CHAPTER 3. THE ART OF BOOK BINDING. In these suggestions upon the important question binding of books, I shall have nothing to say of the h of the art, and very little of its aesthetics. The pla and most practical hints will be aimed at, and if my ex ence shall prove of value to any, I shall be well rewa for giving it here. For other matters readers will n ally consult some of the numerous manuals of book-l ing in English, French and German. The sumpt bindings executed in the sixteenth century, under the ronage and the eyes of Grolier, the famous tooled ma pieces of Derome, Le Gascon, Padeloup, Trautz and o French artists, and the beautiful gems of the binder's from the hands of Roger Payne, Lewis, Mackenzie, I day and Bedford, are they not celebrated in the page Dibdin, Lacroix, Fournier, Wheatley, and Robert Hoe? There are some professed lovers of books who af either indifference or contempt for the style in which t favorites are dressed. A well known epigram of Burn sometimes quoted against the fondness for fine bindi which widely prevails in the present day, as it did in t of the Scottish Poet. A certain Scottish nobleman, dowed with more wealth than brains, was vain of splendidly bound Shakespeare, which, however, he ne read. Burns, on opening the folio, found the leaves sa worm-eaten, and wrote these lines on the fly-leaf: "Through and through th' inspired leaves, But O respect his lordship's taste, (50) on of the mptuous the patmasternd other der's art ie, Hay pages of Hoe? o affect ch their Burns is indings in that an, enof his e never s sadly Yet no real book-lover fails to appreciate the neatness and beauty of a tasteful binding, any more than he is indifferent to the same qualities in literary style. Slovenly binding is almost as offensive to a cultivated eye as slovenly composition. No doubt both are "mere externals," as we are told, and so are the splendors of scenery, the beauty of flowers, and the comeliness of the human form, or features, or costume. Talk as men will of the insignificance of dress, it constitutes a large share of the attractiveness of the world in which we live. The two prime requisites of good binding for libraries are neatness and solidity. It is pleasant to note the steady improvement in American bindings of late years. As the old style of "Half cloth boards," of half a century ago, with paper titles pasted on the backs, has given way to the neat, embossed, full muslin gilt, so the clumsy and homely sheepskin binding has been supplanted by the half-roan or morocco, with marbled or muslin sides. Few books are issued, however, either here or abroad, in what may be called permanent bindings. The cheapness demanded by buyers of popular books forbids this, while it leaves to the taste and fancy of every one the selection of the "library style" in which he will have his collection permanently dressed. What is the best style of binding for a select or a public library? is a question often discussed, with wide discrepancies of opinion. The so universally prevalent cloth binding is too flimsy for books subjected to much use-as most volumes in public collections and many in private libraries are likely to be. The choice of the more substantial bindings lies between calf and morocco, and between half or full bindings of either. For nearly all books, half binding, if well executed, and with cloth sides, is quite as elegant, and very nearly as solid and lasting as full leather; for if a book is so worn as to need rebinding, it is gen in a part where the full binding wears out quite as f the other. That is, it gets worn at the hinges and o back, whether full or half-bound. The exceptions ar heavy dictionaries, encyclopaedias, and other works of erence, which are subjected to much wear and tear at sides, as well as at the back and corners. Full leath much more expensive than half binding, though doubly so. Every librarian or book collector should underst something of book-binding and its terms, so that he be able to give clear directions as to every item involve binding, repairing, or re-lettering, and to detect imper or slighted work. The qualities that we always expect to find in a w bound book are solidity, flexibility, and elegance. Spe examination should be directed toward each of these poi in revising any lot of books returned from a binder. L at each book with regard to: 2. Evenness of the cover, which should lie flat a smooth-each edge being just parallel with the oth throughout. 3. Compactness-see that the volumes are thorough pressed-solid, and not loose or spongy. 4. Correct and even lettering of titles, and other toolir 5. Good wide margins. A well-bound book always opens out flat, and stays ope It also shuts up completely, and when closed stays shi But how many books do we see always bulging open at t sides, or stiffly resisting being opened by too great tigh ness in the back? If the books you have had bound do n meet all these requirements, it is time to look for anoth binder. generally as fast as nd on the s are the xs of ref ar at the eather is ugh not derstand he may -olved in mperfect a well Special e points . Look at and others roughly ooling. s open. s shut. at the tightdo not other The different styles of dressing books may all be summed up in the following materials: Boards, cloth, vellum, sheep, bock, pig-skin, calf, Russia, and morocco-to which may be added of recent years, buckram, duck, linoleum, and the imitations of leather, such as leatherette and morocco paper, and of parchment. I take no account here of obsolete styles-as ivory, wood, brass, silver and other metals, nor of velvet, satin, and other occasional luxuries of the binder's art. These belong to the domain of the amateur, the antiquary, or the book-fancier-not to that of the librarian or the ordinary book-collector. Roan leather is nothing but sheep-skin, stained or colored; basil or basan is sheepskin tanned in bark, while roan is tanned in sumac, and most of the so called moroccos are also sheep, ingeniously grained by a mechanical process. As all the manufactures in the world are full of "shoddy," or sham materials, the bookbinder's art affords no exception. But if the librarian or collector patronises shams, he should at least do it with his eyes open, and with due counting of the cost. Now as to the relative merits and demerits of materials for binding. No one will choose boards covered with paper for any book which is to be subjected to perusal, and cloth is too flimsy and shaky in its attachment to the book, however cheap, for any library volumes which are to be constantly in use. It is true that since the bulk of the new books coming into any library are bound in cloth, they may be safely left in it until well worn; and by this rule, all the books which nobody ever reads may be expected to last many years, if not for generations. Cloth is a very durable material, and will outlast some of the leathers, but any wetting destroys its beauty, and all colors but the darkest soon become soiled and repulsive, if in constant use. In most libraries, I hold that every cloth-bound book which is read, must sooner or later come to have a leather jacket. It may go for years, especially if the is well sewed, but to rebinding it must come at last the larger the volume, the sooner it becomes shak broken at some weak spot. The many beautiful new forms of cloth binding sh have a word of praise, but the many more which we s gaudy, fantastic, and meretricious bindings, and frigh combinations of colors must be viewed with a shudde Vellum, formerly much used for book-bindings, is modern name for parchment. Parchment was the known writing material up to the 12th century, when pa was first invented. There are two kinds-animal and w etable. The vegetable is made from cotton fibre or pap by dipping it in a solution of sulphuric acid and [sor times] gelatine, then removing the acid by a weak solut of ammonia, and smooth finishing by rolling the she over a heated cylinder. Vegetable parchment is used bind many booklets which it is desired to dress in an e gant or dainty style, but is highly unsuitable for libra books. Vellum proper is a much thicker material, ma from the skins of calves, sheep, or lambs, soaked in lim water, and smoothed and hardened by burnishing with hard instrument, or pumice-stone. The common vellu is made from sheep-skin splits, or skivers, but the be from whole calf-skins. The hard, strong texture of ve lum is in its favor, but its white color and tendency 1 warp are fatal objections to it as a binding material. Vellum is wholly unfit for the shelves of a library; th elegant white binding soils with dust, or the use of th hands, more quickly than any other; and the vellum warp in a dry climate, or curls up in a heated room, so as to b unmanageable upon the shelves, and a nuisance in the eye of librarian and reader alike. The thin vegetable parch |