The chief characteristics of the linen cloths are that the coloring used fills the interstices, but allows all the threads to be clearly seen. The irregularities of the weaving, therefore, stand out plainly, and produce to a certain extent the appearance of woven linen fabrics.
Linen book cloths are made in two grades, and are sold by the yard under special names given to them by the manufacturers. The cheaper grade is sold under the name of "vellum de luxe," "X" grade, or "Oxford." A better grade of linen book cloth sells (in 1906) at about sixteen cents per yard under the names "art vellum," "B" grade, and "linen finish." It is a very durable fabric and extensively used.
The linen cloths are made principally in the plain surface, and in the "T" pattern, but almost never in any other patterns, the reason for this being the fact that the character of the cloth is very little changed by the embossing, which is used with greater effect on the solid colors. These linen cloths are especially adapted for school and other books which are constantly handled, as their construction shows the wear less than do the solid colors.
The buckrams might have been properly classed with the linens, as that is what, in fact, they are. Linen cloth observed through a microscope which magnifies the threads to a coarseness of about forty to the inch gives us the exact appearance of the buckram, which is a heavy, strong cloth well adapted to large books, and which furnishes the most durable binding of all the book cloths. The colors of buckrams correspond closely with those of the linens; they are also sold under trade names given them by manufacturers, such as "art canvas" and "E" grade.
Buckrams are sometimes embossed to imitate in part the appearance of an irregularly woven fabric called "crash." Crash is a special cloth which might properly be classed with the buckrams, and when suitably used is a very artistic material.
Basket cloth is still another material which could properly be included with the buckrams. This grade of cloth gains its name from the fact that the threads are woven in squares resembling a basket mesh. They are made in the same coloring as the linen cloths.
In describing the cloths above, only those of American manufacture have been considered. There are English cloths which correspond to nearly all of these fabrics, but they are little used in America on account of the delay in importing them and because of the duty, which makes the price here higher than for corresponding grades of domestic manufacture.
One cannot stand before the windows of the large book stores at holiday time without being impressed by the possibilities offered by the many colors and patterns of cloths and the varied hues of inks and foil, in helping the artist to make books attractive to the eye, and suggestive of the sentiment and motive of their contents. One feels that the designer of book covers has surely a wider field to-day than when he confined his attention entirely to making intricate designs for single leather-bound folios.[Back to Contents]
BOOK LEATHERS
By Ellery C. Bartlett
There is hardly any part of the world that has not been drawn upon for suitable skins to be made into leather for bookbinding. The skins generally used are goat, seal, pigskin, cowhide, calf, and sheep, and they vary in quality according to the country they come from and the manner in which the animals are cared for, the stall-fed animals, or those that are protected from storm and have regular food, producing the best skins.