List of Bookbinders Terms.
Back.—The back of a book is the part where the leaves are fastened together, and does not include the sides of the cover.
Backing.—The process of hammering the back in order to drive the extra thickness due to sewing, over the edge of backing boards making the joint. Fig. 22.
Backing Boards.—Steel faced boards between which the book is placed while backing. b, Fig. 22.
Band, or Rubbing Sticks.—Sticks used in rubbing the leather down over the cords, or bands, in the Extra Binding. 7, Plate I.
Beating out Joint.—Hammering the back of the section of an old book in order to straighten out the part turned over in the process of backing when first bound. No. 3, page [40].
Blind Tooling.—Putting a design upon the leather with hot tools without using gold leaf.
Boards.—The stiff sides of the cover.
Bone Folder.—A bone tool for folding paper and cloth. No. 3, Plate I.
Buffing.—Thin cowhide used in binding.
Case Binding, or Casing.—Where the book and the cover are made separately and then pasted together. Pages [11] and [14].
Collating.—Gathering together the sections of a book in the proper order.
Cover Paper.—Heavy paper used on the covers of books.
Crowfoot Stitch.—The stitch used at the tapes in Library Binding. a and b, Fig. 21.
Double Boards.—Two boards glued together to make one side of the cover in Library Binding. Fig. 23.
End Papers.—The blank leaves at the first and last of the book.
Extra Binding.—Book sewed on cords and bound in full or three-quarters leather. Page [31].
Finishing.—The part of bookbinding that has to do with the decoration, tooling, lettering, etc. Page [9].
Finishing, or Lying Press.—A press for holding the book while the “finishing” is in progress. No. 1, Plate I.
Flexible.—In Extra Binding where leather is attached directly to the back of the book.
Folio.—A sheet folded once, making two leaves.
Foot, or Tail.—The bottom of the book as it is held upright.
Foredge, or Fore-edge.—The edge of the book opposite the back.
Forwarding.—All the work of binding a book until it is ready for the finishing. Page [9].
French Joint.—Wide space left between the edges of the boards and the back of the book in the Library Binding.
Gold Tooling.—The use of gold leaf to cover the lettering or ornaments.
Guard.—A strip of paper used to mend a torn folio or to fasten in a plate. No. 4, page [40].
Half Leather.—A book bound with a strip of leather at the back and the boards covered from the leather to foredge with paper or cloth.
Head.—The top of the book as it stands upright.
Headband.—A piece of cloth or cord at head of book to strengthen back. Fig. 29.
Head Knife, or Skiving Knife.—A knife used for paring the edges of the leather. No. 5, Plate I.
Hinge.—The part of the cover at the joint where the cover bends on opening. It usually refers to a separate piece of cloth or leather used to strengthen cover at this point.
Hollow Back.—Where the cover is not pasted directly to the back of the book. Fig. 33.
Joint.—The narrow space between the board and the back, and also the projection of the back formed by the process of backing.
Joint Rods.—Small rods used to press down the leather or cloth at the joint. No. 10, Plate I.
Kettlestitch.—A stitch used in all types of sewing but especially in sewing all along. b, Fig. 14.
Laying on.—Attaching the casing to the book.
Limp Cover.—Cover without boards.
Library Binding.—The type of book which is sewed on tapes, has a French Joint and double boards. Page [22].
Overcasting.—Method of sewing books which are badly torn and cannot be dealt with in sections.
Plate.—Picture or other special matter on a separate leaf which is fastened into the book.
Plow and Press.—The plow is for cutting the edges of books. The press holds the book while the cutting is in progress. Plate II, P. [28].
Pressing Tins and Boards.—Small pieces of tin and board to protect the book while in press. Nos. 11 and 12, Plate I.
Punctures.—Holes sawed or punched in the book for sewing or tying.
Rounding.—Process of making the back of a book curved.
Section.—Part of book made from one folded sheet of paper.
Sewing All Along.—Method of sewing a book with kettlestitches and without tapes or cords. Fig. 14.
Sewing Frame.—Frame on which the books are sewed. No. 6, Plate I.
Signature.—Small figure or letter at the bottom of the first page of a section to indicate the order of the sections.
Slips.—The tapes, super, and endpaper pasted together to insert in the double boards of a Library Binding. a, Fig. 23.
Spacer.—A device for determining the position of boards in casebinding, instead of measuring. This is used only where a number of the same kind of books are being bound uniformly.
Split Boards.—In the Library Binding, Split Boards are sometimes used instead of double boards. These are simply single boards split at one edge for the insertion of the slips.
Squares.—The distance the boards project beyond the edge of the book.
Stab Sewing.—Where books are sewed from side to side through holes punched with an awl. Fig. 40.
Sunken Cords.—Where book is sewed on cords sunken into large depressions sawed across the back. Fig. 32.
Super.—Thin cloth put on back of book to strengthen the attachment to the cover.
Tail.—Same as foot. Part of Book at bottom of page.
Tapes.—Pieces of tape to which book is sewed in Library Binding. Fig. 21.
Three-quarters Leather.—Cover with leather on back and corners.
Tip.—To attach a sheet of paper by a narrow strip of paste.
Turn-in.—The ¾″ parts of leather, cloth and paper turned over board, etc.
Weaver’s Knot.—A knot used to attach a new thread to an old one. It is made as follows: Hold old thread between thumb and finger, place the end of the new thread under the end of the old thread. Then loop the new thread around its own end. Draw the end of the old thread down over the new thread into the loop. This forms the knot; now draw the threads tight. Fig. 15.
Zigzag.—A kind of fold made in the end folios of Library and Extra Bindings. Fig. 20, page [23].
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
- Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling.
- Renumbered the [Bookbinding] section by adding 100 to all of its page numbers.
- Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed.