The Art of Bookbinding: A practical treatise, with plates and diagrams — Edition Insights

Refolding — Machines — Gathering … 3–8

CHAPTER II. Beating and Rolling: Machines … 9–12

CHAPTER III. Collating: Interleaving … 13–19

CHAPTER IV. Marking up and Sawing in … 20–23

CHAPTER V. Sewing: Flexible — Ordinary … 23–32

CHAPTER VI. Forwarding: End Papers — Cobb Paper — Surface Paper — Marbled Paper — Printed and other Fancy Paper — Coloured Paste Paper … 33–36

CHAPTER VII. Pasting up … 36–37

CHAPTER VIII. Putting on the End Papers … 38–41

CHAPTER IX. Trimming … 41–44

CHAPTER X. Gluing up … 45–46

CHAPTER XI. Rounding … 46–48

CHAPTER XII. Backing … 48–51

CHAPTER XIII. Mill-boards … 51–57

CHAPTER XIV. Drawing-in and Pressing … 57–59

CHAPTER XV. Cutting … 59–66

CHAPTER XVI. Colouring the Edges: Sprinkled Edges — Colours for Sprinkling — Plain Colouring — Marbled Edges — Spot Marble — Comb or Nonpareil Marble — Spanish Marble — Edges — Sizing … 67–77

CHAPTER XVII. Gilt Edges: The Gold Cushion — Gold Knife — Burnishers — Glaire Water or Size — Scrapers — The Gold Leaf — Gilt on Red — Tooled Edges — Painted Edges … 78–83

CHAPTER XVIII. Head-Banding … 83–86

CHAPTER XIX. Preparing for Covering: lining up … 87–90

CHAPTER XX. Covering: Russia — Calf — Vellum or Parchment — Roan — Cloth — Velvet — Silk and Satin — Half-bound Work … 90–97

CHAPTER XXI. Pasting Down: Joints — Calf, Russia, etc. … 97–100

CHAPTER XXII. Calf Colouring: Black — Brown — Yellow — Sprinkles — Marbles — Tree-marbles — Dabs … 100–108

PART II. — FINISHING.

CHAPTER XXIII. Finishing: Tools and Materials required for Finishing — Polishing Irons — Gold-rag — India-rubber — Gold-cushion — Gold Leaf — Sponges — Glaire — Cotton Wool — Varnish — Finishing — Morocco — Gold Work — Inlaid Work — Porous — Full Gilt Back — Run-up — Mitred Back — Pressing — Graining — Finishing with Dry Preparation — Velvet — Silk — Vellum — Blocking … 111–153

CHAPTER XXIV. Washing and Cleaning: Requisites — Manipulation — Dust — Water Stains — Damp Stains — Mud — Fox-marks — Finger-marks, commonly called “Thumb-marks” — Blood Stains — Ink Stains (writing) — Ink Stains (Marking Ink, Silver) — Fat Stains — Ink — Reviving Old Writings — To Restore Writing effaced by Chlorine — To Restore MSS. faded by time — To Preserve Drawings or Manuscripts — To fix Drawings or Pencil Marks — To render Paper Waterproof — To render Paper Incombustible — Deciphering Burnt Documents — Insects — Glue — Rice Glue or Paste — Paste — Photographs — Albumen — To Prevent Tools, Machines, etc., from Rusting — To Clean Silver Mountings — To Clean Sponges … 157–172

Bookbinding carries us back to the time when leaden tablets with inscribed hieroglyphics were fastened together with rings, which formed what to us would be the binding of the volumes. We might go even still further back, when tiles of baked clay with cuneiform characters were incased one within the other, so that if the cover of one were broken or otherwise damaged there still remained another, and yet another covering; by which care history has been handed down from generation to generation. The binding in the former would consist of the rings which bound the leaden tablets together, and in the latter, the simple covering formed the binding which preserved the contents.

We must pass on from these, and make another pause, when vellum strips were attached together in one continuous length with a roller at each end. The reader unrolled the one, and rolled the other as he perused the work. Books, prized either for their rarity, sacred character, or costliness, would be kept in a round box or case, so that the appearance of a library in Ancient Jerusalem would seem to us as if it were a collection of canisters. The next step was the fastening of separate leaves together, thus making a back, and covering the whole as a protection in a most simple form; the only object being to keep the several leaves in connected sequence. I believe the most ancient form of books |xii| formed of separate leaves, will be found in the sacred books of Ceylon which were formed of palm leaves, written on with a metal style, and the binding was merely a silken string tied through one end so loosely as to admit of each leaf being laid down flat when turned over. When the mode of preserving MS. on animal membrane or vellum in separate leaves came into use, the binding was at first only a simple piece of leather wrapped round the book and tied with a thong. These books were not kept on their edges, but were laid down flat on the shelves, and had small cedar tablets hanging from them upon which their titles were inscribed.

The ordinary books for general use were only fastened strongly at the back, with wooden boards for the sides, and simply a piece of leather up the back.