CHAPTER XXVI
A SIMPLE METHOD OF BINDING MSS.
The method of binding described in this chapter is not intended to take the place of proper binding in leather. However, it is sometimes useful to be able to put the MS. in a cover when it is not desirable or convenient to go to the expense of having the book bound in the usual way. Binding with stiff boards is an art that requires considerable experience as well as skilled training, but there is no reason why MSS. should not be bound in limp vellum in the manner described here. No special appliances are needed for this method, and the writer should be able to complete his MSS. by binding them without any difficulty if the directions given here are carefully followed.
Two additional sections of plain paper or vellum should be made, to serve as end-papers, one at each end of the book. If the MS. is on vellum, the end-papers should be of the same material, but if on paper the end-papers should be made of paper of the same kind as that used for the rest of the book.
Four strips of binder’s vellum should then be cut, these being about 3/8 in. wide and four inches long. The sections should be knocked up quite squarely, and should be marked on the back with a soft black-lead pencil in the manner shown in [Fig. 46], using a square to get the lines accurate. The sections should all be marked quite distinctly so that each section shows the divisions quite plainly. This gives the position of the four strips of vellum and the kettle-stitches at each end. The mark for the kettle-stitch should be about ½ in. from each end, although sometimes at the bottom a little more than this is allowed. The position of the vellum strips should be in the same proportion as given in [Fig. 46].
Fig. 46.
When ready to sew the sections, take the four vellum strips and fold each one about 1½ in. or 1¾ in. at right angles from each end, according to the thickness of the book. Then take a drawing-board and place on the edge of it the first section face downwards, with the four strips placed in position with their shorter ends underneath. Get a needle, threaded with good silk or unbleached thread, and insert it at the top kettle-stitch mark from the outside, bringing it out again at the first mark for the vellum strip. Bring the thread round the strip and re-insert the needle on the other side, bringing it out again and round the next strip, and so on until it comes out at the bottom kettle-stitch. When this is done it should have the effect, shown in [Fig. 46], of a continuous thread passing in and out and round the vellum strips. Now take the next section and place it in position and sew in the same manner, continuing with the same thread but in the reverse manner. Upon coming to the loose end, where the needle was first inserted, this should be tied up with it. Then add another section, going backwards and forwards, adding section by section until the whole is completed. Each kettle-stitch is linked up as shown in [Fig. 46], and it is a good plan also to link up the threads that cross over the vellum strips in the same manner.
To keep the sections in position while stitching, a small paper-weight is useful. The thread should be drawn fairly tightly, a fresh needleful of thread being tied on to the end of the other when it is exhausted, and when the stitching is completed the end should be carefully tied up with the last kettle-stitch. The back may then be covered with thin glue and lined with a piece of thin leather or tough paper, and the MS. is then ready for covering. (See [Fig. 49].)