Velvet should be covered with clean glue not too thick; first glue the back of the book and let that set before the sides are put down. The sides of the book should next be glued, and the velvet laid down, and turned in with glue. The corners should be very carefully cut or they will not meet, or cover properly when dry. When the whole is dry the pile may be raised, should it be finger marked, by holding the book over steam, and if necessary by carefully using a brush.
Silk and Satin should be lined first with a piece of thin paper cut to the size of the book. The paper must be glued with thin clean glue, rubbed down well on to the silk, and allowed to get dry, before covering the book. When dry, cover it as with velvet.
Dr. Dibdin, whose knowledge of libraries and great book collectors must stamp him as an authority, says that:—
“The general appearance of one’s library is by no means a matter of mere foppery or indifference: it is a sort of cardinal point, to which the tasteful collector does well to attend. You have a right to consider books, as to their outsides, with the eye of a painter; because this does not militate against the proper use of the contents. . . . . Be sparing of red morocco or vellum, they have each so |96| distinct, or what painters call spotty, an appearance, that they should be introduced but circumspectly.”
I cannot agree entirely with the Doctor with regard to being sparing with the red morocco. A library without colour is dark, dreary, and repulsive. The library should be one of the most inviting and cheery rooms in a house, and even if one cannot aspire to a room entirely devoted to literature and study, let the bookcase, whatever its position or however humble, be made as cheerful and inviting as possible. What colour will do this so well as red? But it should be judiciously dispersed with other colours.
If some standard colour were chosen for each subject, one might recognize from some little distance the nature of the book by its colour. For instance, all books relating to Military matters might be in bright red; Naval affairs in blue; Botany in green; History in dark red; Poetry in some fancy colour, such as orange, light blue, light green, or olive, according to its subject; Divinity in dark brown; Archæology in dull red, and Law in white as at present. This would give a pleasing variety, and a light and cheerful appearance to a library.
An imitation russia leather is imported from America, of far greater strength than the real. It is made from buffalo skins, and tanned in the same way as the russia hides. This fact, combined with the price, has doubtless caused this material to be received with favour in the English market. It is to be had from nearly all leather sellers.
Half-bound Work.—The title speaks for itself, the book has its back, a part of the sides, and the corners covered with leather. The sides are, after the leather is perfectly dry, covered either with cloth or paper according to fancy, turned over the boards as with leather. The book is then to be pasted down. Before the paper is put on the sides, |97| all unevenness of the leather is to be pared away. This style has gained its reputation very much on account of its economy; the amount of leather required is less, and the work is as strong and serviceable as in a whole-bound book. It will be better if the back be finished before the corners are put on, as there is great likelihood that the corners may get damaged to some extent during the process of finishing. The outside paper may either match the colour of the leather, or be the same as the edge or end papers. This, like many other rules in bookbinding, is quite a matter of taste.
CHAPTER XXI. PASTING DOWN.
This is to cover up the inside board by pasting down the end papers to the boards.