ACCOUNT BOOKS.
Account books are nowadays almost always made by wholesale firms, but
there are still, now and then, considerable orders given to medium and
small firms for special work; yet it is just in these small shops that
antiquated methods of work are still followed to a certain extent, to
deal fully with which would require a volume in itself.
To-day, the methods generally followed are based upon the principle that
the spring back, reaching a finger's width over the side, must work
strongest on the book itself, and that such a one opens best. Upon this
principle is based the untanned leather spring back, which, being a
patent, has become a somewhat expensive style.
It is cheaper to make up the backs with wrappers, for which machines are
also to be had; but, nevertheless, the principle is the same, and both
answer the same purpose, although the former is lighter and more
durable; it cannot be denied, however, that after long use the cover
works loose.
For account books, only the best and strongest paper--ruled or
printed--is used, always according to sample. Of course, the work of
ruling can hardly be considered as coming within the scope of this book.
The paper is folded together in sections of three to five sheets,
according to the thickness and quality of the paper. For heavy books a
strip of jaconet is folded in the middle of the inner sheet of each
section before sewing, and, in any case, this should be done with every
first and last three sheets. The end paper makes a section in itself,
which, like all others, is taken up in the sewing--it has previously
been attached to the third section by means of strips of jaconet. In the
end paper a coloured fly leaf and linen joint are pasted.
Figs. 113 and 114--End papers for account books.
The following is a practical way of making the end paper:--
1.--Take a strip of linen (not cloth) three fingers wide, and glue
on narrowly two sheets of plain paper or paper of another colour,
and fold in the middle.
2.--One sheet of a double sheet of white paper is coated with thin
glue, and the hinged leaf No. 1 is pasted to it.
3.--The end section is pasted in behind the first sheet of the
first section, the white sheet is pasted upon the second sheet of
the ruled paper; around the whole section a strip of jaconet is
sewn, or
3a.--A piece of jaconet 1 cm. wide is so hinged to the white double
sheet of this section that half of it remains free; in this fold
the second section is sewn.
Better-class work intended to serve for years of office use is again
being sewn with thread on tapes; the cheaper work is machine
wire-stitched.
In hand sewing, double bands--a wide, strong linen tape--are used, end
to end, of course, and with strong thread.
The bands are also stretched upon the sewing frame; for folio, at least
six are used, and for quarto not less than four.
It has already been said that the sections are sewn throughout, and,
further, that the end section is likewise similarly sewn with them
through the linen joint--in high class work with coloured cordonnet
silk. All sheets, without exception, are kettle-stitched at the end.
Large books are not usually glued up the whole of the back, but only at
head and tail, with perhaps a little in the middle; they are only
completely glued up after having been rounded in the press, as this
makes them retain their shape longer.
If it is decided to do any marbling, the fore-edge is marbled
immediately after trimming it. Rounding is more pronounced in this than
in ordinary work, otherwise the spring back would have no effect with
such bulk, and the book would easily go out of shape.
The account book is also pressed, but not in the same way as printed
books, as the former has its groove pressed quite out. After careful
adjustment between boards, they are squared to the edge of the first and
last sheet, the whole lifted into the press, and the back glued with
very hot glue. The bands are generally left outside the boards, as they
would leave marks too pronounced on the book if pressed inside. After
the book has thoroughly dried in the press, it is cut at top and bottom,
marbled, or some other suitable treatment given to the edges, and then
pasted up. The "clothing up" of the account book is done either with
soft leather and paste or with mole-skin specially prepared for the
purpose; in the former case the bands are omitted, that is, only the
parts between the bands are pasted. In pasting up with mole-skin, only
the back may be glued--never the covering material. The covering
material has a loose overlap of 4 cm. at each side.
Account books take a stronger headband than other books; it must reach
on to the board, which it binds to the book. For this purpose the board
must first have been affixed.
In the first place, a thin but very strong board is laid--about 1-1/2
mm. from the joint--upon the first sheet, which has been completely
coated with glue; the bands are pasted out upon this board, as also are
the leather or beaver clothing overlaps.
It is obvious that this thin board is not stout enough for this heavy
book, therefore a second heavier board--or, if necessary, even a
third--is pasted to it; but as the back now goes over on to the board,
the heavier board must be set back sufficiently to prevent it from
pushing into the back when opening the book.
As the pasting together of these boards makes them very thick, and such
thick boards not being easily cut, they are generally cut the required
size beforehand. Before pasting the thicker board upon the first board,
the back is prepared.
Fig. 115--Boards cut out at head.
First of all, the headband. It is carried on to each board 3 cm. deep,
and the boards must therefore be cut out the same distance up to the
edge; at _A_ the board is bevelled off on the inside. Now cut a piece of
coloured chamois leather--dark red or green--5 cm. wide and as long as
the distance from one notch across the back to the other. The back at
_B_ is now glued, the strip of leather laid on so that it projects
1-1/2 cm. beyond the edge, and the ends at each side brought equally to
the bevelled part _A_. At both sides these are pushed in under the thin
board and well pasted down, whilst the piece projecting over the edge is
glued and turned backwards; but in order to strengthen the piece on the
back of the book, a piece of card as long as the width of the back is
laid in.
The back is selected either from ready-made undressed leather backs of
suitable length and width, or is made on the machine. The practice of
pasting the backs at the edges only does not seem satisfactory, because
on the one hand it does not give sufficient spring, and on the other the
single sections easily work loose. For pasted backs, stout wrappers are
taken, and the strips are cut so that each one slightly overlaps in
width the one preceding. The glued and fitted strips are either pressed
hot in the rounding press or put through a rolling machine built for the
same purpose. The finished backs should be allowed to dry for a short
time. Where there is no machine suitable for this work, the backs must
be pasted into each other, beginning at the outside, and well rubbed
down upon a board made with grooves of various dimensions. The older
method of pasting the backing upon the book itself is still followed,
although it does not produce the firm arch nor give such a good shape as
the former method. When it must be done, the following is the way to
proceed: The size is taken by laying a piece of paper across the back
(taking in 1/2 cm. of the board on each side), and with the dividers
this measure is marked out on a strip of wrapping paper, which must be
the exact length of the board, but wide enough to project about a hand's
width over each board. So that this should not have an unsightly
appearance in the book, it is bevelled along each side.
Fig. 116--Suggestion for account book back. _K_--Pared edge; _T_--Part
to be pasted.
According to the measurement marked by the dividers at top and bottom,
a rule is laid from _a_ to _a_, and along this a sharp line is drawn
with the folder, and the lappets projecting underneath the rule are bent
upwards. At this line thus marked, the wrapper is folded over and
creased with the folder. A second parallel line is made in the same way,
about 6 to 7 mm. farther out, from _b_ to _b_. The back thus prepared is
rounded in the middle part; a strip the size _a_ to _a_ might still be
pasted in the centre. To fasten this to the book, both strips are glued
with strong glue from _b_ to the edge, the back brought into position,
glued, and pressed down. From this it will be seen that the back
stretched across the book is not glued on from _a_ to _b_. A few more
pieces of wrapping paper are still glued on to this first back to
increase the strength of the arch; each one is measured separately after
the one preceding it has been glued into its place, always measuring
from _a_ to _a_.
Fig. 117--Suggestion for account book back.
Such backs do not adhere quite firmly, and it is advisable to insert
another narrower glued strip, opening the book in the middle, of course,
to do this. After inserting the back, the book is closed, and the back
will now lie close and tight to the book. It is trimmed at top and
bottom with a sharp knife and finished off with a rasp if necessary.
The heavy boards are hinged on to this back. They are cut to fit, and,
beginning at the fold _b_, are placed so that the edge of the board
stands a little away from the joint.
Fig. 118--Boarded account book.
Where it is possible to glue up hot, the back should be made in advance.
It is, however, essential that the spring back should be slightly
over-rounded, that is to say, that its ends should first be pressed out
so that they can be pushed on to the back; only thus can it be really
effective, and must, moreover, be shaped to three-quarters of a circle.
An apparatus recently put on the market for glueing without heat, solely
by wrapping up in drilling, is little better than a toy, which saves
neither time nor material. The inventor can hardly be in the
trade--certainly not a practical worker.
The prepared backs are fastened to the books as follows: Cut a strip of
stout linen so that it projects a little at each end and 3 to 4 cm. at
each side; glue the inside of the rounded back evenly, and then fasten
in the linen strip so that it projects equally at ends and sides. At
head and tail the ends are brought over on the outside, and the back
thus made is forced on the book. Before doing so, a line should be drawn
on the thin boards about 1-1/2 to 2 cm. from the joint, glue up to this
line; the strip with the back would be drawn up at both sides and then
pressed down. To make these backs lie closer, a strip of packing may
similarly be inserted.
So then the same work is done here with the glued-up backs as in the old
style with the packed spring backs; here the back is just hinged on
cloth, there it is made from a piece of wrapper. The thick board is set
on in the same way as in the other style of work, set off from the glued
back about 1 to 1-1/2 cm. To fill up this space, lay in each groove a
piece of cord of suitable thickness which has been well pasted, rubbing
in the paste quite smooth, and, after drying, paste over with stout
paper.
Very thick books have a rather clumsy appearance with their many
superimposed boards; this is improved by bevelling on all four sides the
upper thick board.
To protect the book, leather bands are pasted on the back, also
something to add strength is generally put on at head and tail, which is
then covered with specially strong leather. For covering, linen,
mole-skin; for heavy and extra work, pig-skin and cow-hide are used.
Leather is, of course, always pared down, thoroughly coated with paste,
well stretched over, and well rubbed down in all hollows at the joints,
bands, &c.--side panels are also let in--and turned in. Where the back
disappears under the thick board, the turn-in is cut in almost up to the
edge at _b_ with sharp scissors; if it were cut right to the edge it
would be visible, which must be avoided. For turning-in at the head, it
is obvious that the book must lie open as in the illustration.
Fig. 119--To show where turn-in is to be cut.
The corners of account books must always be rounded. Metal corners on
account books are clumsy, damage the writing desks and other books
coming into contact with them, and even when using the best mill-boards
it is impossible to fix them so firmly that they will not work loose in
the course of time. In their stead, leather corners and guards may be
fixed, which are frequently tastefully finished in blind or gold.
Fig. 120--Hand numbering machine.
All books for office use are either folioed or paged, _i.e._, either
each page or each sheet gets a consecutive number in order to facilitate
reference from the index. This may be done either by the hand numbering
machine or by the larger machine worked with a treadle. In both cases
the figures succeed each other automatically whilst printing.
It is always advisable to do this work before binding, as it is then
easier and, besides, there is less chance of the fresh ink smudging when
each single sheet of the sections is pushed up.
The manipulation of this apparatus is so simple that further explanation
seems superfluous.
Where bound books have to be paged, small pieces of blotting-paper must
be laid between the sheets to prevent smudging.
The manufacture of guard books for bills, letters, &c., comes into the
same department as the making of account books. Guards are cut 4 cm.
wide and folded in sixes along the middle, and sewn with strong thread,
end to end, upon a strip of linen stretched upon a piece of wrapper to
which bands have been pasted to further strengthen. The sections are
sewn together at intervals of about 2 cm., so as to allow room for the
papers that are to be pasted in.
The stiff back with the sewn-on guards is now pasted into a cover, which
is made with a back measurement as seen in the illustration. An
insertion for the back is not cut for this purpose, but the two boards
are hinged together with a strip of stiff paper somewhat wider than the
back. The book is then provided with a linen or mole-skin back and
corners, covered with paper, and, after the guarded back has been pasted
in, is lined with paper. If it is intended to gum the guards, the
gumming should be attended to before the sewing. The guards are fanned
up slightly and brushed with gum-dextrine, to which a little sugar and a
few drops of glycerine have been added, so that when dry the gum should
not be too brittle.
Fig. 121--Suggestion for back of guard book.
For all such work a thumb index is generally required; each page takes
one or more letters, or a specification is given, according to which the
binder counts off the number of pages required for each letter--X and Y
being here excluded. Nowadays, the indices are cut with index shears,
which not only regulates the depth of the index but also avoids the
acute angles which are so easily torn in.
Commence cutting from the back, that is, with the Z; this, being the
last letter, is not cut out. Then count off W, cut with the shears, and
cut off what remains below to the bottom edge with a sharp knife, to do
which a narrow thin board is slipped underneath. The further you proceed
towards A, the longer is the strip which has to be cut out with the
knife.
When the excisions for the whole alphabet have been made, the letters
are pasted on. These are sold ready printed, and nowadays are almost
always in one piece for back and front.
The printed sheet with the alphabet is glued or gummed on the back, and,
after drying, the alphabet is creased lengthwise and either cut so or
punched out with a suitable tool. The single letters are damped and
stuck in position.
One might also insert a strip of zinc after the cutting in of the
letters and cut the length at once.
Cheaper kinds of account books for temporary use are often made with
fixed backs; the packing is simply omitted, but the head and tail are
pasted a little to make the turn-over hold better. No matter whether the
cover be of leather or cloth, paste must be used, as this ensures the
back adhering strongly to the book. Such a method of binding can be
recommended for music.
Portfolios for drawings, &c., are often required; the boards are hinged
together with paper as previously described for guard books, the inside
of the back lined with cloth, and the outside covered with leather or
cloth. The turn-in is pasted over the lined back.
Fig. 122--Pattern for dust flaps. (Leinwand = Linen hinge.)
If books are to be made so that they can be fastened, slits must either
be made with a chisel, through which the tape ends are drawn from the
outside to the inside and there pasted down, or else small round eyelet
holes are made, and then proceed as before.
Dust-proof flaps are hinged on to three sides of a thin board with
strips of linen in the following style, and lined and covered
separately. The body itself is likewise made of thin board. (See Fig.
122.)
The whole arrangement is pasted on to the back board of the portfolio.