, 1885-04-17
B"OoKBINDING.
DETAILS OF THE WORK OF BINDING
A BOOK
n Center of the Trnde-In n FIr-t-cIa-s
BIndery-Modern n-indinez-rooi-
Ing and Lettering -Fanlts to
BE Observed.

New York Paporl
New York is the great center OF the book
Linding trade for this continent. There are
On this island about thirty-hve binderIes,
employing about 100 msn and many
women and boys Many OF these binderies
are, however, occupied only with cloth or
piper-covered volumes, or with account
books and other work that Is lone In great
quantities. In this class of work everything
that Is possible is done with machinery, and
wages average from 81 per day to 81. so. In
IA gDod job bindery. where small editions or
single volumes are put into hne binding,
nothing that can be called machine work is
done, and wages average about So 20 per
day. The girl, for instance, who takes tho
sheets as they come from the printer and
collates them-that Is, puts them in proper
order for binding-receives from $40 to sle
a week; the finisher. who does the fine tool
ing. and who often designs his own stamps
and always the figures which are made with
them, earns from $50 to s35 a week.
In a first-class bindery a book passes
through many hands After all the sheets
required in making a book are properly
folded and collated, and the plates, IL any,
are pasted into their places, the volume Is
handed 10 the man who makes the saw cut
at the back through which pass the nervei
or coarse strings which hold it together.
AAroo saw Iubo Il INV Aludcl c4ltRl III luo
case OF very small volumes, at one time by a
number OF small circular saws, which can
DO set at any required distance apart
Strings Of coarse Irvine are inserted into
these cuts and the sewing is done by other
girls. The edges are trimmed by a work
man who uses a heavy knife moving OBJ
liquely in a cast-iron frame. Another work
man prepares the boards, the beveling. IL
any, being done by hand with a sharp knife.
Another Pastes on the mRrbled binding pa
per. Still another makes the paper or mus
lin back and fixes it on to welts OF papers or
leather where. in old-style bindings, the
strings or nerves pass through.
All modern bindings are in the style which
was first introduced by Greek workmen into
Venice, and hence Is known as "a la Greque."
IN this style, the strings being sunk into the
saw-cutl, the back OF the book might DO alb
solutely smooth, and the ridges or welts that
are usually found there are made simply for
ornamentation. The long ends OF the strings
nre next passei through tho boards for the
stiles. and the book /; ready to receive its
coat OF leather. This is pasted to and turne1
over the edges OF both back and sides. and,
with the strings and the lining paper, holds
tie book together. A great deal, therefore,
depends ON its quality, and it is a mistake TO
put up n valuable book in leather Off course
her like callskin, or an easily-torn leather
like Russia. The tooling and lettering Il
done with "A great variety of hand-cut
stamps. A well equipped establishment will
have several houan dollars worth o.,
them The leather is given a thin coat Of
CLAIRE Of egg. which serves as sizing. tn
gold leaf is laid on this, and the heated tool
is pressed Or rolled over it, fixing the gold in
the pattern engraved on 1t. The rest OF this
old leaf is brushed or rubbed off. Much
experience Is required TO produce the sharp,
clear impressions which arc the pride of
modern bookbinding
The faults TO be observed in the better sort
II bindings in our booksellers windows are
an inattsntion 10 detaili, inartistic tooling.
and the abuse OF varnish. Narnish should
be sparingly used, II at all. Tooling is of no
service whatever, and il IL is not to be arts
tic IL might well be dispensed with. In
France and Germany; where comparatively
few books are bound at all, being sold in
their paper Wrappers. a much higher aver
age Of workmanship is maihtained than here.
Yet IL Is a pretty costly vanity to send books
across the ocean TO be bound. Some men ex-
pend more money in that manner than 9th
ers would pay for house rent. We should
produce good binders here. The diffusion OF
taste and knowledge Of the subject will
make it certain that we shall, especially IL
the country perseveres a little longer in the
policy Of importing the best European work
men here rather than their work