Library Bookbinding Part 3

25. MAKING OF A FRENCH JOINT

The book is now set back in the cover just described and the s.p.a.ce between the boards and the back is creased with a bone folder while the cloth or leather is damp. This forms the French joint.

26. PASTING DOWN END PAPERS

End papers are then pasted down to the boards and the book, so far as strength is concerned, is finished. It will be remembered that the end papers were guarded with muslin, or jaconet, that the bands projected beyond the sides and were pasted to the end papers, and that the canton flannel also projected beyond the sides and was pasted to the end papers. Therefore, when the end paper is pasted to the board it carries with it first the canton flannel, then the bands and lastly the jaconet guard. This is as true of leather-backed books as of full cloth.

Strictly speaking, this makes what is technically known as a "cased"

book, i. e., the case is made in one whole piece and the book fastened into it. Because leather bound books have always been considered stronger than others, and because they have always been laced-in to the boards (see page 42) before the leather has been put on, a prejudice against cased books has arisen. If the prejudice be directed against the usual commercial binding it is justified, but if directed against library books properly cased it is not justified.

27. PRESSING

At this stage the book is put under heavy pressure in the standing press until dry. A number of books are placed in the press at one time, separated by backing boards having metal projections which fit into the French joints. They should be left twelve hours at least, longer if necessary. After pressing, the book goes through a general cleaning process. In applying the glue or paste there are many chances of soiling the book. The great pressure which is applied also squeezes out glue at the head and tail. This must all be cleaned off before the book goes to the finisher.

FINISHING

28. GILDING

The gilding of a library book is a simple matter compared with that of books bound for individuals. Such books are usually meant to be artistic and their covers bear elaborate designs in gold, generally limited only by the size of the owner's pocketbook or by his taste.[1] In library binding gilding is confined to the furnishing of necessary information.

Tooling of all kinds, with the possible exception of that which divides the back into panels, is unnecessary. A description of finishing processes is unnecessary here since they add nothing to the strength of a book. A description of the method of gilding call numbers will be found on page 194.

There are three different ways of lettering books bound in light colored cloths on which gold cannot be used: (_a_) In gold on leather labels pasted to the back. (_b_) In gold on panels which have been stained black. (_c_) In black ink directly on the back. The first two methods make more attractive-looking books but the process adds to the expense, and in the first case the labels have a tendency to peel off. The last method is the one generally used.

In this description of processes numerous details have been omitted, because they would add little, if anything, to the librarian's ability to criticize properly the work being done by his binder.[2] In some respects the order here outlined may differ in different binderies, but the majority follow it closely.

The processes as outlined are those which should be used in library binding. There are, however, several additional points relating to binding processes with which it is well to be familiar.

Footnote 1: Finishing from the artistic point of view with an excellent description of tools, materials and processes will be found in c.o.c.kerell's "Binding and the care of books," Chapter 14.

Footnote 2: For instructions to the binder about type, s.p.a.ce, lettering, etc., see under Lettering, page 141.

RAISED BANDS

In looking at many old books bound in the eighteenth or early part of the nineteenth century, or at books bound within recent years for individuals, one will find many that have the back divided by ridges.

These are known as "raised bands." They are formed by sewing the book differently from either of the methods described up to this point.

According to this method the bands are not placed in grooves which sink them below the surface of the back, but are simply laid against the back. In sewing the thread may come out at the near side of the band and in at the far side, thus going around the band on the back of the book; or it may come out at the far side and in at the near side, thus entirely encircling the band. In either case the sewing is exceedingly strong. Since the bands are entirely on the surface, the leaves open all the way to the back of the signatures and greater flexibility can be obtained thereby. (Fig. 10.)

FIGURE 10.--Sewing on raised bands. No saw cuts except for kettle st.i.tches. Based on ill.u.s.tration in Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts, London, 1905.

As it is much more difficult to sew and forward books with raised bands, they are not used in ordinary library work. It may be advisable, however, to use them occasionally on a few large reference books such as dictionaries, where great flexibility combined with strength is essential. In fact the merits of binding in this way are not recognized as generally as they should be.

Many books look as if they were sewed on raised bands when in reality they are sewed in the ordinary way, with false raised bands pasted on the back. They add nothing to strength and have no place in library binding.

LACING-IN

Lacing-in is a method of attaching the bands to the book, which is in general use for all leather books bound by hand. This method requires that the boards which have been cut to the proper size be laid against the grooves formed in backing and marks be made about half an inch in from the back, opposite each band. At these points holes are punched through the board which is then turned over and other holes are punched about half an inch from the first ones. It is generally desirable to cut a groove in the board from the first holes to the edge of the board, for the bands to lie in, so that there will not be an unsightly protuberance when the book is bound. The bands which have been frayed out are then threaded through the first holes from the outside of the board inward and again through the second holes. They are drawn up tightly enough so that the board will fit close to the joint, but not enough to prevent it from lying flat. The ends of the bands are spread out fan-wise, pasted, and hammered down smooth on the board. Before any back-lining has been put on, the boards are attached to the book simply by these bands. (Fig. 11.)

FIGURE 11.--Bands laced in, and ends frayed out. Based on ill.u.s.tration in Report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts, London, 1905.

When bands are laced-in it is not customary to use anything stronger than paper for back lining; the strength of the book lies in the bands and the leather which covers the back. As long as the leather remains strong and the book does not receive hard usage this method is satisfactory. As soon, however, as the leather begins to disintegrate more strain is placed upon the bands. When the leather breaks completely the bands bear the entire burden at the joint, and eventually break.

With the process as outlined in the preceding pages one need never fear that the book will come out of the cover, or that the sides will break at the joint. Even if the leather should break the canton flannel will hold. The best library binders do no lacing-in at the present time.

FIGURE 12.--Split boards. In actual work the back-lining would cover the entire back.

SPLIT BOARDS

While the old method of lacing-in is not desirable in library binding, the method of using split boards makes a very strong book. Instead of making a case of cloth, or cloth and leather, the back lining and the bands (or tapes) are inserted in boards which have been split, or between two thin boards glued together with a s.p.a.ce left unglued for this purpose. The covering material is put on after the book is in boards and the book is made tight backed. This is probably the strongest method of attaching a book to the boards. In fact it is stronger than is necessary for any except very heavy books which receive hard wear. (Fig.

12.)

TIGHT AND LOOSE BACKS

For years there has been a certain mild controversy regarding the relative merits of tight and loose backs for leather bound books. Tight backs are those in which the material used for covering the book is pasted or glued to the back. Loose backs are those which, by means of folded paper or a piece of paper put in as described on page 37, are prevented from adhering to the back. When the book is opened the back springs out. (Fig. 13.)

The tight back book always forms a hinge at the place where the book is opened. Since the place of the hinge is constantly changing the back of the book after much use becomes concave instead of convex, and the appearance of the book is seriously marred. Also the constant creasing of the back tends to erase the gold lettering, so that it becomes indistinct. If labels are put on they speedily come off. It is customary to use tight backs on very heavy books, though there are cases where such books have been put in loose backs.

FIGURE 13.--Tight back and loose back.

The loose-back book always preserves its shape and good appearance, even when the paper on the inside may be so badly worn that the book should be withdrawn. The strain, however, always comes at the joint; therefore if poor leather is used it will quickly wear out at this point.

Each method has its advocates, but so far as the present writer can learn, there seems to be little to choose from the standpoint of strength. It might seem that the tight-back book would be the stronger, but as a matter of fact in actual wear loose-back books seem to hold their own with the others. In fact when the soft, spongy papers are used the loose backs are obviously stronger. It seems clear that there is little choice one way or the other, and the question must be decided by the personal preference of the librarian.

JOINTS

In library binding French joints are now used in place of regular joints. Figure 14 shows plainly the difference between the two. In the regular joint it will be noticed that when the book is opened there is a sharp crease in one line from head to tail. In the French joint the strain is distributed over a much greater area. In regular joints the leather is sometimes pared at the joints to permit of easier opening of the book. In French joints the full thickness of the leather can be used. French joints are made by setting the boards away from the back about one-eighth of an inch. When the cover is put on it is necessary to crease between the board and the back while the leather is still damp.

An excellent ill.u.s.tration showing the anatomy of a joint may be found on page 51 of Dana's "Notes on bookbinding for libraries," ed. 2.

Ill.u.s.tration: A Section of an Ordinary Joint with the board open shows that the creasing of the leather is concentrated on one line.

Ill.u.s.tration: A Section of a "French Joint" shows how this creasing is distributed over a great surface, and so enables sufficient flexibility to be obtained with much thicker leather than can be used with an ordinary joint.

FIGURE 14.--French joint. From Report of the Committee on Leathers for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts, London, 1905.

CORNERS

Corners on library books should be rounded to prevent the board from breaking if the book falls and to prevent the cloth from wearing through at this point. Rounded corners are peculiar to library binding. As a rule they are not made by cutting off a corner of the board, but by turning in the cloth diagonally from the corner and then from the side and end. Sometimes both methods are adopted. If government specification cloth is used it is probable that "library corners" will not be necessary.

In some libraries pieces of leather or vellum are put on corners.

Leather is put on in order to raise the bottom of the boards from the shelf, while vellum is used to make the corners hard and prevent them from breaking or showing signs of wear. While both serve the purpose for which they are intended, the process of putting them on adds materially to the expense, and in most cases this is not warranted by the increased use of the book.