page_title: Bookbinding
section_title: Hardcover binding
hierarchical_section_title: Bookbinding / Modern commercial binding / Hardcover binding
caption_attribution_description: English: Book Conservators, Mitchell Building, State Library of New South Wales, 29.10.1943, Pix Magazine, part of the ACP Magazines Ltd. photographic archive, ON 388 / Box 006 / Item 091 English: Painting conservators, Mitchell Building, 29.10.1943, from original negative, by PIX Magazine photographer, State Library of New South Wales PXA 662
context_page_description: Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of paper sheets that are folded together into sections or sometimes left as a stack of individual sheets. The stack is then bound together along one edge by either sewing with thread through the folds or by a layer of flexible adhesive. Alternative methods of binding that are cheaper but less permanent include loose-leaf rings, individual screw posts or binding posts, twin loop spine coils, plastic spiral coils, and plastic spine combs. For protection, the bound stack is either wrapped in a flexible cover or attached to stiff boards. Finally, an attractive cover is adhered to the boards, including identifying information and decoration. Book artists or specialists in book decoration can also greatly enhance a book's content by creating book-like objects with artistic merit of exceptional quality.
  Before the computer age, the bookbinding trade involved two divisions.
context_section_description: A hardcover, hardbound or hardback book has rigid covers and is stitched in the spine. Looking from the top of the spine, the book can be seen to consist of a number of signatures bound together. When the book is opened in the middle of a signature, the binding threads are visible. Signatures of hardcover books are typically octavo (a single sheet folded three times), though they may also be folio, quarto, or 16mo (see Book size). Unusually large and heavy books are sometimes bound with wire.
  Until the mid-20th century, covers of mass-produced books were laid with cloth, but from that period onward, most publishers adopted clothette, a kind of textured paper which vaguely resembles cloth but is easily differentiated on close inspection. Most cloth-bound books are now half-and-half covers with cloth covering only the spine. In that case, the cover has a paper overlap. The covers of modern hardback books are made of thick cardboard.
  Some books that appeared in the mid-20th century signature-bound appear in reprinted editions in glued-together editions. Copies of such books stitched together in their original format are often difficult to find, and are much sought after for both aesthetic and practical reasons.
  A variation of the hardcover which is more durable is the calf-binding, where the cover is either half or fully clad in leather, usually from a calf. This is also called full-bound or, simply, leather bound.
  Library binding refers to the hardcover binding of books intended for the rigors of library use and are largely serials and paperback publications. Though many publishers have started to provide "library binding" editions, many libraries elect to purchase paperbacks and have them rebound in hard covers for longer life.
caption: Book conservators at the State Library of New South Wales, 1943
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Book Conservators, Mitchell Building, State Library of New South Wales, 29.10.1943, Pix Magazine, part of the ACP Magazines Ltd. photographic archive, ON 388 / Box 006 / Item 091 archival.sl.nsw.gov.au/Details/archive/110591906", "Image Make": "Hasselblad", "Image Model": "Hasselblad H4D-50MS", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS2 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2019:04:12 13:40:35", "Image Artist": "Pix Magazine photographer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Copyright": "State Library of New South Wales, out of copyright, created before 1955", "Image ExifOffset": "592", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1002", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7227", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/90", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0231", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2013:02:15 11:59:52", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2013:02:15 11:59:52", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ApertureValue": "16799/2428", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "513/1000", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "120", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2048", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1586", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "DP41036009", "EXIF LensModel": "HC 120 II"}