A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding. James B. Nicholson
are to be sewed; then make a slight scratch with a saw about one-quarter of an inch inside of where the book will be cut, for the kettle-stitch at the head and likewise at the tail. Upon taking the book out of the laying-press, take the pasteboards and saw them at the points marked by the lead-pencil of a depth sufficient to allow the cords upon which the book is to be sewn to enter. The boards will then serve as a guide to set the bands of the sewing-press at the commencement of the operation, and afterwards, during the progress of the work, will be found useful to regulate any deviations that may be inadvertently taking place. After the sewing-press is properly regulated and the end-paper sewn as previously described, the sheets should then be taken, one at a time, in their regular order, and sewn all along, from one end of the sheet to the other, or, more properly, from one kettle-stitch to the other, taking especial pains to observe that in sewing each sheet, after the first kettle-stitch has been caught, the needle must be passed to the farthest side of the nearest band, then passed to the other side of the band, and so on for each successive band. By this means the thread will have passed completely round each band, upon which the sheet will revolve as upon a hinge, without the slightest strain upon either the band or the thread. The inner margin is thus preserved its full size, and the freedom of the volume much increased.
If you desire to revel in the full enjoyment of a flexible back, have it sewn with silk upon silken bands or cords, and you will have a combination of elasticity and strength that cannot be surpassed.
For large volumes of engravings, the best mode of binding, so as to secure strength and also to allow the plates to lie flat when the volume is open, is to mount the plates with linen upon guards. To do this properly, select paper of the same thickness as the plates, cut it in strips an inch or an inch and a half wide, paste the back edge of the plate about a quarter of an inch in depth, from top to bottom; then lay a strip of thin linen or paper-muslin along the pasted edge of the plate, and rub it so that it will adhere. The strips of linen must be sufficiently wide to project beyond the plate as far as the width of the paper guards. One of the latter is then to be evenly pasted over and laid upon the projecting strip of linen, carefully smoothed, and laid between pasteboards to dry after they are thus mounted. The plates are then whipped along the back edge of the guard, and sewed in the usual manner.
It was proposed by M. Lesne, bookbinder of Paris, in a Memoir presented by him to the "Société d' Encouragement," January 18, 1818, that in order to give to books the three essential qualities of binding, elasticity, solidity, and elegance, they should be sewn similar to the Dutch method, which is on slips of parchment, instead of packthread; but to remedy the inconvenience arising from one slip being insufficient to make the back of a proper solidity, as well as being liable to break, and, if doubled or trebled, presenting a bad effect on the back when covered, he suggested the adoption of silk for the bands, which in a much less diameter is far stronger than packthread double the thickness. It is also preferable for sheets that require sewing the whole length to use silk, this being much stronger than thread, and insuring a greater solidity to the work. It will be observed that the cuts of the saw, apparent in other bindings, are not seen in opening the volume. When the volume is entirely sewn, the screws are loosened, the cords detached from the keys, and about two inches of the cord left on each side of the book to attach the boards that are to form the sides.
INDIA-RUBBER BACKS.
In those instances where the leaves of a book are held together by caoutchouc cement instead of by sewing, the sheets are cut up into separate leaves, and every leaf made true and square at the edges. The back edge is then brought to a rounded form, by allowing the sheets to arrange themselves in a grooved recess or mould; and in that state the leaves are all moistened at the back edges with a cement of liquid caoutchouc or India-rubber. The quantity so applied is very small. In a few hours, it is sufficiently dry to take another coat of a somewhat stronger caoutchouc solution. In forty-eight hours, four applications of the caoutchouc may be made and dried. The back and the adjoining part of the sides are next covered with the usual band or fillet of cloth glued on with caoutchouc; after which the book is ready to have the boards attached, and to be covered with leather or parchment, as may be desired.
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