The Business of Bookbinding

Alexander Philip

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• eBook ISBN:
  9781135761257
• Subtopic: Library & Information Science

First Published in 1990. The Business of Bookbinding is bookbinding from the point of view of the binder, the publisher, the librarian and the general reader. Including chapters on the manufacture of binders' leather and cloth, and a description of working bindery, together with a glossary of terms used in leather and cloth manufacture and bookbinding.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY: THE TREND OF MODERN BINDINGS

THE object of the book is to throw light upon a subject not treated in the same way and from the same standpoint elsewhere, and not to describe the making of paper, which can be seen in any encyclopædia ; nor to trace the history of bookbinding, which has been so admirably done by authorities ; nor to endeavour to instruct an workman from an amateur’s standpoints how he should do his work ; but to tell the purchaser how to obtain the goods he requires and the various ‘values’ of those goods.

Just what is the trend of modern ideas of bookbinding at any particular moment is difficult to say, as there are so many theories being tossed about, unweighted by the knowledge of practice ; and so much war taking place between rival factions, some of the partisans of which blindly follow a fashion set them by others. Very largely, however, it consists of a return to the earlier standards, as to some extent a protest against the cheapening process that has advanced with appalling rapidity during the last decade or two. This cheapening process just referred to is not always understood : it is called variously, economy of production, competition, machinery, and other names, but while it is partly due to these causes and others, it is due to neither of them altogether.

If the process is carefully examined, it may be seen how far each of these causes has contributed to the total result. I suppose one may say that the binding and, in fact, the general production of novels sets the standard for other classes of work. If we go no further back than the ‘three decker’ stage we find a comparatively sound standard of production in paper and in binding. When the three-volume novel was discontinued, however, and its place was taken by the six shilling volume, the first general step in the recent degradation of the materials of production occurred. On the other hand, many of the six shilling novels issued then were admirable. This is evident from the condition of those copies of them still in existence, which are eagerly sought after by librarians and others for replacement of stock. Books of other classes published at higher prices were not affected at once. It was not long, however, before the reduction in price, from 3is. 6d. to 6s. was made the excuse for the introduction .of cheaper materials, partly as the result possibly of publication at the author’s expense; partly because the publishers saw in it the prospect of larger profits, or less risk of loss;, partly as the result of machinery not properly tended; and partly the result of the offer of lower prices by competing houses of manufacturers, who in this way, by undercutting and outbidding secured, or hoped to secure, orders which would otherwise pass them. It was found that if the public in their capacity of purchasers noticed the introduction of inferior materials they did not object either long or loudly ; and gradually these little ‘economies’ were applied to books of other classes. The half-tone block came along and a special paper became necessary. This paper, at its best, is not very objectionable. But it has not been in use long enough to say what its lasting properties are. However, the cheaper qualities, without any doubt, are of a somewhat temporary nature. Still the public accepted these conditions without complaint ; and it was then surmised that books were not required to be of a permanent nature. As a result of this, there is a now generally accepted doctrine that it is somewhat fortunate that the books— droppings of the press—will not live materially because they are not intrinsically worth keeping alive. This is a damnable doctrine for the literature of the country, on which it reacts with inevitable disaster. It is good for an author to write books under the fear of starvation, for his daily bread, so far as his works are concerned : some of the purest pearls of our language have been written under these circumstances, at great cost to their writers it is true, but it is not good for his work to write for other people’s daily consumption. Books are now becoming more and more bound volumes of the daily press, fit only when read for the paper vat or for wrapping-paper in an oilshop : this as a result of the ‘cheapening process,’ the ultimate involutions of which it is impossible to see.

Side by side with this, the inevitable change was taking place : change as a substantive, no matter what the change might be, so long as it appeared different from something going before: such is fashion. And fashion, in the binding of books, is a matter to be reckoned with. This demand for change, so far as it existed apart from the natural idiosyncrasies of humanity, was another of the deplorable results of the cheapening process. There were publishers and book-lovers who, however much they might be compelled to resort to it for their commercial preservation, did not love it. They protested and resisted with more or less force, and with but little success. Their success consisted largely of the introduction of this perpetual change ; presumably on the hypothesis that if it could not be better it could be scarcely worse. In many cases, however, it has proved worse. Not perhaps under the best conditions, but under those mediocre conditions which are natural to so much of the production of books. The public has not protested openly, but in an insidious way, and most effectively. Where are now the book-collectors or book-buyers of the past ? Education has spread, wealth is greater, and the reading public has increased a. thousand-fold and more during the past twenty years. Yet probably the circle of buyers of a well-written book, well produced and presenting a good ap pearance, is no larger than it was, and may be even smaller. It is not only foolish but futile to blame the circulating and public libraries. The reason must be looked for elsewhere, and it may be found in the fact that a man of the middle classes does not care to pay anything from 4s. 6d. upwards to read a book which, when he has read it, he cannot preserve because it is not a thing of taste and beauty, and will not remain a bound book for more than a year or two. Cheap productions, that is low-priced books both new and reprints, are in effect nothing but visible efforts to coax the public to buy books by quantity which they cannot obtain in quality. But they are bought chiefly by those people who are under the impression that they are ‘collecting.’ Day by day it is announced in one or more papers in some form or another that there is no need for higher-priced books, when others can be bought at the nearest draper’s or stationer’s for a few pence. I wonder how much of their own statement the writers believe. As well might one say there is no need for architectural beauty or scientific stability in our buildings ; no need for permanence in our arts ; and no room in our lives for joy and pleasure.

There are not wanting signs, however, of a general awakening. And although it is still change, it is a return to the early styles and materials, before ‘change’ because synonymous with cheapness. It is evident in regard to binding ; and probably paper will follow in its wake. So much depends upon the workmanship; and workmanship, contrary to the legal prescript, cannot be defined or described in a contract note or a specification.

CHAPTER II

THE CHOICE OF PAPER

IT will be found elsewhere that I have expressed the opinion that the paper on which a book is printed makes the standard by which the binding for the book is selected. There is no doubt that this is the case. A publisher would be more or less than human if he gave a book a better binding than the paper deserved. It becomes therefore a matter of some interest to look into this question of the paper on which books are printed. I do not propose to go into the matter at any length, or to any great depth.

The price of paper is considerably less than it used to be, partly as the result of improved machinery; partly, and more largely, as the result of the introduction of more numerous materials for its manufacture. But also, and to some considerable extent, because new paper is, as it were, only hired out to the purchaser, the used paper, apart from that small quantity used by the housewife to light her fires, finding its way back to the mills as waste. At the present time the price of paper appears to be on the rise, but it is still very much less in price than it was forty years ago, and in spite of fluctuations is not likely to reach the high prices in vogue some fifty or sixty years ago.

Rags, straw, wood, esparto grass, and minerals all go to the making of a piece of paper. But the strangest feature of present-day papers is that the same proportions of component parts do not always give a paper of the same textile or tensile strength, or even of the same wearing qualities. It has been said, and I believe with truth, that it is impossible to draw up a perfectly satisfactory paper specification, so much depending upon the beating and the bleaching and the other intricate operations through which the pulp passes before it is delivered as paper.

A reference to the illustrations given will show the uninitiated that the fibres of the paper run for the most part in one direction. This shows, although it does not always govern, the way in which a book is printed and bound. The strength of a piece of paper is always greater in one direction than another. The extent of the deterioration of the last ten years has been given as 50 %. There are now some thousands of makes of book papers, and it is doubtful if any fixed average can be even approximately arrived at ; nevertheless, there is no doubt that considerable deterioration has taken place. This, however, does not necessarily suppose any alteration in the materials of which the paper is made. But I am strongly of opinion that it is the result, to an enormous degree, of the re-pulping process that is constantly taking place by the gathering and sale of waste paper. There must be some part of the ingredients of almost every piece of paper in general use that has been made and re-made : here we have a palimpsest beside which those of the ancients are as nothing. How far the process can be carried it is difficult to say. Already, however, the results, if these are the results of this process, are execrable.

The surface of a paper has an important bearing on the life of a book. A rough uneven surface gathers dirt much more quickly than a well-calendered paper, and, so long as the surface is not obtained by the excessive use of clay or other mineral, a paper with a good surface as a rule is much less easily broken or cracked than a soft, spongy and rough-faced paper : cf. antique wove. A new paper is reported which is said to possess all the ‘advantages’ —cheapness, bulk, and the absence of weight—of the commonest paper, with the additional advantage that it has something of a surface.

The manufacture of paper in ‘out’ and odd sizes and on reels, makes it somewhat more difficult for the publisher or the printer to ensure that the run of the paper will be in the right direction when the book is bound.

However, the illustration from photomicrographs which I am able to reproduce by permission of Messrs. Clayton Beadle and Stevens will show, at a glance, more than it is possible to tell within the narrow compass of a single chapter. There is one class of paper which every one is apparently agreed upon should be tabooed for all classes of book work, i.e., what is known as ‘mechanical wood.’ In the manufacture of this paper the wood is ground down to a powder : it is practically without fibre and discolours quickly. If it were possible to eliminate this entirely from all book work, a great advance would be accomplished.

Art paper, referred to elsewhere, will remain apparently until something is discovered to take its place. The alternatives, although superior in many ways, are almost too high in price to bring them within the sphere of practical commerce.

The table of sizes of papers given on p. 186 is as complete as it has been found possible to make it. The old-fashioned method of sizing books by the number of times the paper has been folded is useless under present conditions for practical purposes. In quod crown, this book would be 32ΠK)., giving 64 pages to a section : as a matter of fact, it is best described as crown octavo. This question of sizes is a somewhat important one in bookbinding, and it is essential that the scale of sizes in inches or centimetres be clearly set out in any schedule of prices, with a statement as to whether the sizes are before or after cutting. To arrive at the size of any paper, when folded for book work, divide the larger measurement by 2. For instance, Q. Crown is 40 × 30 inches in the broadside; Folio is 30 × 20 ; Quarto is 20 × 15 ; Octavo is 15 × 10 ; and so on. These sizes are in che fold, and when cut the bound book is necessarily smaller. In re-binding, when the margin has been again cut, the size is still further reduced, so that what was a foolscap 8vo. may well have become a pott 8vo. Re-binding charges are, and should be, on the size of the book when re-bound.

 

ESPARTO PULP, SHOWING LONG PAPER-MAKING FIBRES, TWO CHARACTERISTIC CUTICULAR-HAIRS, AND THE SERRATED AND OTHER CELLS OF THE EPIDERMIS.
(Magnified 325 diameters.)

CHAPTER III

LIBRARY AND REINFORCED BINDING AND THE WORK OF THE BOOK PRODUCTION COMMITTEE OF THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION

IT is difficult to foresee the ultimate result of the work of the Book Production Committee of the Library Association; in fact, it would be true to say that it is difficult to foresee what the Book Production Committee will become. It possessess great potentialities, but only the future will show whether or not those dormant powers have been given the opportunity of expanding ; and if the opportunity is forthcoming, whether the success of its efforts will be sufficient to sustain them. There are two aspects from which the work of this Committee may be viewed ; but before dealing with them it will be advisable to give a brief outline of the history of this Committee.

Some years ago, the first Committee of this name was appointed by the Library Association, but, perhaps because the time was not a suitable one from the standpoint of the solidity of public libraries or from that of the conditions of book publishing, they were unable to effect any advance against the evils then commencing, but now advanced and augmented by others. It is unfortunate, because what might then have been but a cloud on the horizon, called up by a too enterprising publisher, has now become recognised as legitimate publishing—I refer, of course, to the aggravated use of inferior materials.

It was due largely, I believe, to a peripatetic exhibition of the materials of book production that started at the Gravesend Public Library and finished at Leyton, after visiting the libraries of Erith, Folkestone, and Woolwich, that a further effort was made to grapple with this problem by the appointment of a fresh Committee. The Committee was primarily one of the Library Association, and responsible to the Association in every way; but the peculiar nature of the work the Committee had to perform was realized and a comparatively large number of experts was co-opted. These members represented as far as possible the depart ments of book production as represented by materials : paper, printing, binding, etc., and to continue the work of the previous Sound Leather Committee it was merged in the larger Committee. This Committee, the Book Production Committee, was broken up into three sub-committees : (a) Paper, (b) Printing, (c) Book Sewing and Publishers’ Covers, to go in detail into each class of materials : the union of the three sub-committees made the Book Production Committee. As the result of the work of this Committee, in the shape of a printed report, is expected during the present year, it would be invidious on my part to give any account of its deliberations as they stand at present ; and the remarks given here are only such as could be ascertained by any student sufficiently interested in the published reports of the Committee.

The two aspects of the work, to which reference has been made already, are the improvement in the material of books for libraries, and the improvement of the materials of books published in the ordinary way and sold retail to the general public.

It has been said that only the first of these concerns librarians, but this is not so. Many thousands of books are out of print and can only be obtained in a second hand condition. As these are frequently just the books most wanted, it follows that the bad paper is equally worthless to the library whether at the time of publication or ten years later. Public libraries, unlike the great private collections, are subject to heavy wear and the books constantly require replacement ; it is therefore meeting the difficulty only partly to make the first copy a sound one and all the succeeding copies shoddy articles. So far, however, as appears from the announcements of publishers and others, important advances have been made in the library side of the movement. Several publishers have put on the market specially bound editions of books. These s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Halftitle page
• Original Title Page
• Dedication
• List of Illustrations
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Chapter I. Introductory: The trend of modern bindings. A return to the earlier ideals. A plea for honesty in workmanship
• Chapter II. The choice of paper. The deterioration that has taken place. The surface of the paper. The sizes of papers
• Chapter III. Library and reinforced bindings. The work of the Book Production Committee of the Library Association. Firms issuing special bindings. The financial aspect of these special bindings. The binder as publisher
• Chapter IV. Materials. Prints. Broadsides. Pamphlets. Leather-cloths. Cloth. Leather. Styles. Tight v. hollow back. Tapes. Thread. Glue
• Chapter V. Binding from the sheets not the same as library bindings. Cost of one compared with the other and with rebinding
• Chapter VI. Machine work. Sewing. Methods of machine sewing. Easing v. finishing
• Chapter VII. Advice to the binder. The local binder. Unfair competition
• Chapter VIII. Binding specifications. The local binder again. The need for a specification and its uselessness. Specifications advancing from simple instructions to detailed for publishers’ cloth cases. Specifications for library bindings. Advertising. Form of contract
• Chapter IX. Fine bindings. A plea for a greater variety. The public library as collector of fine bindings
• Chapter X. Home binding in the library. Repairing. Lettering and numbering
• Chapter XI. Replacements. Second-hand copies. Out of print books
• Chapter XII. Book repairing. Torn leaves and leaves loose. Re-backing. Repairs. Stains, etc.
• Chapter XIII. Leather, by Professor Proctor
• Chapter XIV. Cloth manufacture. Tests of quality. Weaving. Dyeing. Disinfecting
• Chapter XV. The work of a library bindery
• Recipes
• Book and Paper Sizes
• Type Faces
• Glossary
• Index