SCALE OF PRICES

The following scale of prices is copied literally from the official scale published by the master printers in 1810. The alteration in the scale in 1816, as well as the subsequent alterations and explanations have been also accurately copied from the official notifications issued to the trade by the committee of master printers.

“Scale of Prices for Compositor’s Work,

“Agreed upon at a General Meeting of Master Printers, at Stationers’ Hall, April 16, 1810; commencing on all Volumes or Periodical Numbers begun after the 30th Instant.

“Art. 1. All works in the English language, common matter, with space lines, including English and Brevier, to be cast up at 5¾d. per 1000; if in Minion 6d. per 1000; in Nonpareil 6¾d. Without space lines, including English and Brevier, 6d. per 1000; in Minion 6¼d. in Nonpareil 7d.; in Pearl, with or without space lines, 8d.; Heads and Directions, or Signature lines, included. A thick space to be considered an en in the width, and an en to be reckoned an em in the length of the page: and where the number of letters amounts to 500—1000 to be charged; if under 500, not to be reckoned: and, if the calculation at per 1000 shall not amount to an odd threepence, the odd pence to be suppressed in the price of the work; but where it amounts to or exceeds threepence, there shall be sixpence charged. Em and en quadrats, or whatever is used at the beginning or end of lines, to be reckoned as an em in the width.

“2. Works printed in Great Primer to be cast up as English; and all works in larger type than Great Primer, as half English and half Great Primer.

“3. All works in foreign languages, though common type, with space lines, including English and Brevier, to be cast up at 6¼d. per 1000; if in Minion 6¾d.; Nonpareil 7½d. Without space lines, including English and Brevier, 6½d.; Minion 7d.; Nonpareil 7¾d.; and Pearl, with or without space lines, 8¾d.

“4. English Dictionaries of every size, with space lines, including English and Brevier, to be paid 6¼d.: without space lines, 6½d. (In this article are not included Gazetteers, Geographical Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Arts and Sciences, and works of a similar description, except those attended with extra trouble beyond usual descriptive matter.) Dictionaries of two or more languages, of every size, with space lines, including English and Brevier, to be paid 6½d.: without space lines, 6¾d.; if smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“5. English Grammars, Spelling Books, and works of those descriptions, in Brevier or larger type, with space lines to be paid 6d. per 1000; without space lines 6¼d.: if in two languages, or foreign language, with space lines 6¼d.; without space lines 6½d.

“6. Small-sized Folios, Quartos, Octavos, and works done in Great Primer, or larger type (English language,) which do not come to seven shillings when cast up at the usual rate, to be paid as follows: English, and larger type, not less than 7s.; Pica 8s. 6d.: English 12mo. to be paid not less than 10s. 6d.; and Pica not less than 11s. 6d. per sheet.

“7. Reviews, Magazines, and works of a similar description, consisting of various sized letter, if cast up to the different bodies, to be paid 2s. 6d. per sheet extra.

“8. Pamphlets of five sheets and under, and parts of works done in different houses, amounting to not more than five sheets, to be paid 1s. per sheet extra; but, as it frequently occurs that works exceeding a pamphlet are often nearly made up without a return of letter, all such works shall be considered as pamphlets, and paid for as such.

“9. Works done in Sixteens*, Eighteens, Twenty-fours, or Thirty-twos, on Small Pica and upwards, to be paid 1s. 6d. per sheet extra. If on Long Primer, or smaller type, 1s. per sheet extra. Forty-eights to be paid 2s. per sheet extra, and Sixty-fours 2s. 6d. per sheet extra.

* The following resolution of the committee of the association of master printers is published in their fourth report, [3d July, 1840,] “That in Book-work two Forms of Double Foolscap be considered as one sheet.”

“10. Works requiring an alteration or alterations of margin, to be paid, for each alteration, 1s. per sheet to the Pressmen if altered by them, and 6d. to the Compositor, as a compensation for making up the furniture; if altered by the Compositor, then he is to be paid 1s. for the alteration, and the Pressmen 6d. for the delay.——This article to be determined on solely at the option of the employer.

“11. Bottom Notes consisting of twenty lines (or two notes, though not amounting to twenty lines) and not exceeding four pages, in every ten sheets, in quarto or octavo:—one page (or two notes, though not amounting to one page) and not exceeding six pages, in twelves:—two pages (or two notes, though not amounting to two pages) and not exceeding eight, in eighteens or above, to be paid 1s. per sheet; but under the above proportion no charge to be made. Bottom Notes, consisting of ten lines (or two notes, though not amounting to ten lines) in a pamphlet of five sheets or under, and not exceeding two pages, to be paid 1s. per sheet extra. Quotations, Mottos, Contents to Chapters, &c., in smaller type than the body, to be considered as Notes. [Where the notes shall be in Nonpareil or Pearl, in twelves, the number of pages to be restricted to four; in eighteens to five pages.]——This article is intended only to fix what constitutes the charge of 1s. per sheet for Bottom Notes*: all works requiring a higher charge than 1s. for Bottom Notes are to be paid for according to their value.

* The following interpretation of this article of the scale is given in a resolution of the committee of the master printers association, published in their fourth report, [3d July, 1840,] viz. “‘That there must be two Notes in every 10 sheets of a work to constitute the charge of 1s. per sheet for notes.’ E. g. if there should be only two notes, less than 20 lines each, in a work of more than 10 sheets, such work would not be liable to any charge for notes.”

“12. Side Notes to Folios and Quartos not exceeding a broad quotation, if only chap. or date, and not exceeding three explanatory lines on an average in each page, to be paid 1s. per sheet; in Octavo, if only chap. or date, and not exceeding three explanatory lines on an average in each page, 1s. 6d. per sheet. Cut-in Notes, in smaller type than the body, to be paid for in a similar manner.——Side and Bottom Notes to many, particularly historical and law works, if attended with more than ordinary trouble, to be settled between the employer and journeyman.

“13. Greek, Hebrew, Saxon, &c. or any of the dead characters, if one word and not exceeding three lines in any one sheet, to be paid for that sheet 1s. extra; all above to be paid according to their value.

“14. Greek with space lines, and without accents, to be paid 8½d. per 1000, if with separate accents 10d.; without space lines, and without accents, 8¾d.; with accents, 10¼d.; the asper not to be considered an accent. [If Dictionary matter, to take one halfpenny advance.]

“15. Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, &c. to be paid double: Hebrew with points to be cast up as half body and half points doubled.

“16. Music to be paid double the body of the sonnet type.

“17. Index matter, though but one measure, to be paid 2s. per sheet extra.

“18. Booksellers’ Catalogues (in whatever language) to be cast up at 7d. per 1000, not including the numbering.

“19. Night work to commence and be paid for, from ten o’clock till twelve, 1s.; all after to be paid 3d. per hour extra till Six.—Morning work, commencing at four o’clock, to be paid 1s. extra.—Sunday work, if not exceeding 6 hours, to be paid for 1s.; if for a longer time, 2d. an hour.

“20. Jobs of one sheet or under (except Auctioneers’ Catalogues and Particulars) to be cast up at 7d. per 1000; if done in smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1; if in foreign language, of one sheet or under, (except Auctioneers’ Catalogues,) to be cast up at 8d. per 1000; if done in smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“21. Where two pages only are imposed, either opposite to or at the back of each other, they shall be paid for as two pages; but if with an indorse, or any other kind of matter constituting a third, then to be paid as a sheet if in Folio; a half sheet if in Quarto, and so on.

“22. Broadsides, such as Leases, Deeds, and Charter-parties, above the dimensions of crown, whether table or common matter, to be paid the double of common matter; on crown and under, to be paid one and one half common matter.—The indorse to be paid one fourth of the inside page, as common matter.

“23. All Corrections to be paid 6d. per hour.

“24. The Imprint to be considered as two lines in the square of the page.

“25. Different volumes of the same work to be paid for distinctly, according to their value.

“Abstract of the Scale.

A modification of the Compositors’ Scale took place in 1816, and the following notification was issued to the Trade:—

“At a Meeting of Master Printers held this day, pursuant to notice, for the purpose of taking into consideration the state of the Trade in general, in consequence of the alteration in the times;

“It was the opinion of this Meeting, that it would be highly expedient that, after the 19th of February, the following modification of the Compositors’ Scale of Prices of 1810, as far as regards Reprints, should take place.

“All Reprinted Works to be paid Three Farthings per 1000 less than the Scale of 1810. All Manuscript or Original Works shall continue to be paid for as at present.

“January 2. 1816.”

The following resolution is copied from Hansard’s Typographia:

“At a Meeting of the Committee of Master Printers held March 11, 1816.

“It having been stated that doubts had arisen in the minds of several Masters as to what should be considered ‘Reprinted Works,’—Resolved, That they be informed that, under the above Resolutions, all ‘Reprinted Works’ were meant to be comprehended, whether printed sheet for sheet or otherwise; it being understood, that, in cases where the copy is rendered peculiarly troublesome by intricate manuscript insertions, a reasonable allowance may be made for the same to the Compositor.”

Reprints, according to the Resolution of January 2, 1816.

* In the Abstract under the head “Dictionaries,” the prices for Minion and Nonpareil are erroneous, being one farthing too much; this error passed unnoticed, till the publication of the “Third Report of the Committee of the Association of Master Printers” in 1839, where it is corrected. I have given the Scale as originally published.

“Scale of Prices for Presswork,

“Agreed upon at a General Meeting of Master Printers, at Stationers’ Hall, Feb. 8, 1810; commencing on all Volumes or Periodical Numbers begun after the 28th Instant.

N. B. School Books on Copy or Crown are defined to be, Palairet’s French Grammar, Chambaud, Salisbury Spelling Book, Fox’s Lessons, Ward’s Latin Grammar, and all of a similar description.

“N. B. Side Notes to be reckoned in the Width; Bottom Notes not to be regarded.

Works on Royal Paper to be paid One Halfpenny per Hour more than the above Prices.

Ditto on Foolscap or Pot, not less than 1000 Number, and wrought at one Pull, 4½d.

Ditto in Square Pages (like Entick’s Dictionary) and Works for the Public Offices, to be advanced One Halfpenny per Hour on the Scale of 1800.

Fine Paper of the same Size, if included within the Token, not to be charged extra; but, if of a larger Size, then to be paid according to the Scale.

Three or more Proofs pulled at one Time to be charged 4d. per Form; and, if made ready, to be charged as a Token.

Cards, large or small, to be paid 6½d. per 100.

Jobs without points to be paid 4½d. an hour.

Double Crown or Royal Broadsides, not exceeding 100 Number, to be paid 1s. 6d.; if more than 100, to be paid 1s. per 100.

Demy Broadsides, not more than 100, to be paid 1s.; above 100, and not exceeding 500, to be paid 10d. per 100; if above 500, to be paid at the rate of 1s. 9d. per Token.

Broadsides requiring three Pulls to be paid one-third more.

No Form to be deemed a Broadside that comes in at one Pull at the Common Press.

Night-work to commence and be paid for, from Ten o’clock till Twelve, 1s.; all after to be paid 3d. an Hour extra till Six.—Morning work, commencing at Four o’Clock, to be paid 1s. extra.—Sunday work, if not exceeding 6 hours, to be paid for 1s.; if for a longer time 2d. an hour.

“It is to be distinctly understood that no Advance shall take place on any Works but those which are paid by the Scale.”

An alteration in the prices of the first column took place in 1816, and the following notification of it was made:—

“At a Meeting of Master Printers held this day, pursuant to notice, for the purpose of taking into consideration the state of the Trade in general, in consequence of the alteration in the times;

“It was the opinion of this Meeting, that it would be highly expedient that, after the 19th of February, the following modification of the Pressmen’s Scale of Prices of 1810, as far as regards all Numbers exceeding the first 1000, should take place.

“Every Token above the first Four Tokens to be paid One Halfpenny per hour less than the Scale of 1810.

“January 2. 1816.”

ASSOCIATION OF MASTER PRINTERS. 4. Pemberton Row, Gough Square. December 10. 1838.

Sir,

I herewith transmit to you an Extract from the Proceedings which have taken place at a Special Meeting of the Committee convened this day for the purpose of “considering the case of the Refusal of the Compositors in Mr. Bentley’s Office to work upon his Magazine; and with a view to Conformity of Practice in our several Offices.”

“The Committee of Master Printers being informed that claims have been made by Compositors in some Offices for all Wrappers and Advertising Sheets to be set up by such Compositors only as were employed on the Periodicals to which they are attached, it was

“Unanimously Resolved,

“That such claim on the part of the Compositors is an innovation on the antient and accustomed usages of the Trade, and wholly incompatible with that control which a Master has a right to exercise over the mode of conducting his own business; and that such claim will in future be resisted by every Member of this Committee.”

“It having been stated by Mr. Bentley, that the Compositors in his Office had refused to proceed with his Magazine in consequence of his having acted on the general understanding of the Committee, that the Compositors were not entitled to the Standing Advertisements in Periodicals,

“It was Resolved,

“That Compositors are not entitled to such Standing Advertisements, or to any Standing Matter, such claim being also contrary to the antient and established practice of the Trade.

“That the above Resolutions be circulated among the Members of the Association, and that they be strongly recommended to act with the Committee in carrying them into effect.”

I am, Sir, Your obedient Servant, W. M‘DOWALL, Hon. Sec.

Extract from

“Third Report of the Committee of The Master Printers’ Association to the Annual General Meeting, held at Anderton’s Coffee House, July 5. 1839.”

“In adverting to the dispute respecting Wrappers, which originated in a case submitted at the Monthly Meeting in December, the Committee feel it to be due to the Members of the Association to acknowledge the ready support which they have on all occasions afforded them. To that firm co-operation on their part, no less than to the reasonableness of the Deputation appointed by the Compositors to confer with the Committee, may be attributed the very satisfactory adjustment of a question which had been a source of serious disagreement in several Offices.

“The following are the Regulations ultimately agreed upon, a copy of which has been sent to each Member of the Association:—

“That the Companionship on a Magazine or Review be entitled to the first or title-page of the Wrapper of such Magazine or Review; but not to the remaining pages of such Wrapper, nor to the Advertising Sheets which may accompany the Magazine or Review.

“That Standing Advertisements or stereo-blocks, if forming a complete page, or, when collected together, making one or more complete pages, in a Wrapper or Advertising Sheet of a Magazine or Review, shall not be chargeable: the Compositor to charge only for his time in making them up. The remainder of the matter in such Wrapper or Advertising Sheet, including Standing Advertisements or stereo-blocks not forming a complete page, to be charged by the Compositor, and cast up according to the 8th or 20th Rules of the Scale, as they may respectively apply. But the charge of 2s. 6d. as given by Rule 7. is not to be superadded.

“With regard to Standing Matter, the Committee adhere to their Resolution of December 10th, 1838.”

Having thus given an accurate copy of the official scale of 1810, with the alterations and explanations of the master printers, to the present time, I shall now add the explanation published by the London Union of Compositors, of the different articles of the scale.

Article I.] “In casting up a work, although it be printed in half sheets, it is cast up in sheets; in jobs less than a sheet, however, the casting-up is confined to the job, and the compositor loses or gains the five hundred letters, or the threepence (as stated in Art. 1.) as the case may chance to be.

“By the term common matter is understood the usual description of Bookwork, and not such matter as Appeal Cases, Bills in Parliament, &c. for which peculiar and distinct charges are made.—See Appendix.

Space Lines.—The reason of pearl being always paid the same price (whether leaded with a lead equal to its own body in thickness, or without a lead) has often excited surprise; but this surprise will cease when we learn that in the year 1810, when an advance of one halfpenny on leaded, and three farthings on solid took place, no advance whatever was made on the price of pearl, which consequently when solid, which it most frequently is, does not have that advance which was granted in 1810; and the compositor in casting it up at 8d. receives only the price which was paid thirty years back. In 1805, the difference between the price of nonpareil and pearl was seven farthings; in 1810, the difference was one penny.

Head and White Lines.—The head or folio line and the white or direction line are invariably reckoned in the square of the page. Head lines, when set up in a smaller type than the body of the work, are charged one shilling per sheet; and if any justification of figures, &c. occur, an allowance is made for extra trouble; but if the head be in larger type than the text, no extra charge can be made.

“Reprints.—Annual Reports of societies, with lists of subscribers, &c. are not reprints. If the copy for a book be print-copy, but derived from various sources, such book is an original work, and paid for as manuscript. Works with MS. insertions are paid extra per sheet—not less than 1s.,—but if materially altered or much interlined, or consisting of half manuscript and half reprint, are considered as original works, and paid for as if they were all manuscript. Reprinted pamphlets (when more than one sheet) are subject to the reduction above specified. No reduction is made for printed copy introduced into magazines, reviews, &c.

“Diamond.—It is the custom of the trade to pay tenpence per thousand for diamond, whether leaded or unleaded.

“Ruby.—This description of letter is not common, but it is paid an intermediate price allowed for those bodies between which it is cast; thus, a ruby (which is less than nonpareil and larger than a pearl) is cast up at 7½d. leaded or unleaded.”

Art. II.] “This mode of casting up works, which was agreed to in 1796, applies also to jobs, but not to large-letter display broadsides, the charge for which will be found in the Appendix.”

Art. III.] “In the scale of 1805, foreign works in bourgeois and brevier were paid one farthing per thousand extra; but in 1810 one price was established for type from english to brevier inclusive.

“Works in the German language and common type are paid the same as other foreign works; but if the German character be employed, it is paid as Greek without accents. The same price is also paid for the Irish character.”

Art. IV.] “The words ‘of every size,’ allude to the dimensions of the page; because formerly (that is, by the scale of 1801) duodecimo and eighteenmo dictionaries were paid one halfpenny per thousand more than those set up in octavo or quarto.

“In framing the above article, it was intended that such gazetteers or dictionaries of the arts and sciences as were attended with any extra trouble beyond usual descriptive matter should be paid the above dictionary price; and therefore, such gazetteers or dictionaries as contain many references, italics, contractions, &c. take the advanced price as dictionary matter.

“If the above works are in two columns an extra charge of not less than one shilling per sheet is made for column matter.”

Art. V.] “There is a strange anomaly in this article. It was intended to allow the compositor one farthing per thousand extra for the trouble occasioned by the admixture of italic, the frequent occurrence of single letters and monosyllables in grammars, spelling books, &c.; but if a compositor be employed on a grammar wholly in a foreign language, it is paid no more for than if it were a foreign work (see Article III.) It should, however, to be consistent, be allowed the halfpenny for foreign, and the farthing for grammar, and be cast up at 6½d. with space lines, and 6¾d. without space lines.

“The extra farthing per thousand for this kind of work is not to pay for column matter; but two column matter, in grammars, spelling-books, &c. is charged not less than one shilling per sheet; three and not exceeding four columns are charged one and one half; and above four columns are charged double.

“School Arithmetics, as well as the works above specified, are cast up at the above prices.

“If the works specified above be in smaller type than brevier, they take the advance granted for such type in Article I.”

Art. VI.] “By the words ‘cast up at the usual rate,’ is meant works cast up without their extras; and though this article specifies small sized works in the English language, the principle is applied to foreign works also; and if foreign works amount only to the sums specified, they are entitled to an advance according to the number of thousands they contain as regulated by Art. 3. of the scale. For example, if a foreign folio or 8vo. work, in english type, without space lines, contain 13,000 letters, it would come to 7s. 0½d. Now, as the same work in the English language would come to 6s. 6d. and would consequently obtain by this Article an advance of 6d., so the foreign work is entitled to the like advance, and is paid 7s. 6d.; if it were not so, the compositor would not receive anything for the work being in a foreign language.”

Art. VII.] “The mere circumstance of a work being a periodical publication does not entitle it to the charge of 2s. 6d. per sheet. To justify this charge, the text must consist of two bodies, and be cast up to their respective founts. Publications, however, of more than one sized letter must not be cast up as all one body, to avoid the payment of the 2s. 6d. per sheet, but must be charged according to the proportion of type they contain, with the 2s. 6d. allowed by this article for the bodies.

“Reprints of this description of work (if more than a sheet) are cast up at three farthings per thousand less than the current number, but the 2s. 6d. per sheet is charged. No deduction, however, is made for printed copy introduced into the current numbers of these works.

“In Reviews, Magazines, &c. where leads are only occasionally used, or when used only in a small portion of the publication, no deduction is made.

“Reviews, Magazines, &c. are entitled to the charge for notes, although such notes are set up in one of the bodies used in the text.

“All matter pulled in galleys or slips is made up at the expense of the employer.”

Art. VIII.] “Parts of works done in different houses, when unequal in their nature, are cast up according to the respective merits of the different parts; and if a sheet, or less than a sheet, it is considered a job, and cast up at the price specified in Art. XX. of the scale.

“The expression ‘nearly made up,’ is indefinite; but in works where two-thirds of the matter are made up, one shilling per sheet is charged upon the whole.

“In works of two or more volumes, when the letter of the first volume is all made up, and used for the second, no charge can be made for making up letter.”

Art IX.] “This article does not apply to half sheets or sheets of double foolscap, double demy, &c. imposed as sixteens, as these are cast up and take the extras as octavo. Sixty-fours and forty-eights, in whatever type, are paid 2s. 6d. the former, and 2s. the latter, per sheet, extra.”

Art X.] “This article allows the employer to give the alteration either to the pressman or to the compositor; but it more properly belongs to the compositor, and the general practice of the trade is for the compositor on the work to make the alteration. The article does not apply to cases where a re-imposition or transposition of pages is required; in all such cases the compositor is entitled to charge his time.”

Art XI.] “This article is by general acceptation understood to mean that, in a quarto or octavo volume, there must be one note of twenty lines, or two shorter ones, to constitute any charge, and that there must be on an average more than four pages in every ten sheets to carry a higher charge than one shilling a sheet; that is, in a work of forty 8vo. sheets, more than sixteen pages; for a fresh calculation is not made for every ten sheets. If, therefore, two notes, or one note of twenty lines, occur in an octavo or quarto volume—and two pages or two notes in eighteens and smaller-sized works, one shilling per sheet is paid for such works throughout.

“Where the notes exceed the quantity stipulated in the above article, an additional sixpence per sheet is charged, until the quantity of note entitles the compositor to a further advance, when, in order to ascertain what that advance should be, the whole of the notes are measured off, and cast up as a distinct body, and one shilling per sheet is charged for placing.

“For example—A work of twenty sheets containing eighty pages of notes, or four pages in each sheet, is cast up as three-fourths pica (the body) and one-fourth long primer (the notes), as follows:

“The usual rule for the type for notes is two sixes less than the text; i. e. English text has Small Pica notes; Small Pica text, Bourgeois notes; Long Primer text, Brevier notes; but when under this size a proportionally less quantity of note is required to constitute the above charges. Thus—If in a work set in Small Pica, the notes should be set in Brevier, which is three sizes less than the text; the same number of thousands should be composed for 1s. per sheet, as would be equivalent to the number of thousands contained in the four pages of Bourgeois, i.e. if the four pages of Bourgeois contain 10,000 letters, no more than that number of brevier should be composed without an increased charge.

“To compensate the compositor for time employed in making up, altering references, &c., the notes, although in the same size as any type used in the text, take the charge of 1s. per sheet.

“Notes upon notes, when set up in a smaller type than the note, are charged according to the rule laid down for notes.”

Art XII.] “In casting up a work with side-notes, the side-notes are not reckoned in the width of the page.

“Side-notes are cast up as double—that is, the length and breadth of the side-notes are taken, multiplied, and the product doubled. When the space between the notes do not exceed a broad quotation it is reckoned in measuring off the notes. The side-note width of the guard line and head lines are reckoned in measuring the depth of the notes. The reglets or leads between the text and side-note are reckoned in the width of the text, when the side-notes are cast up. One shilling per sheet for side-notes, in addition to their being cast up as double, is allowed for placing.

“Under-runners from side-notes are reckoned in the side-note, and paid 3d. each, in addition.

“When the bottom notes to law works, &c. are attended with extra trouble, in consequence of numerous contractions, an extra is paid.”

Art. XIII.] “The Saxon language is mentioned only in regard to the charge of one shilling per sheet, while works wholly done in that language seem to have been unintentionally omitted in the Scale; they are, however, paid the same as Greek without accents, according to Article XIV.

“The term ‘dead characters’ is extremely indefinite; and the charge allowed by this article is not limited to the languages of such nations as are extinct, but includes all languages for which roman or italic type is not employed, such as Sanskrit and other oriental characters; also German, Irish, &c. &c.

“This article defines only what charge is to be made for Greek, Hebrew, Saxon, &c. when introduced in small quantities in various parts of a sheet,—such as single words, half lines, or lines. If there be one word, and not more than three lines, the charge is one shilling for each character, in every sheet in which those characters occur: all above three lines is paid according to their value, preserving the 1s. per sheet for the first three lines. When the quantity of Greek, Hebrew, Saxon, &c. amounts to two-thirds, interspersed throughout the sheet, it is paid as all Greek, or an equivalent price allowed for the admixture.

“As it occasionally occurs that words in Greek, &c. are obliged to be set up in a different sized fount to the body of the work, when such is the case, extra is paid for justification.

“For the convenience of employers, and that each sheet of a work may be paid the same price, it is sometimes the practice to ascertain the quantity contained in the work, and put an average price upon each sheet. This was not formerly the general custom, nor is it, indeed, commendable, since by this mode it often happens that the task of setting up that part of a work containing the greatest quantity of Greek, &c. falls into the hands of those who have had no share of the lighter parts of the work, and thus endless and bitter disputes are caused by one man being called upon to perform that labour for which another has received the reward. The article limits the charge to ‘that sheet,’ and therefore a work in which small portions of Greek, &c. are introduced, should be charged according to the particular quantity in each sheet.”

Art. XIV.] “By ‘separate accents’ is meant the use of distinct accents with kerned letters.

“The composition of grammars being attended with extra trouble, ¼d. per 1000 is allowed for them. Therefore Grammars in Greek, Hebrew, &c. take the advance specified in Article V. Thus, a Greek grammar without space lines and accents is paid 9d. per 1000.

“Jobs in Greek, &c. of one sheet or under are also paid 1d. per thousand more than the prices above stated.

“It has been contended that works in Greek, Hebrew, &c. not being common matter, were not intended to be subject to the reduction upon reprints; but as the same advantage accrues to a compositor upon reprint Greek as upon reprint English, it is just that the reduction should be made; and therefore Greek, &c. set up from printed copy, is subject to the modification of the Scale proposed by the masters in 1816.”

Art. XV.] “The phrase ‘paid double’ signifies double the price of common matter. Although Hebrew with points is alone stated to be cast up as half body and half points doubled; yet Syriac, or any other language or character with points, is cast up in the same manner.

“Of the mode of casting up a work with points, the following is an example:—Supposing the work to be set up in small pica Hebrew with nonpareil points, it is cast up as half small pica and half nonpareil, that is, each page is charged as if it were a page of small pica and a page of nonpareil.

“Grammars, Dictionaries, &c. in these languages are cast up at double the price specified in Article V.

“This article applies only to works, or where several pages appear together. Small quantities of Arabic, Syriac &c. are paid according to Article XIII.”

Art. XVI.] “That is, if the sonnet type be long primer, the square of the page is taken as long primer, and the amount which the sheet or job would be paid as long primer is doubled.

“The rule is, however, but little applicable to the present style of letter-press music printing, the composition of which is now usually paid an ad valorem price, as double the price of sonnet type would not pay. Indeed, in music wholly instrumental, Art. 16. would be useless as a guide, as there would be no sonnet type employed.”

Art XVII.] “The charge of 2s. per sheet for Index matter does not include the charge for columns or tabular; and indexes cast up as tabular or table are charged 2s. in addition to what they come to by letters.”

Art. XVIII. “The expression, ‘not including the numbering,’ does not mean that the numbers are not to be reckoned in the square of the page, but that when the bookseller sends in his copy without numbers at the beginning of the article, or with incorrect numbers, and the compositor is required to alter them, or put in the numbers, he is entitled to make an extra charge for such numbering; in other words, 7d. per thousand does not include the charge for the trouble occasioned to the compositor by altering or marking in the numbers prefixed to the books.

“If a booksellers’ catalogue only make a sheet, or less than a sheet, it is cast up at no more than 7d. per thousand.

“Booksellers’ lists or advertisements are charged as a job at 7d. per thousand when only making a sheet or under; but if done in smaller type than brevier, they take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“When notes or remarks in smaller type are inserted in a bookseller’s catalogue, they are paid the same as bottom notes.

“Catalogues in two columns are paid one shilling per sheet for columns.

“The words ‘in whatever language,’ mean that the foreign languages, where roman type is used, viz. Latin, Italian, French, &c. take no extra charge; but Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, &c. are paid according to Article 13.”

Art. XIX.] “The compositor’s day’s work is reckoned twelve hours; if, therefore, business require it, the compositor on the piece works from 8 till 10 in the evening, and from 6 to 8 in the morning, without any extra charge; but if required to come before 6, or called to work after 10, he immediately claims 1s., because he has already worked two hours beyond the ordinary time, without any extra charge. Sunday work, for any portion of time less than six hours, is paid 1s.

“Compositors on the establishment, when required to work beyond the recognised hours, are entitled to charge extra.—See Appendix.”

Art. XX.] “Auctioneers’ Catalogues and Particulars, of whatever extent, or whether leaded or unleaded, are cast up at 6d. per 1000; if any smaller type or other extras occur in a catalogue, they are paid in the same way as extras upon bookwork. The conditions in smaller type, when standing, are paid as an ordinary page of the catalogue; but if set up, are charged according to the type in which they are set.

“Jobs are not cast up as sheets or half sheets, but according to the number of pages they may contain. They are also subject to the regulations in Art. 1.—‘A thick space,’ &c. see Art. 1. to the end of that Article.”

Art. XXI.] “This article has occasionally been misconstrued; and it has been supposed that if any matter be on the third page, the compositors ought to charge the job as four pages; this, however, is not the case—for, in jobs, it requires matter on three pages, in order that they may be charged as four. Thus, a circular of two pages, printed on the first and third page, is only charged as two pages; but if there be matter on the first, second, and third, it is charged as four; or if there be matter on the first and second, and an indorse on the fourth, it is charged as four. This definition will appear correct when it is observed that the indefinite article is used in the scale, which does not say, constituting the third, but constituting a third.”

Art. XXII.] “This article means that ‘common matter’ or undisplayed broadsides, when set up in type ‘such as’ is used for leases, deeds, &c. are to be charged, if larger than crown, the double of common matter, but if on crown or under, to be paid one and one-half common matter; and if table, to be paid for as double. That this is the true interpretation of this article is evident from the introduction of the words ‘whether table or common matter,’ which were not in the scale of 1805, and which were inserted to prevent more than double being charged for broadside tables above the dimensions of crown. In Ireland, table broadsides above medium are paid treble; but by the above article, however few or numerous the columns may be, the charge is to be that of double common matter.”

Art. XXIII.] “When blank pages at the end of a work are filled up on its return from the author with fresh matter, or booksellers’ lists, or advertisements, the compositor charges the value of the matter, deducting the price of the blank, excepting the time for making up the blank. Matter driven out by the insertion of leads is charged by the compositor, but his time in doing so is not chargeable.

“The compositors on a work are entitled to correct the author’s proofs.”

Art. XXIV.] “In jobs, it is sometimes necessary to put the imprint nearly at the extremity of the paper, leaving a large blank between the last line and the printer’s name. In all such cases, the blank is not cast up, but the job is considered to be two lines longer than the last line of matter. Previous to 1805, the imprint was not cast up when it had a large blank before it; but as the compositor frequently had to set up the imprint, it was agreed that he should charge two lines for it.”

As the Scale of 1805 may be useful as an article of reference, I give it literally from an official copy which has been in my possession from that time.

Regulations and Scale of Prices for Compositors’ Work,

AS ADJUSTED AND AGREED TO IN FEBRUARY 1805.

“Article 1. All works in the English language, common matter, including English and Brevier, to be cast up, as settled in December 1800, at fivepence farthing per thousand; if in Minion (being a type not very prevalent), to be cast up at fivepence halfpenny; in Nonpareil, sixpence farthing; and Pearl, eightpence; Heads and Directions, or Signature lines, included. A thick space to be considered an en in the width, and an en to be reckoned an em in the length of the page: and, where the number of letters amounts to five hundred, a thousand to be charged; if under five hundred, not to be reckoned: and if the calculation at per thousand shall not amount to an odd threepence, the odd pence to be suppressed in the price of the work; but where it amounts to or exceeds threepence, there shall be sixpence charged.

“2. Works printed in Great Primer to be cast up as English; and all works in larger type than Great Primer as half English and half Great Primer.

“3. All works in a foreign language, though common type, to be cast up at fivepence three farthings per thousand, including English and Long Primer; if in Bourgeois or Brevier, sixpence per thousand; Minion, sixpence farthing; Nonpareil, sevenpence; and Pearl, eightpence three farthings.

“4. English Dictionaries of every size to be paid fivepence three farthings per thousand. (In this article are not included Gazetteers, Geographical Dictionaries, Dictionaries of Arts and Sciences, and works of a similar description, except those attended with extra trouble beyond usual descriptive matter.) Dictionaries of two or more languages of every size to be paid sixpence per thousand. If smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“5. English Grammars, Spelling Books, and works of those descriptions, in Brevier or larger type, to be cast up at fivepence halfpenny per thousand; if in two languages, or foreign language, to be cast up at fivepence three farthings per thousand.

“6. Small sized Folios, Quartos, Octavos, and works done in Great Primer or larger type (English language) which do not come to six shillings when cast up at the usual rate, to be paid as follows: English and larger type, not less than six shillings; Pica, seven shillings and sixpence: English Twelves to be paid not less than nine shillings and sixpence; and Pica not less than ten shillings and sixpence per sheet.

“7. Reviews, Magazines, and works of a similar description consisting of various sized letter, if cast up to the different bodies, to be paid two shillings per sheet extra.

“8. Pamphlets of five sheets and under, and parts of works done in different houses, amounting to not more than five sheets, to be paid one shilling per sheet extra; but, as it frequently occurs that works exceeding a Pamphlet are often nearly made up without a return of letter, all such works shall be considered as Pamphlets, and paid for as such.

“9. Works done in Sixteens, Eighteens, Twenty-fours, or Thirty-twos, on Small Pica and upwards, to be paid one shilling and sixpence extra per sheet. If on Long Primer, or smaller type, one shilling per sheet extra. Forty-eights to be paid two shillings per sheet extra, and Sixty-fours two shillings and sixpence per sheet extra.

“10. Works requiring an Alteration or Alterations of Margin, to be paid for each Alteration one shilling to the Pressmen if altered by them, and sixpence to the Compositor, as a compensation for making up the Furniture; if altered by the Compositor, then he is to be paid one shilling for the Alteration, and the Pressmen sixpence for the delay. This article to be determined on solely at the option of the Employer.

“11. Bottom Notes consisting of twenty lines (or two Notes, though not amounting to twenty lines), and not exceeding four pages, in every Ten Sheets, in Quarto or Octavo:—One page (or two notes, though not amounting to one page) and not exceeding six pages, in Twelves:—Two pages (or two notes, though not amounting to two pages) and not exceeding eight, in Eighteens or above; to be paid one shilling per sheet:—But under the above proportion no charge to be made. Bottom Notes consisting of ten lines (or two notes, though not amounting to ten lines) in a Pamphlet of five sheets or under, and not exceeding two pages, to be paid one shilling per sheet extra. Quotations, Mottos, Contents to Chapters, &c. in smaller type than the body, to be considered as notes. [Where the Notes shall be in Nonpareil or Pearl, in Twelves, the number of pages to be restricted to four; in Eighteens, to five pages: and, if the number of sheets or notes in a volume shall exceed what is stipulated, to take the proportionate advance.]

“12. Side Notes to Folios and Quartos not exceeding a broad quotation, if only chap. or date, and not exceeding three explanatory lines on an average in each page, to be paid one shilling per sheet; in Octavo, if only chap. or date, and not exceeding three explanatory lines on an average in each page, one shilling and sixpence per sheet. Cut-in Notes in smaller type than the body to be paid for in a similar manner.

“Side and Bottom Notes to many, particularly Historical and Law Works, if attended with more than ordinary trouble, to be settled between the Employer and Journeyman.

“13. Greek, Hebrew, Saxon, &c. or any of the dead characters, if one word and not exceeding three lines in any one sheet, to be paid for that sheet one shilling extra: all above to be paid ad valorem.

“14. Greek without accents to be paid eightpence per thousand; if with separate accents, ninepence halfpenny per thousand: the Asper not to be considered an Accent.

“15. Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, &c. to be paid double:—Hebrew with Points to be cast up as half Body and half Points doubled.

“16. Music to be paid double the body of the sonnet type.

“17. Index Matter, though but one measure, to be paid one shilling per sheet extra.

“18. Booksellers’ Catalogues to be cast up at sixpence per thousand, not including the numbering.

“19. Em and En Quadrats, or whatever is used at the beginning or end of lines, to be reckoned as an Em in the width.

“20. Night Work to commence and be paid for, from Eleven o’clock till One, one shilling; till Two, one shilling and sixpence; and threepence per hour extra till Six.—Morning Work, commencing at Four o’clock, to be paid one shilling extra.—Sunday Work to be paid twopence per hour, provided it amount to not less than one shilling.

“21. Jobs of One Sheet or under (except Auctioneers’ Catalogues and Particulars) to be cast up at sixpence halfpenny per thousand; if done in smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“22. Jobs in Foreign Language, of One Sheet or under (except Auctioneers’ Catalogues) to be cast up at sevenpence halfpenny per thousand; if done in smaller type than Brevier, to take the proportionate advance specified in Article 1.

“23. Where Two Pages only are imposed, either opposite to or at the back of each other, they shall be paid for as Two Pages; but if with an Indorse, or any other kind of matter constituting a third, then to be paid as a Sheet, if in Folio; a Half-sheet if in Quarto; and so on.

“24. Broadsides, such as Leases, Deeds, and Charter Parties, above the dimensions of Crown, to be paid the double of common matter; on Crown and under, to be paid one and one-half common matter.—The Indorse to be paid one-fourth of the inside page.

“25. All Corrections to be paid sixpence per hour.

“26. The Imprint to be considered as two lines in the square of the page.

“27. Different Volumes of the same work to be paid for distinctly, ad valorem.

“This Scale to commence on Monday, the fourth day of March 1805.

“Any Disputes that may arise in future, we agree to refer to the Decision of the Committee of Masters.


scaleboard

The thin wooden boards, which are only slightly thicker than modern pasteboard, made of oak, maple, or birch wood, and used by bookbinders in Colonial America in lieu of paper boards, principally because of their availability and ease of use. It was used, even after paper became generally available, for the cheaper sort of work well into the 19th century. Scaleboard is not to be compared with the pasteboard of earlier times, which was sometimes very thick.

Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology

US Government publication (Library of Congress), published openly in electronic edition by CoOL. Not a Gutenberg/pre-1930 public-domain text -- verify rights before reprinting rather than quoting.

Diehl, Edith. Bookbinding; its background and technique. New York. Rinehart. 1946. 2 vol.

Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut Emile. Bookbinding in America; three essays. Portland, Maine. Southworth-Anthoensen. 1941. 201.


SCALEBOARD

Is that kind of scale commonly sold by some ironmongers in bundles; and of which, the scabbards for swords are made: the Compositor cuts it quadrat high, and to his length.—M. Till within these last few years it was supplied by the Printers Joiners in bundles of sixty sheets each, four feet long, and varying in width from five inches to ten; it is now supplied in slips quadrat high. In Moxon’s time it appears to have been used to branch out matter as we use leads at present, but, as these are so much superior, they have superseded it in that department; and it is now seldom employed, except in forms next the crosses, to facilitate the making of register at press, and in making margin uniform.—See Paper.

Scandic. See Runic.

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


scales binder

An anonymous London binder active from before 1460 to about 1491, so called because one of the stamps he used most frequently represents a pair of scales. The scales binder used decorative stamps on his bindings and is believed to be the only English bookbinder to have used both the stamped- and cut-leather methods of decoration.

Hobson, Geoffrey Dudley. English bindings before 1500. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1929.

Middleton, Bernard C. A history of English craft bookbinding technique. New York. Hafner. 1963.


SCANDINAVIAN PRESS

A new press has just been introduced to public notice (August 1841), under the patronage of Count Rosen, a Swedish nobleman, but being too late for insertion in the alphabetical order, I give a notice of it at the end. There are two of these presses now at work in the extensive establishment of Messrs. William Clowes and Sons, under the name of “The Scandinavian Self-inking Press,” invented by Mr. C. A. Holm, of Stockholm, who has taken out a patent for it. It is a press with a platen which descends perpendicularly, and at its regular rate of working produces 550 impressions in an hour, which I have ascertained by personal inspection. It requires two boys to each press to lay on and take off the paper, and to turn down and raise the tympan, and one superintendent is fully competent to attend to two presses. By dispensing with woollen blankets in the tympans and substituting paper, it produces fine impressions, as the specimens published of large and finely executed engravings on wood testify. There is a contrivance which causes a rest or pause when the pressure is at its maximum, and gives time for the ink to be firmly attached to the paper. The motive power may be either hand labour or steam, those in use at Messrs. Clowes’s establishment are worked by steam; they do not occupy more room than any other press that will print paper of the same dimensions, and are very simple in their construction. The inking apparatus is so arranged that the distributing rollers have three or four different motions, the object and effect of which are to produce a perfectly equal and uniform distribution of the ink. They are manufactured by Messrs. Braithwaite, Milner, and Co., engineers, in the New Road.

THE END.

London: Printed by A. Spottiswoode, New-Street-Square.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain.

Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.

Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added, when a predominant preference was found in the original book.

Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.

Pg 24: Alphabet Table, Sgie numerical value; ‘40’ replaced by ‘10’. Pg 34: ‘up the rythm’ replaced by ‘up the rhythm’. Pg 85: ‘tranverse portions’ replaced by ‘transverse portions’. Pg 96: ‘ and fractious’ replaced by ‘ and fractions’. Pg 159: Table row ‘168 49 59’ replaced by ‘168 49 50’. Pg 230: ‘in order to their’ replaced by ‘in order to assist their’. Pg 240: Table row: Peroxide of iron; ‘2F’ replaced by ‘2Fe’. Pg 299: ‘called ἐπίσημον’ replaced by ‘called στίγμα’. Pg 312: ‘or short (בֳ) בָ ŏ’; possibly, should be ‘or short (בָ) בֳ ŏ’. Pg 314: ‘These seven letters ﬡ ﬢ ﬣ ﬥ ﬦ ﬧ ﬨ are’ should really be ‘These eight letters ﬡ ﬢ ﬣ ﬤ ﬥ ﬦ ﬧ ﬨ are’. Pg 337: Inner Form block: ‘[*]’ replaced by ‘[4*]’. Pg 413: ‘o  upon any’ replaced by ‘or upon any’. Pg 423: ‘arbitary order’ replaced by ‘arbitrary order’. Pg 438: ‘the placing the’ replaced by ‘the placing of the’. Pg 461: ‘and he likwise’ replaced by ‘and he likewise’. Pg 476: ‘way of the chace’ replaced by ‘way of the chase’. Pg 491: ‘Opsloe, now Christiana’ replaced by ‘Opsloe, now Christiania’. Pg 497: ‘Monsalbanus’ replaced by ‘Mons Albanus’. Pg 497: ‘Monsdolorosus’ replaced by ‘Mons Dolorosus’. Pg 531: ‘and Newspaerps in’ replaced by ‘and Newspapers in’. Pg 596: ‘which contaitn the’ replaced by ‘which contain the’. Pg 611: Table row ‘| 0  3  7½ | 0  3  7½ |’ replaced by ‘| 0 3 7¼ | 0 3 7½ |’. Pg 612: Table row ‘| 0  3  2¼ | 0  3  8¾ |’ replaced by ‘| 0 3 8¼ | 0 3 8¾ |’. Pg 717: ‘sh as shame’ replaced by ‘sh as in shame’. Pg 718: ‘ма́рморъ, marble, mramor’ replaced by ‘мра́моръ, marble, mramor’. Pg 718: ‘ше́рсшь, wool, schārste’ replaced by ‘ше́рсть, wool, schārste’. Pg 719: ‘Hard а, о, у, ы.       Soft я, е, ю, и, і, э, ѣ’ replaced by ‘Hard а, о, у, э, ы.       Soft я, е, ю, и, ѣ’. Pg 719: ‘г, к, х,’ replaced by ‘г, к, or х’. Pg 732: ‘changes in D’ replaced by ‘changes into D’. Pg 749: ‘and not exceeeding’ replaced by ‘and not exceeding’. Pg 787: All four columns in the Syriac Alphabet table are shown as identical; some characters in fact have a different glyph from the first column, but there is no Unicode codepoint for them. Pg 792: The section heading ‘TAMUL’ was missing and has been inserted. Pg 810: ‘after that rince’ replaced by ‘after that rinse’. Pg 810: ‘always delvered’ replaced by ‘always delivered’.


scenic binding

A style of library binding which utilizes the book jacket or cover illustration as part of the case. See also: JUVENILE PICTURE-BOOK BINDING.

Dunn and Wilson Group. The art and craft of bookbinding. Falkirk. Dunn & Wilson. 1968.


scent of Russia

The particular spicy scent characteristic of genuine RUSSIA LEATHER, and imparted by the application of an oil obtained from the bark of birch trees.

Hannett, John. Bibliopegia; or, the art of bookbinding… London. Simkim, Marshall. 1848.


Schedule

A sheet of paper passed with the make-up, containing folios, on which the compositor marks his name opposite to the pages set by him.

The American Printer: A Manual of Typography


school prize binding

A style of fine binding employed in northern France and the Netherlands as early as the 17th century, in Ireland (Trinity College, Dublin) from the 18th century, and in England from the last quarter of the 19th century until the First World War. In England, the bindings were produced in a common pattern consisting of a full calfskin cover (usually of a dark color), worked headbands, run up gilt backs and colored title labels, two-line fillets on the covers ending with a rosette, and with the arms of the particular school blocked on the upper cover. The endpapers and edges were marbled, often matching in both color and pattern, while the turn-ins and edges of the boards were decorated with a roll in blind. The books often included, inserted before the title page, a printed or manuscript form giving the subject in which the prize was awarded, the name of the recipient, the date, etc.


SCLAVONIAN,

or Illyrian alphabet, “is ascribed to St. Jerom The Bulgarian letters were originally the same with the Sclavonian. There are several letters in these alphabets, which seem to be of northern original, which are adapted to sounds peculiar to the languages of the people descended from the Scythians who settled in Europe.”—Astle. See Servien. Russian.


score

To impart a linear indentation or crease in a sheet of heavyweight paper or lightweight board by pressing it between two metal surfaces, one of which has a recessed groove and the other a tongue. The scoring may also be done with a dull blade. The score is made along the line at which the sheet is to be folded or turned. It alters the sheet structure by compressing the fibers in such a manner as to provide a hinge and increases the number of times the sheet can be flexed before failure. Scoring may be done on the printing press, folding machine, or in the bindery. In bookbinding, and especially library binding (when a book is to be oversewn), scoring is frequently necessary because of the weight of the paper (particularly cover papers), incorrect machine direction of the paper, i.e., vertical to the binding edge, or both.

American Paper and Pulp Association. The dictionary of paper, including pulp, paperboard, paper properties and related papermaking terms. 3rd ed. New York. American Paper and Pulp Association. 1965.

British Federation of Master Printers. Preliminary technical course in printing. London. British Federation of Master Printers. 1967. 7 vol.


scored calf

A calfskin subjected to an embossing process (subsequent to the covering of the book) so as to produce on the grain surface an indented effect that was supposed to simulate straight-grained morocco. This type of embossing was popular in England from about 1800 to 1830.

Carter, John. A B C for book collectors. 5th ed. London. Hart Davis. 1972.


scored hides

Hides damaged during flaying by cuts that do not completely penetrate the hide.

Wilson, John Arthur. Modern practice in leather 367. manufacture. New York. Reinhold. 1941.


scoring

See: SCORE.


scoring machine

A machine used to score heavy paper or lightweight board. There are two basic types in use: the rotary scorer and the bender scorer. Each produces a blind impression in the sheet compressing and stretching the fibers. The machine may be a separate unit, or part of the printing press or folding machine.


Scotch grain

A pebbled grain pattern in leather produced by embossing. It is usually applied to cow hide or calfskin and is intended to resemble the heavy coarse-grained leather originally produced in Scotland.

Tanners' Council of America, Inc. Dictionary of leather terminology. 6th ed. New York. Tanners' Council of America. 1969.


Scotch knife

See: SLIDING KNIFE.


Scottish style

A style of decoration developed by Scottish bookbinders of the 18th century. The designs, which are referred to as "wheel" and "herringbone," were well established by 1725 and continued in use until about 1775. The central design on the upper cover consisted of either a large wheel-shaped device with radiating spokes, surrounded by numerous sprays of foliage, the idea for which derived from the fan bindings of the previous century, or a vertical pattern, often enclosed, with branching ornaments radiating outward, i.e., a herringbone pattern. The bindings often had DUTCH GILT PAPERS with embossed floral ornaments.

Abbey, John Roland. English bindings, 1490-1940, in the library of J. R. Abbey. Edited by G. D. Hobson. London. Privately printed at the Chiswick Press. 1940.

Somerlad, Michael John. Scottish "Wheel" and "Herringbone" bindings in the Bodleian library…Oxford. Oxford Bibliographical Society. 1967.


scouring

1. The process of removing the sediment of tannin particles which become fixed in the grain of the skin following a prolonged tannage. The machine used in scouring is similar to the regular unhairing or fleshing machine, except that the cylinder has carborundum cemented in place in lieu of blades. The speed of the machine is also much slower. See also: SCUDDING, 2. The removal of surplus oil from an oil-tanned leather, e.g., CHAMOIS (2), by washing in water and a 2 to 4o solution (by weight of the skins) of soda ash.

Sharphouse, John Henry. The leatherworker's handbook. London. Leather Producers' Association. 1963.


scraper

A steel implement with slightly rounded ends, used to scrape the edges of books before gilding.

Harrison, T. The bookbinding craft and industry; an outline of its history, development, and technique. London. Pitman. 1926.

Hewitt-Bates, James Samuel. Bookbinding. 8th ed. Leicester. Dryad. 1967.


scratted paper

An imitation marbled paper, produced by "spiriting" or spotting various colors on paper by means of a brush. Scratted papers date back to at least the 17th century.


screw binder

See: POST BINDER.


scrinium

A receptacle in the shape of a cylinder with a removable lid, and used in ancient Rome as a container for scrolls.

Harrod, Leonard Montague. The librarians' glossary of terms used in librarianship and the book crafts, and reference book. 3rd ed. London. Deutsch. 1971.


SCRIPT

The name of a class of types, which, as the appellation implies, is an imitation of writing. The French call it Anglaise.

There is no character connected with our language on which so much labour has been expended within the last twenty-five years as on this. The old Scripts were so notoriously stiff and formal, that they could hardly be said to bear any other resemblance to writing than in the mere shapes of the letters; these were cast on a square shank, with all the ascenders and descenders hanging over the body, which is styled kerned. These kerned letters, having no support, were liable on pressure to break off, and the fount became so disfigured thereby that the use of Script was abandoned by almost common consent. In 1815 Messrs. Firmin Didot and Sons introduced a new Script, cut with great freedom, and cast on a rhomboidal shank, with triangular blocks having a corresponding angle on one side, and the other two sides forming a right angle, with which to justify the beginnings and endings of lines. In order to enable the printer to form complete words without any apparent junction, a great number of parts of letters, parts of common words, and double letters, were added to the regular alphabet; thus encumbering the plan with such a variety of sorts that it required great care, and was very tedious to compose correctly.

This plan was very popular on the Continent, and almost universally adopted; and so much importance was attached to it that Messrs. Didot and Sons took out an English patent for it, which they attempted to enforce against the letter founders of this country a few years afterwards, but which was resisted, and the claim to invention abandoned.

Since 1820 the English letter founders have produced a variety of beautiful Scripts of different sizes, but generally a modification of the French rhomboidal body plan; still the difficulty of composition remained to a great extent, and materially detracted from its general utility.

Within the last five years a further improvement has been made by the introduction of a new square-bodied Script, for which we are also indebted to French artists, Messrs. Laurent and Deberney, who have given it the name of Américain, which is so beautifully cut, and managed, that the effect of the whole, when well worked, is excellent.

The kern, instead of being unsupported, is protected by the shank of the letter, having two angles thus  thrown out at the head of the two opposite corners of the body, so as to give support to both ascenders and descenders; the opposite angles of the letters are cast with a corresponding slope to receive the hanging over letters without their incurring any danger of riding upon each other.

This plan obviates all the difficulties of the two former ones, and requires only a pair of common cases. It is easily composed, and there is not more risk of damage than attends the working of any other description of delicate type. The sizes of this Script at present in the trade are, Canon, Two Lines English, Two Lines Pica, Great Primer, and Pica.

SCRIPT UPPER CASE.—Slanting body.

SCRIPT LOWER CASE.—Slanting body.

The sorts marked with 1 are cast thin, for joining with the letters which commence with a junction stroke, as m, n, r, v, w, x, y, z, and the compounds commencing with those letters. Those marked with 2, and distinguished by an extra nick, are cast thick, to go before a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, o, p, q, t, u, &c.

Scytho-Gothic. See Runic.

Second at the Press. See First.

Second Pull. See First Pull.—M.

the kern

William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing, 1841

Layout of Script case


scroll

1. A roll of material, e.g., parchment. usually bearing writing and rolled onto rods, which were usually fitted with handles. The scroll, and early forms of manuscript, was called volumen (roll) by the Romans, and is the word from which volume is derived. The scroll (or roll) consisted of a number of sheets of papyrus, parchment, etc., glued together to form a long strip and wound on a rod. The scroll was generally fitted with a parchment cover, fastened with laces, and finished with a "sittybus", or title label. Sometimes the scroll or scrolls were kept in a SCRINIUM. The text was written in relatively narrow columns on the recto side of the material, which in the case of papyrus was the side having the horizontal strips. 2. A decorative motif consisting of any of several spiral or convoluted forms, resembling the cross section of a loosely rolled strip of paper and generally used between flowers on a ROLL (1)

American Library Association. Editorial Committee. Subcommittee on library terminology. A. L. A. glossary of library terms, with a selection of terms in related fields. Compiled by Elizabeth H. Thompson. Chicago. American Library Association. 1943.

Johnson, Pauline. Creative bookbinding. Seattle. University of Washington Press. 1963.

Oldham, James Basil. English blind-stamped bindings. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1952.


scrow

Strips, clippings, or other waste parts of hide or skin used in the manufacture of glue, and at one time used by papermakers as a source of animal gelatin for sizing paper.

Labarre, E. J. Dictionary and encyclopaedia of paper and papermaking. 2nd ed. London. Oxford University Press. 1952.


scud

The remnants of epithelial tissues, hair pigments, glands, lime soaps, etc., left in the grain layer of a skin following unhairing. See also: BATING; SCUDDING.


scudding

A process used to remove remnants of hair and hair sheaths, hair pigments, fat, and undesirable protein constituents, lime soaps, etc., from a skin when a very clean grain for both smoothness and level dyeing properties is required. A skin is usually scudded following unhairing, and, while it may be done following bating, it is always done before tanning. The process is carried out over the beam with a curved, blunt-edged knife, or, more often today, in a machine which squeezes and pushes the unwanted material (scud) out of the skin.

Reed, Ronald. Ancient skin, parchments and leathers. London. Seminar Press. 1972.


scuff resistance

The resistance a material offers to scuffing, usually measured in terms of the number of cycles required to produce a specified degree of abrasion when abraded by an object of designated size and weight (or pressure applied) rotating or reciprocating at a designated speed.


scuffing

The lifting of the fibers on the surface of a material when one piece of the material is rubbed against another or comes into contact with a rough surface.


se-lin labeling system

A method of preparing labels for books developed at Battelle Memorial Institute under the sponsorship of the Library Technology Program of the American Library Association. The system utilizes a regular typewriter (but with a special platen and usually with larger than normal type), special plastic strips, and a transparent laminating material.

The base tape is fed into the typewriter from a reel, the appropriate information is typed on the tape and the clear (laminating) strip is applied over the tape by means of a pressure laminating roll assembly. After the strip of combined base and clear tapes is cut into label size, the backing release paper is removed, the label is placed in the proper position on the book, a shield is held over the label, and heat is applied by means of a hot iron or plate. Although the labels can subsequently be removed by the application of heat, which softens the adhesive, in practice this is difficult to do without damaging the fabric covering of the book.


sealskin

A light, tough leather of very fine quality and distinctive appearance, with excellent wearing qualities, produced from the skins of various species of seals. It may be finished with its own delicate grain pattern and lustrous surface, or with a bold grain produced by a combination of embossing and boarding. While customarily black it is also produced in colors. Although its use as a covering material for books goes back hundreds of years, it is little used today because of the declining number of seals, and the excessive oiliness of the skin. See also: FLESHER; PIN SEAL (1).

Cockerell, Douglas. Bookbinding, and the care of books; a textbook for bookbinders and librarians. 5th ed. London. Pitman. 1971.

Richardson, Edward, and James Richardson. Leather for bookbinding and upholstery…3rd ed. Newcastle-on-Tyne. 1910.


seasoned splits

Split sheepskins, of a natural or dyed color, that have been treated with milk and white of egg, which impart a soft, semi-bright finish without the hardness produced on the brighter, machine-glazed skins.


seasoning

The process of exposing paper or board to relatively uniform atmospheric conditions so that its moisture content will attain to equilibrium and become evenly distributed throughout the sheet. See also: CONDITIONING; MATURE.

American Paper and Pulp Association. The dictionary of paper, including pulp, paperboard, paper properties and related papermaking terms. 3rd ed. New York. American Paper and Pulp Association. 1965.

Radford, Richard George. Letterpress machine work. New York. Staples Press. 1951. 2 vol.


sebaceous gland

An oil producing gland of the skin located in the grain layer. The glands are effectively removed from the skin by liming, scudding, and bating.

Wilson, John Arthur. Modern practice in leather 367. manufacture. New York. Reinhold. 1941.


second impression

The second working of the finishing tool following blinding-in through the paper on which the design is drawn. immediately before tooling in gold. See also: BLIND TOOLING; RESTRIKE.

Fahey, Herbert, and Peter Fahey. Finishing in hand bookbinding…  San Francisco. The authors. 1951.


second lining

A strip of paper, usually kraft, the full width of the spine and about 1/5 inch less than the length at both head and tail. It is glued over the first (cloth) lining. The second lining is applied to large and/or thick books to provide additional support to the spine.

Vaughan, Alexander J. Modern bookbinding; a treatise covering both letterpress and stationery branches of the trade…New ed. London. Skilton. 1960.


secondary bevel

An extra narrow bevel. honed on the cutting edge of a paring knife.


secondary binding

A second or subsequent binding of a publication. Although the term may also be applied to hand or library bindings, it is used principally with reference to different times of edition binding. When a publisher does not know how many copies of an edition will be sold, and does not want to assume the cost of binding and inventorying copies which may not sell, he may have copies bound in segments, and, as this may spread the binding of the full edition over a period of time, the different bindings may vary because of changes in cloth color, spine lettering, etc. The practice of deferred binding was more prevalent, and the periods of time much longer, in the 19th century than today, as edition binding is now very highly mechanized and standardized. A REMAINDER BINDING is not a secondary binding.

Carter, John. A B C for book collectors. 5th ed. London. Hart Davis. 1972.

Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. An encyclopedia of the book. Cleveland. World. 1960.


secondary colors

The colors which result when the three primary colors are mixed. The secondary colors are green (blue and yellow), orange (red and yellow), and violet (red and blue).


seconds

Materials such as cloth, leather, or paper, that are below the established standard of quality, and which are sorted out and sold at a lower price. See also: GOOD SECONDS.

Clowes, William Beaufoy. A guide to printing. London. Heineman. 1963.


section

1. The unit of paper that is printed and folded, and which, together with other like units, makes up a complete book. A section is usually folded from 1 sheet of paper, but it may consist of 1 1/2 or 2 sheets, or even one sheet and an additional leaf or leaves. Each section of a book bears a different SIGNATURE (1) identification. See also: FOLDINGS. 2. In library binding, a group of leaves of a book, suitable for oversewing, not exceeding 0.055 inch in thickness, except those of flexible, pulpy paper which may be 0.065 inch in thickness.

Horton, Carolyn. Cleaning and preserving bindings and related materials. Chicago. American Library Association. (Conservation of library materials pamphlet no. l; Library Technology Project publications, no. 16). 1969.

Library Binding Institute. Library binding handbook. Rev. ed. Boston. Library Binding Institute. 1971.

Pleger, John J. Bookbinding. Rev. ed. Chicago. Inland Printer. 1924.


SECTION

A section, marked thus §, is the division of a discourse, or chapter, into less parts or portions.—Murray. It is also used in printing as a reference to notes.

Seditious Libels. See Libels.

Semicolon. See Punctuation.


section

A folded sheet. See Signature.


section B

The first section or gathering of a book following the preliminary matter, usually beginning with the first page of the text proper.

Crane, W. J. E. Bookbinding for amateurs…New York. Scribner. 1903.


sectional post binder

See: POST BINDER.


sectioning machine

See: PAD COUNTER (2).


See also Divinity

Kip, Marbled, Sprinkled and Tree calf.


selection factors

The condition of hides or skins as to soundness, good cure, pattern, and freedom from defects. etc., as related to stock bought or sold on futures contracts.


self heating

A condition wherein skins burn or smolder during tannage. It applies especially to the oil tannage of sheepskins and is caused by the oxidation of the cod liver oil used in the tannage with the accompanying liberation of heat.

Sharphouse, John Henry. The leatherworker's handbook. London. Leather Producers' Association. 1963.


self-cover

A cover printed on the same stock and in the same format as the text, with the cover pages being so imposed that when the sheet is folded they will appear as the upper and lower covers of the book, which is usually a single-section pamphlet. Also called "integral cover."

U.S. Government Printing Office. Theory and practice of bookbinding. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1962.


self-endpapers

Endpapers which are also leaves forming part of the first and last sections of the book.

Harrod, Leonard Montague. The librarians' glossary of terms used in librarianship and the book crafts, and reference book. 3rd ed. London. Deutsch. 1971.

Winans, Leonard G. The book from manuscript to market. New 370. York. Grosset 8 Dunlap. 1941.


self-vulcanizing

An adhesive that achieves vulcanization without application of heat.

Skeist, Irving. Handbook of adhesives. New York. Reinhold. 1962.


selvage

1. The border of a roll or section of book cloth to which the filler has not been applied and which is meant to be cut off and discarded. 2. The edges or an edge of a fabric so woven as to prevent raveling.


Seme

or Semis, or Powder. Ornamentation in which a device is repeated at regular intervals.


semi-chemical pulp

A paper pulp produced by mild chemical treatment of the raw materials followed by a mechanical fiberization operation. Delignification is only partially accomplished; consequently the individual cellulose fibers are not completely separated. The stock coming from the digester is made up of either softened chips or a mixture of free fibers and softened chip centers; therefore, it must be mechanically fiberized in attrition mills to produce a pulp that can be readily felted.

American Paper and Pulp Association. The dictionary of paper, including pulp, paperboard, paper properties and related papermaking terms. 3rd ed. New York. American Paper and Pulp Association. 1965.

Strauss, Victor. The printing industry…Washington, D.C. Printing Industries in America. 1967.


semi-chrome box calf

A black calfskin leather having a grain pattern of fine box-shaped creases produced by boarding the skins in two directions—head to butt and belly to belly.

British Standards Institution. British standard glossary of leather terms. B. S. 2780: 1956. London. British Standards Institution.


semi-chrome tannage

A complete vegetable tannage followed by retannage by the chrome method. In this particular tannage, most of the available space between the protein chains of the skin will be occupied by the large vegetable tannin molecules, consequently, unless the vegetable tannage is heavily stripped out, the principal effect is likely to be the coordination of chromium with the vegetable tannins. so that the characteristics of the leather will tend to approximate those of a vegetable tanned leather. Cf: CHROME RETAN.

O'Flaherty, Fred, and others, eds. The chemistry and technology of leather. New York. Reinhold. (American Chemical Society monograph series, no. 134. 1956-65. 4 vol.


semi-elliptical spine

A book rounded in the form of an ellipse and having pronounced shoulders. This type of spine shaping began in fine binding in the last quarter of the 18th century. The technique gives the spine additional support because the sections are knocked well over on either side.

Middleton, Bernard C. A history of English craft bookbinding technique. New York. Hafner. 1963.


semis

See: SEMÉ.


semis

A diaper design made up of the repetition of one or more small tools.

Bib-li-op-e-gis-tic: Pertaining to the Art of Binding Books


semis

an heraldic term signifying sprinkled.


semé

An heraldic term indicating a form of decoration consisting of a scattered (sown) pattern of diminutive figures—flowers, leaves, sprays, etc., often repeated at regular intervals by means of one, two, or three small tools, resulting in a sort of powdered effect. Sometimes a coat of arms, or other vignette, is added in the center of the cover, or at the corners. There may also be a tooled fillet around the edges of the cover. Early examples of this style date from 1560 on books bound for Charles IX of France.

Clough, Eric A. Bookbinding for librarians. London. Association of Assistant Librarians. 1957.


separate cover

A pamphlet cover printed separately from the text and usually on a different paper stock. Separate cover pamphlets, of which the usual periodical issue is a typical example, may be saddle stitched, side stitched, of (rarely) saddle sewn. The covers are usually of a heavy stock stitched to the publication; however, at times the pamphlet is sewn or stitched and the cover is then glued on.


sepia inks

Inks that are compounded from the dark pigment discharged by the common cuttle-fish and other cephalopods, family Sepiidae, in order to mask retreat. The effect of this fluid is somewhat remarkable, in that 1 part ink in 1,000 parts of water is sufficient to make the latter opaque. It was used as an ink in ancient Rome, but is little used today except as an artist's coloring. The dried ink is pulverized and boiled with alkali, which is subsequently neutralized with acid so as to precipitate the pigment. The pigment is then washed, dried, and incorporated with oil. The main feature of this process, with regard to permanency, is the amount of acid used to precipitate the pigment, because acid in ink is as detrimental to paper, as is acid in the paper itself. Although sepia inks are reasonably permanent in dull light, they tend to fade rapidly when exposed to bright natural light.

Apps, E. A. Ink technology for printers and students. New York. Chemical Publishing Co. 1963. 3 vol.

Grant, Julius. Books & documents; dating, permanence and preservation. London. Grafton. 1937.


SERVIEN

“The alphabets of the nations descended from the Scythians established in Europe, namely, the Servien, the Russian, the Sclavonian, and the Bulgarian, are all derived from the Greek. The Servien letters are called the Cyrillitan characters, from St Cyril, who converted the Moravians to Christianity; smaller characters were afterwards introduced, called Glogolitici. The Russian letters are immediately derived from those used by St. Cyril.”—Astle.


set

1. A term used with reference to the transformation of an adhesive into a solid (hardened) condition by means of chemical or physical processes, such as condensation, polymerization, oxidation, vulcanization, gelation, hydration, or evaporation of the volatile constituents. Adhesives vary greatly in their "sets," both in time and conditions under which they take place. Glue sets by cooling, paste by evaporation of the volatile constituents, e.g., water, etc. The final set of most adhesives used in archival work usually takes place by evaporation. This type of setting almost always results in shrinkage which, if severe, may cause the adhesive to withdraw from the surface of the joint, leaving it weakened or defective. 2. The distance between the left- and right-hand sides of a piece of movable type. Type is said to have a wide or narrow "set" according to the width of the body. 3. The peculiarities of a sheet of paper, as manifest during folding. 4. The permanence or "set" of the fibers in a sheet of paper produced by heavy calendering.

American Library Association. Library Technology Program. Development of performance standards for binding used in libraries, phase 11. Chicago. American Library Association. (L. T. P. publications no. 10). 1966.

Harrison, T. The bookbinding craft and industry; an outline of its history, development, and technique. London. Pitman. 1926.


SET AT RANDOM

When compositors cannot make up their matter into pages as they compose it, either by reason of their working in companionship, or from other causes, they put it in galleys till they can make up; this is termed <i>Setting at Random</i>. When a compositor is obliged to set a great quantity at random, so that it becomes inconvenient, on account of the number of galleys it occupies, and the room it takes up on the cases, he ties it up in moderate-sized pieces and puts it on page papers under his frame, with a bit of paper stuck in each with a number, to mark the order; if it be a work in quarto or folio, too large for page papers, he ties a cord round the matter in each galley and keeps it on the slices of his slice galley under his frame, till he makes up.


SET MATTER

Matter that is composed, but not worked off, whether it be made up into pages or at random, is called set matter, to distinguish it from matter for distribution.


set out

To attach an insert to a guard so that it stands out from the binding edge.

Cunha, George Daniel Martin. Conservation of library materials. Metuchen, N.J. Scarecrow. 1967.


SET OUT PAPER

Counting out the proper quantity by the warehouseman, to wet—M. We now term it Giving out Paper, which see.

Sets Clean. See Clean Proof.

Sets Close. See Get In.—M. The phrase is now used for close spacing.

Sets Foul. See Foul Proof.—M.


set square

A modified try square having an adjustable head. It is used by some bookbinders in taking precise measurements, including marking off the head of the text block for trimming with the plow or guillotine, board cutting, cutting of mats, etc. The critical part of this implement is the sliding arm (or head), which must move freely but not wobble.


SET THE ROUNCE

Fixing the girts so that the Rounce stand in the most advantageous position to run the carriage in easily.—M.


SET UP CLOSE

When two or more companions are on the same piece of work, and when any one of them composes all his copy, so that there is none intermediate between the close of his and the beginning of the companion’s that follows him, it is said, he has set up close, or, he has set close up.


set-off

See: BARRIER SHEET; OFFSET (2).


set-off

Designates the transfer of the ink to the opposite page.


set-off

When sheets that are newly worked off soil those that come in contact with them, they are said to set off.


set-off

print is said to “set off” when part of the ink from a page comes off on an opposite page. This will happen if a book is pressed too soon after printing.


set-off boards

Boards with a greater than normal space between the shoulder and the inner edge. They are used on side stitched text books so as to allow for easier opening of the covers.

Palmer, Elbridge Woodman. A course in bookbinding for vocational training. New York. Employing bookbinders of America. 1927.


SET-OFF SHEETS

Sheets of waste paper that are used upon the tympan sheet, to prevent the ink setting-off on the sheets that are successively printed when the reiteration is working; they are changed as soon as any setting-off is perceptible. They are slipped under the points at their edges, and are quickly changed, or turned, which is always done to economize the use of paper.

Set-off Sheets are also used upon the cylinders of machines that perfect, for the same purpose.

A sheet of thin paper is interleaved between every impression of fine work, particularly if it be large heavy paper and large type, to prevent setting-off in the heap; the work is hung up to dry with these sheets in, which are taken out by the warehouseman before the work is piled away, who then knocks them up, folds them in quires, and takes care of them till they are wanted again by the Pressmen.

Paper for these purposes is supplied by the warehouseman, who gives for the first waste or spoiled impressions; for the other tissue paper is generally used, and with care it will last a long time.


SETS OFF

Work that is newly wrought off at the press often sets off, especially if it be fat beaten with soft ink: for when it comes to be beaten, or sometimes only hard pressed, by the Bookbinder, the moist ink spreads and delates itself round about the face of every letter, and sullies and stains the whole white paper.—M. We do not now include this spreading and delating of the ink in the meaning of setting off, but use the term only when one printed sheet parts with some of its ink to the sheet on which it is laid, or in the press, or in the process of binding, which it will do with large letter, which requires much ink, or when a book is pressed, or bound, before the ink is sufficiently dry: the Bookbinder’s hammer is a severe test; and where a book is required to be bound as soon as printed, the best plan, perhaps, is to have it cold pressed, which flattens the impression of the types, and renders it unnecessary to beat so much as when this mode of proceeding is not adopted. In printing fine work at press set-off sheets are used to prevent one sheet defacing another.—See Set-off Sheets.


SETS UP TO HIMSELF

When a compositor has received the making-up from a companion, and has composed the intermediate matter, he has set up to himself; that is, he has composed the matter that followed his companion’s last page and preceded the part he commenced with, and has joined the two parts, so as to enable him to make up. See Join, and Making-up, to give the.

Sets Wide. See Drive out.—M. We now use the term for wide spacing.


setting meters

See: MITERED (1).


setting out

The process of smoothing, stretching and removing excess water from newly tanned skins. Setting out is similar to SLICKING (1), except that the skin is placed flesh side down and a much blunter blade is worked over the grain side. Setting out may also be done in a machine similar to a fleshing or unhairing machine; the skin is fed against a rotating, blunt, helically bladed cylinder while being supported on a soft rubber roller. Another type of setting-out machine clamps the skin over a half cylinder covered with rubber, and rotates it forward and backward against a bladed cylinder. While setting out removes some water, its distinctive purpose is to "set" the Fain i e-, flatten and smooth the grain surface to remove any irregularities, and also stretch the skin to its maximum area. Also called "putting out."

Sharphouse, John Henry. The leatherworker's handbook. London. Leather Producers' Association. 1963.


setting temperature

The temperature to which an adhesive, or adhesive assembly, is subjected to set the adhesive. The temperature of the adhesive in the process of setting (adhesive setting temperature) may differ from the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere (assembly setting temperature). See also: CURING TEMPERATURE; DRYING TEMPERATURE.


setting the caps

The process of adjusting the leather at the head and tail of the spine of a book so as to form a protective cap over the headbands. The caps may also be set at an angle, usually 45°, when there are no headbands. In blankbook binding, as well as quarter-bound bindings with French joints, the cap is usually molded over a length of cord the width of the spine. See also: HEADCAP.

Porte, Roy Trewin. Dictionary of printing terms. 4th ed. Salt Lake City. Porte. 1941.


Setting the Head

Is covering the headband neatly with the leather, so as to form a kind of cap.


Setting the Head

Covering the headband neatly with the leather to form over it a kind of cap.


SETTING THE HEAD-BAND

Adjusting the leather in covering so as to form a kind of cap to the head-band.

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


setting the joint

1. In hand binding, the process of positioning the boards against the shoulders of the text block at such a distance and in such a manner that the boards open easily with no strain on the joints when the leather has dried. Setting the joint is done following covering but before setting the headcaps so as not to damage the headcaps by the opening of the boards. 2. In library and edition binding, the process of creating the joints of the book by pressing it between layers of boards ridged with bands of metal, or by applying pressure in a casing-in machine, or heat and pressure in a building-in machine.

Practical printing and binding; Odhams complete guide to the printer's craft, edited by Harry Whetton. 3rd ed. London. Odhams Books. 1965.


setting the squares

A fine binding process of placing the boards in such a manner that the SQUARES are equal in extent at head, tail, and fore edge.

Town, Laurence. Bookbinding by hand, for students and craftsmen. New York. Pitman. 1950 (1951).


setting time

The time interval during which an adhesive is subjected to heat and/ or pressure to set it. See also: CURING TIME; DRYING TIME.

Skeist, Irving. Handbook of adhesives. New York. Reinhold. 1962.


Settle, Elkanah

An English playwright and hack versifier, who composed topical poems which he bound himself, or, more likely, had bound, as there is no direct evidence that he was a bookbinder. Settle's bindings were in leather and were decorated with a rectangular frame within which he had the binder set the arms of a likely patron. If the book did not sell, he had the original coat of arms covered with leather and tooled with a different arms for another prospective purchaser.

Harthan, John P. Bookbindings. 2nd ed. London. H. M. Stationery Office. (Victoria & Albert Museum illustrated booklet no. 2). 1961.


SEVENTY-TWOMO

A sheet of paper folded into seventy-two leaves or one hundred and forty-four pages is termed seventy-twos or seventy-twomo.


Sewer

The person who sews the sheets together on the sewing-press—generally a female.


Sewer

The person who sews together on a sewing bench the sheets, called when folded sections or signatures, to form a book.


sewing

See illustration Part 1</> See illustration Part 2</> See illustration Part 3</> See illustration Part 4</> The process of securing the sections or leaves of a publication by means of thread in such a manner as to insure a consecutive and permanent unit. There are two basic approaches to sewing a book: 1) through the center sewing frame folds of the sections, e.g., FLEXIBLE SEWING; and 2) through the sides of the leaves, e.g., OVERSEWING. There is also a subdivision of the latter, one which involves penetration of the sewing thread through the entire thickness of the text block, e.g., SIDE SEWING.

For many years sewing was distinguished from stitching, in that sewing involved joining groups of leaves or sections to each other, gradually building up a complete text block; whereas stitching involved uniting the entire group of leaves or sections from front to back through the entire thickness of the text block, as in JAPANESE SEWING or side sewing. Both types, however, involved the use of thread. Today, on the other hand, sewing is considered to be construction of a text block by means of thread, while stitching is done by means of wire staples. See also: OVERCASTING; RECESSED-CORD SEWING; REVERSED V-GUARD; SINGER SEWING; SMYTH-CLEAT SEWING; TAPE SEWING (1).

Atkins, J. Howard. Tying the future to a thread. Medford, Mass. Oversewing Machine Co. of America. 1968.

Hewitt-Bates, James Samuel. Bookbinding. 8th ed. Leicester. Dryad. 1967.

Hutchings, Ernest A. D. A survey of printing processes. London. Heinemann. 1970.


sewing bench

See: SEWING FRAME.


sewing bench

A board from one side of which rise two sticks across which is a bar, which can be moved up and down and fixed in any desired position. Strings, bands, or tapes are stretched vertically between the edge of the board and the cross bar; against these the signatures of a book are successively placed and to them sewed.


sewing clamp

1. See: SEWING FRAME. 2. A device consisting of two narrow metal plates with small holes about one inch apart, clamped together at one end and secured to the bench. By means of the clamp, books, pamphlets, or sheets to be stabbed through the side are held securely while the sewing holes are drilled through the holes in the plates.

Johnson, Pauline. Creative bookbinding. Seattle. University of Washington Press. 1963.


sewing frame

See illustration</> A frame or press on which books are sewn by hand. It consists of a flat baseboard, two uprights threaded on both ends, a crossbar and two supporting wooden nuts. Tapes, cords, or bands are stretched from the slotted baseboard, where they are secured by keys, to the crossbar, where they are attached to loops (laycords), or, in German models, to hooks.

The sewing frame was certainly in use in Northern Europe by the 12th century, and probably as early as the 11th, because in all likelihood the need for some type of frame became apparent as soon as flexible sewing was introduced. Also called "sewing bench," 'sewing press," and "sewing rack."

Middleton, Bernard C. A history of English craft bookbinding technique. New York. Hafner. 1963.


sewing heart

A piece of card, roughly the shape of a heart, cut with a flap, and used to facilitate locating the center fold of a section when sewing a book TWO ON.


sewing in the round

A method of sewing the sections of a book on cords or tapes which utilizes a special sewing frame having a base which curves at the back, thus allowing the sections to form into a round as they are sewn to each other. Some frames of this type have a sliding block with a convex edge, against which the fore edges of the sections are placed, thus assisting in forming the round as the book is being sewn. Sewing in the round helps the sewn book to maintain its proper shape better than rounding after sewing because: 1) it does not have to be put into a rounded configuration after sewing, as it originated in the round; and 2) a book sewn with the correct amount of thread tension, and in the ordinary manner, will tend to have a concave shape to the spine when it comes off the sewing frame, which makes rounding even more difficult. Tn addition, a book rounded after sewing stands a greater chance of losing its round. The disadvantages of sewing in the round are: 1) the sewing takes longer (and is therefore more expensive); 2) a special or (adapted) sewing frame is required; and 3) several special convex blocks are needed to accommodate different thicknesses of books.


sewing key

See: KEY.


sewing machine

See: MACHINE SEWING.


sewing machine

A recent invention for the sewing of books with wire and thread.


sewing not to show

A method of sewing a book consisting of one section, which is sewn through the fold without the cover, the cover then being attached, thereby covering the sewing. See also: SEWING TO SHOW.


sewing on cords

See: FLEXIBLE SEWING; RECESSED-CORD SEWING.


sewing on tapes

See: TAPE SEWING (1). sewing press (sewing rack). See: SEWING FRAME.


sewing stick

A length of wood, weighted at one end, and used to knock the sections of a book down as they are being sewn. Cf: BUNDLING (1).

Buffum, Clara. Hand-bound books…Providence, R.I. 1935.