The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-11-09
| IDEAS for dMo1n2n

tioa 81 the conditions Of the work. then a
women can decide for herself whether II
ii adapted to her particular temperament
and ability. Bookbinding is not to ne
learned In less than six months. and TINS
4 means regular work. six days q week,
I'VE 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 lone his part; the rest hes
with the pupil alone. After this prelim-
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 VINO
either will not or cannot give sueh az
amount of steady work or time; women
who do not care enough for any work
that exacts steady applications at the sac
ridce of amusements or other interests.
Bookbinding Is wholly unsuited 10 won-
en- seeking a light accomplishment to be
picked up or dropped at will. The out
fit for such work as a woman would 90 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 agarret-binder,n costs $50. a
good sized room, with plenty OF light tnot
overhead studio light, and a floor which
maj be treated with utmost disrespect
are necessary for a workshop.
If a woman asked my advice, ! would
suggest making a combination. If 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 TOT
her; who has a father who IS, perhaps'
able TO help support her while she IS pre-
pairing herself for her future work.
Many women find themselves disincilhea
toward marriage. and as they approach
thirty years they feel it 70
make some preparation for their fueufe
support. Success in this work, as IN any
other serious occupation, comes gradua1-
~: comes as the quality OF the WORK pc
comes known. Bookbinding IS not
promising to poor women or TO women
who have no income, and VINO expect 70
reap some return as soon as they pegih
to work.
The running expenses of leather. paper,
thread, glue. the books to be FOUND anu
other items. are not small. Compared
with the working material Of the Wrlter
it is large, while compared with tnat ol
the painter it is moderate. The cost OF
the requisite six months tuition in this
country is about $3.50; in England 1t can
be learned for possibly half that sum- put
with the extra expense or gong aproda
1t amounts 10 about the same thing me
experience of living in such a place as
London, however. is SO stimulating to all
ono's working powers, the atmosphere Is
so suggestive, SO serious. that when It 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 quahties
bo~okbinding necessitates.
Granted that 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
epottering,'; 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. Exactl-
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
good bookbinder. 1t is a quality 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 q woman to sue
coed than for a man. There are certain
men and women to whom exactness 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, 1 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 eminentiy
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, I would say "Bind books, and
you will find the utmost delight in cloth
ing. to suit yourself, your fayorite
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 Gomez
Every kind of 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
erss 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. TIL greatest ingenuity has
been brought to bear in new designs,
while combs having very glistening or
namental headings are appended to the
back of some OF the new models.
$40