BOOKBINDING

BOOKBINDING is the art of fastening together the sheets of paper composing a book, and inclosing them in cases of pasteboard covered with leather of various kinds, or other materials; the object of which is the preservation of the book, and its protection from injury while in use.

At the time when books were rarities,—either manuscripts produced by patient secluded labour, or the productions of the printing-press during the infancy of typography,—they were naturally very highly prized; and as much labour, skill, care, and expense were bestowed upon the protection and embellishment of a cherished folio as would suffice at the

present day to the building of a house. The wooden cover of a book, with its metal hinges, bosses, guards, and clasps, seems, in all but dimensions, fit for a church door; but since the great improvement in all the mechanical arts connected with the production of books, together with the extension of education to all classes, and the consequent diffusion of knowledge, literature has become almost as necessary as clothing and shelter to the comfort of civilized man; hence the multiplication of books, and the gradual but radical changes witnessed during the present century in the art of bookbinding. When libraries were comparatively of limited extent, large sums of money were expended upon binding; but, at the present day, when a well-selected library must of necessity be extensive, a substitute for the old method of binding is sought and obtained in the recent adoption of cloth covers.

As the binding of a book adds considerably to its cost, we find that in France, Germany, and other Continental countries, as well as in the United States of America, most books when first published are merely sewed together, and covered with a paper wrapper, like our magazines. In England, the now elegant and durable cloth binding presents so finished an appearance when ranged upon the shelves of a library, as to supersede the necessity of resorting to the style of binding so long prevalent. The libraries of the affluent, however, continue the demand for that durable and ornamental style of work which has continued in vogue, with slight variations, for the past century; and since all the essential features of other descriptions of binding are contained in this, we shall briefly describe the operations in the successive stages of binding a book, and afterwards indicate the variations included in the other kinds of binding.

The dimensions of the sheets of paper upon which a book is printed, together with the number of pages into which the sheet is divided, necessarily determine the size of a book; for instance, a sheet of the size known as foolscap may, according to the number of times it is folded, make a folio book, a quarto, or an octavo; and so with other sheets of different dimensions, such as demy, royal, imperial, &c. Previous to the present century, folios and quartos were the predominating sizes of library books; but, at the present time, the more portable and convenient octavo is preferred, generally the demy sheet folded into that form, making sixteen pages.

The sheets of a book are readily distinguished from each other by signatures at the foot of the first page of each sheet; and it is to these, and not to the paginal number, that the binder looks in arranging and collating. In foreign countries these signatures consist of consecutive numbers; while in this country alphabetical letters are adopted: we give the preference to the former, as being less productive of error in collation, and as possessing certain other advantages.

The operations of binding may be conveniently grouped under two main divisions—"forwarding" and "finishing." Under the first is comprehended everything necessary to the preservation of a book—the second concerns merely the embellishment.

In the first place, the sheets of a book are folded in such a manner that the pages follow each other in consecutive order. In this operation the binder is guided by the "signatures," which indicate the part of a sheet to be superimposed upon another. This labour is performed by women and girls, who acquire incredible dexterity by long-continued practice. The sheets, after being folded, are loose and bulky. The next operation has for its object the bringing them into a more compact form, which is accomplished either by beating them with a broad-faced hammer upon a smooth flat stone, or by passing them between the cylinders of a "rolling machine," invented for that purpose by Mr Burn of Hatton Garden, London. A book must not be submitted to the "beating" process until it has been printed one or two years; for the heat generated by the compression of the air under the blows of the hammer, causes the printing-ink to soften, and "set off" or transfer a portion of its substance to the opposite pages, by which the book is always disfigured, and frequently entirely ruined. This objection does not lie against the rolling machine, provided

the cylinders are kept clean; while a great saving of time is effected by its use.

The next operation is that of sewing the sheets together, and to the bands of string or cord by which the book is subsequently secured in its case. The sheets being carefully collated, are given to the sewer, who sits before a contrivance called a "sewing machine," in which the bands are fixed at suitable distances apart; the number of these bands depends upon the size of the volume and the quality of the binding; six bands are usually allowed to folios, and five or four to quartos and octavos; the sewer places a folded sheet with its back to the bands, and pierces it through the middle fold with a needle carrying the thread, at distances corresponding to the bands. The thread, when passed through the sheet, is twisted round the contiguous band, and so with each in succession, until all the sheets composing the volume are fastened to the bands. This method involves what are termed raised bands, which are recognised by a projection over each on the back of the book; but if the back is required to be flat and smooth, sunken bands are adopted. To obtain these, the sheets, before being given to the sewer, are by means of a saw grooved at the back, sufficiently deep to admit the bands. If plates are to be inserted, they are either pasted in at the appropriate places, or, which is preferable, stitched through a marginal fold. When the book is released from the sewing machine, about half an inch of each band is left attached on either side: these ends are "frayed" out and beaten flat, to prevent their forming protuberances on the cover to which they are fastened; the "end-papers" intended to line the inside of the cases are now attached, and the back of the book is covered with glue. Before the glue is quite dry the back is rounded with a hammer, and subsequently placed between two feather-edged boards, above which the back of the book slightly projects; these are then placed together in a press, for the backing process; that is, the back of the book is well beaten until it projects a little over each side of the levelled boards, so as to form a groove or place for the millboard covers to lie in. The book is now removed to the "cutting press," where, by means of an instrument termed a plough, the edges are smoothly cut; but, in order to preserve the concavity of the fore-edge, the back is temporarily flattened, and after the edges are cut, it is restored to its former roundness. The boards were formerly, as the name indicates, really of wood, but now of thick brown paper or mill-board, of various thicknesses, according to the size of the book. They are cut a little larger than the book itself, and attached by the ends of the bands, left for that purpose, being passed through holes in the sides of the boards, glued down, and then hammered flat and smooth. The edges of the volume are now coloured, marbled, or gilt and burnished.

The head-band is an ornamental appendage employed for the purpose of concealing the leather folded over the back. It consists of a piece of parchment or card-board, worked over with coloured silk, which is sewed to the glued back of the sheets, and gives an elegant finish to that part of the book.

Sometimes books are preferred with hollow backs, that is, when the leather of the cover is not attached to the glued back, but this latter is covered with a piece of thick paper. The book is now ready to receive its external covering.

This external covering may be of various materials. For the most part of modern books it is of calf-skin dyed of various colours; but kid-skin, and its imitation in sheep-skin or vore, and sheep-skin acknowledged as such, in which school-books and many law-books are bound, are also used in great quantities. The piece of leather, cut to a proper size, is moistened with water, next covered on the inner side with paste or glue, and then applied evenly to the millboard sides: the superfluous edge of the leather, first pared to reduce its thickness, is turned over on the inside, and concealed from view by the end papers attached to the sheets forming the book, which are subsequently pasted down upon the millboards. The book is now "corded," that is, firmly tied between two boards until it is dry, so as to insure perfect smoothness in the cover; it is next removed from these boards and transferred to the finishers. Besides the "lettering" at the back of a book, there is generally a variety of ornamental work, on the back, edges, and sides, the patterns of which may be executed either in blind-tooting, wherein the leather is simply embossed, without the use of gold-leaf; or the metal may be applied only partially to the patterns, or they may be executed wholly in gold-leaf. This is a matter

affording much room for the display of taste and skill on the part of the binder, and in many instances is taken advantage of; by none more, at the present day, than by Mr James Hayday of London, whose productions fully equal those of the most eminent binders of past times. The embossing is performed with the aid of brass tools cut to various patterns; when leaf-gold is applied, it is made to adhere by moistening the leather with the glair of egg mixed with olive oil; the gold-leaf being laid upon this, the hot embossing tool is carefully applied, and the pattern permanently impressed upon the leather.

There are many other minute details into which it is not our purpose to enter. Enough has been said to indicate the various operations to which a book is submitted in being "bound;" but as good binding is necessarily expensive, those who have large libraries to bind are frequently obliged to study economy. This end is attained without in any degree sacrificing elegance of appearance, or any of the essential qualities of binding, by adopting the method of having the books half-bound, as it is termed. The only difference between this method and that just described consists in the sides of the millboards being covered with paper or cloth, while the back and corners of the cover are protected with leather: the edges of the leaves are often not cut on the front and bottom, but only on the top, which is usually gilt, to protect the book from disfiguration by dust.

The various styles of binding are distinguished from each other by appropriate names, according to the material which is used for the covers. Russia leather is much prized on account of its not being liable to mould in damp apartments, nor to the attacks of insects. These qualities, together with its agreeable odour, it derives from being treated with the empyreumatic oil of birch bark: its peculiar red colour is due chiefly to a dye of Saunders' wood. Many of the Continental books are bound in vellum, a very elegant but expensive style. In Holland and Spain much hog-skin was formerly used. Besides these various leathers, textile fabrics have at all periods been extensively employed for the purposes of binding; some specimens of the earliest dates are covered with velvet and satin: in recent times silk was in great demand for annuls and kindred works; but lately cotton cloth embossed and dyed has, in the extent of its applications, exceeded any other material ever employed. Previous to the year 1825, new books were generally published in boards; that is, millboards covered with drab paper, upon which the title, printed on a white label, was pasted. Although this was greatly superior to the Continental mode of covering new books with thin paper, something more elegant and durable was needed, and Mr Archibald Leighton of London endeavoured to meet this want by introducing coloured cloth (glazed calico). One of the first books of importance bound in this material was the edition of Lord Byron's works in 17 volumes.

Since that period there has been a progressive improvement in the adaptation of coloured cloth to the purposes of binding, both in the colours imparted to it, and in "embossing" upon its surface the grain peculiar to morocco and other kinds of leather; and so perfect is this imitation, that an experienced eye can scarcely detect the difference. The sides and backs of "cases" covered with this fabric are also ornamented in bold relief, with elegant patterns, by means of brass tools applied by powerful arming-presses; while the "lettering," at first so clumsily executed, is now as perfect as that impressed upon leather. Skilful artists are constantly employed in designing ornamental patterns; and a new class of tool-cutters, who cut these patterns in solid brass, has been called into existence. Expensive machines also for folding, pressing, cutting the edges, &c., have been contrived.

This style of binding has been received with so much favour that the rapidity of its extension is almost incredible. At one of the numerous large establishments in London, 310 persons are employed, distributed as follows:—200 women and girls are occupied in folding, collating, and sewing; and 110 men and boys in the more advanced stages: of these, 40 men are engaged in backing, cutting the edges, &c.; 5 in gilding or marbling the edges; 15 in making cases; 24 in stamping the sides; 12 as extra binders and finishers of the better kind of work; and 14 as clerks, porters, &c. Ten arming presses for stamping the sides of the covers, each worked by two men, will furnish 3000 impressions per day from a brass block "in blind," i.e. without gold leaf, or 1500 impressions if with the gold. The value of the gold leaf consumed amounts to £4000 per annum. The superfluous gold wiped off the pattern is saved,

and sold for £800 per annum. The quantity of millboards used is at the rate of 8 tons per month. Four men are constantly employed at as many cutting-machines, each of which yields a hundredweight of shavings per week. One man is employed solely in sawing the backs of books; two others in cutting millboard to the required sizes, and four pairs of men in making cloth cases, each pair producing on the average 1200 cases per diem.

The operations in the process of cloth-binding differ from those described under calf-binding in this,—the sheets are not beaten or rolled, nor the edges cut, except that the fore-edge and the tail are usually trimmed; the cases are made separately, and not fastened to the sheets by the bands, but only by the end papers, or by a strip of coarse muslin attached to the glued back of the sheets, being also fastened to the inside of the case. Cloth-covered books have always hollow backs.

There is a recent improvement in fastening together books of plates, music, account-books, &c., which are required to lie open flat; these are not sewed, but the back edge of the leaves is cut even, rasped, and cemented with liquid India-rubber.

The material with which books are covered should be selected with reference to the "tear and wear" to which they may be subjected. For public libraries, the very best workmanship in the forwarding should be secured, while the finishing bestowed must have reference to neatness and economy. The lettering of books rarely receives the consideration it demands; a simple rule is, that it should clearly indicate, 1. The author's name; 2. The subject, and even the divisions of a subject; so that the book may be identified without removing it from its place. In serial works, besides the consecutive number, the date should be affixed, and sometimes even the place of publication. These details may appear trifles, but whoever has to do with large libraries will appreciate their utility. If they are left to the discretion of the binder, he generally contents himself with lettering a book "History of Rome," or "Travels in Europe," which obviously necessitates the opening of the volume before its individuality can be ascertained. For private libraries of large extent there is no better style of binding than "half morocco" with gilt tops, occasionally interspersed with specimens of other styles.

The classification of books in large libraries may be greatly facilitated by appropriating certain colours to specific subjects; e.g. theology might be clothed in black or dark purple; history in scarlet; poetry in light-blue or green. In this manner, and by combining them with coloured labels of various hues, the labour of sorting and replacing books upon the shelves may be much lightened to the librarian.

Bookbinding still lacks its historian: it is much to be regretted that on a subject so well deserving the attention of the curious and learned, no researches have been made into the origin, progress, and decline of this art. Beyond a few incidental and fragmentary passages in the writings of bibliographers and travellers, merely descriptive, we may seek in vain for reliable information. In this place we have endeavoured to collect the scattered materials, and present them in a concise form.

Although it is customary to refer binding to remote antiquity, it obviously could not have been practised before books assumed their present form. The manuscripts of the ancients consisted of continuous rolls of papyrus or parchment, a form which did not admit of being bound like the single leaves of a modern book.¹ These manuscripts were wound upon rollers, as our maps are mounted, to which labels bearing the titles were attached at the ends: these rolls were inserted in parchment cases, and preserved from dust and injury in cylindrical boxes with lids (see Gell's Pompeii, &c.). It is more probable, however, that the modern book derived its form from the means taken to

preserve the waxed tablets of the Greeks and Romans which were enclosed in covers of wood, ivory, &c. (diptycha, triplycha). It would be easy to substitute pieces of papyrus or parchment for these pieces of waxed wood, upon which the writing was graven by the stilus. These diptycha were frequently elaborately carved and ornamented, and many of them, preserved to the present time, very nearly resemble our modern octavos in size. When parchment came to be exclusively employed as a writing material, it gave rise to the invention of libri plicatiles and columna, names which very clearly indicate the form given to manuscripts. The volumen, so called a roscendo, was the form mostly employed with papyrus and parchment, and now that our books are square or oblong, the term is anomalous; the word remains, but the thing itself has long since entirely disappeared.

It would be exceedingly difficult to determine what the art of bookbinding, or that which occupied its place, was during the middle ages, as no evidence remains, and the light of discovery has not been thrown upon it. All that we can at present learn is, that in the ninth and tenth centuries, owing probably to the impulse given to letters, and to everything connected with literature, by Charlemagne and the princes of his line, the external decoration of manuscripts was carried to a high state of perfection. The parchment, in leaves, was inclosed between two tablets of wood or ivory, inlaid and incrustated with jewels and precious stones, bosses of gold and silver, sometimes with hinges and clasps of these metals. The Bibliothèque Impériale at Paris is very rich in this description of bindings.

The library of the Louvre contains the celebrated Book of Hours, written with letters of gold upon purple parchment: it is covered with red velvet. This book was given to the city of Toulouse by Charlemagne. A New Testament of the eighth century, bound in wooden covers, covered with black satin, in an excellent state of preservation, enriches a private collection.

It was probably only at the epoch of the invention of paper from rags, and its extended use, that modern binding arose: this was towards the end of the thirteenth century (1250). From this period to the sixteenth century the bindings are numerous, but no name of a binder has reached us; they generally followed the good or bad taste that prevailed at the time in other ornamental arts. Thus, during the fifteenth century, binding, like architecture and the ornamental letters of MSS., abounded in foliage and flowers (arabesque), but at no period do we find the elegant simplicity that prevailed in the arts at the commencement of the fourteenth century. The most beautiful bindings preserved to us of the fifteenth century are those of the famous library formed at Buda by Matthias Hunyadi, king of Hungary; it consisted of nearly 50,000 volumes of Greek and Latin manuscripts. They are but very little known. The greater portion of the treasures of this sort collected by Matthias are now in the public library at Munich.

Apart from mere decoration, the main object aimed at in the early bindings was strength and durability, and whether it was owing to the binders being fettered in their ideas to the ivory or wooden covers of the tablets they first imitated, or from an excess of care in securing the preservation of the treasure they inclosed, it is certain they laboured overmuch in their vocation. A folio of this era, with its timber and metal, must have been a formidable affair; and the very means employed for the preservation of the book doubtless frequently led to its destruction.²

Book-keeping. The sixteenth century, the epoch of the Renaissance, is doubtless that in which the art of binding attained its greatest perfection, and the books extant in various public and private libraries confirm this view. It would be out of place to enumerate these treasures, but it would be difficult to meet with one more beautiful than that of the Hours of Margaret of Savoy. At the court of France, during the time of Catherine de' Medici, there was a perfect rage for ornamental binding, its greatest promoters being Diana of Poitiers, the treasurer Grollier, the president De Thou, and M. d'Urfé.

In the seventeenth century, with the exception of the bindings executed by Ruette, bookseller and binder to Louis XIV., the art at first remained quite stationary, and afterwards quickly declined; the intrigues and troubles of this period were by no means favourable to so innocent and harmless a passion as that for choice bindings. The eighteenth century was, however, more congenial; the names of eminent binders are sufficiently numerous to indicate that their vocation was in the ascendant. We can only enumerate Enguerrand, Boyer, Dessenville, Padeloup, Gascon, Derôme, Chameau, Pontchartrain, Simier, father and son, Purgold, Vaugelles, and Bauzrigan. Bauzrigan was contemporary with our Lewis. Upon the whole, the bindings of France excel those of any other nation; they always exhibit a refined taste, and perfect manipulation in the tooling. At the present day the best designs are generally but close imitations of the productions of the past.

The most eminent contemporary binders of France are Madame Gruel, MM. Nédée, Lortie, Simier, Cape, and Ottman.

Book-keeping. The earliest ornamental binding extant in England is of the time of Henry VII.; many specimens of this period are preserved in the British Museum and the Record Office. Stamping the covers with brass tools appears to have been first practised in the reign of Henry VIII., many of which are supposed, upon what authority we know not, to have been designed by Holbein. In the reign of Elizabeth velvet covers embroidered with gold and silver thread and coloured silk were fashionable. It was only in the eighteenth century that binding assumed importance as an art in England. The first, and still unsurpassed binder, is Roger Payne, who was so completely the founder of his art, that he performed every operation with his own hands, from folding, beating, sewing, cutting, mending, head banding, colouring his end-papers, covering, tooling, even to the cutting of the brass tools and letters. The other eminent names since his time are Johnson, Lewis, Kalthoeber, Baumgarten, Bohn, Staggemeir—the last four being Germans; Mackenzie, Clarke, Bedford, Jones, Hering, Hayday, Wright, Rivière. In the present day we have produced no original style of decoration for leather-binding; our highest achievements are in imitating the productions of past centuries. When these imitations combine good taste with good workmanship the highest aim of binding is accomplished, until a new style is originated. (C. M.—L.)