Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1903-01-08
BOOK BINDINGS.
The Best Varieties of Leather Of Which
--....- g. to Make Them.

The Best varieties OF Leather OF Which,
@...~ se = to Make Them.
The fact that Mr.. Carnegie is en-
riching his library at Skibo castle
with costly bindings moved US to re-
mark, says the Pail Mall Gazette, that
the best leather for decorative pur-
poses was morocco, and the French
tanners bring this particular material
up to superb degree Of finish. But
when it comes to dressing and toning
fine leather with delicate colors acids
have to be employed which weaken
its durability, and the desire to be
smart as well as economical has
helped to spoil many fine library be-
fore now.
OF late years the government Of
ticials have been exercised in their
minds concerning the threatened dis
solution of many valuable records.
Calf bound volumes, however we'll
housed, cannot endure a London at
mosphere indefinitely, and the esti-
mates and contractsfor some Of these
have been cut down in some depart
ments with more thrift than pru-
dence. The stationery Office lately
sought advice on the matter, and the
expert called in could only point out
that the rate of deterioration in the
book bindings supplied has kept pref
ty level pace with the reduction in
prices paid. And this point is brought
out in the recent report Of the royal
commission on the subject.
Mr.. Gladstone once, in one of those
casual essays Of his, dwelt with some
humor on the possibility Of our being:
crowded into the sea at no distant
date simply by the rapid accumula-
ton Of printed matter. He also, in
the same essay, remarked that, al
though printing was cheaper and pub
fishers were fercer in competition,
leather book binding is as dear as
ever. We have not taken sufficient
trouble to increase our supplies, and
every famine in India, by forcing the
slaughter Of cattle, interferes with
the market arrival Of skins. And no
one has yet arisen with ingenuity
enough to make a workable materi-
al out Of the prolific and despised Aus
trian rabbit.
We have consulted one of the Old
est firms Of leather factors in the king
dom, who supplied binding materials.
to the monastery of st. Hilda at Whit
by, before the reformation. A rep.
resentative Of the firm assures US that:
one Of the finest binding materials as
yet discovered is. the skin of the Cape.
goat, tanned with sumach. Sumach
is Sicilian plant, largely exported
from Palermo, and rich in tannin ;,
but its costliness adds largely to the
expense of preparation, and much Of
the leather which results is expected
to the chief binders across the Allan
tic. i
| This excellence Of the Cape goats:
cuticle has been remarked in the roy
al commissions report, but the at
tempt to work the leather up into.
nightly aesthetic colors takes the
quality out of it, Messrs. Richardson
have improved process for eliminat-
ing the fatty nature Of the skin with
out the use Of bisulphides or acids Of
the kind, but they warn all clients:
that the safer hues, so far as wear is
concerned, are dark blue, dark green
and black-colors which still hold
their own in well appointed library
Another, and even more perfect ma
terial, is sealskin stripped Of the fur
and shaved down by machinery. It
has an excellent and handsome grain
and contains a fatty essence which,
keeps it fresh when most other leath-
ers have perished. And sealskin is
usually free from one defect Of the
Cape goatskin, that it has not been
hacked by the unskilled knives of the
killers, for in Barotzeland and Baron
goland they have not yet reached any
high proficiency in carving and fay
ing. They are still given to hack
work, an evil which seems inseparable
from the book world in one way or an
other. .v