Bookbinding, and the Care of Books / A Handbook for Amateurs, Bookbinders & Librarians

by Douglas Cockerell

If artists wish to design for gold tooling without first mastering the details, probably the safest way will be for them to design in lines of gold dots. Some successful patterns carried out in this way were shown at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition some years ago.

Designs for gold-tooled binding should always be constructed on some geometrical plan, and whatever pattern there is, symmetrically distributed over the cover.

If lettering can be introduced, it will be found to be most useful when arranging a pattern. It gives dignity and purpose to a design, and is also highly decorative. Lettering may be arranged in panels, as at page [332], or in a border round the edge of the board, and in many other ways. It may either consist of the title of the book, or some line or verse from it or connected with it, or may refer to its history, or to the owner. Anything that gives a personal interest to a book, such as the arms of the owner, the initials or name of the giver or receiver of a present, with perhaps the date of the gift, is of value.

The use of the small fillet makes it possible to employ long, slightly-curved lines. Gold-tooled lines have in themselves such great beauty, that designers are often tempted to make them meander about the cover in a weak and aimless way. As the limitations enforced by the use of gouges tend to keep the curves strong and small, and as the use of the small fillet tends to the production of long, weak curves, students are advised at first to restrict the curved lines in their patterns to such as can be readily worked with gouges.

Fig. 111.

It must be remembered that a gouge or fillet line is very thin, and will look weak if it goes far without support. For this reason interlaced lines are advocated.

Gouge lines are easier to work, and look better, if a small space is left where the gouges end. This is especially the case where lines bearing leaves or flowers branch from the main stem (see [fig. 111]).

Gouges and fillets need not always be of the same thickness of line, and two or three sets of different gauges may be kept. A finisher can always alter the thickness of a gouge with emery paper.