A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding / Containing full instructions in the different branches of forwarding, gilding, and finishing. Also, the art of marbling book-edges and paper.

by James B. Nicholson

ANOTHER.

For making a larger quantity, put in ten gallons of rain-water, five pounds and a quarter of nutgalls, well bruised, one pound and a half of logwood chips, the like quantity of copperas, and a quarter of a pound of alum. Let them stand a few days, and then add two ounces of gum-arabic and an ounce and a half of verdigris. Stir them all well together two or three times a day for a fortnight or three weeks, and the ink will then be fit for use.

FOLDING.

The whole being ruled, it will be proper to fold the book to the size required into sections for sewing. The number of leaves in each must depend on the thickness of the paper and size of the book, taking care that there are not so many as, when cut, to cause the leaves to start, or so few that the backs will be swollen too much by the thread. Then place the whole evenly in the standing-press for some time, and prepare the end-papers, which must be of blank paper, and outsides, unless the work is of a superior description. Should leather or cloth joints be placed, it will be necessary to sew them on with the end-papers, as before directed.

SEWING.

The sewing of stationery differs much from that of printed books. To allow of the greatest possible strength, elasticity, and freedom, they are sewn on slips of vellum without being marked with the saw, and the whole length of each sheet, with waxed thread. For small books, two slips will be sufficient; for foolscap folio, three will be required; and, where larger, the number must be increased, according to the length of the back, leaving a space of about two inches between each. The plan laid down by M. Lesne, (page 27,) might, perhaps, be adopted here with fine and light work to great advantage. The slips should be cut about an inch wide, and of sufficient length to extend about an inch over each side of the back. This portion being bent down at one end of the slips, they must be placed under the end-paper on the table at such places as may be deemed proper, and the section sewn the whole length; and so followed by every portion till the whole are attached in the same manner, taking care that the slips retain a perpendicular position and that the back be not too much swollen. Should a morocco joint have been inserted, it must be sewn on with strong silk of the same colour. When finished, the coloured end-papers, if any, must be pasted in, and the first and last ruled leaves similarly attached to the end-papers. If joints, the same precautions must be adopted as before directed. The book may then be beat even on the back and head, placed again in the laying-press, and glued up, working the brush well on the back, so as to force the glue between the sections.

CUTTING.

When the ends and back are dry, this will be the next operation. Here the fore-edge must be cut first. It is done before altering the form of the book, paying great attention to the knife running evenly across, so that the column nearest the front is not cut too close, and is parallel to the edge. When taken out, the back must be rounded with the hammer, in a greater degree than for other bindings, and placed again evenly in the standing-press. After remaining a short time the head and tail must in like manner be cut, but offer no difference in operation. The book will now be ready for colouring the edges, the processes of which have been already described. In England, the large Dutch marble is generally used for stationers' work.

BOARDING.

The next operation will be the preparation of the boards for the side-covers, which should be formed of two or three thin milled boards pasted together. These must be cut to the proper size with the plough, so as to leave a perfectly even edge, and will require to have a larger square allowed for than is usual in printed books. When cut they must be pasted together, leaving, if the book is heavy and the slips on which it is sewn thick, a space at the back to place them in. The book must now be head-banded, and then it will be proper to strengthen the back of the book by glueing across, on the spaces between the slips, strong pieces of canvas, and at the head and tail a piece of calf, leaving projections on each side to be attached to the board. For additional firmness, it was formerly usual, where the work was of a superior description, to sew the length of the book with catgut in about ten or fourteen places, according to the thickness. This is done by placing three strips of strong leather in spaces between the vellum ones, and sewing as at first, by which means the gut, crossing over the leather and under the vellum slips on the back, appears inside on the spaces where no thread has before passed. For ornament, another thread is twisted round the gut on the back, so as to present the appearance of a double cord. These matters being adjusted, the slips of calf at the head and tail must be let in by cutting the end of the waste leaf and placing them under. The other slips, of every description, after trimming, must then be put into the space left between the boards, which should be previously well pasted or glued, the boards placed nearly half an inch from the back, and perfectly square on the sides, and the whole screwed tightly in the standing-press for some time.