Library Bookbinding Part 21

It is sometimes feasible to letter with ink on the back of a book instead of putting on a label which holds the lettering. If the surface be glazed, it can be broken down with diluted ammonia, or sometimes merely a damp cloth will be sufficient.

So far as possible, letter with black India ink. Carter's white ink is the best for lettering dark colored cloths. It is sometimes difficult for a novice to use white ink, but it can be handled satisfactorily if one uses a stub pen which is kept perfectly clean and is always wiped before being dipped in the ink. Shake the bottle often and add water if ink is too thick. Gold ink should never be used.

When lettering is dry, apply sh.e.l.lac as described under Labeling.

WITH TYPE

Some of the larger libraries have found it economic to have a binder's printing outfit for lettering call numbers on all books, even when the library does not bind books. Such an outfit may be used of course for lettering author and t.i.tle, but there will be little occasion to do this except in connection with a regular bindery. Call numbers, however, are so much more legible and permanent when put on with type that it should always be done whenever the number of accessions is sufficiently large to warrant the employment of some person to do the work. It does not, however, need experienced finishers and, if time permits, may be done by regular library a.s.sistants after some instruction and practice. It will be discovered, however, that lettering in gold on cloth is more difficult than on leather. For the benefit of those who wish to try it the following description is given.

_Tools._ The tools necessary are a pallet to hold the type; four fonts of bra.s.s type (lead, or type other than bra.s.s should never be used); long-bladed knife with straight edge for cutting gold leaf; cutting pad; gas burner similar to the burners on cook stoves; and a frame with wooden screws in which to hold the book while it is being stamped.

_Materials._ The materials needed are the best American gold leaf, cotton batting, sweet oil, some specially prepared rubber for removing the excess gold leaf, and glaire.

The tools or materials which are used exclusively by binders can be obtained from any binders' supply house. Glaire is easily made as follows:

Take whites of three eggs; add three teaspoonfuls of vinegar and beat until it is a light froth. Let stand a few hours and strain through a piece of muslin into a bottle. If kept corked glaire will keep for some time.

_Process._ 1. Place on finishing bench, backs up, books on which call numbers are to be gilded.

2. With a small sponge, apply the glaire to the part of the back which is to receive the call number, taking care to draw the sponge evenly across the back, leaving a straight line. If the application of glaire makes that part of the book appear radically different from the rest of the back, the glaire may be applied to the entire back. It should not be allowed to run over on the sides. Allow the glaire to dry thoroughly.

3. With a long-bladed knife, transfer a sheet of gold leaf to the cutting pad which must be thoroughly protected by screens from all draughts. If the gold leaf does not lie unwrinkled on the cutting pad breathe on it lightly. With the knife, cut the leaf in proper size for work to be done, being careful to make the cuts clean, not ragged.

4. Arrange type in the pallet, beginning at the right, and put type in the gas to heat.

5. Screw book, back up, firmly in the frame.

6. With cotton batting, apply sweet oil to the part to be stamped, being careful to cover thoroughly this surface with the oil. This is done to make the gold stick.

7. Apply a piece of cotton, slightly oiled, to the gold leaf which will instantly stick. It can then be transferred to the book, where the sweet oil will hold it securely.

8. Test the type for heat. A little practice will soon teach the novice when the type is hot enough. The object of heating the type is to make the gold combine with the glaire in such a way as to cause the gold to adhere. It is better to have the type too cold rather than too hot. If it is too cold, the gold will not stick and the work must be done over again; if too hot, it burns the leather or cloth and the damage is irremediable. For cloth work the type can be used hotter than for leather.

9. Apply type to the book, pressing down firmly. The pressure makes an indentation. If the materials are of the right quality, the work carefully done and the type of the right degree of heat, the gold will be firmly embedded.

10. With the specially prepared rubber remove the waste gold. When the rubber has absorbed all the gold that it is capable of taking up, it may be sent to a dealer who will refine it and give credit for the gold which it contains. About one-third of the original cost of the gold should be obtained from the sale of the waste.

Whenever books are bound in light colored cloths on which gold does not readily show use a black ink specially made for this purpose. It is much easier to use than gold, since the ink is evenly spread on a smooth, hard surface and the type is used cold. No glaire is necessary.

CHAPTER XI

MAGAZINE BINDERS

One of the vexing questions which properly comes under the head of binding is that of magazine binders used on current periodicals in reading rooms. The binding of current numbers for circulation is described on page 190. It must be admitted that no binder on the market is perfectly satisfactory. Some hold the periodicals satisfactorily but are hard to adjust. Others are easy to adjust but the magazines slip out easily, or can with ease be surrept.i.tiously removed. Some have keys which become lost or will not work; some are clumsy; and some have projections which scratch tables. All are hard to hold in the hands. On an average a new binder is put on the market each year with the a.s.surance of the maker that all faults have been eliminated. A trial soon convinces the librarian that it is no better than others and that the perfect binder does not exist.

For the small library the problem is not an important one, since it is entirely feasible in such libraries to place current numbers without covers on reading room tables, or to cover them with tough paper. Mr.

Dana advocates using most magazines without binders even in the reading room of a large library. Possibly this may be done advantageously in some libraries, but it will depend upon the atmosphere of the city, the character of those who use the library and the ease with which a.s.sistants can keep all readers under observation. Librarians for the most part will continue to believe that a temporary binder of one kind or another is necessary for current periodicals in the general reading room.

Binders in the reading room serve two purposes. They protect the magazine and they help to remind readers that the magazines are public property. Some magazines--the Scientific American, for example--are very thin and may be easily folded and put into an inside pocket. A binder does not prevent theft, but its tendency is to reduce it.

The qualifications of a good binder are:

1. Ease of fastening, together with difficulty in removing magazines by the uninitiated.

2. Comparative ease of holding in the hand.

3. Durability of surface and of device used for fastening the magazine.

4. Preservation of the magazine without injury.

5. Firmness when finally fastened.

Even the best magazine binders are far from being perfect in any of these requirements, except in ease with which they are fastened.

There are many kinds of magazine binders. Mr. Dana, in the second edition of his "Notes on bookbinding for libraries," mentions by name twelve different makes; and as many more, some of which are equally good, are known to the writer. But were there twice as many it is probable that they would fall, as they do now, into five cla.s.ses.

1. Spring back.

2. Eyelet and tape.

3. Sewed.

4. Rod.

5. Clamp which is screwed up tight.

The well known spring-back variety is, in principle, a semi-circular steel tube longer than the magazine to be held, to which board sides are attached. When the cover is closed the jaws of the steel are close together. In order to insert the magazine the covers are bent back toward each other. This opens wide the jaws and the magazine is slipped in. When the covers are released the steel tube is firmly fastened to the back of the magazine. This kind of binder is probably the easiest of all to adjust. It is, however, equally easy to remove, is clumsy and is harder to hold in the hand than others.

In the eyelet and tape cla.s.s there are holes in the back of the cover.

In fastening the magazine, tape or cord (generally a shoe string) is pa.s.sed through the center of the magazine, laced into the eyelet and tied. The main objections to this kind of a binder are that it takes some time to fasten them and the magazine is generally loose in the binder when fastened.

Binders which require sewing have holes in the sides near the back.

Instead, however, of pa.s.sing the cord through the center of the magazine, holes corresponding to holes in the binder are punched directly through the magazine at the back, one near the head, one near the tail and another in the middle. The binder is then sewed on through these holes. The chief merit of these binders is that they are inexpensive; but it takes longer to attach them than other binders and the magazine is injured by the holes which have been punched.

There are various kinds of binders which use steel rods or bars through the center of the magazine. Some use one rather heavy rod which is hinged at one end, and hooked or fastened into a slot at the other end when the magazine has been inserted. Some have two or more thin steel rods hinged or pivoted at one end and held by a pin or a lock at the other end. And one at least has steel bars not permanently attached, the ends of which are in the form of a semi-circle, which are dropped between rigid uprights and prevented from slipping off by caps screwed on the uprights.

The writer knows of only two binders which use a clamp which must be screwed tightly in order to hold the magazine firmly. The great merit of these binders is that they hold the magazine firmly, so that it can by no possibility be removed except by the a.s.sistant who has the key. They are, however, clumsy and unduly large at the back and it takes some time to fasten them to the magazine.

Taking into consideration all points of excellence it is probable that some form of rod binder is the best. Rod binders are not hard to apply; they require some effort to remove them--those which lock cannot be removed without a key; they are firm when applied; and many of them do not injure the magazine. Nearly every librarian has his own personal preference among such binders.

Since binders receive very hard wear it is important that they should be made of good material. Those which are used for popular magazines should have cowhide backs and buckram or imitation leather (keratol or fabrikoid) sides. A full leather binding would help solve the question of dirt, but it is equally well and less expensively solved by using imitation leather on the side. In reading rooms frequented only by educated persons binders with flexible leather covers are desirable and are greatly enjoyed by readers. The cheaper grades of cloth, such as are used by the publishers, should never be used, as they soon wear through at the edges and corners. In many cases it is wise to use pigskin or morocco on the back, though if this is done, the cloth sides and the boards themselves may become disreputable before the back is worn. In nearly all binders the mechanism can be removed from the boards when they become shabby, and new covers attached. This will save some of the expense of a new binder. A clever mender can do such work so that it need not be sent to a regular library binder. The boards should not be made of mill boards, but of semi-tar or tar boards.