Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Back-linings for Books.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, 25th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 6th June, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and in the Manufacture of Back-linings for
Books.
I, GEORG BERNADOTTE SOELBERG, of Amagertory 10, Copenhagen, in the
Kingdom of Denmark, Bookbinder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
In order to give a book a soft, yet sharp fall when opened, a good appearance
and the necessary durability, it is above all necessary that the back-lining be
elastic, strong, and firmly moulded. With this object in view the back-lining.
has hitherto been composed either of several layers or strips of card-board,.
compactly glued together, or of strips of card-board of decreasing width, only
glued together along the edges and then moulded and dried over a heated iron-
tube. The back-linings made according to the first mentioned method are not.
aufficiently elastic, while those made according to the latter method are very apt to
break, because the layers part, while their manufacture even when costly machinery
is employed, take a very long time.
The object of the present invention is to produce a very elastic and very strong
back-lining. It consists of one piece of a suitable material, for instance strong
paper, card-board &c., being folded together in parallel layers which are only glued
together along the edges. The thus formed piece is then heated and while still
warm moulded in a pressing apparatus, specially constructed for this purpose, and
which also forms part of the invention.
In the accompanying drawing
Figure 1 represents an unmoulded back-lining
Figure 2 a finished back-lining,
Figures 3 and 4 show parts of the pressing apparatus,
Figures 5 and 6 illustrate in cross section the apparatus for effecting the operation
of pressing in two different stages.
The back-lining is preferably made of one complete piece of any suitable
material, for instance strong paper, a sheet of thin card-board or the like, in such
a way that after it has been coated with an adhesive material it is folded together
in several layers until the desired thickness is obtained, care being taken, however,
that only the edges stick together, which is attained by placing strips of paper or
the like of smaller width than the layers between the middle of these. The back-
lining thus formed is then pressed flat, and a broad piece of linen b (Figure 1)
which shall serve to fasten the back-lining to the book is glued on. The back-
lining, still moist with the glue, is put into a warming apparatus and after a fow
minutes it will become so pliable that it will easily with the hand be bent around
a round stick e corresponding in size to the back of the book, whereby the different
layers will be somewhat displaced, for immediately afterwards to be submitted to
the finishing pressing.
The pressing apparatus consists of a bipartite upper part d (Figure 3), held
together by a linen hinge e or in any other manner, the said upper part being
wedge-shaped on the outside while the inner sides have the form of a finished
back-lining, and of a lower part (Figure 4) consisting of two strong uprights f
placed upon a bottom plate and with inner surfaces corresponding to the lateral
edges of the upper part d.

page_text: To perform the pressing one or more cylindrical pressing-boards g are placed
around the still warm back-lining a upon the round stick o; an iron plate is then
inserted into the groove upon the round stick c, and the whole is placed into the
upper part of the pressing apparatus, and this one into the lower part, whereupon
a pressure by means of a suitable press is brought to bear upon the iron plate h.
The wedge-shaped upper part will then go down into the lower part, and the
back-lining is submitted to a very strong pressure which acts strongest upon the
edges.
Owing to the back-lining being warm the pressing will rapidly take place, the
back-liuing when removed from the pressing apparatus retaining its shape during
the ensuing slow drying process while being stored. The finished back-lining is in
Figure 2 shown in somewhat open condition, the layers being for the sake of
clearness shown with greater mutual distance than they in reality have.
The same pressing apparatus may, as a matter of course, be employed for
different sizes of back-lininge, all according to whethor larger or smaller round
sticks c and whether many or few pressing-boards g are employed.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. Elastic back-linings for books, consisting of one of strong paper, card-board,
or other suitable material in several layers folded pieces a, in which the edges of
the layers are glued together, and which after being honted in a suitable manner
is submitted to a moulding.
2. A pressing apparatus for the moulding named under Claim 1, consisting of
a bipartite upper part d, with wedge-shaped external surfaces, and of a lower
part with corresponding slanting lateral edges.
3. In the pressing apparatus characterized under Claim 2 the employment of
round sticks c with an inserted iron plate h.
Dated this 25th day of April 1896.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.