to say, the very first ever practised; for, according to OLYMPIODORUS,
one PHILATIUS was the first who taught the use of _glue_ to fasten
written or blank leaves together, for which great discovery a statue
was erected to him. Binders were called among the Romans _ligatores_,
as they are still in Italy, _legatori_; and it was here, indeed, that I
myself learned the craft, as I now generally bind my own books. Those
who prepared and sold the covers for Roman booksellers were called
_scrutarii_.
There is a very easy way to bind up pamphlets, MSS., or letters
when they have any margin for a back. If you cannot have them
stitched--which, though difficult to an inexpert, can be done for a
mere trifle--then sew them together across from side to side. Where the
pages are of great value, gum them together by a _very narrow_ doubled
or folded strip of adhesive. This done, bind as before, or else simply
paste on a cover of drawing-paper at the back, and the fly-leaves to
the sides. A great deal of loose literature, flying leaves, clippings
from newspapers, letters, &c., can in this way, at no great expenditure
of time or money, be converted into really valuable books.
I may here observe that cloth for binding, thin leather, and even
common parchment or parchment-paper, are much cheaper than would be
supposed, and that the average cost, all expenses included, of binding
a duodecimo book in these would only be from threepence to a shilling.
Any waste parchment will serve for binding.
Any person, however, who can emboss leather with tracer and stamp, even
though but a little, after a week’s practice, can decorate and ornament
books so as to greatly enhance their value. Nor do I exaggerate when
I say that here is a field in which any person who can draw or copy
decorative patterns moderately well might make a living. The reader
will find the fullest details as to how this is done in my _Manual
of Leather Work_. (Price 5s. London, Whittaker & Co., 2 White Hart
Street, E.C.) In the present work I can only state that it is executed
as follows:--Bind your book with cardboard in fairly thick, hard, and
firm brown leather; there is a kind made for the purpose in Germany.
Draw the pattern on it, or else draw it on paper with a crayon-pencil,
and rub it from the back on the leather. This done, go over it with
the fine point of a miniature brush in Indian ink. Dampen the leather
slightly as you work with a sponge, and mark the outline with a tracer
and stamp the ground with a matt. You may leave it brown, but if the
work be coarse, I advise painting the whole with ink or Indian ink, and
then coating it with SOEHNÉE’S varnish, No. 3. Rub this down well by
hand.
If you can supply the design (which should always be bold and simple),
any wood-carver will, for a few shillings, execute it in _intaglio_
on a block of wood, which should be at least one inch in thickness,
and also have a transverse piece screwed to its back to prevent its
warping. With this you can stamp off as many covers as you want.
Retouch them by hand with tracer and stamp. If blackened, and then
touched up with gilding and varnished, such books are very attractive,
and should sell well. Any person who can design, or even trace, a
pattern can have it cut on a block for a few shillings, and anybody
having such a block can print off any number of impressions in damp
leather, and retouch them with stamp and tracer, and glue them to
cardboard covers, for books or albums, and sell them at a good profit.
Yet, though this has been clearly set forth by me several times in
manuals, &c., I have never yet met with a single amateur who has
attempted it. There is as a rule far more suffering in this world from
_laziness_, inertness, and an indisposition to _try_ to do something
than from any other contaminating influences which lead to poverty.
When a book is even woefully dilapidated, so that there is no margin
to stitch, do not despair. First separate every leaf, smooth it, and,
if necessary, dampen it with a slight infusion of tragacanth. Then, if
there is even the twentieth part of an inch of margin left, take strips
of good, tough, thin paper, and with care stitch the leaves to these
strips. For some severe cases you must use very thin transparent or
tracing paper to gum over the text, but which must be visible through
it. This, if neatly done, does not look so badly as it would seem. If
one strip be folded and used to connect two leaves, the stitching and
binding become easy. I have already described how to restore margins
and fill worm-holes.
I think that if any person of literary habits will consider all
that is written in this chapter, and will begin to practise it with
deliberation and care, he will surely succeed, and find it a very
profitable and agreeable occupation. All of such men have pamphlets,
MSS., autographs, letters, newspaper clippings, and papers, which,
if classed and made up into book-form, would be more available for
use, and far more valuable. I say nothing of repairing old books;
it speaks for itself as an easy and lucrative employment. And it
may be observed that a young man who can thus bind and repair would
make a most valuable assistant-librarian, though the business can be
mastered very soon indeed; and it would often happen that in choosing
a secretary, where there are many papers to file or a library to look
after, or an assistant in an antiquarian book-shop--particularly the
latter--preference would be given to one who had mastered practically
what is taught in this chapter. And as on board ship the best sailor
is generally the best mender--every old tar being proverbially skilled
in repairing and having a quick eye for emergencies, even on shore--so
the one who can rehabilitate and “form” books will probably be a good
assistant in all things.
It may often happen to a writer or copyist that he has occasion to
erase a word, and cannot write over the space lest the ink should
spread. In old times this was remedied as follows:--A very little
juniper gum, levigated to the finest powder, was rubbed over the spot
with a soft linen rag.
In all kinds of repairing or technical work it is sometimes necessary
to draw circles when the artist has no compasses. Yet this can be done
to perfection, almost by free-hand, and very easily. Take several
sheets of paper or a blotter; lay on it the piece to be drawn on.
Take a pencil in the fingers, as is usual, rest the hand on the nail
of the little finger as a point--having previously pulled the sleeve
of his coat well up, so as to get a full view--and then with the left
hand draw or revolve the paper. In most cases a perfect circle will be
the result. This is admirable practice for learning to draw circles
entirely by free hand, as may be found by experiment.
Paper can be made, if not absolutely fire-proof, at least deprived of
inflammability, by being steeped in alum-water, or in _oleum tartari
per deliquium_, or oil of tartar. Stationers might find a sale for such
paper. If the document which was thrown by a certain Duchess into the
fire had been thus prepared, it might have been rescued by a bystander
before it perished.
The art of preservation, or prevention of injury, is allied to
restoration, for which reason it would be well if more people who send
books by mail would use protecting corners, which can readily be made
by anybody with a pair of strong scissors from thin sheet brass, tin,
or iron. Take a piece of metal of a rectangular shape, as follows:--
[Illustration]
Then double it into a triangle over a piece of cardboard, or of wood,
exactly the thickness of the cover of the book:--
[Illustration]
Very valuable books should be kept in boxes of thin metal, especially
in India. Such cases should not be made to open and shut with a hinged
lid, but with a covering, and like a cigar case. Such cases, or at
least metallic guards, should also be used when a book is wrapped
and tied in the usual manner and sent by mail. I am quite sure that
at least every other book which I have received by mail during the
past year has shown on its edges melancholy scars from its strings,
reminding one of the wounds which the heroic red Indian retained from
his bonds. A guard is simply a piece of sheet-metal, bent as follows,
once or twice:--
[Illustration]
These guards are invaluable for packing books in trunks. Their price is
trifling, and in the end there would be great economy in using them.
Books should not be packed very tightly together on their shelves. It
bursts the binding, especially of modern works in boards and paper.
The old parchment flexible bindings were in every respect better,
and they could even now be made far more cheaply than is generally
supposed to be possible. I have before me a book nearly three hundred
years old, bound in skiver parchment (split, or very thin), which has
evidently been much used, yet which is still in good condition. But
parchment need not be prepared very carefully for ordinary binding, and
it could be sold for half the price charged by law stationers for what
is used to write on. In the United States one must pay much more for a
sheepskin than for a sheep, indeed in some cases three or four times
as much--that is to say, the skin as a parchment in New York costs as
much as three sheep in the Far West--and yet the expense of bringing
the skin to the East and of tanning it are in no proportion whatever to
the stationer’s profits.
Any one who will examine an ordinary old parchment-bound book, such as
lies before me, will see at a glance why it must be more durable than
a modern binding. In the modern book the _stiff_ back rises full to
the edge, or generally _above_ the level of the sides, and is made of
muslin, paper, or at best of soft leather. Therefore in time it breaks
from pressure and friction, or wears away. The parchment or vellum had
in most cases this back-edge put back or kept down as much as possible,
and the tough covering was all in one piece. It is very true that it
is not possible to obtain plain, old-fashioned parchment now, and that
those who would have vellum, or even sheep, must pay an enormous price
for it. This would not, however, be the case long if there were as
great a popular demand for parchment binding as there now is for flimsy
muslin. Those who prefer the former will find no difficulty in having
it made for them, and in binding their books themselves according to
the directions which I have given.
I shall in the chapter on _Papier-mâché_ show how covers for books may
be cheaply made at no great expense, which may be beautifully embossed
and are extremely durable. This is, briefly, by having a flat mould
or die, on which lay alternate coats of paper and firm paste (into
which glue and alum enter), then passing over them a bread-roller,
continually adding paste and paper till the whole is complete. When
finished, rub in black or any other colour, then rub in oil, rub again,
apply SOEHNÉE, No. 3, and finally rub by hand. This will make very
beautiful binding.
It is much to be regretted that, although there has been of late years,
owing to machinery and patent processes, such immense production of
cheap and showy binding, as shown in photograph albums, there has been
as steady and rapid decrease in quality, strength, and durability. It
is becoming unusual, even in very expensive books, to find one which
can be honestly and well opened or is well stitched. I have, since
writing that last word, tested it with two books recently published,
one costing six shillings, the other a guinea. The latter was fairly
well put together and “held,” but was warped in the stitching and
pasting. It was “bad work.” As for the six shilling book, it cracked
_clear through to the back_ at every page which I opened, and yet I
did not open it very widely. I should say that any amateur who could
not learn to bind books better in a month or six weeks than these were
bound must be stupid indeed. The examination of a number of other books
shows that what I have said is now generally true, and that even very
expensive and pretentiously elegant works are not half so well bound in
reality as were common and cheap school-books two hundred years ago.
This I have also confirmed by examining a number of the latter bound in
parchment, which bid fair to last for centuries to come.
Should this cheap, trashy, and showy style of binding continue,
and with it a constant rise in the price of everything made by
hand, the result will be that everything durable will be made by
“amateurs”--that is, by people who to artistic spirit unite a
certain personal independence. Owners of libraries will bind their
own books, or else employ people who will work as artists, and not
like mere machines. The vulgar and ignorant will continue to buy
showy, cheap duplicates--induced by hearing, “’Ere’s an harticle, mum,
that we’re sellin’ a great many hof”--while the cultured will prefer
the hand-made, which is not necessarily more expensive. In fact, if
the unemployed in England--or the victims of the wholesale steam
trash-maker--could be taught easy hand-work, as they all _can_ be, it
would be possible to not only vastly relieve national poverty, but we
could have a variety of articles of better quality. For it appears to
be, by some strange law, a _fact_ that, with all the improvements in
machinery, men can still make by _hand_--and well--pictures, clothes,
shoes or boots, bookbindings, and works of art generally--that is to
say, anything in which skill or character can be shown; while, on
the contrary, in all such matters machinery, instead of making any
progress, is, owing to competition, actually falling behind! Scientific
and other journals are continually boasting of new discoveries and
improvements, but despite this the jerry-built houses of three-fourths
of London, the sawed and glued cheap and vile furniture (made by
scientific steam) with which they are filled, the average quality of
everything into which skill and taste are supposed to enter, show that
this boasted “end of the century” is also rapidly coming to an end in
good taste and the quality of its work.
He who will learn to _mend_ with care, taste, and skill, firstly
his books, will find that to progress from this to binding and to
making elegant covers is only going from A to B. The binding of the
olden time, while it was incredibly strong, vigorous, and quaint, was
extremely easy to make, as I have satisfied myself by much examination
and personal practice. The stitching was not with the weakest and
cheapest cotton-thread; still less was it with wires too thin for the
purpose; it was executed with linen pack-thread, _from the top to
the bottom of the page_, in three or four stitches, so that the book
could really be opened and bent back till the covers touched without
injury to it. All of which could be given to-day with the parchment
covers at the same price which the book now costs, and to pay the same
profit, were it not that public “taste” prefers showy trash. Beyond
good, strong _stitching_, all the _necessary_ process of binding is
very easy. It requires neatness and care, and some practice, but it is
decidedly not difficult. He who has mastered it will find that other
kinds of mending, and also the practice of allied minor arts, are
simply the succeeding letters of the alphabet.
It is a fact, to which I invite attention, that dilettante amateurs
of books invariably understand by binding nothing more than its
refinements and easily ruined adornment, which books had better be
without. Amateurs of this class always attempt at once the most
difficult work, and generally fail. As a rule, almost without
exception, the prize specimens of modern binding seen at exhibitions
are chiefly remarkable for ornament, which will not endure handling or
rubbing, such as surface-gilding.
Pamphlets or letters, &c., can be bound with “eyelets,” and the clamp
or punch which is sold with them. Or they may be simply gummed
together, in which case use the powerful fish-glue, which holds
perfectly.
The easiest and most effective method of side-binding, or where leaves
are held together by passing the tie through from side to side, is
as follows:--Have by you strips of metal, say sheet-tin, one-fourth
or one-third of an inch in breadth; also small rivets or tacks. Take
two strips of the same length as the pamphlet or papers to be bound,
and strike holes in them with a brad-awl and hammer, on a solid piece
of wood, at regular distances. Then place these strips on the book,
and drive the rivets through the holes. Turn the whole round, and
laying the other side on an anvil or a reversed flat-iron, flatten
the points of the rivets so that they will hold. Any old tins, such
as are thrown away in such numbers, can be made to supply strips. A
strip of parchment or strong paper bent over to form a back can then
be pasted over the strips to improve the appearance of the volume. Any
tinman will, for a trifle, supply these strips and punch the holes
neatly for use. They should be found in every library, and ought to
be in every stationer’s. It may be observed that in inserting the
rivets or tacks you should place them alternately, one on one side
and one on the other. A lighter form of this binding is to take a
flat-headed drawing-pin, similar to those used by artists, and have a
round, flat tin or brass disc, like a thin sixpence or threepenny-bit,
corresponding to it. In the latter punch a small hole, and rivet as
before. Tinmen will also punch these discs; in fact, they often throw
away a great many cut from certain kinds of work.
Where the leader may have a great number of books to bind, he will
find it an economy or a means to secure good work to hire a girl who
is an experienced book-stitcher to come and work for him. He can
thus be _sure_ of having his works _well_ sewed from top to bottom
with strongest linen-thread in ancient style, instead of their being
shabbily wired (and all wiring is shabby, since the thin does not
hold, and the thick bursts the binding), or still more shabbily looped
together with weak cotton-thread. This effected, he can easily do his
own binding. He may not rival a Grolier, or turn out such exquisite
“gems” as require to be kept in caskets, and are utterly unsuitable for
use or reading, and, like most “elegant and unrivalled” modern binding,
marvels of tooling and gilding. But he can most assuredly hope to bind
strongly in parchment as books were bound in the olden time, and if
he chooses to also ornament them with richly stamped leather covers,
he can in a short time learn to do the latter, as may be seen in the
_Manual of Leather-Work_.
The great test of excellence in a book is, Can it be freely handled and
read without injury? The most careless examination of most books will
convince the reader that this test is almost unknown. The exquisitely
whitened vellum bindings of Florence and Venice, which are stained
almost with the pressure of a lady’s clean finger; the photograph
album, so beautifully stamped in leather as thin as blotting-paper,
which scratches and wears into shabbiness in a week, if often
opened--all the show-pieces of exhibitions will not endure _use_.
And it seems as if, after all the binding of this decade shall have
perished, that of the common, cheap books of the seventeenth century
will be as good as ever.
A great number of the adhesives and cements mentioned in this book are
quite applicable to mending bindings or making paper stick to paper,
&c. The following is, however, not only a paste, but also a glaze, and
is extensively used as such on labels, boxes, and cards:--
Boil borax with water, and work it thoroughly into caseine till it
forms a clear, thick, and extremely adhesive cement, which is also much
used to varnish leather or muslins.
It is often desirable to have a varnish or glaze for the covers of
books, and still more frequently a paste, which will hold very firmly
and yet not penetrate, as glue and paste very often do.
To make such a cement, mix heavy solution of warm glue with freshly
made starch or flour-paste. Add to this one-fourth part of turpentine
and one-fourth of spirits of wine. This excellent cement is applicable
to many purposes.
To paper walls _well_ we make flour-paste, and to every quart add
ten grammes of alum dissolved in hot water. Then wash the wall with
glue-water, and cover the paper with the paste. The alum and glue form
a combination which is leathery and insoluble, and not only arrests
decay, but clings with great force. Most wall-paper put on with common
paste decays more or less in time, and becomes simply poisonous.
A STRONG GUM OR ADHESIVE FOR PAPER, CARDBOARD WORK, OR BINDING:--
I.
Dissolve:--
Gilder’s glue 100
Water 200
Add to this:--
Bleached shellac 2
Alcohol 10
II.
Dissolve together:--
Dextrine 50
Water 50
Unite the two solutions thus formed; pass them through a cloth, so as
to fall into a flat mould. When dry, use by dissolving in hot water.
AMERICAN GLAZE FOR POSTAGE-STAMPS:--
Dextrine 2
Vinegar 1
Water 5
Alcohol 1
Stamps are, however, very often surreptitiously removed by means of
moisture. The following recipe renders this difficult. It consists of
two preparations, one of which is applied to the stamp and one to the
letter. It is particularly needed in America, where, according to a
statement in a newspaper, _nearly one-third_ of all the postage-stamps
are removed from letters, cleaned, and used over again.
I. _For the Letter._
Chromic acid 2.5 gr.
Caustic potash 15.0 ”
Water 15.0 ”
Sulphuric acid 0.5 ”
Sulphuric copper-oxide of ammonia 30.0 ”
Fine paper 4.0 ”
II. _On the Stamp._
Sturgeon’s bladder in water 7.0 gr.
Vinegar 1.0 ”
The chromic acid forms with the glue a substance insoluble in water,
which causes the stamp not to yield to moisture. The two should be
kept in two cups, and the letter first smeared with one and the stamp
with the other. I have read of a physician who, finding that his
postage-stamps were often stolen, adopted the precaution of giving
their backs an application of croton-oil, or some similar powerful
“anti-thief-matic,” the result of which was great temporary illness in
his landlady and her family. For this recipe the reader must apply to a
chemist!
EDER’S GUM FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.--Dissolve oxyhydrate of ammonia in vinous
acid, to one part of which add twenty of starch-paste.
CEMENT FOR LEATHER OR PAPER IN BINDING BOOKS, &C.--Take 1 kilogramme of
wheat-flour, and make it to a paste with 20 grammes of finely powdered
alum. Boil this till a spoon will stand uptight in it. Cover the
cardboard or cover with this, lay the leather or muslin upon it, and
then with a roller press one upon the other. Leather should first be
damped. Care must be taken that the paste be not too moist; secondly,
that it is laid on very evenly and thinly.
Engravings or texts which have had a piece torn out can be restored as
follows:--
Obtain a photograph from a perfect copy on corresponding paper, then
with gum set it in, so as to supply the deficiency.
As the ravages of the _Book-worm_ form an important item in mending
books, and as there is always some interest for collectors regarding
this much talked of and rarely seen insect, I take the liberty of
reproducing from the American _Science_ of March 24, 1893, an article
on the subject. An appropriate motto for it might be:--
“Come hither, boy; we’ll hunt to-day
The book-worm, ravening beast of prey.”
THE RAVAGES OF BOOK-WORMS
At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical Society, held February
9, 1893, Dr. Samuel A. Green, after showing two volumes that had been
completely riddled by the ravages of insects, as well as some specimens
of the animals in various stages, made the following remarks:--
* * * * *