Printing and bookbinding for schools

Front matter

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Introduction

There are a number of well defined reasons why bookbinding may justly claim recognition as an educational factor in our schools.

In the first place, the permanent and vital character of the book in one form or another has given it a place of re opect in all civilizations. The book is the final form of all enduring literature and indeed of all enduring thought. It is the epitome of the printer's, the engraver's, the illustrator's, the designer's, and the binder's art, and is the meeting point of all the crafts.

So the book idea appeals very strongly to people both in and out of school. Bo6kbinding is perhaps the most logical and consistent of all the crafts, in its development, from the simple to the more complex forms. In this easy gradation, is repeated the history of the book itself and of its development.

From this point of view, books fall into four rather distinct classes.

1. The simplest idea of binding is the holding together in some manner, a number of single leaves. So the attention is directed simply to methods of fastening together leaves of related matter for convenience in handling.

2. After this simple convenience has been met, the matter of protecting the leaves forces itself upon us, and the attention is turned almost wholly to devising ways of making durable and beautiful covers. The various forms of separate covers are made to accomplish these ends.

3. Later, the attention turns back to the book proper and the different methods of putting together a number of sections which become necessary in larger books made of folded printed sheets. The emphasis now naturally falls upon this new feature of fastening sections together, and so, various methods of sewing are developed.

4. In the fourth division, the emphasis goes upon the covers and the decoration. Here come in the tooling, lettering, inlaying and such processes as are usually included in the term finishing.

APPLY TO CHILDREN'S WORK.

Not only is the book idea enduring and vital, and its development logical and consistent, but the book work may be intimately related to the other activities of the school, the pupil bringing about with his own effort the satisfaction of his own distinct needs,

In making books for spelling, reading, language, nature study, art, etc., these needs and relations are evident.

These books with their stories, their covers, and their end papers, offer abundant material for illustration, design, lettering, etc., in the art work.

Again, the bookbinding work in its elementary aspects of construction is peculiarly adapted to children. This is evidenced by the fact, easily demonstrated, that children do as well in their particular grades of work as matured but inexperienced people can do in the same grades of work.

Aside from the logical development and the genuineness of the problems presented and their intimate relations to the other work, perhaps the strongest argument in favor of bookbinding in the schools, is the fact of its adaptability to the conditions of the ordinary school room, with but little equipment and hence but little expense.

The work may be carried on in the primary and intermediate grades with as small, but practically the same equipment, as is necessary for such activities as "cardboard construction" and kindred work.

It will be seen by reference to page 45 how inexpensive even a good equipment for upper grade and high school work is.

CLASSES OF BINDINGS.

For w a r d I n g — Finishing.

In advanced bookbinding, there are the two general divisions of work: — Forwarding, which includes in new books, sewing, backing, putting on boards, and covering; and finishing, which has to do with the lettering, tooling, inlaying, and general decorative treatment.

The elementary and high school treatment of the subject of bookbinding, such a treatment as is undertaken in the present volume, is almost wholly concerned with the various processes included in the term Forwarding, which in rebinding includes a number of other steps not mentioned above.

Case Binding; Library Binding; Extra Binding.

Based upon their methods of sewing, backing, covering, finishing, etc., there may be said to be three general classes of bindings: — Case Binding, Library Binding, and Extra Binding. These are arbitrary terms applied to methods of binding which have been fully established and recognized.

In the modern commercial binderies, all kinds of modifications, combinations and imitations are made, so that it is often difficult to tell by external appearances of bindings to what types they belong.

It is a common thing to see a case binding in full leather.

The proper way to have a book bound or rebound is to have written specifications which indicate details of methods, materials, etc.

The following are typical specifications for Case Binding:—

1. Plates guarded.

2. Sewed all along with five punctures and kettlestitches.

3. Full or half buckram.

4. Glued and backed.

5. Attached back.

6. Commercial silk headband.

7. First and last leaves used as pastedowns.

8. Edges uncut.

II. Case Binding

Case Bindings or casings (for the craft binder refuses to call them bindings) are those covers which are made separately from the books and laid on. These covers have the characteristics enumerated in the specifications and are the unsubstantial covers usually found on modern cheap, temporary books.

If the book is to be bound from original sheets, each sheet is folded into a section. Such a section is called a signature. The number of leaves in a folded sheet or section gives the name to the book. A sheet folded once, making two leaves, is a folio ; twice, making four leaves, a quarto or 4to ; three times, making eight leaves, an octavo or 8vo; four times, making sixteen leaves, a i6mo; etc. It is seen by this that owing to the varying sizes of paper, any form of book may vary greatly in size. However, the following may be taken as a general standard of sizes : — i6mo 5x7 inches.

Octavo (8vo) 6x9 inches.

Quarto (4to) 10x12^ inches.

End Paper

If there have not been left an abundance of blank leaves at the first and last of the book, at least four folios are cut — two for each end — and these become the first and last sections of the book.

The sections are now assembled in proper order, a tin is placed between sections at several places in the book and all are put under heavy pressure. This is usally done at

I* BOOK BINDING

the last of a recitation, and the book left in press over night, so that the sections may be perfectly flat,

Mark Up— Puncture.

After the book is carefully evened up by knocking the back and head against the table, it is marked up; that is, a mark is put on each outside endpaper near the head, so that the head of the book may be recognized without opening; and then-places are marked for five punctures along the back. The top puncture may be put about three-fourths of an inch or an inch from the head, and the bottom one about one and one-fourth or one and one-half inches from the foot. It is considered that the head should be somewhat stronger, since it must bear the strain of pulling the book from the shelf.

Then with a small saw or a sharp-edged file, punctures are made across the back at the marks. These should be just deep enough to reach through the inside folio of each section.

Sewing: First Two Sections.

Now the book is ready to sew. It is placed on the table to the left of the workman with the back toward him and the head to the left. With a linen thread and a long, slim needle ready, the workman takes up the section of endpapers lying on top and turns it entirely over, laying it exactly in front of him with the head to his right. Fig. 14. With his right hand he inserts the needle into the head puncture, while with his left hand in the middle of the section between the leaves, he draws the needle through to the inside and runs it out at the foot puncture. "In at the head puncture and out at the foot." The second section is turned

CASE BINDING Id

over upon the first, and the needle run in at the foot puncture and out at the second puncture from the foot. Then it is inserted at the second puncture from the foot of the first section and immediately run out at the same puncture but on the opposite side of the thread which runs along inside the first section. Then apply this unfailing rule when in doubt as to what puncture to go into: — "Put the needle into a puncture so located that it will not undo work already done, and that the thread will not be left exposed on the outside of the book."

Applying this rule, it is seen that the needle must be put into the second puncture of the second section. This operation is repeated at each puncture until the head is reached. When the needle has been drawn from the head puncture of the second section, the threads coming out of the two head punctures are pulled up tight and are tied into a double knot, a Fig. 14. Care must be used in pulling the thread so as not to tear the paper.

Kettlestitch;— Sewing Ail-along.

The third section is now laid on and the needle run in at the head puncture and out at the second puncture from the head. Now comes the elusive "kettlestitch." The needle is run under the second section at the right of the second puncture and out at the left of the same puncture, as at b Fig. 14. The thread is drawn loosely so as to leave a small loop through which the needle is passed. It is now drawn taut and the needle run back into the second puncture of the third section. This stitch is made every time the needle comes out of a puncture until the sewing is finished. When the last puncture is reached, a double kettlefi£47.MarJungof ciotJifor CaJeBZ/rd/ng.

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stitch is made and the thread cut a half inch from the knot. This is what is meant by "sewing all along." If the original thread should not be long enough or should break, a new thread is tied on with a weaver's knot, Fig. 15, always inside the book and as closely as possible to the puncture to avoid pulling the knot through the next puncture.

The book is now placed between backing boards with only a small portion of the book projecting above the * boards and then put into the lying press (1. Plate 1), and clamped up tightly. The part projecting should about equal the thickness of the cardboard used for the cover.

This book is not to be rounded any more than is absolutely necessary in the backing. The process of backing is necessary because of a thickened condition of the back as a result of the numerous threads and perhaps a few guards that have been added to it. By clamping the book tightly and hammering the back, the thickness can be reduced by forcing the edges over the boards as at Fig. 16.

After the book is firmly fastened in the press, the back is covered with thin glue, which is rubbed in with a stiff brush and then wiped off, so that it remains only in the little depressions between the sections. Within about fifteen minutes, the glue reaches a kind of elastic condition, and then the hammer is brought into use.

By light strokes along the center of the back, and then gradually farther out toward the end sections, the edges of the sections are forced away from the center and made to project finally over the edges of the backing boards, making the joint.

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Super;— Heart band; -Back Strip.

When the book is dry, a piece of super or thin canvas is glued to the back and about one and one-half inches down the endpapers, which are then cut off along the edges of this super. This forms what is called the slip. The super should be a little shorter than the book and about two or three inches wider than the back of the book.

A piece of cotton or silk stock headband is now glued to the back at the head and projecting about one-eighth of an inch above it. Then a strip of thick, tough paper, just large enough to cover the back, is glued on. This finishes the book ready for the cover.

Squares;— Foredue.

During the processes just described, while waiting for the glue to dry, the materials are gotten for the cover. Two boards are cut as wide as the book and from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch longer. This makes the squares one-eighth or three-sixteenths of an inch and determines the width of the joint at the back, since the board must go forward sufficiently to make the projection at the foredge the same as at the head and foot. This projection is called, the squares.

Several things must be considered in determining the size of the squares. The most important are protection, strength, and beauty. From the standpoint of good proportion, of course, the large, thick book would demand large squares, whereas protection of the edges may not require them so long; while the strength and durability of the binding would suggest shorter squares still.

iO BOOK BINDING

A large book set upon a shelf is forced by its own weight down between the boards against the shelf, straining or breaking the cover at the back.

Turn-in;— Size of Cover Cloth.

In cutting leather, cloth, and paper, it is a rule to allow three-fourths of an inch for each turn-in. So this is observed in cutting material for this cover. To find the size of the cloth for a full cloth cover, it is necessary to add together the widths of the two boards, the thickness of the back, the two joints and one and one-half inches for the turn-ins at the foredge. This sum gives the dimension, of course, from the foredge of one cover around the back to the foredge of the other cover. The dimension of the cloth lengthwise of the book is one and one-half inches greater than the length of the board.

To make the cover, the cloth is laid wrong side up on the table, Fig. 17. Three-fourths of an inch is measured down from the top and a pencil line is drawn, a, a'. Then the middle of the cloth from left to right is found and marked as indicated by the crosses. From these central points, the lines b b' and c c' are located which mark the positions of the back edges of the boards and of course, are as far apart as the thickness of the book plus the two joints. Then the boards are placed so that they fit into the right angles formed by lines bb' and cc' and aa', and a pencil mark as dd', is made along the foredge and bottom of each board, completing the rectangles. The strips of cloth outside these rectangles are the turn-ins.

Mitres.

With scissors or a knife the corners are clipped out as at e, which is called making the mitres. It is clear that if the corner were cut entirely up to the corner of the rectangle, there would be danger of exposing the corner of the board, so a distance is left about equal to the thickness of the board.

Pasting.

The surface of the cloth except the back strip between the boards, is covered with a thin coat of paste, the boards are laid on, and the edges of the cloth are turned over the edges of the boards and pressed down as at a, Figs. 18 and 19, care being taken to get the cloth firmly against the edges of the boards.

With less mature pupils, it is sometimes advisable to put on only one board at a time, in which case the head and foot of the back strip are treated as at g, Fig. 17. The cover is now ready for the press. It is closed in book fashion with a pressing tin or board between the covers. A piece of clean waste paper is put between each board and the pressing tin or board. A waste paper and a board are placed on each side of the cover and all put into the press. The cover should be left in the press over night. The waste paper is very important. Without it, the' tins are likely to stick to the book and the moisture of the paste to cause rust which mars the book. This caution is never out of place and can never be repeated too often, i. e., do not use too thin paste ; do not use too much paste ; put on the paste rapidly.

Laid On.

Now the cover is ready to be laid on. A strip of tough paper just as wide and as long as the back of the book, is now pasted along the back cloth between the boards f, Fig. 17, and inserted under the cloth which is turned over at the two ends.

If the cover were to be left hollow, the paste would be applied to the slips only; but in this case, where the back cloth is to be attached, both the slips and the back, as. well as the strip between the boards of the cover, are thoroughly covered with paste, and the book set into the cover in its proper position. While the workman supports the book with one hand, he brings up one side of the cover firmly against the book. The slip on this side becomes attached to the board. Then the book is laid down on the side just pasted, while the other cover is pulled firmly to bring the back cloth against the book, and is then pressed down upon the paste-covered slip or super b, Fig. 18. Examination is then made to see if the book is straight in the cover, if the squares are correct, etc. If it is not straight, it is removed and the process repeated.

When the cover is on straight, the cloth is rubbed firmly along the back and into the joints. When it is thoroughly attached at the back, the book is put lightly into the press, after a tin, inserted between two papers, has been put between the cover and the book on each side.

Paste- downs— Bone Folder.

The next step is the pasting down of the endpapers. The cover is lifted on one side and a piece of waste paper is placed beneath the endpaper which is then covered with paste.

This done, the endpaper is drawn back upon the board and rubbed down with the hands. Then with a bone folder, 3, Plate I, the endpaper and slip are rubbed under the back edge of the board at the joint.

The cover is now closed upon the book and immediately opened. If it is found that in closing, the endpaper wrinkles or proves in anyway wrong, the wrinkles are smoothed out and other defects corrected. If necessary, the endpaper may be lifted carefully from the board and then put down again. Then the cover is closed again, and again inspected. If it is all right, the other endpaper is treated in like manner, and the book is put lightly into press, not neglecting waste paper and tins, and left until thoroughly dry.

Paste.

The best paste is made as follows: — Add one-half a teaspoonsful of powdered alum and a few drops of wintergreen to one pint of flour. Mix with water to the consistency of cream. Cook until it becomes stiff and waxlike, stirring constantly. Then pour in some hot water, stir and cook again until it becomes the desired consistency. Ordinary library paste or photo mount is not satisfactory.

III. Library Binding

The name Library Binding may be somewhat misleading if one has in. mind the bindings commonly seen in libraries. This binding is practically what was recommended for the libraries of England by a committee from the English Society of Arts, appointed to investigate the causes of the lack of durability in bindings and to suggest remedies for defects found.

The following specifications indicate the distinguishing features of this binding: —

Half leather, paper sides, Sewed on four or more tapes.

3. Double boards.

4. French joint.

5. Zigzag colored endpapers.

6. Head cut, out of boards, and colored. Backed and slightly rounded.

Cord inserted under leather instead of headband. Leather attached to back.

Zigzag Endpaper.

After the sheets are folded and pressed as described in the previous binding, the zigzag endpapers are prepared. In cutting these endpapers, four sheets of white paper to match the book are cut and folded, two of the folios being considerably wider than the book so as to allow for the fold e, Fig. 20. Each leaf of the large folios is folded back about one-fourth of an inch from the original fold. Then

LIBRARY BINDING

another folio, c, the same size as the book, is pasted under zigzag e, and the endpapers made in this .way become the first and last sections. Folio b is the colored endpaper which is not inserted until book is sewed.

The book is now marked up as in the Case Binding except that there are only two punctures, one about three-quarters of an inch from the head, and the other about one and one-quarter inches from the foot, in an ordinary size of book.

Sewing an Tapes.

Sewing on tapes requires a sewing frame, Fig. 21, which is prepared for sewing by tying five tapes to the horizontal bar. The book is then laid on the floor of the frame with the head toward the right and the back to the tapes. The head tape is placed one-fourth of an inch to the left of the head puncture, while the foot tape is placed one-fourth of an inch to the right of the foot puncture. The other tapes are distributed equally along the distance between those at the head and foot. All the tapes are fastened to the edge of the frame floor with thumb tacks. Of course, that is only one simple frame out of a great variety which may be made. There are numerous ways of improvising sewing frames. Temporary frames are often made by tacking small strips to the ends of drawing boards, and fastening a cross bar to them. In large classes, merely . a board is sometimes used as in olden times, when stiff thongs or strips of vellum were used. This is not very satisfactory.

The book is laid to the left as in the previous binding, and the sections are turned in the same way, and laid upon the frame. The end section is laid with a, Fig. 20, on the

LIBRARY BINDING 25

floor of the frame and the needle inserted at the head puncture of the fold between e and d through folio c,' Fig. 20. Then with the left hand, the needle is drawn in and run back out just to the right of the head tape. Then the needle is run into the section immediately to the left of the head tape, making a stitch across the tape. This is repeated at each tape and finally the needle comes out at the foot puncture. Now the second section is put on, the needle inserted at the foot puncture and the sewing continued as in the first section, until the head puncture is reached, when the thread is tied with a double knot to the original end. The third section is now put on and treated exactly like the first section until the needle comes out at the right of the head tape, when a crow's foot or catch stitch is made in the following way : —

Crow's Foot or Catch Stitch.

As the needle comes out at the side of the tape, instead of sewing the thread straight across the tape as before, the needle is run from the bottom up behind the two previous threads in such a way as to make a loop knot around them, a and b, Fig 21. Then the needle is run into the section on the opposite side of the tape exactly as in previous stitches. This is repeated at every tape until the foot puncture is reached, where a kettlestitch is made. After the third section, a kettlestitch is made every time the needle comes out at an end puncture, and a crow's foot or catch stitch every third or fourth section.

The remainder of the book is sewed by exact repetitions of the processes thus far described.

When the sewing is completed, the tapes are cut, leaving them about one and one-half inches long at each side

■SO BOOK BINDING

and a colored folio, b, Fig. 20, is tipped to the top of each zigzag as at e, and the book is then ready for gluing, rounding and backing.

Rounding.

Rounding, as the name implies, is the process of giving a convex shape to the back of a book to prevent its becoming sunken or concave. The book is laid upon the table, and the first few sections are pulled firmly forward, while with a hammer, the upper edge of the back is struck lightly, driving the upper sections forward. Then the book is turned over and the process is repeated on the other side.

A folded sheet of waste paper is tipped (pasted by a very narrow strip of paste) along the sides of the book at the back.

Marks are placed about one-eighth of an inch from the back, showing the places for the edges of the backing boards between which the book is put and all clamped into the lying press, Fig. 22. This done, the back is thoroughly covered with thin glue which is rubbed in with a stiff brush and wiped as in the previous book. Within fifteen or twenty minutes, when the glue has dried sufficiently to be rubbery, the back is pounded with a hammer, striking first along the center, then gradually toward the end sections, always with a gliding blow, until the edges have been forced over the tops of the backing boards, as a, Fig. 22. If this has been properly done, the back will be smooth and rounding, and the edges will project over about the thickness of the boards.

The tapes are now pasted down against the outside leaves of the endpapers, and the super glued on, reaching from puncture to puncture, and to the ends of the tapes on

LIBRARY BINDING 27

each side. When dry, the endpapers, to which the tapes were pasted, are cut off around the edges of the super, a, Fig. 23. Material is now gotten ready for the cover. Since this book is to have a French joint, the boards are cut as much narrower than the book as will make the proper width of joint; and since it is to have double boards, four boards are cut, two thin and two medium. A thin boartf and a thicker one are glued together, all except about two inches along the back edge, to form one board. The boards, thus glued, are put into the press, and the leather cut, which is to be one and one-half inches longer than the board and wide enough to reach around the back and as far down the sides as desired — the general rule being "more than a fourth and less than a third." This, however, is a statement of the most general kind, and pr-per widths for the leather are determined to meet specific conditions.

Skiving;— Head Cut— Coloring.

With a sharp skiving or head knife, 5, Plate I, the edges of the leather are pared thin, and also a strip through the middle where the back of the book goes, is pared, if the leather is quite thick. For this operation, the leather should be laid on a stone or slate.

The book is now marked with pencil and trysquare where' the head is to be cut, and is placed between two pressing boards with a heavy piece of cardboard, called the cut-against, between the back pressing board and the book. In this condition, the book is now put into the cutting press, Plate II, the front pressing board being pushed down on a level with the mark on the book and with the top of the press. The plow is run forward and backward, the blade meanwhile being gradually screwed toward the book, cutting only a very few leaves at a stroke. With this easy stroke and slow advance of the blade, if the blade is sharp, the head is left smooth and ready for coloring. The head is colored with India ink and when dry, is rubbed with beeswax and burnished with a burnisher made for that purpose.

French Joint.

Now the book is marked for the French joint, that is, for the location of the back edges of the boards, and a strip of tough paper large enough to cover the back is glued on.

LIBRARY BINDINC 29

Glue is put into the open places left between the layers of the double boards; then the slips — super, tapes, and pieces of endpapers which were previously pasted together — are inserted into these openings, Fig. 23, and the book put into press, where it remains until thoroughly dry.