bookbinding

The hand and/or machine processes by which leaves or sections (usually paper, but also parchment (or vellum), papyrus, etc.) are secured within covers to form a codex or book, as opposed to a roll.

Historically, bookbinding did not exist in the manner of today until the codex began to replace the scroll, or roughly 2,000 years ago, when parchment notebooks came into use. Leaves of a quadrangular shape were found to be more convenient than scrolls but they had to be secured and covered for protection. Although classical texts and ecclesiastical works did exist in codex form before the 1st century A.D., the codex did not become common for other works before the 4th century.

The earliest extant decorated bookbindings were altar Bibles, which were often elaborately bound and ornamented with jewels, gold, and ivory. Bookbinding in leather, however, was an art believed to have been practiced by the Copts in Egypt. Surviving examples of Coptic bindings, in red and brown leather, from the 8th and 9th centuries, represent a maturity of style and a variety of techniques which would indicate experience in bookbinding that probably developed over hundreds of years. Unlike European bindings of later times, they appear to have been executed by specialists in diverse forms of leather decoration and display a wide range of artistry, including tooling, piercing, and working with a stylus.

The earliest known Islamic bindings were influenced by Coptic methods and techniques. The format they used for these early books was what we sometimes refer to today as OBLONG, or "landscape." At first the Islamic binders tooled only in blind, and in a formal style, but by the 11th century the characteristic Islamic design consisted of an oval center design with triangular cornerpieces, and, by the 13th century, the present day book format had been adopted and gold was being used in finishing. See: GOLD TOOLING. Two hundred years later floral designs were replacing geometric patterns and some pictorial bindings were being executed by means of embossing. Vivid coloring and delicate filigree tooling were used with considerable effect on the DOUBLURE (1), and, by the 16th century, lacquered bindings of excellent quality were being produced. By the 16th century, however, Islamic binding began to deteriorate, and the decline has persisted to this day.

In Europe, the earliest known example of a decorated leather bookbinding is that of the Gospel according to St. John, found in the tomb of St. Cuthbert (d. 687); it is almost certainly an English binding of the 7th or 8th century. Although this remarkable binding shows the influence of Coptic and Islamic binding, European binding took on its own characteristics and by the 10th century had progressed along totally different lines from that of the Levant. One of the principal differences was in the manner of sewing, which was on raised bands; embellishment, too, developed along different lines, almost always being in the form of blind tooling executed with individual tools.

Gothic bindings of the second half of the 15th century were mainly decorated with blind lines and individual tools, but the ROLL (1) which was first used in Germany, was also developed during this period (in about 1470), while the PANEL STAMP was being used in the Netherlands as early as the 13th century. The art of CUIR-CISELÉ was also practiced in German speaking countries. Gothic bindings continued to be produced in Germany and Eastern Europe until after the 16th century; however, by about 1470 or so, gold tooling was introduced into northern Italy (probably Venice), with the influence of the Near East being seen in the designs, the pattern of individual tools, as well as the superior delicacy of the workmanship.

Until about the middle of the 16th century the gold tooled bindings produced in Italy were the best in Europe; other countries, especially France, imitated the Italian style. By 1538, however, morocco leather was being used in France, replacing calfskin, and from that time onward the Parisian craftsmen have produced bindings that have seldom been exceeded in beauty and craftsmanship. The tools used in this great era of French bookbinding were derived by way of pattern books for embroidery or metalwork from Oriental or arabesque models; most of the designs incorporated interlacing strapwork. Elaborations of this strapwork were seen in the FANFARE STYLE.

The most characteristic early 16th century English bindings were those blocked in blind with panel stamps of the royal arms (which represented only a form of decoration and not royal ownership), while the earliest recorded use of gold tooling in England dates from 1519. Gold tooling did not become common in England until about 1530.

Fine binding declined in France in the 17th century despite the artistry of the fanfare patterns and tools having POINTILLÉ outlines. One notable binder of that time was FLORIMOND BADIER, who also worked in pointillé tooling. In England, where variegated colors and delicate tooling became standard, the golden age of English bookbinding was during the period of the Restoration. Some of the tools in use at that time were of the pointillé style, while others, including small floral volutes, were more English in character. A common feature of many English bindings of this time was the broken pediment associated with the COTTAGE STYLE.

The early 18th century witnessed a revival of French bookbinding, including the mosaics of AUGUSTIN DU SEUIL and ANTOINE MICHEL PADELOUP. High standards were also displayed in DENTELLE bindings with their lacy gold tooled borders, some being the work of the Derome family. See: DEROME STYLE. English binding deteriorated in the first half of the 18th century, partly because English craftsmen hung on to the cottage style after it had lost its effectiveness, and partly because they then began working with the uninspiring HARLEIAN STYLE. And yet, the 18th century produced ROGER PAYNE, a bookbinder who has been called England's greatest, and one of the few English binders the French thought worthy of copying. In addition, the 18th century produced another of England s great bookbinders, EDWARDS OF HALIFAX, who produced some remarkable TRANSPARENT VELLUM bindings.

The use of onlays and inlays increased during the 19th century, the bindings often being tooled in the cathedral style. See: CATHEDRAL BINDINGS. From about 1840 to 1880 there was little innovation in leather binding in any country, the emphasis being on delicacy and precision in tooling in the manner of previous times. The 19th century witnessed three major factors which have had an enormous effect on bookbinding to this day: 1) the rise of edition binding with its rapid development of a great variety of machines designed to produce books by the millions; 2) a severe decline in the quality of both paper and leather produced for the manufacture of books; and 3) the introduction of cloth as a book covering material. See: BOOK CLOTH. In the latter part of the last century new vigor was infused into fine binding largely through the efforts of MARIUS MICHEL in France and THOMAS J. COBDEN-SANDERSON in England.

In France, following World War I, the origins of contemporary binding are to be found in the work of PIERRE LEGRAIN during his brief career as a bookbinder in the 1920s. His influence was enormous and is still being felt, and, in turn, those he influenced, including PAUL BONET, have had considerable influence upon their successors.

The influence of Cobden-Sanderson was also felt well into the 20th century. The fact that he was an amateur bookbinder and not apprenticed to the trade of bookbinding seemed, in part, anyway, to have freed him from the deleterious influences that held sway during a great part of the 19th century, as manifested in the generally poor workmanship and even poorer materials plus a mania for retrospective binding. Cobden-Sanderson founded an amateur school of binding, which proceeded to flourish under DOUGLAS COCKERELL, who was Cobden-Sanderson's apprentice at the Doves Bindery. Cockerell, also, through his writings as well as his bindings, has had a considerable influence on the craft.

English bookbinding fell on hard times between 1920 and the Second World War, not in small part because of book collectors' desire to have their books in original mint condition (including book jacket), a desire which persists to this day. The fine binder had but little opportunity to apply modern concepts of design to modern books.

Bookbinding following the war was given considerable impetus by the efforts of EDGAR MANSFIELD in design and ROGER POWELL in construction. The teaching of Mansfield, which commenced at the (then) London School of Printing in 1948, has influenced, at least to some degree, the concepts of design of virtually all contemporary English and American bookbinders.

Operations. There is a reasonably well-marked distinction between that part of the bookbinding trade dealing with books meant to be read, known as letterpress (from the time when all books were printed by letterpress), and those intended to be written in, called stationery binding. Each of these may again be divided into four groups, according to the particular class of binding involved:

Letterpress binding

1. Extra leather binding, i.e., hand

binding

2. Library binding

3. Edition (or publisher's) binding

4. Miscellaneous binding, e.g.,

pamphlet binding

Stationery binding

1. Blankbook (account-book)

binding

2. Manifold binding

3. Exercise and notebook binding

4. General office and stationery

binding, e.g., checkbook binding.

The operations of bookbinding begin with the folding of the sheets into sections (or signatures) and conclude, in library and edition binding, with casing-in; and in hand binding, with the pasting down of the board papers. The finishing of a hand-bound book, while also a part of bookbinding, is generally considered to be artistic work. In a very general sense, the operations may be divided into three very broad categories: the steps involved in preparation for binding, FORWARDING, and finally, FINISHING (1). Preparation includes all the operations up to and including folding, most of which are actually the work of the printer and not the bookbinder. (See: BINDERY WAREHOUSE. ) Forwarding, as the name connotes, carries the book up to covering and pasting down (or casing-in), as well as edge gilding, marbling, etc. Finishing includes lettering and any decoration. Since edition and library bindings are blocked (lettered and/or decorated) before being cased, forwarding and finishing are somewhat intermingled. The sequence of operations followed by the bookbinder or bindery from the time the sheets (in edition binding and occasionally hand binding) or books and/or periodical issues (library binding and hand binding) are received to final inspection are as follows: NOTE: B refers to blankbook binding, E to edition binding, H to hand binding, and L to library binding.

B E H L

x x     Entering record

x x x   Folding (only occasionally in hand binding)

x       Sorting to remove incorrectly or poorly ruled sheets

x x x   Gathering (only in hand binding if sheets have to be folded;

in edition binding, gathering sometimes follows the

tipping on of endpapers)

x x     Collating

x       Removing spine folds for oversewing or adhesive binding)

x x     Pulling (in preparation for resewing through the folds)

x x     Knocking out the old backing ridge (if required)

x x     Mending, guarding, general repairs, etc.

x x     Guarding plates, refolding maps, making stubs, etc.

x x x   Pressing (bundling)

x x x x Making joints for blankbooks, or endpapers for others

x       Guarding first and last three folios (sections)

x   x x Marking and preparing for sewing

x x x x Sewing and attaching endpapers or joints

x       Nipping or smashing

x       Fraying cords

x x x x Gluing up the spine

x x x x Trimming (See alternative hand binding method, below)

x       Cutting fore edge out of boards

x x x x Rounding

x x x Backing

x       Cleaning off spine and drying

x       Clothings

x       Making tongue

x x     Lining spine

x       Cutting head and tail out of boards

x x     Cutting and preparing boards

x       Paring and slotting tongue

x x     Case-making

x x     Cutting leather

x       Making spring-back (may be done in batches in advance)

x       Attaching spring-back (and levers)

x   x Making plate or casting type for blocking

x   x Blocking case

x x     Attaching boards

x       Trimming ends of spring-back

x x     Paring leather

x x     Covering

x x     Trimming margin of turn-ins

x       Siding

x   x Casing-in and/or building-in

x x     Pasting down board papers

x x     Pressing

x       Cutting index

x       Numbering (occasionally follows folding)

x x     Decorating and/or lettering

x x     Cleaning off

x     Jacketing

There are four basic characteristics of a well-bound (modern) book: flexibility, durability, solidity, and accuracy.

Flexibility is a characteristic of the spine of the book which allows the book to open freely with minimum strain on the structure. The factors affecting flexibility include the method of sewing (or otherwise joining the leaves or sections), the grain direction of the paper, the presence of tipped-in plates, the characteristics of the paper, the lining of the spine, rounding and backing, and finally, the materials and techniques used in covering the book. See: FLEXIBLE SEWING; OVERSEWING; ADHESIVE BINDING; MACHINE DIRECTION; PAPER; SPINE LINING;

HOLLOW BACK; TIGHT BACK. Durability is a characteristic of a binding which enables it to withstand flexing, abrasion, impact, tearing, and staining or soiling. It is built into a binding in certain places, but particularly in the sewing, attachment of the endpapers, rounding and backing, the lining of the spine, and the attachment of the boards (in hand binding), or casing-in or building-in (in edition and library binding). Inferior materials, and especially inferior adhesives, spine linings, endpapers and covering materials will adversely affect durability. See: ROUNDING; BACKING; ENDPAPERS; LACING-IN; CASING-IN.

Solidity is a characteristic a book displays when it has the appearance of a compact entity, lies flat when closed, and is loosely jointed at the spine. Good pressing (or casing-in), gluing, and especially good rounding and backing, are essential, as also is the use of boards of a suitable weight. Accuracy is a somewhat vague term, but is manifest in the ability of the book to stand vertically without leaning or falling over. This is accomplished by square trimming, proper attachment of the boards (or case-making and casing-in), and square cutting of the boards.

Bouchot, Henry Francois X. M. The book; its printers, illustrators, and binders, from Gutenberg to the present time. London. Grevel. 1890.

Brassington, William Salt, ed. A history of the art of bookbinding, with some account of the books of the ancients. London. Elliot Stock. 1894.

Carter, John. Publisher's cloth; an outline history of publisher's binding in England, 1820-1900. New York. Bowker. 1935.

Comparato, Frank E. Books for the millions; a history of the men whose methods and machines packaged the printed word. Harrisburg, Pa. Stackpole. 1971.

Corderoy, John. Bookbinding for beginners. New York. Watson-Guptill. 1967.

Coutts, Henry T., and George A. Stephen. Manual of library bookbinding; practical and historical. London. Libraco. 1911.

Cundall, Joseph, ed. On bookbinding, ancient and modern. London. Bell. 1881.

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

Ede, Charles. The art of the book…New York. Studio. 1951.

Garnett, Porter, ed. The ne book; a symposium…Pittsburgh. The Laboratory Press. 1934.

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

Harrop, Dorothy. Modern book production. London. Bingley. 1968.

Holme, Charles, ed. The art of the book…New York. The Studio. 1914.

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

Lehmann-Haupt, Hellmut Emile. The life of the book…New York. Abelard-Schuman. 1957.

McMurtrie, Douglas Crawford. The book; the story of printing & bookmaking. 3rd ed. New York. Oxford University Press. 1943.

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

Nixon, Howard M. Broxbourne library; style and designs of bookbindings, from the twelfth to the twentieth century. London. Maggs. 1956.

Nixon, Howard M. The development of certain styles of bookbinding. London. Private Libraries Association. 1963.

Oswald, John Clyde. A history of printing; its development through five hundred years. New York. Appleton. 1928.

Pollard, Alfred William. Early illustrated books; a history of the decoration and illustration of books in the 15th and 16th centuries. 2nd ed. New York. Haskell House. 1968.

Pollard, Alfred William. Fine books. New York. Cooper Square. 1964.

Prideaux, Sarah Treverbian. Bookbinders and their craft. New York. Scribner. 1903.

Prideaux, Sarah Treverbian. An historical sketch of bookbinding. London. Lawrence & Bullen. 1893.

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

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

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

Zaehnsdorf, Joseph William. The art of bookbinding…London. Bell. 1890.

Zaehnsdorf. Firm. Bookbinders. London. A short history of bookbinding…London. Chiswick. 1895.


BOOKING

The act of putting the different gatherings of a work together, in the warehouse, so as to make complete books. This is done by laying the gatherings in order upon a table, and, commencing with the first, taking them up in order; by adopting this method they are gathered under hand, as it may be termed, the succession being placed at the bottom as the person proceeds. The reverse of this method, is, however, to be preferred; to commence at the end of the work, and as the gathering is held in the hand, and rests on the arm, to lay the others upon it as they are taken up, so that in this way the commencement of the book will be the last to be gathered.

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


booklet

A small book. The term "booklet," like PAMPHLET, has been defined in a number of ways, including: 1) an affected term for a short book or pamphlet; 2) a small book, commonly bound in paper and generally used for advertising purposes; 3) a small book containing up to but not more than 24 pages, which is sufficient for classification as larger than a pamphlet; 4) a stitched pamphlet of eight or more pages, usually with a cover, and small enough to be carried in one's pocket; 5) a publication containing more pages than a pamphlet but fewer than a book and which may have a paper, limp, or stiff cover; 6) any pamphlet that is sewn or stitched but not permanently bound; and 7) a paper-covered publication in book format ranging in size from a few pages to a small-scale edition of a book.

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.

Gazurian, Johnny A. The advertising & graphic arts glossary. Los Angeles. Los Angeles Trade-Technical College. 1966.

Goodwin, Bancroft L. Pamphlet binding…Chicago. United Typothetae of America. (Typographic technical series for apprentices, pt. 5, no. 30). 1925.

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

Stevenson, George A. Graphic arts encyclopedia. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1968.


bookmark

1. See: REGISTER. 2. Any printed or woven paper or other material, an inch or 2 wide and usually 4 or more inches in length, used in marking a place in a closed book for future reference. Bookmarks are frequently decorative, carrying advertisements or commemorative illustrations.


bookplate

A label, usually printed or engraved, frequently with a distinctive design, identifying the owner of a book, and usually pasted or tipped to the inside of the upper cover. Bookplates may be simple to the point of giving only the name of the library or other owner (sometimes with the expression "ex libris" included), or very elaborately designed, frequently with heraldic emblems or insignia.

The use of the bookplate can he dated back to at least as early as 1516, but in England, France, and Germany they did not become popular until the 18th century. There was a tremendous revival in their use and study in the 1890s, and again since about 1965. During both periods collectors have formed societies, produced journals and publications, and actually commissioned many bookplates for their own sake, that is, not necessarily intended for use in books, but rather for exchange with other collectors.

Over the years many eminent engravers have designed bookplates, and among the examples still extant are a great number which were executed with considerable skill. Because of the relative scarcity of engravers in America before 1800, bookplates were rare before that time; however, since about 1840, they have been fairly common in this country.

Their use in libraries is quite common today, but in some institutions, largely for reasons of economy, the bookplate has been replaced by a rubber stamp.

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

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


BOOKS

25 Hen. 8. c 15. intituled, “An Act for Printers and Binders of Books.”

“‘Whereas by the Provision of a Statute made in the first Year of the Reign of King Richard the Third, it was provided in the same Act, That all Strangers repairing into this Realm, might lawfully bring into the said Realm printed and written Books, to sell at their Liberty and Pleasure; (2) by Force of which Provision there hath come to this Realm sithen the making of the same, a marvellous Number at printed Books, and daily doth; and the Cause of the making of the same Provision seemeth to be, for that there were but few Books, and few Printers within this Realm at that Time, which could well exercise and occupy the said Science and Craft of Printing; nevertheless, sithen the making of the said Provision, many of this Realm, being the King’s natural Subjects, have given them so diligently to learn and exercise the said Craft of Printing, that at this Day there be within this Realm a great Number cunning and expert in the said Science or Craft of Printing, as able to exercise the said Craft in all Points, as any Stranger in any other Realm or Country: (3) And furthermore, where there be a great Number of the King’s Subjects within this Realm, which live by the Craft and Mystery of Binding of Books, and that there be a great Multitude well expert in the same, yet all this notwithstanding, there are divers Persons that bring from beyond the Sea great Plenty of printed Books, not only in the Latin Tongue, but also in our maternal English Tongue, some bound in Boards, some in Leather, and some in Parchment, and them sell by retail, whereby many of the King’s Subjects, being Binders of Books, and having no other Faculty wherewith to get their Living, be destitute of Work, and like to be undone, except some Reformation herein be had:’ Be it therefore enacted by the King our Sovereign Lord, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by Authority of the same, That the said Proviso, made in the first Year of the said King Richard the Third, from the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord God next coming, shall be void and of none Effect.

s. 4. “Provided alway, and be it enacted by the Authority aforesaid, That if any of the said Printers or Sellers of printed Books, inhabited within this Realm, at any Time hereafter happen in such wise to inhance or increase the Prices of any such printed Books, in Sale or Binding, at too high and unreasonable Prices, in such wise as Complaint be made thereof unto the King’s Highness, or unto the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer, or any of the Chief Justices of the one Bench or of the other; that then the same Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer, and two Chief Justices, or two of any of them, shall have Power and Authority to enquire thereof, as well by the Oaths of twelve honest and discreet Persons, as otherwise by due Examination by their Discretions. (2) And after the same inhancing and increasing of the said Prices of the said Books and Binding shall be so found by the said twelve Men, or otherwise by Examination of the said Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer and Justices, or two of them; that then the same Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer and Justices, or two of them at the least, from Time to Time shall have Power and Authority to reform and redress such inhancing of the Prices of printed Books from Time to Time by their Discretions, and to limit Prices as well of the Books as for the Binding of them; (3) and over that the Offender or Offenders thereof being convict by the Examination of the same Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer and two Justices, or two of them, or otherwise, shall lose and forfeit for every Book by them sold, whereof the Price shall be inhanced for the Book or Binding thereof, three Shillings four Pence; the one Half thereof shall be to the King’s Highness, and the other Half to the Parties grieved that will complain upon the same in Manner and Form before rehearsed.”

(Sections 2. & 3. Repealed by 3 Geo. 4. c. 41. s. 2.)

By the Act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. s. 58. Books are absolutely prohibited to be imported for Sale, being “first composed or written or printed in the United Kingdom, and printed or reprinted in any other Country, except Books not reprinted in the United Kingdom within Twenty Years; or being Parts of Collections the greater parts of which had been composed or written abroad.”

By the “Table of New Duties, 1834,” in 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89., the Customs Duties Inwards are for “Books in the Foreign living Languages, being of Editions printed in or since the Year One thousand eight hundred and one, bound or unbound, the cwt. 2l. 10s.”

2 & 3 Vict. c. 23. s. 1. Drawbacks on Excise Duty. “For every Pound Weight Avoirdupois of printed Books in perfect and complete Sets, or, if periodical Publications, in perfect Parts or Numbers, and of blank, plain, or ruled Account Books, whether bound or unbound, made of or printed or ruled on Paper made and charged with Duty in the United Kingdom, and which shall be exported as Merchandise, a Drawback of One Penny Halfpenny.” See Paper.

Books. (Ireland.)

4 Geo. 4. c 72. “An Act to repeal the several Duties and Drawbacks of Customs, chargeable and allowable in Ireland, on the Importation and Exportation of certain Foreign and Colonial Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, and to grant other Duties and Drawbacks in lieu thereof, equal to the Duties and Drawbacks chargeable and allowable thereon in Great Britain.”

Duties of Customs on Goods, &c. imported into Ireland.


books in sheets

"Books" as received by the binder in flat (unfolded) sheets, which must be folded, gathered and collated, and which must then have any maps, illustrations, etc., inserted before the actual binding processes. The sheets are sometimes identified by a SIGNATURE (1), which may be either a letter and/or number, and in the case of sets may include the volume number, printed at the tail margin (in the direction line) of the first, and occasionally on succeeding pages of each. Before the rise of edition binding most publications were delivered to the bookseller in sheets, to be bound to the customer's order. "Books in sheets" today is almost exclusively a term restricted to edition binding.

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


books of permanent interest

A category established by Douglas Cockerell shortly after the turn of the century in an effort to categorize the time, effort and funds to be expended in binding books of an "intermediate" nature—i.e., books of permanent scholarly, historical, etc., interest, but of relatively little monetary or esthetic interest, which should be solidly and well bound, but for which the most expensive work would be inappropriate. In Cockerell's day, this category of books was bound by hand, sewn with linen thread around cotton or linen tapes, which were secured between split boards (when the books were large and heavy), and covered with strong cloth or the most durable leather, or a combination of the two, e.g., quarter or half bindings. In greatly modified form, the Library Binding Institute has continued to define this category of books. See: PERMANENT MATERIALS. See also: BOOKS OF TEMPORARY INTEREST; BOOKS OF VALUE.


books of temporary interest

Books that must be bound and kept clean and usable for only occasional use. This category assumes that the handling such books receive and the storage area of the library will suffice for less than a full and "permanent" binding, which is often not the case. See also: BOOKS OF PERMANENT INTEREST.


books of value

Books that are valuable and/or rare, which may or may not have any special scholarly value, or books of special interest to a particular library, and which are bound in the best manner and with the best materials. See also: BOOKS OF PERMANENT INTEREST.


Books with thick

heavy leaves are sometimes guarded or hinged throughout that they may open freely. A narrow strip is cut from the back of each leaf. This strip is then again attached to the leaf from which it was cut by a strip of thin paper or muslin which acts as a hinge. The leaves are then bound together through and by the strips cut from them.


bookworms

The larva of any of some 160 species of beetles. The mature female insect lays her eggs on the edges of books, or in the crevices of bookshelves, and the larvae, when hatched. burrow into the books, or shelves, riddling them with tiny tunnels. Various bookworms, as they are mistakenly called, have been identified, or supposedly identified, among which are: Anobium domesticum, A. eruditus, A. Paniceum, A. pertinax, A. punctatum, and A. striatum; Acarus cheyletus and A. eruditus; Dermestes lardarius; Aecophora pseudospretella; Sitodrepa paniceum; Attagenus pellio; Lepisma saccharina; Ptinus fur; Antherenus varius; Lyctus brunneus; Catorama mexicana; and Rhizopertha dominica. Of the types, the most notorious and destructive are: Sitodrepa paniceum, the drugstore beetle, the female of which is capable of producing as many as 800,000 descendants in a year; Lyctus brunneus, the powder-post beetle, which consumes wooden bookshelves and cases, packing the holes with a flourlike debris, so that nothing substantial remains of the shelf; Ptinus f ur, the spider beetle, first mentioned by Linnaeus in 1766, which can cause severe damage to books, papers, and leather if left undisturbed for long periods of time; Anobium punctatum, the common furniture beetle, the larvae of which bore long cylindrical holes in books and bookshelves; Catorama mexicana, the Mexican book beetle; Dermestes lardarius, the larder beetle, which prefers cheese, ham, etc., but which will devour leather if nothing else is available; and Rhizopertha dominica, which has caused extensive damage in libraries.

Most of these so-called bookworms are small and dark- or reddish-brown. They enter libraries through windows, poorly fitting doors, etc., and seem to proliferate in libraries where dust, dirt, heat, darkness, and poor ventilation are prevalent.

The measures used over the years for the control or elimination of bookworms are virtually legion, including numerous remedies to be rubbed into leather, added to paste, sprinkled on bookshelves and books, etc. Among the many remedies used are: alum and thymol, alum and vitriol (sulfuric acid), (oil of) anis, beeswax, benzene, bitumen, borax, buckbean, cajeput oil, camphor, chili, chloropicrin, cinchona, cinnamon, cloves and oil of cloves, colcynth, copal varnish, copper, cresote, derris, (oil of) eucalyptus, formalin (formaldehyde), kerosine, khuskhus, lac varnish, lavender, margosia, mercuric chloride, mirbane oil, nitrobenzene, muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, musk, myrrh, naphthalene, nicotine, orrisroot oil, ozone, pennyroyal, pepper, petroleum, phenol, porpoise oil, pyrethrum powder, Russia leather shavings, sandalwood, sassafras, shellac, snuff, thyme, thymol, turpentine. vermouth, and wormwood. Some of these remedies were totally ineffective: some were temporarily effective; and some were as destructive as, or even more so than, the pests themselves.

Any preparation or process used to destroy the larvae or beetles must have sufficient residual effect not only to destroy existing larvae but also larvae which will hatch subsequent to the initial treatment. Treatment should be applied in conjunction with proper ventilation, temperature and humidity control, and cleanliness, so as to discourage future infestation.

Fumigation is frequently used to rid libraries of beetle and larvae infestation. Four general methods are used: 1) fumigation of the entire library with hydrogen cyanide, carbon disulfide, or methyl bromide, which, of course, necessitates closing the library for several days; 2) fumigation of batches of books in specially designed vacuum chambers, with a combination (1:9 by weight) of ethylene oxide and carbon dioxide, which is a method well suited to the fumigation of new acquisitions; 3) routine fumigation of the entire collection, carried out batchwise in a chamber, using methyl bromide; and 4) fumigation of one or more books in a small air-tight box, using paradichloro-benzene crystals, which is a method suitable for use by the private collector. Although the first method is potentially dangerous and causes considerable inconvenience, it is the only one which will destroy beetles or larvae which are on the bookshelves. See also: BOOK LICE; SILVERFISH.

The enemies of books. London. Stock. 1896.

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

O'Conor, John Francis Xavier. Facts about bookworms; their history in literature and work in libraries. New York. Harper. 1878.


boomer press

A now obsolete modified form of the STANDING PRESS. The power of the boomer press was obtained by a combination of four levers working on toggle joints, through which passed a right and left hand screw. The rotation of these screws caused the pressing surfaces to approach or move apart with a uniform motion, according to the direction of the rotation. This press had several advantages over the regular standing press, including: 1) once the pressure was applied it did not release slightly as the ordinary press is likely to do, so that the material under pressure remained under full pressure, and could, therefore, be pressed in somewhat less time; and 2) the enormous pressure it was capable of exerting.

American dictionary of printing and bookmaking…Ed. by W. W. Pasco. Detroit. Gale Research Co. 1967.

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


border

1. An ornamental design in a repeat pattern in blind or gold around the edges of the covers of a book, frequently enclosing one or more center pieces of a different design. 2. An ornamental design along one or more sides of a page of an illuminated manuscript or of the body of printed matter, or surrounding an illuminated miniature.


boric acid

A weak, volatile acid (H3BO3), obtained naturally, or by treating borax with a mineral acid. It is used to thicken and preserve adhesives made of GUM ARABIC.


Borneo cutch

See: ACACIA.


bosses

Brass or other metal knobs, studs, SHOES, or ornamentation fastened to the cover of a book for ornamental value or to prevent the leather from being scratched or otherwise marred. Bosses originally were attached to books that were meant to lie on a lectern and not stand on bookshelves. Not all books were provided with them, and they were more common in Germany than elsewhere. There was usually one boss at each corner of both covers and another in the middle of each cover, or ten in all, although the center bosses were sometimes left off. It is commonly assumed that the use of bosses declined with the advent of printing from movable metal type, the proliferation of books, and vertical shelving in cupboards and book stacks. In addition, the relative increase in the use of pasteboard instead of wooden boards also reduced the use of bosses, although in Germany, where wooden boards were still common in the 16th century, they continued to be used more often than elsewhere. Today, books with bosses are frequently kept in boxes so as to prevent damage to adjacent books on the shelves. See also: ROLLER SHOES. See PLATE 1.

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


bosses

Brass plates attached to the sides of volumes for their preservation.


bosses

Brass or other metal pieces attached to the covers of a book, for ornamentation or protection.

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


bosses

Brass or other metal ornamentations fastened upon the boards of books; for ornament or preservation.

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


bosses

Brass or other metal ornaments fastened upon the boards of books.