty paid. (De Jonge & Co., 69-73
Duane St., New York.)
=In boards.= When a book is cut after the boards are affixed to form
the sides, it is said to be cut in boards. The term is also applied to
a style of binding in which the boards are covered with paper only.
=Inset.= When one sheet is placed inside of another, both being folded.
=Inside margins.= The border made by the turn in of the leather on the
inside of boards.
=Inside tins.= Sheets of tin; so called from being placed inside the
boards when a book is put in the standing-press.
=Jansen style.= Without line or ornament either in blank or gold. It
permits decoration on the inside cover, but demands absolute plainness
on the outside, with the exception of lettering. It is only appropriate
for crushed levant, it being dependent for its beauty on the polished
surface of the leather.
=Javelle water.= To one pound of chloride of lime add four and a half
pints of water, and put in a jar with tight cover. Dissolve 20 oz. of
ordinary washing soda in four and a half pints of boiling water, in a
separate vessel, and immediately pour into the first mixture. When cold
add enough water to make eleven pints in all. Strain through muslin,
settle, and pour off the clear solution. This will remove many stains;
but care must be taken to rinse thoroughly the paper with water after
using it, as it tends to rot paper.
=Joints.= The projections formed in backing to admit the boards. Also
the leather or cloth, with its lining, where it passes from the book
proper to the boards when the volume is covered; that is, the part
of the binding that bends when the boards are opened. See also French
joint.
=Justification.= The process of making the pages of a book lie opposite
one another to insure a straight and equal margin throughout.
=Keratol,= the B B B grade, or Buffingette manufactured by the Keratol
Company, cor. Clifford and Van Buren Sts., Newark, N. J., at 35 cents
per yard. A waterproof cloth made in imitation of leather. It is
excellent for the sides of books which receive much wear, as it does
not show either finger or water marks, and outlasts the ordinary book
cloth. It cannot be recommended for full binding as it is difficult
to letter and wears away quickly at the joints. At first it has a
disagreeable odor, but this wears off. An objectionable feature is that
labels cannot easily be pasted upon it. To overcome this difficulty,
put a thin coat of shellac on the place where the label is to go. The
objectionable point mentioned is overbalanced by the material's good
qualities.
=Kettlestitch.= As the sewer draws the thread out through the hole
near the end of a signature she passes it between the two preceding
signatures and around the thread which connects them, before she passes
it into the hole in the signature she next lays on. This is called the
kettle-stitch, a word said to be a corruption of either catch-up stitch
or chain stitch.
=Keys.= Little metal instruments used to secure the bands to the sewing
bench.
=Kip calf.= Made from the skin of a heifer; much stronger than ordinary
calf.
=Knocking-down iron.= A heavy iron plate on which are placed the sides
of a laced-in book when the lacings of string, tape or vellum, are
pounded down with a hammer so they will not show when the book is
covered.
=Laced in.= When the boards are affixed to the volume by passing the
bands, strings, or tapes on which it is sewn through holes made in the
boards, they are said to be laced in.
=Laid paper.= Having lines water-marked in it, running through it at
equal distances apart, the lines being thin places made by the pressure
of projections on the dandy-roll.
=Laying press.= See Lying press.
=Law sheep.= Law books are usually bound in sheep left wholly
uncolored, hence the term. Many law books are now bound in buckram,
canvas or duck.
=Leatherette.= Cloth or paper made to look like leather. There are many
kinds used in binding, some of which look very well and wear about as
long as poorer kinds of cloth.
=Lettering block.= A piece of wood of about the size and shape of a
large book. Leather labels which are to be lettered in gold are laid on
the rounded edge of this block that the pallet may be pressed on them
more readily.
=Lettering box.= The iron box in which type are screwed up preparatory
to lettering. To the box is attached a handle, the whole forming a
pallet.
=Lettering pallet.= See Pallet.
=Levant morocco.= Originally made in the Levant from the skins of
Angora goats. A superior quality of morocco, having a large and
prominent grain. French levant morocco has long held its place as the
best of all leathers for bookbinding.
=Limp binding.= Binding with a thin and yielding cover. A perfectly
limp leather book can be rolled up easily.
=Linen.= See English linen.
=Linen-finish buckram.= Polished buckram and satin-finish book cloth.
Manufactured by Jos. Bancroft & Sons Co., Rockford, near Wilmington,
Del. (New York agent, Albert D. Smith, 35-37 Thomas St., New York.)
The special features of these cloths, in which it is claimed they
are superior, are uniformity of color, finish and fabric, wearing
qualities, tensile strength, and easy application of decoration, ink or
metal.
=Lining papers.= The colored or marbled paper at each end of a book.
Called also End papers, which see.
=Loose back.= See Back, tight and loose.
=Low buckram.= See English linen.
=Lying press.= The term applied to the under side of the cutting press
when used for backing. Usually called laying press.
=Maioli style.= A style prior to and contemporary with the early
(Italian) examples of the Grolier. Generally composed of a framework of
shields or medallions, with a design of scrollwork flowing through it.
Portions of the design are usually studded with gold dots. Ornaments
are of moresque character.
=Marbled calf.= Calf so treated with acid that it bears some
resemblance to marble.
=Marbler.= A workman who marbles the edges of the leaves.
=Marbling.= A process of decorating sheets of paper and edges of books
with variegated colors in irregular patterns.
=Millboard.= The boards that are attached to the book to form the
covers. Several kinds are in use now; the best is made of old naval
cordage.
=Millboard machine.= See Board cutter.
=Mitred.= When the lines in finishing intersect each other at right
angles and are continued without overrunning each other, they are said
to be mitred.
=Morocco.= Leather made from goatskins, tanned with sumac, originally
made in the Barbary states, but afterwards very largely in the Levant,
and now produced in Europe and America from skins imported from Asia
and Africa. The peculiar qualities of true morocco are great firmness
of texture, with flexibility, and a grained surface, of which there are
many varieties. This surface is produced by a process which consists
largely in rolling and folding, called graining. True morocco is of
extreme hardness, and makes the most durable book bindings; it is used
also for upholstering seats and for similar purposes, and to a certain
extent in shoemaking.
"Early specimens of red morocco, from the sixteenth to the end of the
eighteenth century, were found in good condition, and of all leathers
noticed this seems to be the least affected. In the opinion of the
committee, most of this leather has been tanned with sumac or some
closely allied tanning material. Morocco bindings earlier than 1860
were generally found to be in fairly good condition; but morocco after
that date seems to be much less reliable, and in many cases has become
utterly rotten."--Report '01.
Leather called morocco, sometimes with a qualifying adjective, is now
made in Europe and America. Much of this is very good, even when made,
as it often is, from other skins than those of goats. Even the experts
seem often unable to distinguish the good from the best. None of it is
to be condemned or approved because it is or is not made in the Levant,
or from goatskins.
=Morocco.= The name given to any imitation, often made of sheepskin, of
the genuine morocco.
=Morocco.= For Bock, French, Levant, Persian, Turkey morocco, see the
several words.
=Morocco cloth.= See Imperial morocco cloth.
=Mosaic binding.= A binding of leather decorated with designs made in
whole or in part by inlaying pieces of leather or other material of
different colors. The designs are usually outlined with gold.
=Mottled calf.= A light brown calf bookbinding, made to look mottled by
treatment with acid.
=Niger goatskin.= Brought from Africa by the Royal Niger Company.
A native production. It has a very beautiful color and texture,
with no grain. It has stood all the tests given it without serious
deterioration. It does not keep clean under handling as well as a
good coarse-grained morocco. Especially recommended by the committee
appointed to investigate leather by the Society of Arts, of England.
=Octavo.= A sheet of paper folded into eight leaves, being, when
folded, about 8-1/2 × 5-1/2 inches; usually written 8vo.
=Off-set.= The impression made by print against the opposite page, when
a book has been rolled or beaten before the ink is dried; also called
Set-off.
=Opened edges.= See Edges opened.
=Out of boards.= When a volume is cut before the boards are affixed it
is done "out of boards." Nearly all work is now done out of boards.
=Overcasting.= Sewing the leaves or signatures of a book together over
and over. Usually done only when the book consists of single leaves
or plates; but is quite commonly employed now in rebinding books,
especially on the last two or three signatures front and back. Also
called whip-stitching. Probably 90 per cent. of the books published
today will stand wear better if they are properly overcast than if they
are sewed in the ordinary way.
=Pallet.= Name given to the tool used in gilding upon the bands;
sometimes applied to the steel box, with a handle, in which letters are
fastened when they are pressed upon the back.
=Panel.= The space between bands; also applied to beveled and sunk
sides.
=Paneling.= The sides of books are sometimes ornamented with sunken
panels. Paneled covers are usually made of wood and covered with
leather, though sometimes a paneled effect is produced on cardboards by
heavy pressure.
[Illustration: Lettering Pallet]
=Papering up.= Covering the leaves of a volume to protect them while
the volume is being finished. This is often done in fine binding,
especially after edges have been gilded.
=Paring.= Reducing the edges of the leather by cutting them down to
form a gradual slope. In large binderies now done by a machine.
=Paring knife.= The knife used for paring.
=Pastewash.= A thin dilution of paste in water.
=Payne, Roger, style.= The ornaments of this style are easily
identified, being free and flowing in stem and flower; whereas
before Payne's time they had been stiff and formal. The honeysuckle
is a customary ornament. The impressions of the tools are usually
studded round with gold dots, whether used in borders, corners, or
centerpieces. The style is well suited for early nineteenth century
literature, especially poetry.
=Pebble grained.= See Grain.
=Persian morocco.= A kind of morocco leather much used in bookbinding.
It may be finished by graining in several styles. It is mostly made in
Germany, from the skins of hairy sheep called Persian goats, whence its
name is derived.
"East Indian or 'Persian' tanned sheep and goatskins, called 'Persian
morocco' or 'Persian sheep,' now used largely for cheap bookbinding
purposes, are extremely bad. Books bound in these materials have been
found to show decay in less than 12 months and probably no book bound
in these leathers, exposed on a shelf to sunlight or gas fumes, can be
expected to last more than five or six years."--Report '01.
=Petits Fers.= Small hand tools used in finishing, as distinguished
from the stamps or blocks worked in a press.
=Pieced.= When the space between bands, where lettering or title is
placed, has fastened to it a piece of leather different from the back,
it is said to be pieced or titled.
=Pigskin.= Leather made of pigskin. It is very tough and if constantly
handled wears well.
"Modern pigskin, if genuine, seems to last very well in some colors
and in an undyed condition; but some colored pigskin bindings have
utterly perished. Pigskin is naturally hard and rather stiff leather
and is suitable for large books rather than small, and for books which
are much handled." "If submitted to severe softening processes in
manufacture its durability is very small."--Report '01.
Chivers has used a soft, thin pigskin with great success, here and in
England.
=Plate.= An illustration printed from a plate. Term often incorrectly
applied to illustrations printed from wood-cuts. Also, any full page
illustration printed on paper different from that of the rest of the
book is usually called a "plate."
=Plough.= An instrument used in cutting the edges of books and boards.
=Pointille style.= The dotted style of ornament of Le Gascon.
=Points.= Small holes made in the sheets by the printer which serve as
guides in registering and folding.
[Illustration: Flat Polisher]
=Polisher.= A steel instrument for giving a gloss to leather after
finishing.
=Powder.= See Seme.
=Press.= There are several kinds of presses, viz.: plough and press,
for cutting, and standing, stamping, embossing, gilding, and finishing
presses.
=Press pin.= An iron bar used for turning the screws of presses.
=Pressing boards.= Boards put between books when they are pressed. They
are usually made of carefully seasoned wood, and have a heavy strip
of brass about their edges, which projects a little above the board's
surface. Books are laid on the boards with their backs projecting over
this band enough to bring the latter exactly into the groove of the
joint. Another board is laid on these books in the same position as the
first, and so on. All are then pressed.
=Pressing plates.= Thin plates of metal, japanned or nickeled, used to
give a finish or polish to the leather on a book by placing them next
to the leather and then subjecting book and plates to heavy pressure.
=Publishers' bindings.= See Case bindings.
=Quarto.= When a sheet is folded into four leaves, the size of the
folded piece being about 11 × 8-1/2 inches; usually written, 4to.
=Quire.= Twenty-four sheets. When the sheets of a pamphlet are folded
and set into each other in one section, they are quired.
=Recto.= The right page; verso is the left page.
=Red edges.= See Edges red.
=Register.= When the print on one side of a leaf falls exactly over
that on the other it is said to register. Also, a ribbon placed in a
book as a marker.
=Renaissance ornaments.= See Derome style.
=Roan.= Leather made of sheepskin and not split. See Sheepskin.
=Rolled edges.= See Edges rolled.
=Rolling machine.= A machine introduced to save the labor of beating.
By it the sheets are passed between two revolving cylinders. Used in
publishers' binding.
=Rolls.= Wheels of brass, cut to any pattern, for impressing gold leaf
on leather.
=Roulette border.= A border design produced by a wheel on the
circumference of which is engraved a pattern that reproduces itself as
the wheel is revolved.
[Illustration: Rounding Hammer]
=Rounded edges.= See Edges rounded.
=Rounding.= The process by which the back of a book is made round.
=Rounding hammer.= A heavy, round-faced hammer used in rounding books.
=Roundlet.= A small circle in gold.
=Roxburgh binding.= A binding with a rather narrow leather back,
without bands, simply lettered, paper sides and no leather corners.
=Rubbing or rub-off.= The name usually given to the copy of the
lettering on the back of the book, made by holding thin paper tightly
over the back and rubbing the paper with a heel-ball or a piece of
plumbago.
=Run up.= When a back has a fillet run from top to bottom without being
mitred at each band, it is said to be run up.
=Russia leather.= A fine leather prepared in Russia, and imitated
elsewhere, by very careful willowbark tanning, dyeing with sandalwood,
and soaking in birch oil. It is of a brownish red color, and has a
peculiar and characteristic odor. The genuine is not often used in
binding; it is not as strong as cowhide.
"In nearly all samples of Russia leather a very violent form of red
decay was noticed. In many cases the leather was found to be absolutely
rotten in all parts exposed to light and air, so that on the very
slightest rubbing with a blunt instrument the leather fell into fine
dust."--Report '01.
=Saddle-stitched.= A pamphlet or book of one signature only sewed with
thread or fastened with wire staples along the back is said to be
saddle-stitched.
=Sawing in.= Making grooves in the back of a book with a saw to receive
strings or bands.
=Seal grain.= See Grain.
=Section.= A folded sheet. See Signature.
=Seme, or Semis, or Powder.= Ornamentation in which a device is
repeated at regular intervals.
=Set-off.= See Off-set.
=Setting the head.= Covering the headband neatly with the leather to
form over it a kind of cap.
=Sewer.= The person who sews together on a sewing bench the sheets,
called when folded sections or signatures, to form a book.
[Illustration: Sewing Bench]
=Sewing bench.= A board from one side of which rise two sticks across
which is a bar, which can be moved up and down and fixed in any desired
position. Strings, bands, or tapes are stretched vertically between the
edge of the board and the cross bar; against these the signatures of a
book are successively placed and to them sewed.
=Sheepskin.= The commonest leather used for binding. When unsplit it is
called Roan. When split in two, the upper half is called Skiver, the
under or fleshy half a Flesher. This leather is easy to work, takes
gold lettering easily, and looks fairly well on a book. But it is not
strong, and most kinds dry out and break within three to five years,
even if much handled. The leather made from the skin of the sheep is
not all alike. The remark already made, that a given piece of leather
is not to be condemned for its name, applies to all the other leathers
in this list. The skin from some mountain-bred sheep, for example, if
well tanned, makes a good leather.
"Sheepskin bindings of the early part of the century are many of them
still in good condition. Sheepskin, in a fairly natural state, seems
to keep its flexibility, but it is very easily damaged by friction.
Since about 1860 sheepskin as sheepskin is hardly to be found. We have
instead sheepskins grained in imitation of various other leathers, and
these imitation grained leathers are, generally speaking, in a worse
condition than any others, excepting, perhaps, some of the very thin
calf bindings."--Report '01.
=Shelf-back.= The back of the book, showing the title, bands,
decorations, etc.
=Signature.= The letter or figure under the foot-line of the first page
of each sheet or signature to indicate the order of its arrangement in
the book; often applied to the sheet itself.
=Sixteenmo.= A sheet folded into sixteen leaves, about 4×6 inches when
folded. Usually written 16mo.
=Size.= A preparation of pastewash used in finishing and gilding.
=Sizes of books.= See folio, quarto, octavo, etc.
=Skiver.= The outer hair or grain side of sheepskin which has been
split. It is commonly the thinner of the two parts, as when the inner
is prepared for chamois. It usually looks well, and is easily worked,
but is not strong. Much used for bindings. See Sheepskin.
=Slips.= The ends of the band, twine or tape on which the book is sewn
that project beyond the back after it is sewed.
=Smooth calf.= Plain or undecorated calf.
=Split leather.= Leather split by machine. Two or more pieces or
splits are thus obtained either of which may be used. The inner layer
is usually of inferior quality. Sometimes leather is split simply to
secure uniformity of thickness in the outer parts.
=Sprinkled calf.= Calf so treated with acid that it looks as if it had
been sprinkled with a dye.
=Sprinkled edges.= Cut edges of books sprinkled with color, that the
marks made by handling may be less evident.
=Squares.= The portion of the boards that project beyond the edge of
the leaves of the book.
=Stabbed.= A pamphlet or book of one or more signatures held together
by thread or wire staples driven vertically through near the back edge
is said to be stabbed.
=Stabbing.= The operation of piercing the boards with a bodkin for the
slips to pass through. Also the piercing of pamphlets for stitching.
Also the process of fastening pamphlets together with staples of fine
wire, done on a machine.
=Stamping press.= See Blocking press.
=Stamps.= The brass tools used in finishing to impress figures upon
the leather; they are distinguished as hand stamps and stamps for the
press.
[Illustration: Standing Press of Wood and Iron]
=Standing press.= A large press with screw for pressing many books at
once.
=Start.= When, after cutting, one or more sections of the book come
forward, making the fore edge irregular, they are said to have started.
=Steamboating.= Cutting books out of boards, a number being cut at the
same time.
=Straight edge.= A flat ruler.
=Super.= A thin, loosely woven cotton cloth, glued onto the backs
of books to help to hold the signatures together and, by extending
over to the inside of the cover, to hold book and cover together.
In publishers' binding this is usually all that holds a book in its
case. It is thin and loosely woven that it may be easily glued down
and starched that it may be easily handled. Its place is taken in good
binding by fine muslin or jaconet.
=T. E. G.= Top-edge gilt.
=Tacky.= Sticky; spoken often of glue after it has set, but before it
is quite dry.
=Tail.= See Head and tail.
=Tape.= Cotton tape on which many books are best sewn. It should be
stout but flexible.
=Thread.= The thread with which books are sewn is usually made of
linen, unbleached. It comes in several sizes. If of good quality, say
Hayes's Standard linen, it costs about $1.25 per pound for No. 18
2-cord.
Silk thread is sometimes used in extra binding and on very thick books.
In machine sewing cotton thread is used and wears well.
=Thirty-twomo.= A sheet of paper folded into thirty-two leaves; usually
written 32mo.
=Three-quarters bound.= See Half-bound.
=Tight back.= See Back, tight and loose.
=Title.= The space between the bands upon which the title is lettered.
=Titled.= See Pieced.
=Tools.= Brass stamps used for impressing gold leaf on leather. Applied
particularly to the hand stamps and tools used in finishing.
=Top cover.= The upper or front cover of a book in binding.
=Top edges.= The head or top of a book, in contradistinction to
fore-edge or tail.
=Top gilt.= Used in speaking of a book of which the top edge only is
gilded.
=Top side.= The front side of the cover of a book in binding.
=Tree calf.= A bright brown calf stained by acids in conventional
imitation of the trunk and branches of a tree.
=Trimmed.= The edges of a book are said to be trimmed when the edges of
the larger or projecting leaves only have been cut.
=Trindle.= A strip of thin wood or iron used to take the round out of a
book when it is cut.
=Tub.= The stand which supports the lying press. Originally an actual
tub to catch the shavings.
=Turkey morocco.= Made of goatskins from Turkey. It is very strong,
durable leather; expensive, but worth the money.
=Turning up.= The process of taking the round out of a book when the
edge is cut. All books that are cut in boards have a pair of trindles
thrust between the boards and across the back to assist in this
operation.
=Tying up.= Tying a volume with heavy twine after the leather cover has
been drawn on to make the leather adhere to the sides of the bands;
also to help in setting the head.
=Uncut.= A book is said to be uncut when the edges of the paper have
not been cut with the cutting machine.
=Unopened.= A book is said to be unopened if the bolts of the sheets
have not been cut.
=Vellum.= See Art vellum.
=Verso.= The left page.
=Waste, or Waste leaves.= Part of the end papers and the blank leaves
between the colored end papers and the book proper; should be part of
the same lot of paper with which the book is printed. One of the waste
leaves is often pasted to the loose half of the lining paper or end
sheet, thus forming a doubled fly-leaf.
=Waste papers.= See End papers.
=Waterproof sheets.= Sheets of celluloid or waterproof cardboard
sometimes laid in or between books when pressing.
=Whatman paper.= A high grade quality of English hand-made paper, both
laid and wove, chiefly used for drawing.
=Whipping.= Same as whipstitching or overcasting.
=Whipstitching.= See Overcasting.
=White edges.= Simply cut, without being gilded or colored.
=Whole binding.= When the leather covers the back and sides of a
volume.
=Wire staples.= Fine wire staples used by certain book-sewing machines
in the place of thread for holding the sections to a piece of muslin.
Also the staples used in place of thread in saddle-stitching a pamphlet
of one signature on a machine. Used also in holding a book of several
signatures together, the staple being driven through all the signatures
close to their back edges.
=Witness.= When a book has been trimmed, leaving some of the leaves
still rough, the latter are a witness as to the original size of the
sheet and prove that it has not been cut down.
=Wove paper.= That which does not show water-marked lines running
across it; distinguished from laid paper.