The Art of Bookbinding: A practical treatise, with plates and diagrams

by Joseph William Zaehnsdorf

The inside of a book is generally finished before the outside. This should be done as neatly as possible, carefully mitreing the corners when any lines are used. Most frequently a roll is used, thus saving a great deal of time. A style was introduced in France called “doublé,” the inside of the board being covered with a coloured morocco different to the outside, instead of having board papers. This inside leather was very elaborately finished; generally with a “dentelle” border, while the outside had only a line or two in blind. It is a style which, although very good in itself, is not now in great request, many prefer to have the finishing outside rather than to have it covered up and not seen when the book is shut.

GROLIER.

Demy folio.

The edges of the boards and the headbands must be finished either in gold or blind, according to fancy, but in keeping with the rest of the embellishment. A fine line worked on the centre of the edge of the board by means of a fillet looks better, and of course requires more pains than simply running a roll over it. If it is to be in gold, simply glairing the edge is sufficient. Lay on the gold and work the fillet carefully. Place the book on its ends in the |133| finishing press to keep it steady, or it will shake and throw the fillet off. If a roll is used, take the gold up on the roll, but grease it first a little, by rubbing the gold rag over the edge to make the gold adhere. Then run the roll along the edge of the boards: the roll generally used for this purpose is called a bar roll—that is, one having a series of lines running at right angles with the edge of the roll.

Imitation morocco is generally used for publishers’ bindings, where books are in large numbers and small in price, and the finishing is all done with the blocking press: To finish this leather by hand, it is advisable to wash it with paste-water and glaire twice.

Roan is generally used for circulating library work, and is very seldom finished with more than a few lines and the title across the back. This leather is prepared with paste-wash and glaire, and, when complete, varnished over the whole surface.

Inlaid Work.—Inlaid, or mosaic work, is used only in the higher branches of bookbinding. Formerly books were not inlaid, but painted with various colours. Grolier used a great deal of black, white, and green. Mr. Tuckett, the late binder to the British Museum, took out a patent for extracting one colour from leather and substituting another by chemical action. This method, however, was in use and known long before he turned his attention to the subject, although he improved greatly upon the old practice. As the patent has long expired, it may not be out of place to give an extract from the specification: “Take dark chocolate colour, and after the design has been traced thereon, it is then to be picked out or pencilled in with suitable chemicals, say diluted nitric acid; this will change the chocolate, leaving the design a bright red on a chocolate ground.” But to lay on the various colours with leather is, no doubt, by far the better plan. Paint has a tendency in time to crack, and, if acids are used, they will, to a certain |134| extent, rot or destroy the leather; but if leather is used it will always retain both colour and texture. To choose the proper colours that will harmonize with the ground, give tone, and produce a pleasing effect, requires a certain amount of study. Morocco is the leather generally used, but in Vienna calf has been used with very good results. If the pattern to be inlaid be very small, steel punches of the exact shape of the tools are used to punch or cut out the patterns required. To do this, work the pattern in blind on the side of the book; take morocco of a different colour to the ground it is required to decorate, and pare it down as thin as possible. Lay it on a slab of lead. Lead is better than anything else on account of its softness; the marks made by the punch can always be beaten out again, and when quite used up it may be re-melted and run out anew. Now take the steel punch of an exact facsimile of the tool used that is to be inlaid, and punch out from the leather the required number. These are to be pasted and laid very carefully on the exact spot made by the blind-tooling; press each down well into the leather, either with a folding-stick or the fingers, so that it adheres properly. When dry, the book should be pressed between polished plates, in order that the pieces that have been laid on, may be pressed well into the ground leather. When it has been pressed, the whole of the leather must be prepared as for morocco, and finished in gold. The tools in the working will hide all the edges of the various inlaid pieces, provided they are laid on exactly.

MAIOLI.