Book binding: How traditional book binding is done.
Book binding is a term used to explain the skill of fastening loose pages together inside a cover to make a book. This is explained in the following five stages:
Stage 1. The start point of traditional book binding is to gather the sections of pages (chapters) of the book together with the guards, otherwise known as protection pages. These are then sewn together.
Stage 2. This phase is called rounding and backing, this is the process where the book is clamped in a traditional Laying Press and by using a Backing Hammer the sections are coaxed around to first of all create a concave front edge (a round) and then to create a shoulder for the cover boards to sit in (or for a French groove). The spine of the book is then lined using a material called Mull. This is for added strength for the sewn pages and also the mull will go around to the inside of the cover boards when the endpapers are eventually glued down. After the mull the spine is lined using Manilla or Kraft paper (this can be two or three layers thick, each time with a layer of glue PVA in between). In order to take the strain off the spine when the book is laid flat, we create a hollow. This is done by either using the lining of the spine in a specific manner so that the thinly pared leather can be slipped down the sides of it when creating the headbands, or we can use a totally separate piece of card inside the spine and glued directly to the leather (a cased in style book).
Stage 3. The boards are hand cut to a precise size to overlap the pages of the book, these are then attached by tapes which are cut into the actual boards themselves (the tapes are part of the initial sewing procedure but become an integral part of the binding). The boards are then lined over the tapes, which attach to the spine. Each board is then sanded to ensure the boards are smooth. Depending on the covering the skin of the book is then cut, this can be anything from Goats skin, leather, buckram or a synthetic. The preparation known as paring using a sharfix paring machine is then undertaken with the skin, this basically is the thinning of the skin around the spine of the book, the head caps (top and tail of the spine where the leather will be folded over and moulded into head caps) and also the edges are thinned a lot, so when the leather is placed and moulded around the edges of the board it is of uniform thickness and goes around nice and evenly. The edge paring is then finished off by hand with a knife. The spine is then enhanced with raised bands by moulding leather around the bands. Head caps are at the top and bottom of the spine. Often they are moulded around the headbands using a bone folder (a whale bone tool) Leather corners are added to a half leather binding. If a full leather binding is in order then this speaks for itself. The excess leather or skin used is then trimmed if need to accommodate the cloth sides when binding in a half leather style.
Stage 4. The embossed design or cresting of a book is then done using a JT Marshall hot blocker. This basically consists of a hot plate with a temperature gauge and thermostat. Out block has been converted from gas to electric. We use zinc embossing dies which are made for us by A J Engravers in Kent. These dies can be made from any outline image. The Titling is done by hand using traditional hand letters, heated on a finishing stove and gold leaf is used for the lettering and embossing. Gold banding is applied to the raised bands by hand using traditional hand tools and pallets and gauges.
Stage 5. The book must sit in a press for many hours after the covering is complete. After which the end papers can be glued down. Once this is done, the book must, again, be placed in a book press or nipping press for many hours, days, even weeks.
About the Author
John Harvey is an avid book collector who runs a book auction site at bid4abook.co.uk he found that traditional bookbinding is still undertaken at chesterbookbinders.co.uk in Chester in Buckley.
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