IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK-BINDING
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Morgan-Brown, Patent Agent, of 38, Southampton
Buildings, London, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK-BINDING."
A communication from abroad by Edward Stanley Boynton, of Bridgeport,
Connecticut, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Morgan-Brown at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 27th September 1881.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, Patent Agent, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London.
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK-BINDING." [A communication from abroad by Edward
Stanley Boynton, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to book binding.
In binding a book the signatures, each consisting of several folios placed one
within the other, have to be securely fastened together as well as the different
sheet or folios forming each signature.
In the usual method of sewing books the sheets or folios constituting a signature
are fastened together by a thread passed through from the outside to the inside of
the series of sheets, and thence along the fold of the inner sheet, the said thread
on the outside of the signature being secured at various points to bands running
transversely across the series of signatures, and thus uniting them together.
A book has also been made in which a thread or wire similar to that hereinafter
described, and termed the internal thread, is laid along the fold of the inner sheet,
and an independent thread is passed through from the outside of the signature and
looped around the said internal thread, thus fastening together all the sheets or
folios of the signature.
The said looped thread, hereinafter termed the binding thread, passes transversely
from one signature to the next, and thus fastens the signatures together at the
same time that in co-operation with the internal thread it fastens together the
sheets forming each signature.
This Invention consists in the combination with the signatures of a book and a
band-piece laid across the back thereof of binding threads sewn directly through

page_text: the said band piece and passed within the signatures to hold the inner sheets in
place, whereby the different signatures are strongly fastened together and the
sheets of each signature securely held therein.
Also in the combination with the signatures of a book of the internal threads
lying in the fold of the inner sheet of each signature, the band pieces and the
binding threads interlooped with said internal threads and connecting them with
the said band pieces, also in the signatures of a book provided with a series of saw
cuts, the band pieces therein, and the internal threads laid in the folds of the inner
sheets of the said signatures, and having their ends drawn through the saw cuts
nearest the ends of the sheets combined with the biding threads sewn directly
through the said bands and inter-looped with the internal threads.
In this Invention band pieces, such as commonly used in binding books, are laid
in the saw cut and sewn through and through by the binding cords which are
looped around internal cords as has been previously done, thus securing the said
internal threads to the band-piece, which is itself securely sewed to the back of the
book.
The binding cord consequently need be only of sufficient strength to properly
secure the internal thread and retain the internal sheets in place, the different
signatures and the cases being held together by the strength of the indepedent
band piece in addition to that of the said binding cord.
The signature provided with saw cuts will preferably be sewn in accordance
with this Invention upon a machine invented for this purpose which will form the
subject of a future application-for-Letters Patent, or they may be sewn by hand,
-the-order-of-the-different steps in the operation varying somewhat according to-the-
'means employed for doing the work and not forming-an-essential_part_of_my_
Invention.
In any case the bands of any suitable or usual form and material are laid in as
many of the saw cuts as is desired for the finished book, after which suitable
needles supplied with the binding threads may be passed through the said bands
and raw cuts to the interior of the signature, and there properly operated to form
a loop through which the internal threads may be passed either by hand or by a
device forming part of the machine employed for that purpose.
The binding thread is then withdrawn, tightening up the loop to properly hold
the internal thread, and a new signature sewn on in the same manner.
It is obvious that the order of steps in the operation might be reversed, the
internal threads being laid in the folds of the signatures, and the binding thread
carried through the band and around the said internal thread, and then out
through the band again.
By this construction the band strongly holds the different signatures together, a
thing which in the former method mentioned was done by the binding threads
which had to be made sufficiently stout for this purpose, but which in this present
method need only be strong enough to hold the internal threads and retain the
internal sheets of the signature in place.
The saw cuts nearest the ends of the book will preferably not be supplied with
band, and the binding cords in the said end saw cuts will be drawn out to bring
the ends of the internal threads through the saw cut upon the back of the book.
A sufficient portion of the band piece will have to be left between the last
signature of one book and the first signature of the next, to be secured to the cases
to properly attach then to the signatures when sewn together to the said band
pieces, being pieced by the threads in sawing cannot subsequently be "drawn off."
The ends of the binding threads will also preferably be left to join upon the
cases with the ends of the band pieces.
Piercing the band pieces by the threads that secure the internal sheets of a
signature in place joins the said signatures more securely together than when the
said band pieces are free to slide in the saw cuts and make a very firm and the
same time flexible binding, the signatures being less liable to become separated in
the subsequent processes of forwarding the book.

page_text: It is obvious that wires or fastening pius might be employed instead of the
internal threads, they being equivalent thereto in their relation to the band and
binding threads.
The saw cuts may be dispensed with, the bands being merely laid across the
back of the book, and the binding thread piercing the signatures, and the
independent internal threads might in some instances be omitted, the binding
thread entering one saw cut and passing along the fold of the internal sheet and
out the next saw cut, as is commonly practiced, except that it passes through the
band instead of being looped around it, a thing that has to be avoided in the
ordinary band process.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Morgan-Brown in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
27th March 1882.
WILLIAM MORGAN-BROWN, Patent Agent, of 38, Southampton Buildings, London,
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING." A communication from abroad by Edward
Stanley Boynton, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States of America.
This Invention relates to book binding.
In binding a book the signatures, each consisting of several folios placed one
within the other, have to be securely fastened together as well as the different
sheet or folios forming each signature.
In the usual method of sewing books the sheets or folios constituting a signature
are fastened together by a thread passed through from the outside to the inside of
the series of sheets, and thence along the fold of the inner sheet, the said thread on
the outside of the signature being secured at various points to bands running
transversely across the series of signatures and thus uniting them together.
A book has also been made in which a thread or wire similar to that hereinafter
described, and termed the internal-thread,-is-laid-along-the-fold-of-the inner slicet,
and an independent thread is passed through from the outside_of_the_signature-
-and-looped around the said internal thread, thus fastening together all the shoets
or folios of the signature.
The said looped thread, hereinafter termed the binding thread, passes transversely
from one signature to the next, and thus fastens the signatures together, at the
same time that in cooperation with the internal thread it fastens together the
sheets forming each signature.
This Invention consists in the combination with the signatures of a book and
a band piece laid across the back thereof, of binding threads sewn directly through
the said band-piece and passed within the signatures to hold the inner sheets in
place, whereby the different signatures are strongly fastened together and the
sheets of each signature securely held therein.
Also in the combination with the signatures of a book of the internal threads
lying in the fold of the inner sheet of each signature, the band pieces and the
binding threads interlooped with said internal threads and connecting them with
the said band-pieces; also in the signatures of a book provided with a series of
saw cuts, the band pieces therein, and the internal threads laid in the folds of the
inner sheets of the said signatures, and having their ends drawn through the saw-
cuts nearest the ends of the sheets combined with the binding threads sewn
directly through the said bands and interlooped with the internal threads.
In this Invention band pieces, such as commonly used in binding books, are laid
in the saw cut and sewn through and through by the binding cords, which are
looped around internal cords as has been previously done, thus securing the said
internal threads to the band-piece, which is itself securely sewed to the back of
the book.
The binding cord consequently need be only of sufficient strength to properly
secure the internal thread and retain the internal sheets in place, the different
signatures and the cases being held together by the strength of the independent
band piece in addition to that of the said binding cord.
Figure 1 is a rear view of a series of signatures sewed together according to
my Invention, and Figure 2 a transverse section thereof on a plane passing
through one of the saw cuts.
The signature a provided with saw cuts 2 will preferably be sewn in accordance
with this Invention upon a machine invented for this purpose which will form the

page_text: subject of a future application for Letters Patent, or they may be sewn by hand, the
order of the different steps in the operation varying somewhat according to the means
employed for doing the work and not forming an essential part of my Invention.
In any case the bands b of any suitable or usual form and material are laid in
as many of the saw cuts 2 as is desired for the finished book, after which suitable
needles supplied with the binding threads c may be passed through the said bands
and saw cuts to the interior of the signature, and there properly operated to form
a loop 3, see Figure 2, through which the internal threads d, one of which is shown
in dotted lines, Figure 1, may be passed either by hand or by a device forming
part of the machine employed for that purpose.
The binding thread is then withdrawn, tightening up the loop to properly hold
the internal thread d, and a new signature sewn on in the same manner.
It is obvious that the order of steps in the operation might be reversed, the
internal threads d being laid in the folds of the signature and the binding
thread c carried through the band b and around the said internal thread, and then
out through the band again.
By this construction the band b strongly holds the different signatures together,
a thing which in the former method mentioned was done by the binding threads c,
which had to be made sufficiently stout for this purpose, but which in this present
method need only be strongly enough to hold the internal threads & and retain the
internal sheets of the signature in place.
The saw-cuts nearest the ends of the book will preferably not be supplied with
bands b, and the binding cords c in the said cnd saw cuts will be drawn out to
bring the ends of the internal threads through the saw cut upon the back of the
book, as shown at the right hand end of Figure 1.
A sufficient portion of the band piece b will have to be left between the last
signature of one book and the first signature of the next, as shown at +, to be
secured to the cases to properly attach them to the signatures when sewn
together, as the said band-pieces being pierced by the threads in sawing cannot
subsequently be "drawn off."
The ends of the binding threads c will also preferably be left to join upon the
cases with the ends of the band-pieces b.
Piercing the band-pieces by the threads that secure the internal sheets of a
signature in place joins the said signatures more securely together than when the
said band-pieces are free to slide in the saw cuts and make a very firm and at the
same time flexible binding, the signatures being less liable to become separated in
the subsequent processes of forwarding the book.
It is obvious that wires or fastening pins might be employed instead of the
internal threads d, they being equivalent thereto in their relation to the band and
binding threads.
The saw cuts may be dispensed with, the bands b being merely laid across the
back of the book and the binding thread c piercing the signatures, and the
independent internal threads might in some instances be omitted, the binding
thread entering one saw cut and passing along the fold of the internal sheet and
out the next saw cut as is commonly practised, except that it passes through the
band instead of being looped around it, a thing that has to be avoided in the
ordinary hand process.
Having now described and particularly set forth the nature of the said Invention
and the manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have it understood that
what I claim is,-
1. The combination with the signatures of a book and a band piece laid across
the back thereof, of binding threads sewn directly through the said band pieco
and passed within the signatures to hold the inner sheets in place, whereby the
different signatures are strongly fastened together, and the sheets of each signature
securely held therein, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the signatures of a book of the internal threads lying
in the fold of the inner sheets of each signature, the band pieces and the binding

page_text: threads interlooped with said internal threads and connecting them with the said
band-pieces, substantially as described.
3. The signatures of a book provided with a series of saw cuts, the band-pieces
therein, and the internal threads laid in the folds of the inner sheets of the said
signatures, and having their ends drawn through the saw cuts nearest the ends of
the sheets, combined with the binding threads sewn directly through the said
bands and interlooped with the internal threads, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Morgan-Brown, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty seventh day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty two.