IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING
Year: 1880

page_text: $
LETTERS PATENT to Louis Finger, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and
State of Massachusetts, United States of America, for an Invention of
IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING."
"
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Louis Finger at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th November 1880.
LOUIS FINGER, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts,
United States of America IMPROVEMENTS IN BOOK BINDING."
[6
The object of this Invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and durable
binding for books of various kinds, and consists in the employment of a series of
tapes or ribbons of woven fabric, paper, or other suitable material inserted in slits
in the edge of the back of the book, and cemented therein, the said slits being
arranged by preference obliquely with respect to the pages of the book, to prevent
separation of the two, and the whole being as hereinafter arranged.
The Drawings accompanying this Specification represent in Figure 1 a perspective
view of an unbound memorandum book containing the slits in the back, while
Figures 2 and 3 are the views with the ribbons inserted in the slits.
In these Drawings A represents a book without a cover, for instance, a
memorandum book of plain paper.
In carrying my Invention into practice, I place the book A in a suitable press or
which leaves its back exposed, and after trimming such back to an even
surface, I create in such back, either by means of a knife, fine saw, or other
instrument, a series of slits a, a, such slits being arranged preferably at right angles
to the back of the book, and obliquely with respect to the pages of the book, but
this disposition of the slits may be varied by arranging them in any direction, as
for instance, obliquely with respect to the back of the book, and parallel with top
and bottom of the pages, as I do not confine myself in any respect to the disposition,
form, or size of the slits, as I consider the novelty in my Invention as distinguished
from other bindings to consist in the employment of ribbons, or strips of cloth, paper,
or other material introduced, and connected within slits in the back of the book
without sewing.

page_text: I prefer however to arrange the slits, as shown in Figure 1 of the accompanying
Drawings, that is, at right angles to the longest plane of the back of the book, and
obliquely with respect to its pages, the better to bind tho leaves together and
prevent detachment of any one or any portion of them.
I prefer also, so far as regards the relations of the slits one with the other, to
slope them in opposite directions, as shown in Figure 1, on the principle of an
ordinary dovetail joint, the more effectually to prevent detachment of the leaves.
Having created the slits as explained, I next insert in each a short piece or strip b
of ribbon, of cloth, leather, paper, or other suitable material, preferably ordinary
cotton tape; linen is preferablo on account of its strength, as serving the purpose
well, and I insert this ribbon in each slit, and cement it thereto. The strip 6 should
be of a width equal to or greater than the slit, in order to fill the latter, and tho
length of the latter may be equal to or greater than the width of the slit, the
excess of the edge of the strip may be folded down upon the back of the book, and
cemented thereto, as shown in Figure 2, and likewise with the ends of the strip, if
the latter is longer than the distance across the back of the book, as shown in
Figure 2.
Or the strip may be of a width equal to the depth of the slit, and a strip of
leather, cloth, paper, or other material cemented over the back of the book after
the strips are inserted, that is, over the combined edges of the leaves and the
binding strip.
CLAIMS.
First. A method of binding books which consists in the insertion of strips of
LL Janthon nano or other material in slits created in the back of the book, and
LOUIS FINGER. (L.S.)