FINISHING
28. Gilding
The gilding of a library book is a simple matter compared with that of books bound for individuals. Such books are usually meant to be artistic and their covers bear elaborate designs in gold, generally limited only by the size of the owner's pocketbook or by his taste.[1] In library binding gilding is confined to the furnishing of necessary information. Tooling of all kinds, with the possible exception of that which divides the back into panels, is unnecessary. A description of finishing processes is unnecessary here since they add nothing to the strength of a book. A description of the method of gilding call numbers will be found on page 194.
There are three different ways of lettering books bound in light colored cloths on which gold cannot be used: (a) In gold on leather labels pasted to the back. (b) In gold on panels which have been stained black. (c) In black ink directly on the back. The first two methods make more attractive-looking books but the process adds to the expense, and in the first case the labels have a tendency to peel off. The last method is the one generally used.
In this description of processes numerous details have been omitted, because they would add little, if anything, to the librarian's ability to criticize properly the work being done by his binder.[2] In some respects the order here outlined may differ in different binderies, but the majority follow it closely.
The processes as outlined are those which should be used in library binding. There are, however, several additional points relating to binding processes with which it is well to be familiar.
[1] Finishing from the artistic point of view with an excellent description of tools, materials and processes will be found in Cockerell's "Binding and the care of books," Chapter 14.
[2] For instructions to the binder about type, space, lettering, etc., see under Lettering, page 141.