Millboard. The boards that are attached to the book to form the covers. Several kinds are in use now; the best is made of old naval cordage.
Millboard machine. See Board cutter.
Mitred. When the lines in finishing intersect each other at right angles and are continued without overrunning each other, they are said to be mitred.
Morocco. Leather made from goatskins, tanned with sumac, originally made in the Barbary states, but afterwards very largely in the Levant, and now produced in Europe and America from skins imported from Asia and Africa. The peculiar qualities of true morocco are great firmness of texture, with flexibility, and a grained surface, of which there are many varieties. This surface is produced by a process which consists largely in rolling and folding, called graining. True morocco is of extreme hardness, and makes the most durable book bindings; it is used also for upholstering seats and for similar purposes, and to a certain extent in shoemaking.
“Early specimens of red morocco, from the sixteenth to the end of the eighteenth century, were found in good condition, and of all leathers noticed this seems to be the least affected. In the opinion of the committee, most of this leather has been tanned with sumac or some closely allied tanning material. Morocco bindings earlier than 1860 were generally found to be in fairly good condition; but morocco after that date seems to be much less reliable, and in many cases has become utterly rotten.”—Report ’01.
Leather called morocco, sometimes with a qualifying adjective, is now made in Europe and America. Much of this is very good, even when made, as it often is, from other skins than those of goats. Even the experts seem often unable to distinguish the good from the best. None of it is to be condemned or approved because it is or is not made in the Levant, or from goatskins.
Morocco. The name given to any imitation, often made of sheepskin, of the genuine morocco.
Morocco. For Bock, French, Levant, Persian, Turkey morocco, see the several words.
Morocco cloth. See Imperial morocco cloth.
Mosaic binding. A binding of leather decorated with designs made in whole or in part by inlaying pieces of leather or other material of different colors. The designs are usually outlined with gold.