The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-11-08
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women can deciee for herself whether 1t
Ii adapted TO her particular temperament
and ability. Bookbinding is not to ne
learned in less than six months. and this
means regular work, six days a week,
fve hours a day. Even after six months
steady application no teacher would be
willing to say that he could tisrn out q
finished and competent work woman
ready to take her place in the competition
of the trade.
At the end Of six months the teacher
has simply done his part; the rest lies
with the pupil alone. After this preiim-
mary training is acquired through a
teacher the chief need on the part of the
pupil is perfection Of technique, which in
such a craft is to be attained by the con-
slant and uninterrupted repetition of pro-
cesses. This alone disposes Of a large
class of women to whom such Work
would be most Inappropriate; women who
either win not or cannot give such az
amount of steady work or time; women
who do not care enough for any work
that exacts STEADY application at the sac
rifice of amusements or other interests.
Bookbindfng is wholly unsuited TO woln-
en- seeking a light accomplishment to be
DlCkeQ up OF QIpppGd a. -
fit for such work as a woman would do in
a small shop where no steam or patent
machines are used and all processes are
done by hand, in short, what the trade
calls a ..garret-binder,,' costs $3.50. A
good sized room. with plenty of light mot
overhead studio Light, and a floor which
may be treated with utmost disrespeet
are necessary for a workshop.
If a woman asked my advice, l would
sngges making a combination II possl-
Bile. with some other binder, and thus re-
duce the cost of rent, which is the great
bugbear of any working woman IN a
large city. For this reason such WORK
seems TO be especially suited to a woman
who already has a home provided Tor
her; who has a father who Is, PERHAPS
able to help support her while she is pre-
airing herself for her future work.
Many women find themselves dislncilhea
toward marriage. and as they approach
thirty Years they feel it 10
make some preparation for their Iuturs
support. Success in this work, as IN any
other serious occupation. comes gradual
". comes as the quality of the work be-
comes known. Bookbinding IS not
promising to poor women or to women
who have no income. and who expect 10
reap some return as soon as they begin
to work.
The running expenses of leather, paper,
thread. glue, the books to be found, ana
other items. are not small. Compared
with the working material of the writer
it is large, while compared with that OF
the painter it is moderate. The cost OF
the requisite six months tuition in this
country is about $3.50; in England it can
be learned for possibly half that sum, but
with the extra expense of going abroad
it amounts TO about the same thing Inc
experience of living in such a place as
London however. is SO stimulating to all
0no's working powers. the atmosphere IS
so suggestive, so serious. that when II Is
possible / strongly advise study abroad
/ believe the art cannot be learned there
in less than a year.
Having given the cost of outfit, teach
ings and the time necessary, it remains
only to explain something of the quailties
bookbinding necessitates.
Granted THAI a woman begins with a
real vocation, a love for the work and a
determination to learn. the main quality
needed is patience; the patience which
comes with the temperament that loves
"pottering'': the patience which loves fine
and delicate work, that causes absolute
exaetness; the patience that is willing to
go over and over one operation until the
necessary exactness is secured. Exacti-
tude of mind is not a common feminine
attribute. Exactness is usually the last
thing she masters by training. and its
possession is absolutely imperative to the
- loolrh;,3or II 80 a ni1n1ity ACQUIRED
by h~abituating oneself from the start to
observe the difference between an eighth
and a quarter of an inch, and regard the
same as a matter of vital Importance
Once this is grasped. it seems to me, it
is no more difficult for a woman to sue
coed than for a man. There are certain
men and women to whom e~xactness is an
impossibility. To the woman so con-
stituted bookbinding is unsuited. With
correctness Of eye, exactness OF habit,
patience, and a certain amount of feeling
for color. harmony and design, and a real
love for the work, / should say, without
hesitation, that a woman can go far in
this line and make a decided success.
To sum up, bookbinding is suited either
as an accomplishment or a money-making
occupation to only a small class of
women. To the minority it is eminently
suited. To the women tired Of "gadding,"
and whose circumstances allow her to
give a certain number of hours daily to
some serious occupation, and who has
enough money to spend without needing
any return. and who loves books; to such
a woman, / would say "Bind books, and
you will find the utmost delight in cloth
ing. to suit yourself, your ~favorite
authors"
To the women who wishes to earn a
good living and who can afford the train
ing and wait for success, let me add: Go
ahead. and success will come
Every kline of ornament would seem to
have been brought out to be used in mil
linery trimmings. There are paste, steel,
jet. and silver coronets, and many 9TH
er.s in which two of these are blended,
and they figure on the front of hats and
toques. There are pins of every size,
from small heads fashioned like a sham
rock to the long artificial pearl set in
silver, quite an inch in size, used for Sc
curing hats and toques. There are sill
yer daggers and buckles, oval, broad and
narrow The greatest ingenuity has
been brought to bear in new designs,
while combs having very g~listening or
namental headings are appended to the
back Of some of the new models.