color fastness

That property of a pigment or dye, or the leather, cloth, paper, ink, etc., containing the coloring matter, to retain its original hue, especially without fading, running, or changing when wetted, washed, cleaned; or stored under normal conditions when exposed to light, heat, or other influences. Color fastness in paper is measured with a fadeometer, and in cloth by a launderometer. See also: FAST COLORS; FUGITIVE COLORS.

Library Association. Library Binding Institute standard for library binding. 5th ed. Boston. Library Binding Institute. 1971.


color lake

See: LAKE.

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.


color reversion

See: YELLOWING.


colored brushed top

The decoration of the head edge of a book by means of coloring and brushing with a stiff brush.

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


colored burnished top

The decoration of the head edge of a book by means of coloring followed by burnishing.

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


colored edges

The edge or edges of a book that have been decorated with water colors or dyes applied to the edge or edges and usually burnished. The colors are generally mixed with thin glue and edge gilding size. The most commonly used colors are red, yellow, green, and blue; brown, black and pink have also been employed. If only one edge is colored, it is usually at the head.

Coloring the edges of books appears to be virtually as old as the codex itself, the earliest known example being purple edges on a 4th century book. Red, ochre, and yellow were often used in the 15th to 17th centuries, while solid red edges sprinkled with yellow were popular in the first half of the 16th century. Colored edges have been common to the present day in miscellaneous binding and from the late 19th century on edition bindings.

Although the coloring of edges appears to be purely for decorative effect, its actual function has always been to protect the edges from dust, dirt, and handling. See also: ANTIQUE EDGES; FORE-EDGE PAINTING; GILT EDGES; MARBLED EDGES; RED UNDER GOLD EDGES; ROUGH GILT;

SPRINKLED EDGES.

Primary colors are: red, yellow, and blue. Secondary colors, derived

from primary colors, are:

Primary Colors          Secondary Colors

red and yellow          orange

yellow and blue         green

red and blue            purple

Tertiary colors, derived by combining primary and secondary colors, are:

Primary Colors          Secondary Colors    Tertiary Colors

red and yellow          orange              citrine

yellow and blue         green

red and yellow          orange               russet

red and blue            purple

yellow and blue         green                olive

red and blue            purple

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

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

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


colored endpapers

Generally, tinted endpapers made from handmade paper. Colored or tinted endpapers appear to have been first used sometime near the end of the 16th century. Some of the earliest examples were printed with small repeated patterns that sometimes require up to three woodblocks for their execution. Of these papers, probably the greater number are of Dutch or German origin, although many are English. The Italian colored endpapers are generally very well done, often bearing small patterns devised on a geometrical scale. In the execution of these papers, the color was used in a very liquid form, producing a kind of blotted effect. In the 18th century these papers were also used for covering inexpensive trade bindings.

Horne, Herbert Percy. The binding of books; an essay in the history of gold-tooled bindings. 2nd ed. New York. Haskell House. 1970.


colored inks

Inks of various colors used for both printing and writing. Numerous dyes and pigments have been used in the manufacture of these inks. Those made from pigment and vegetable colors were used for hundreds of years, but are rarely used today. Inks made from minium (red lead), red ochre (rubrica) or vermillion were used by the Romans, while in the middle ages verdigris or metallic inks (powdered gold or silver in a gum) were often used. From about 1600 to the time the first use was made of inks produced from alizarin or aniline dyestuffs (1861), natural indigo, logwood, cochineal, and similar vegetable pigments were commonly used ingredients in colored inks.

Inks made from synthetic dyestuffs. while inert in solutions of the dye and water, and therefore not harmful to paper, are not nearly as permanent as iron-gall or carbon inks, although they are more permanent than the early synthetic dyestuffs.

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


colored paper

Paper colored on one or both sides during manufacture by means of coloring pigments. When its use is to be for cover papers, endpapers, etc., the shade may range from light to very dark; for printing purposes, however, the usual colors are the light shades, since a dark ink is not very legible on too dark a paper. and printing very light inks on dark paper is not generally practical as two impressions are usually required to obtain adequate opacity. Duplex papers are those with different colors on the two sides of the sheet. (, 204)

Lewis, Arthur William. Basic bookbinding. New York. Dover, 1957.

Melcher, Daniel, and Nancy Larrick. Printing and promotion handbook …3rd ed. New York. McGraw-Hill. 1966.


colored paste-papers

Decorative endpapers produced by mixing color with paste and soap and spreading the mixture over two sheets of paper, which while still wet, are pressed together. When separated, the transfer of color from the sheets produces a mottled effect on each. Colored paste-papers are sometimes used for covering books, although they have little water resistance unless waxed. Green, red, and blue are among the most commonly used colors. See also: COLORED ENDPAPERS; PASTE PAPERS.

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


colored printings

The name of an inferior quality of paper, containing a considerable percentage of mechanical wood pulp and used for the covers of pamphlets and similar publications.

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


colored under gilt

The edge or edges of a book gilded over a coloring (usually red) of dye or water color. Pigment colors are generally unsuitable for this decoration. Colored under gilt is used extensively for Bibles and devotional works.


colorimeter

An instrument for measuring or specifying color by means of comparison with synthesized colors. i.e., by reference either to other colors or to complex stimuli, not in general identical with the actual color stimulus, and giving results not independent of abnormalities in the color vision of the observer. The typical colorimeter has a built-in standard light source, three colored filters, photoelectric cells or phototubes, a standard reflecting surface, and, in modern instruments, photoelectric cells and electronic circuits to replace the human eye as the receptor. The results of a colorimeter examination are expressed as "chromaticity coordinates. "

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

Mayer, Ralph. A dictionary of art terms and techniques. New York. Crowell. 1969.


COLOURS

In Hayter’s “Introduction to Perspective Drawing and Painting,” is a diagram of the three primitive colours, with their combinations, which show the best contrasts. He says, this is highly useful for a painter to understand: and I think it is highly useful for a printer also to understand; for it will enable him to make the best disposition of colours in printing so as always to produce a superior effect to what could be done without the guidance of a correct principle. I shall give the passage.

“You may try another experiment in proof of the primitive superiority of red, yellow, and blue, over all other colours. First draw a circle; then, with the same opening of the compasses, set one foot on the circumferent line, and draw a second circle; and again, with one foot of the compasses on the point where the two circles bisect, draw a third; cover one whole circle with yellow, another with red, and another with blue (letting each dry before you lay the next); the colours intermixing by the equilateral intersection of the three circles, will produce green, orange, and purple; and the central portion, taking all the three colours, will be neutral of the black class, and nearly black, according to the strength of the three separate lays of the primitive colours. By this diagram you will have a certain proof of the colours which are most adapted to oppose each other, from which the knowledge of their harmonizing properties may be derived. You will find a primitive colour always opposite to a compound one; as, blue will be opposite orange, red opposite green, and yellow opposite purple; which must determine them to be the natural opposites: this is highly useful for a painter to understand.”

Columbian Press. See Clymer’s Press.

Three overlapping circles

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

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


comb binding

A form of MECHANICAL BINDING consisting of a plastic strip on the spine from which curved prongs extend. They are inserted into holes punched into the leaves to be held. The name derives from the resulting "comb" appearance of the binding. This type of mechanical binding provides a more-or-less solid spine on which the title of the publication may be printed. Its disadvantages, however. are many: leaves may be removed quite easily by unauthorized persons, and groups of leaves often slip from the grasp of the flexible prongs. In addition, leaves tend to tear from the binding because the large, usually rectangular, slots leave relatively little paper along the line of the punched holes.

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


comb marble

See: NONPAREIL MARBLE.


COMB WOOL

The same as Card Wool, which <i>see</i>.


combed edges

The edges of a book decorated with black, red, blue, and yellow colors, in the ratio of 1:2:3:4 respectively, in a combed, figure-eight effect.


combination oil tannage

A type of tannage, or process of tannage, in which the skin is first tanned with formaldehyde and is subsequently treated by the OIL TANNING process. Some CHAMOIS leathers are tanned by this method.

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


combination press

A particular type of press, either manufactured commercially or homemade, frequently the latter, that serves more than one purpose, e.g., as a LYING PRESS that can be turned on its side and used as a NIPPING PRESS, or a press that serves as a STANDING PRESS, BACKING PRESS, or as a press for CASING-IN, having brass-edged boards built into both cheeks.

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.

A practical course in bookcrafts and bookbinding. Leicester. C. H. Gee. 1935.


combination style

An old term used in America for a binding in which the forwarding was done as though for a hand-bound book, i.e., boards to be laced-in, followed by covering, but then having the cover (case) made separately. The case was then "hung on" the text block, the cloth joints were glued down and a lining paper was glued to the insides of the cover boards.

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


combination tanned

A general term sometimes applied to a leather tanned by two or more tanning processes. Combination processes include CHROME TANNING followed by VEGETABLE TANNING, i.e., CHROME RETAN; vegetable tanning followed by chrome tanning, or SEMI-CHROME TANNAGE: tanning with formaldehyde followed by treatment with oil, or COMBINATION OIL TANNAGE.


combined tannin in leather

Tannin that has combined so vigorously with the hide or skin protein that it cannot readily he removed by washing.

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


combined water-soluble matter (in leather)

See textual note

That material present in leather in a state of loose chemical combination with the hide protein and which can be removed from finely ground leather only by prolonged washing.


COMBS

Instruments with wire teeth used in marbling.

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


COMBS

Instruments with wire teeth used in marbling. The colors being upon the surface of water, the comb is drawn across a portion in such a way that a new form is developed.


come away

The ability of a heated finishing tool to separate or "come away" cleanly during blind tooling without sticking to the dampened leather and thus damaging the grain surface. Rubbing the tool over the flesh side of a piece of scrap leather which has been rubbed with a mixture of white wac and lard (1.25 parts wax to 1.0 part lard) facilitates clean removal of a tool.

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


COME DOWN

The toe of the spindle is said to come down by pulling the bar: so is the bar when it is pulled near the hither cheek: also, the Pressman is said to come down the form with his balls.—M.


Come Down

the *Toe* of the *Spindle* is said to *Come down* by *Pulling* the *Bar*: So is the *Bar* when it is *Pull’d* near the hither *Cheek*: Also, the *Press-man* is said to *Come down the Form* with his *Balls*: For which See § 24. ¶ 13.


COME DOWN THE FORM

Beating from the off side to the near side of the form is termed Coming down the form.


COMES OFF

A form that receives a good impression, Comes off well, if a bad impression, it Comes off ill, or it Comes not well off. Also a phrase used in gathering of books; for a heap that is gathered off is said to come off.—M.

Comma. See Punctuation.


commercial binding

A term understood to mean the binding of both short and long runs of identical books largely by machinery, i.e., edition binding, but not including blankbook binding, pamphlet binding, or padding, in distinction from the binding of single books of dissimilar nature, such as craft binding and library binding.

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

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

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


common binding

An English term for a quality of binding that includes sewing on tapes by machine, cloth joints, a canvas or sheepskin spine lining, strawboards, and a covering of sheepskin or buckram.


common calf

A very simple style of leather binding, often not headbanded or backed, and without pastedowns or lettering on the spine. They were produced for the inexpensive edition or retail trade, particularly during the 17th and 18th centuries. The vast majority of the 17th century bindings were in full leather, as were those of the first half of the 18th; thereafter they were also bound in half leather.

Middleton, Bernard C. The restoration of leather bindings. Chicago. American Library Association. (A. L. A. Library Technology Project, LTP publication no. 18). 1972.


common carrier

An individual or firm that undertakes to transport books to or from a bindery or library on a commercial basis, and who is responsible for losses as prescribed by law. The majority of the library binders today either own and operate their own vehicles or arrange for transportation on a NON-COMMINGLED contract basis.


common marble

A type of thrown marble, applied to leather covers, and consisting of black and brown streaks applied by throwing or sprinkling. The black is generally applied first.

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


COMMON PRAYER

For the allowance of the duty on paper used in the printing of Books of Common Prayer, see Paper.

Commons, House of. See Privilege.


common red

A red marbling color prepared from a mixture of Brazil wood, nut galls, and sal amoniac (ammonium chloride) boiled in water.


commons

An obsolete English term for a grade of book cloth intermediate in quality between the cheaper linens and more expensive extra cloths and buckram. Commons were dyed before receiving the final coat of color. The thready appearance noticeable on linen-finished cloth was less apparent on commons because of the dye and additional coating.

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


COMPANION

Two pressmen working at the same press call one another Companions.—M. Two or more compositors employed on the same piece of work also call each other Companions. Both parties frequently abbreviate the word, and call each other Comp.


COMPANIONSHIP

When more than one compositor is employed upon any work it is styled a companionship.

There are different ways of working in companionships: one is, for each to work on his own account, to write his own bill, charging what he has done, and correct his own matter. At other times all the individuals work is charged and received in gross in the name of the companionship, and the division into the respective earning of each is made by the clicker.

In this case, to prevent unfairness, arising from any of the companions taking an undue advantage over the others, the copy should be strictly kept from their inspection, and a stated quantity invariably given out for each when any of them are out of copy, and not before; by this means each of them will have an equal chance for any fat that may occur. I have found in practice this method to be the fairest for all the individuals.

Another method is working on time or in pocket, where each individual exerts himself to further the work in any way that appears to the clicker the best, either composing or correcting, as the case requires. In this form of companionship the whole of what is done is written in one bill, and equally divided among the companions, provided they have been punctual in their attendance, and have not taken more than the prescribed time for their meals, &c.; otherwise they are subject to fines for infraction of the rules agreed to for their guidance.

As it often happens that a work is required to be printed with the greatest possible despatch, the plan of working upon Lines is frequently adopted, which is found in practice to be the most expeditious method of facilitating the work at case.

As soon as a work that requires despatch is put in hand, the overseer selects such men as are able to complete a great quantity of work in a given time, and appoints one of them who thoroughly understands his business, and is in other respects qualified, to undertake the management of the work, and to do every thing which would interfere with the regular business of distributing, composing and correcting. This person is styled the clicker.

While the companionship proceeds to the distribution of letter, the clicker applies to the overseer for the copy, receives instructions respecting it, and procures leads and every other necessary sort. He then draws out a table in the following form, or something similar.

In the first column he sets down the name of each compositor when he takes copy; and in the second the folio of the copy, that he may be able to ascertain instantly in whose hands it lies. In the third column he notes down the number of lines each man has composed opposite to his name, as fast as the galleys are brought to him. In the fourth he sets down such remarks respecting the copy, &c. as may be necessary, and also any circumstance that may occur in the companionship.

When the members of the companionship are ready for their first taking of copy, they are to receive it from the clicker in small quantities, taking care that the two first have shorter takings than any of the others, to prevent as much as possible any delay in the making up. During the time the first taking is in hand, the clicker sets the head, the head lines, white lines, signature lines, together with side notes, and other extraneous matter.

As soon as the first person brings him his matter, he counts the number of lines, and inserts it in the table; he then gives him another taking of copy, and proceeds with the making up. The same plan is observed with the rest of the companionship.

When the first sheet is made up, he lays the pages on the stone, and informs the overseer of it, who will then immediately provide chases and furniture.

The work will now proceed rapidly, provided there be no hinderance with respect to letter, &c. If the clicker find that he cannot make up the matter as fast as it is composed, he should call the companion who is last in copy to his assistance. In this case the clicker counts the lines he has composed, sets them down in the table, and takes notice of the time he is off, which is to be made up to him by a deduction from the share of each person.

The proofs should be read immediately after they are pulled, and given to the clicker to be corrected. As soon as this is done, he gives the proof to the compositor whose matter stands first, who should immediately lay up the forms and correct his matter, then forward it to the next, and so on, till the sheet be corrected; the compositor whose matter is last in the sheet then locks it up, and carries the forms to the proof press.

As soon as one of the companionship is out of copy, and there is no more to be given out, the lines of the whole must be counted off, and set down in the table, and then every one does as much as he can for the general benefit. If there be not work enough to employ the whole, those who are not wanted may go to their regular work, and the time of their absence, till the rest of the companionship return to theirs, will be deducted from their respective shares.

In the outset the value of the lines is calculated, so that each of the companionship shall be paid, in the first instance, for what he composes: the head and direction lines, the white lines, the branching out, the short pages, and the white pages, are termed fat; these the clicker sets, they are included in the general account, and the amount divided among the companionship. By this means each compositor will receive a share of the whole, according to the number of lines he composes, and an equal share of the fat, and the clicker’s share of the bill must be equal to that of the person who has set the greatest number of lines.

If leads, or any other materials, run short, a clever and active clicker will not wait for a supply from the overseer, who may be prevented attending to him at the moment, but will immediately forage for them himself, well knowing that expediting the work is for his own advantage as well as for that of the companionship.

Those companions who do not compose half as many lines as the compositor who has the greatest number, receive only a share of the fat equal to one half of what those do who have worked regularly; and those who do not compose more than one quarter, only receive equal to one quarter of a regular share.

Comparative Size of Types. See Types.


COMPANIONSHIP

All the hands employed on a work.

The American Printer: A Manual of Typography


compensation guard

A thickness of linen or paper, usually the latter, bound into a volume to compensate for the thickness of folded maps, charts or other bulky material within the text block, or pocket material, so as to incorporate such material without distorting the shape of the book. They are sometimes made by binding in a full section of blank leaves placed ahead of the bulky material, and then cutting out all except a narrow portion after binding. The more common method, however, is to bind in folded strips of guard paper when the book is to be sewn through the folds, or strips of paper when the book is to be oversewn or otherwise sewn through the sides of the leaves.

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


compensation pad

A pad of waste paper, slightly thicker than the difference in thickness from the spine to fore edge of a sewn book (the difference in thickness being the result of sewing swell). The pad makes the book the same thickness from spine to fore edge and overcomes the problem of distortion when the guillotine clamp is applied during trimming of the head and tail edges of the book.


complementary color

One of a pair of colors usually considered to be in extreme contrast to each other. Red and green, yellow and violet, and blue and orange are pairs of complementary colors. The complementary of a primary color is produced by mixing the other two primary colors, e.g., green (which is a mixture of yellow and blue) is the complementary of red.


COMPOSING

The term composing includes the practical knowledge of picking up letters, spacing, justifying lines, and emptying the composing stick when full.

Although expedition is a most desirable qualification in a compositor, yet alone it is far from constituting a good workman: and the man who possesses no other claims to the title will be found competent to little more than setting reprints, in which no judgment is required, and where he has only to arrange letter for letter, point for point, and line for line; on which employment he may whistle, sing, talk, or laugh, without inconvenience to himself; for the process being merely mechanical, and the mind not being occupied in the smallest degree, if he make a mistake of a word, it will be detected at the end of the line; or, if there be a double, or an out, of lines, either will be detected when the page is finished.

How different is the case with the man who is anxious to deserve the title of a good workman, and to maintain it: in his youth he has been equally desirous with the other to acquire expedition; and, having attained it, he has felt that other requisites were necessary;—he has read, to obtain information—he has examined the best workmanship, as specimens for his guidance—he endeavours to compose accurately—he is careful and uniform in his spacing—he justifies his lines to an equal tightness—he divides his words, when necessary to divide them, correctly, and with a regard to appearance—and when occasional bits of rule work occur, they are marked by a degree of neatness in being cut to precise lengths, and in the corners fitting with precision—in all the work that passes through his hands there appear the marks of attention and skill.

When a master printer undertakes a work which requires more than ordinary care, and is difficult to execute, the superiority of the man who has endeavoured to improve himself is evident: he is selected to perform it; and he then feels the advantage of his perseverance. At work upon a difficult subject, with an ill written manuscript, his first proofs show him equal to the task—his arrangements of the matter are judicious—his punctuation is correct—when particular sorts are to be justified, they are done with accuracy—when an accented letter is required that cannot be procured in a single type, he makes it with neatness—and when his proof returns from the reader, he will frequently correct it in as little time, as a slovenly compositor will require to correct a proof of a similar size, that is a reprint.

The results to the slovenly and the good compositor are very different. The first is only employed during a flush of work; when that ceases, he has to seek fresh employment; perhaps does not meet with any for some weeks; again obtains a temporary engagement; and thus continues, till old age approaches, and he is rendered incapable of working. The good workman, on the contrary, is prized by his employer, especially if the latter be a workman himself, and a man of judgment. He is looked up to by his fellow-workmen; his situation is permanent, if he choose; his abilities qualify him to be a reader, and if his mind lead him that way, he may obtain such a situation. His knowledge and his merit fit him to become the overseer of a large house; where he has many advantages, and where he continues with credit to himself: unless, perhaps, he chooses to commence business on his own account, which is frequently done, when he invariably obtains the countenance and support of those who have witnessed his skill, his knowledge, his attention, and his industry.

There is another class of compositors who neither possess much skill; nor are very expeditious: I mean such as are of a sober, steady habit. These are useful men in an office where there is a number of reprints; they go on from year to year in a regular routine, and never step out of it: the employer can always depend on them for a regular amount of work, if they have sufficient employment.

There are too many, both good and bad workmen, who lose their time in drinking, gaming, and other vicious and idle pursuits: such persons pay doubly for their dissipation, for they squander the fruits of their earnings, and cut off the source of supply, by neglecting their employment. These men will never be employed in any respectable printing office, where they are known, except on a temporary engagement in a case of emergency. They introduce strife and discord wherever they are, and frequently lead astray the inexperienced youth: they disregard equally instruction and advice, and are not awakened to a sense of their condition, till the most severe lessons in this world are unitedly experienced—old age, poverty, and contempt.

The mere art of picking up letters, and arranging them in the composing stick, is looked upon by many compositors as constituting the whole of their business; who in consequence think that if they can succeed in picking letters up with facility, they become first-rate workmen; and the terms “Swifts,” and “Fire Eaters,” by which expeditious compositors are designated in a printing office, gratify their vanity.

It is not necessary to give specific rules, and a minute description, of the manner of picking up each letter, because it is impossible for them to hold good, the letters lying in every possible direction. A few general rules may suffice—to take up the letter at that end where the face is—if the nick be not upwards, to turn it upwards in its progress to the composing stick—to convey it to the line in the composing stick with as few motions as possible—to aim at no flourishes with the hand, which only lose time.

I would advise an inexperienced youth, when he comes to work among a number of men, to observe the manner of one of the best and quickest compositors: he will, perhaps, at first conclude that he is looking at a very slow workman, for the first appearance is fallacious; but when he examines more closely he will find his mistake, for what he at first took for slowness is the true principle of expedition; he will perceive no false motion, which invariably delays progress; the fingers go to one particular letter, take it up, convey it to the line direct, while the eye is directed to another letter which the fingers convey in the same manner to the line; thus letter after letter accumulate to words, lines, and pages, with a quickness that looks like magic, while to the spectator it seems to be only the pace of the tortoise. Let him look at another; there appears all bustle, all expedition; the body and head in continual motion; the hand so quick in its evolutions, that he gazes with astonishment on the apparent rapidity of arranging the letters: let him look again with more attention, and he will find that the man whom he supposed so slow makes no mistake, loses no time, but continues steadily and uniformly making progress: while the other frequently misses taking hold of his letter; then makes two or three flourishes with his hand and his head before he takes hold of another; and then his hand continues dancing and see-sawing, and after three or four of such motions, made with great rapidity, the letter is finally deposited in the line. This manner of lifting the letters is in reality the pace of the tortoise, although it has the appearance of the speed of the hare.

Regularity of spacing, and a due proportion of distance between words, contribute in a material degree to improve the appearance of a book.

When the lines are very short, or the type very large in proportion to their length, all general rules, both of dividing and spacing, must give way to necessity; for in such cases it is impossible at all times to space regularly, or to divide the words correctly.

There is a great diversity of opinion with respect to spacing; some authors and printers choosing to have the words wide apart, and others, on the contrary, preferring to have them nearly close together; the one, requiring an en quadrat, or two thick spaces, and the other, a thin space only, between the words. Both of these, in my opinion, go to an extreme: I prefer using a thick space generally, and justifying with thinner and hair spaces; so that there will rarely be a necessity for any violent inequality in the distance of the words from each other.

When a work is double leaded, or has reglet between the lines, it requires to be wider spaced than when it is solid: in the two first cases, two middling spaces, or a thick and a thin space, will not be too much; in the latter, a thick space will be quite sufficient. And it is necessary to attend to these circumstances; for printing that is open does not harmonize when close spaced, any more than solid matter does when wide spaced, which makes it look full of pigeon holes; for the distance between the words should bear some proportion to the distance between the lines.

When one or two letters require to be got in, or to be driven out, the difference between a thick space and a middling one is not perceptible to the eye, particularly if the compositor is careful to place the latter before or after a v or w, after a comma that comes before a v or w, or after a y; and, in like manner, an additional hair space will not be perceptible if it come after an f, or before a j; or if it come between db, dh, dk, dl, lb, lh, lk, or ll.

The most expeditious mode of regular spacing, perhaps, is to take the spaces as they rise; for there being in the box only three sorts, the thin and the hair spaces being in separate boxes, there will not be any violent disproportion if the line should be full at the first; and the slight disproportion may be easily remedied by changing the situation of two or three: if the line should not be quite full, then the introduction of a few thin spaces will equalise the distances; or the substitution of a few thick spaces for middling ones will have the same effect.

In setting a line of capitals, a careful workman will pay attention to the bearing off of different letters, for many of them when they fall together stand as if there were a space between them, and produce a bad effect: to remedy this inequality, hair spaces, or bits of paper, are required between those letters that stand close. The inequality is still greater in many instances in a line of Italic capitals, and of course requires the same remedy.

It would be desirable, and would tend to facilitate regular spacing, if there were a greater number of hair spaces cast to a fount than is now the case.

In poetry, the size of the type and the measure are usually so arranged as to admit the longest line to come into the measure, without having occasion to turn it: an opportunity is thus allowed for regular spacing, which is generally done with thick spaces. When a work in poetry is commenced, it is usual for the compositor to divide his space box up the middle with a piece of reglet, or with a piece of thin wood, made to fit tight, and to assort his thick spaces on one side, and the thinner on the other, to save time and trouble in picking them out

As the measure for poetry is sometimes made as narrow as will conveniently allow the regular lines to come in, both to save quadrats, and also to lessen the price of composing, it not unfrequently happens that a line containing long syllables will not admit of thick spaces; in this case, the usual practice is to space close, and get in the line if possible, even with hair spaces, for turning it is attended with inconveniences; the page must be made up short, or long, to preserve the couplets, and it affects the next page, in preventing the stanzas backing each other.

A compositor will always find it advantageous to justify his lines to an equal tightness; and of this he must be sensible when he has to lock up his form: if he have been careless in this instance he will experience a loss of time and find a difficulty in getting his form to lift; and when it does lift, by means of sticking his bodkin into quadrats and spaces to tighten those lines that are slack, it will never be safe; for it is more than probable that many letters will draw out at press, and cause errors in that sheet, (for pressmen are generally careless how they replace a letter that has drawn, and, when it is discovered, they are satisfied if they put it into the right word,) the pressmen scold the compositor, who also, if he be working in a companionship, and should not be the last in the sheet, gets scolded by the compositor who has to lock up the forms, for his carelessness, and for the additional trouble which it causes.

I would avoid having a lower case f at the end of a line; for, being a kerned letter, the dot at the end of the curve is almost sure to be broken off while the sheet is being worked at press.

It is not possible to give particular rules for justifying all the sorts that occur in many works, and that are not in a printing office:—for a Ç, it will be necessary to cut away the shank to the bottom of the face of the letter, and justify a figure of 5 with the top back dash cut off; a long m̄, n̄, or any other letter, must be cut away to the upper part of the letter, and a small lower case l, with the fine lines cut away, fixed flat above; a short y̆ may be made by taking the bottom of an o; m̃ and ñ by cutting the front of a small a away, and laying it lengthways; ŵ and ŷ by inverting a lower case v, after cutting away the cross lines, and making the thick line equal to the fine one with a sharp knife.

Cutting away the shank allows the additional part to stand close to the face of the letter, which improves the appearance. In some instances it will be necessary to cut part of a lead away above the letter, and justify the addition in the vacancy. The compositor should, by all means, be careful to justify every sort that is added so tight as to prevent it from drawing out at press; but not so tight, as to force the words above and below out of line; in fact, they ought to be so managed as, when justified to the letter, to form unitedly its regular body in depth when it is practicable.

The compositor should also be careful to proportion the size of the accent or mark to be justified to the size of the letter, that there may be no disproportion between them.

I would recommend to every compositor when he goes to a fresh house, where it is likely he may work some time, to ascertain what founts are in the house, with the two line letters, blacks, flowers, &c.: this knowledge will give him facilities, and enable him to compose a title, or a job, with less sacrifice of time, than if he were not acquainted with the materials contained in the office.


COMPOSING RULE

A piece of brass rule cut to the length of the measure, with a small ear or beak projecting at one end, by which to take it out. This rule is laid in the composing stick, and the letters arranged upon it; when the line is full, the rule is taken out by the projecting part, and laid upon the line composed, and this process is continued till the stick is full, when the rule is laid upon the last line as before, the whole of the matter in the stick is then grasped tight with both hands, (the rule preventing it from bursting,) taken out of the stick, and deposited in a galley.


COMPOSING RULE

A steel or brass rule, with a beak at one end, used in typesetting.


COMPOSING STICK

The instrument in which the letters are arranged into words and lines. It is generally made of iron, sometimes of gun metal, and long ones for large jobs occasionally of wood.

When made of iron it is formed of a piece of sheet iron, one side turned up nearly half an inch, at a right angle, which forms the back, and when that is turned to the workman at the right hand extremity an end is fitted to it, by screws, rivets, or dovetailing: this end is iron, considerably thicker than the bottom and back, and is soldered in its place to give it strength and stability.

There is a slide by which the length of the lines is regularly justified, which is fixed to the back by a nut and screw passing through a groove in it, and secured in its place by the screw passing through one of the holes in the back, by which means the length of the line can be arranged according to the size of the page. The end of the stick, and also of the slide, must form a right angle with the back, and be parallel to each other, otherwise the lines will be of unequal lengths, and cause much trouble. The English composing sticks generally hold from nine to eleven lines of pica. The French printers use much narrower ones, frequently not holding more than three lines.

Composition. See Rollers.

A composing stick


COMPOSING STICK

An instrument in which types are arranged in words and lines.


composition leaf

See: DUTCH GOLD.


COMPOSITOR

He that composes or sets the letters.—M. See Composing.


COMPOSITOR’S BOOK

To prevent mistakes, confused bills, and disputes in companionships, and with the employer, it is essentially necessary that a compositor should keep an account of the work that he does, and it is still better that he should be able to ascertain on the instant how much he has composed of any work that he is employed upon; the quantity in each signature; the number of pages charged, and in what signatures; and the forms he has imposed, and the signatures. The following form, it is presumed, will accomplish this object in a simple and easy manner.

Compositors’ Prices. See Scale of Prices.


compressibility

The decrease in caliper of a sheet of paper, expressed as a percentage, resulting from an arbitrary specified increase in load. The conditions under which the determinations are made must be fully specified. Compressibility of paper is of considerable importance in both printing and bookbinding. See also: BUNDLING (1).

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.


concealed binding

A term sometimes used to indicate a MECHANICAL BINDING concealed within a wraparound cover.

Book Production. Tricks of the trade. New York. Bookbinding and Book Production. 1944.


concealed joint

See: INVISIBLE JOINT.


concertina fold

See notes on the electronic edition

A method of folding a sheet of paper, first to the right and then to the left, so that the sheet opens and closes in the manner of a concertina. Also called "accordion fold," or zig-zag fold. See also: ZIG-ZAG ENDPAPER.

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

Pratt, Guy A. Let's bind a book. Rev. ed. Milwaukee. Bruce. 1944.


concertina guard

See illustration</> A type of GUARD (1) used in conservation binding. It is made of good quality paper (generally Japanese copying paper) and is used so that the adhesive applied to the spine does not come into direct contact with the sections. The depth of each fold does not normally exceed 1/8 to 3/16 inch. The use of the concertina guard makes pulling of the book easier in the event that rebinding is necessary, and also reduces the possibility of damage to the folds of the sections. A forerunner of this technique consisted of loose individual guards around each section of vellum books. This type of guard is used only in the best conservation binding because it is difficult and time consuming (therefore expensive) to sew a book when using the concertina guard.


condensation

1. A chemical reaction in which two or more molecules, e.g., of an adhesive, combine upon the separation of water or some other simple substance. If a polymer is formed, the process is known as polycondensation. See also: POLYMERIZATION. 2. The process of changing from a vapor into a liquid, as when steam condenses into water.


CONDITION

Balls are said to be in condition, or good condition, when they lug, and the ink is distributed easily and uniformly on their surface; that is, when they are neither too hard nor too soft: when they are either the one or the other, they are said to be in bad condition. See Balls. This also applies to rollers.

Paper is said to be in good condition when it has received a proper degree of moisture, been laid a day or two between the boards or in a heap, with weights upon the top board, then turned, which changes the parts is contact, and replaced under the weights for another day, so that the moisture shall be uniformly diffused and equal through the whole quantity of paper to be printed.


conditioning

A term which has virtually the same meaning as SEASONING, but, unlike that term, is generally considered to refer to the exposure of paper to an accurately controlled and specified environment for the purpose of bringing the moisture content of the paper into equilibrium with the surrounding atmosphere. Standard atmospheric conditions in North America are considered to be 50% relative humidity and 73° F. In other countries the standard calls for a relative humidity of 65% (+2%) and a temperature of 68° F. +3° F.). Conditioning is of considerable importance for papers which must lie flat in sheet form, or which must give good register when printed. Unequal internal strains are set up when paper is dried on the papermaking machine, because the tension in the direction of the web travel. i.e., the MACHINE DIRECTION, produced by drying, is greater in the cross direction. See: ANISOTROPIC BEHAVIOR.

Since most papers are dried to a moisture content of about 3% (by weight of the paper), they tend subsequently to absorb moisture until the moisture content amounts to approximately 5 to 9% (depending upon the humidity of the atmosphere in which they are stored). This tendency is increased once the paper is cut, because cut edges are able to absorb atmospheric moisture faster than the surface of the sheet itself, especially when the paper is stacked in piles. When a stack of paper absorbs moisture, the edges, particularly those corresponding to the cross direction, will expand more rapidly than the center, which causes cockling. In like manner, a "spongy" effect may occur, due to absorption of moisture by the top surface of the upper sheets in the pile. This expansion may take place between the printings of a multi-color printing sequence, or when the paper is dampened as in the offset-litho printing process, with the result that the colors used will overlap in some places and leave gaps in others. Moisture absorption, particularly when the grain direction of the paper does not run parallel to the spine of the book, can cause cockling along the binding edge and waviness in the leaves, resulting in a book that will not close properly. The latter problem can sometimes be overcome, at least to a degree, by pressing the book in an atmosphere of low relative humidity, but the problem of cockling along the binding edge can only be overcome by a method of IMPOSITION which results in the grain direction of the paper running parallel to the binding edge.

Battista, Orlando A. Synthetic fibers in papermaking. New York. Interscience. 1964.

A laboratory handbook of pulp and paper manufacture. 2nd ed. London. Arnold. 1961.

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


conditioning time

The time interval between the removal of the adherends from the conditions of heat, pressure, or both, used in accomplishing bonding, and the attainment of approximately maximum bond strength.

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


CONFESSION OF FAITH

For the allowance of the duty on paper used in the printing of the book known by the name “The Confession of Faith,” see Paper.


conjugate leaves

The leaves of a section which form one continuous piece of paper, i.e., leaves which are said to belong to one another. The form in which the sheet is imposed and folded determines which leaves are conjugate. In a sixteen-page section, for example, the first and sixteenth, second and fifteenth, etc., leaves will be conjugate.

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


Conradus de Argentina

A 15th century German bookbinder, who produced bindings characterized by compartments adorned with well-designed stamps representing roses, fleur-de-lis, etc. Conrad also produced several of the ERFURT BINDINGS of that time.

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


conservation

1. The conscious, deliberate and planned supervision, care and preservation of the total resources of a library, archives, or similar institution, from the injurious effect of age, use (or misuse), as well as external or internal influences of all types, but especially light, heat, humidity and atmospheric influences. 2. A field of knowledge concerned with the coordination and planning for the practical application of the techniques of binding, restoration, paper chemistry, and other material technology, as well as other knowledge pertinent to the preservation of archival resources. Cf. RESTORATION.


consistency

1. That property of a liquid adhesive that enables it to resist deformation. The property is not considered to be fundamental to adhesives; it is, however, manifest in the viscosity, plasticity, as well as other properties of the adhesive. See also: VISCOSITY COEFFICIENT. 2. The air-dry (or oven-dry) percentage by weight of fibrous material in a paper stock or suspension.

Crown Zellerbach Corp. Making pulp and paper. San Francisco. Crown Zellerbach Corp. 1958. 1 vol.


contact bonding

An adhesive assembly process which utilizes adhesives that are dried to the condition where they display very little adhesive attraction to each other hut still possess considerable cohesive attraction and strength properties. When two surfaces, for example, are coated with an adhesive and allowed to dry to the point where they no longer display TACK. they can he conveniently handled; when the two surfaces are then joined, however. they immediately attract each other and cohere, instantly forming a strong bond. If the two surfaces are allowed to dry for too great a time, however, the ability to cohere is destroyed, unless the adhesive is dampened with a solvent and then allowed to dry once again to the stage of non-tackiness. This type of adhesive is used extensively in attaching plastic laminates to surfaces and is convenient to use in other applications where immediate bonding is important. Such contact adhesives are usually based on synthetic elastomers.


contemporary binding

1. A bookbinding produced immediately following the printing of the book; or, before 1700, a binding in the style of the decade or even the quarter century. 2. A new binding of an old book done in such a manner as to appear contemporaneous, to a greater or lesser degree, with the original binding, or one of the binding styles of the time when the book was published. Contemporary bindings of this type, while not creative or imaginative, are not unethical provided no attempt is made to disguise the fact that they are new bindings of older books.

Zahn, Otto. On art binding, a monograph. Memphis. Toof. 1904.


continuous guard

A type of guard to which the folios of blankbooks are frequently sewn, the purpose being to allow the book to lie very flat when open. The folds of the guard, which are about 1/2 inch deep, are double the number of the folios of the book. Unlike the CONCERTINA GUARD, the folios (sections) do not fit into the folds of the guard, but rest against the edges of the folds of the guard, with the results that the opposite edges of the guard become the spine of the book, much in the manner of the REVERSED V-GUARD. The continuous guard is usually made of linen.


continuous trimmer

A trimming machine which does not have to be stopped and started for each cut, as is the usual case with the typical guillotine cutter. It has a revolving cutting bed equipped with four faces, each of which has its own clamp. When one clamp is filled with books, it closes and the bed makes a quarter revolution carrying the books under the fore-edge knife. While the fore edges are being trimmed, the operator fills the next clamp, the bed makes another quarter turn, and the heads and tails of the books in clamp one are trimmed at the same time the fore edges of the books in clamp two are being trimmed. Another quarter turn brings the books in clamp one over a conveyor where they are released.

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


CONTRACTIONS

used in Domesday Book and ancient Records. See Domesday Book. Records.


conventional foliage

A form of bookbinding ornamentation, usually structured by means of individual tools, which is generally unrealistic but still clearly suggestive of foliage.

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


convex covers

Book covers that are convex in shape because the book is thicker in the middle than at the spine and fore edge. Very old books sometimes had covers that were made convex intentionally, apparently in the belief that they could hold and support the leaves better by conforming to the shape of the text block. The text block was curved because the early printers produced books that were somewhat swollen in the middle, the swelling being due to the sheets being dampened before printing so as to obtain a better impression. This resulted in the fibers of the paper in the center part of the sheet being stretched and separated by the force of the type. The fibers did not return to their original conformation following printing, resulting in a slight additional thickness of the paper in the print area.


cool colors

Colors which are situated in the green-violet half of the color circle, i.e., colors in which blue is dominant. Bluish grays are referred to as cool colors. See also: WARM COLORS.

Mayer, Ralph. A dictionary of art terms and techniques. New York. Crowell. 1969.


copal

A resinous substance obtained from the exudations of living trees in areas of the tropics, or from fossils, rendered soluble in alcohol or other organic solvents, and used in the manufacture of printing inks and certain varnishes. In its dry form, it is also used in the manufacture of gilding powders.

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


COPE’S PRESS

The Albion. This is the production of Richard Whittaker Cope, and is an iron press. The power is produced entirely by levers, which, by means of two strong iron links attached to the head, and working at the bottom on what is called the lugs, communicate the power to the platen, and thus produce the impression: on the return of the bar the platen is lifted from the face of the types by means of a spiral spring fixed on the head of the press. I have repeatedly broken the links, when they were guaranteed to withstand any force in working the press that could be applied to it. On the death of Mr. Cope, the business was continued by trustees for the benefit of the family, and is under the immediate management of Mr. John Hopkinson, who has very much improved this press by taking away the links, and remodelling it: the principle, on the present construction, is the same as that of Sherwin and Cope’s Imperial press, with some variation in the application of the cap or knuckle, and also in the adjusting wedges, the screw of which to regulate the pull is at the near side of the piston.


copolymer

A complex polymer, resulting from the polymerizing together of two or more different monomers or monomer combinations. A copolymer is a true compound and often has properties distinct from those expected of a physical mixture of the separately polymerized component monomers. An example of an important copolymer used in archival work is the vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer.


copper naphthenate

A green cupric salt of naphthenic acid and copper, with the combined fungicidal properties of naphthenic acid and copper. It is practically non-volatile and is used in a 0.1% concentration to control the growth of molds and fungi. There is some risk involved in its use because its presence in paper increases the liability of the paper to damage in a polluted atmosphere, possibly due to the catalytic action of the copper with regard to sulfur dioxide, resulting in the formation of sulfuric acid.

Langwell, William Herbert. The conservation of books and documents. London. Pitman. 1957


copper number

A number expressing the amount of copper reduced from the cupric to the cuprous state by a given amount of cellulosic material. It is useful as a measure of purity, particularly in relation to the strength and resistance to chemical degradation of paper and board. The copper number gives the degraded celluloses, and particularly those that result from bleaching. Although the copper number test is subject to reservations, it is generally agreed that a lower copper number enhances the chances of longevity of the paper. The test does not, however, apply to lignified fibers, and must be corrected for noncellulosic constituents.

Casey, James P. Pulp and pa per: chemistry and chemical technology. 2nd ed. New York. Interscience. 1960-61. 3 vol.

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


copperas

See: FERROUS SULFATE.


COPTIC

The Copts are undoubtedly descendants of the ancient Egyptians; but not an unmixed race, their ancestors in the earlier ages of Christianity having intermarried with Greeks, Nubians, Abyssinians, and other foreigners. Their name is correctly pronounced either Ckoobt or Ckibt; but more commonly Goobt or Gibt, and (in Cairo and its neighbourhood, and in some other parts of Egypt,) ’Oobt or ’Ibt: in the singular, it is pronounced Ckoob´tee, Ckib´tee, Goob´tee, Gib´tee, ’Oob´tee, or ’Ib´tee. All of these sounds bear a great resemblance to the ancient Greek name of Egypt (Αἰγυπτος): but it is generally believed that the name of “Ckoobt” is derived from Coptos, (once a great city, in Upper Egypt,) now called Ckooft, or, more commonly, Gooft; to which vast numbers of the Christian Egyptians retired during the persecution with which their sect was visited under several of the Roman emperors. The Copts have not altogether lost their ancient language, their liturgy and several of their religious books being written in it; but the Coptic has become a dead language, understood by very few persons; and the Arabic has been adopted in its stead.

The Coptic language gradually fell into disuse after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs. For two centuries after that event, it appears to have been the only language that the generality of the Copts understood; but before the tenth century of our era, most of the inhabitants of Lower Egypt had ceased to speak and understand it, [this has been shown by Quatremère, in his Researches on the Language and Literature of Egypt,] though, in the Sa’ee´d (or Upper Egypt), El-Muckree´zee tells, the women and children of the Copts, in his time, (that is, about the close of the fourteenth century of our era, or the early part of the fifteenth,) scarcely spoke any other language than the Sa’ee´dee Coptic, and had a complete knowledge of the Greek. Soon after this period, the Coptic language fell into disuse in Upper Egypt, as it had done so long before in the Lower Provinces, and the Arabic was adopted in its stead. All the Copts who have been instructed at a school still pray, both in the church and in private, in Coptic; and the Scriptures are still always read in the churches in that language; but they are explained, from books, in Arabic. Many books for the use of priests and other persons are written in the Coptic language expressed in Arabic characters.—Lane’s Modern Egyptians, vol. ii. 1836.

Gibbon states, that Cavio affords a shelter for the indigent patriarch of the Copts, and a remnant of ten bishops: forty monasteries have survived the inroads of the Arabs; and the progress of servitude and apostasy has reduced the Coptic nation to the despicable number of twenty-five or thirty thousand families.

We know very little of the ancient language of Egypt. Nearly all the remains of it we now possess, have been transmitted to us through the Coptic, Sahidic and Bashmuric Dialects. The Coptic Dialect was spoken in Lower Egypt, of which Memphis was the capital: hence it has been called, with great propriety, the Memphitic Dialect. The Sahidic, from the Arabic word Sahad, or Al Sahad, the Upper, or Superior, was the dialect of Upper Egypt, of which Thebes was the capital; it has, therefore, been called the Thebaïc. It is impossible to say which of these two dialects was the more ancient. Georgi, Valperga, Munter, and others, have decided in favour of the Coptic; and Macriny, Renandot, Lacroze, and Jablonsky, with as much show of reason, have contended for the Sahidic. Still, however, the question must be left to conjecture, as we have not sufficient evidence to enable us to decide upon it. Besides these two dialects, which have long been known, there was a third, which was spoken in Baschmour, a province of the Delta.

The existence of three dialects in Egypt has been so satisfactorily proved by Quatremère, Englebreth, and other writers; and so fully confirmed by the Bashmuric fragments which have been discovered and published, that little more need be added. If, however, any doubt remain, the following quotation from a manuscript work of Athanasius, a prelate of the Coptic church, who was Bishop of Kous, will entirely remove it. “The Coptic language,” says he, “is divided into three dialects; the Coptic dialect of Miser, the Bahiric, and the Bashmuric: these different dialects are derived from the same language.”

The introduction of Greek words into the Egyptian language commenced, no doubt, from the time of the Macedonian conquest, which the introduction of Christianity tended to confirm and extend. The Christian religion contained so many new ideas, that new terms were necessary to express them. These terms the language of Greece would readily supply; which, probably, were adopted by the Egyptians, from the Greek writings of the apostles.

Egyptian literature has recently attracted particular attention. All that has come down to us of the language and literature of ancient Egypt is contained in the Coptic, Sahidic, and Bashmuric dialects; and in the Enchorial, Hieratic, and Hieroglyphic inscriptions and manuscripts.

The Coptic, or, as it has been called, the Bahiric, but more properly the Memphitic, was the dialect of Lower Egypt; the Mizur of the Scriptures. This dialect is more regular and systematic in its grammatical construction, and more pure, than the others.

Manuscripts exist, in Coptic, of nearly the whole of the Sacred Scriptures, and of the Services of the Coptic church. The works of some of the early Fathers, and the Acts of the Council of Nice, and also the Lives of a considerable number of Saints and Martyrs, are found in the Coptic dialect.

Dr. Murray says, the Coptic is an original tongue, for it derives all its indeclinable words and particles from radicals pertaining to itself. Its verbs are derived from its own resources. There is no mixture of any foreign language in its composition, except Greek.

The remains which we possess of the Egyptian language, when separated from the Greek, with which it is in some measure mixed up, has no near resemblance to any of the ancient or modern languages.

The importance of the Ancient Egyptian to the antiquary will at once appear, when we consider that a knowledge of it is necessary before the inscriptions on the monuments of Egypt can be properly understood, and the Enchorial and Hieratic manuscripts can be fully deciphered.

The terms Coptic and Sahidic have been adopted instead of Memphitic and Thebaic, lest confusion should be created; as the former are used in those Egyptian publications which have issued from the Oxford University Press.

The Coptic alphabet contains Thirty-two Letters. It will be seen, from a comparison of the alphabets, that the Egyptians adopted the Greek alphabet, with the addition of seven letters.

The Gamma never occurs in Coptic words, except in one or two instances. It is used instead of the Kappa in words derived from the Greek.

The Xi is seldom found in Egyptian words, but principally occurs in words derived from other languages. It is sometimes used instead of ks.

The stops used, are one or two points, · : but two points are most commonly used.

The mark used to divide the verses is +.

When the point or short line (`) occurs over consonants, it generally expresses the vowel e short.

It appears, from some words derived from the Greek, that the point (`) has been used to express the vowels a and o short.

When the point (`) occurs above a vowel, it expresses the soft or sharp breathing of the Greeks. When it is found above e long, it denotes the sharp accent; but when placed above the other vowels, it either expresses the soft accent, or it denotes that the letter should be pronounced separately, and agrees with the diæresis of the Greeks.

When the point (`) is put over a vowel in the beginning of words derived from the Greek, and which has the aspirate in that language, it indicates a sharp breathing.

Some Coptic words are abbreviated by a line or lines above them.—Tattam’s Grammar of the Egyptian Language. 8vo. 1830.

Coptic in the British Foundries.

English. Oxford.

Pica. Caslon and Livermore. Dr. Wilkins’s edition of the Pentateuch.

The Coptic Alphabet.

The Coptic and Greek Alphabets


Coptic bindings

Bindings produced by the Copts, or Egyptian Christians. The Coptic style of sewing is not unlike that of present-day machine edition sewing, in that it is also in the form of chain stitch linkings appearing as so many braids across the spine of the book. In addition, the covers of Coptic bindings were frequently sewn or laced to the text block by a number of hinging loops. Some Coptic bindings had wooden boards (from about the 4th century to the Middle Ages), but the majority had boards built up by layers of waste papyrus. They also had lined spines with flanges, as well as headbands. They were covered in leather as early as the 4th century and were tooled in blind, or by blind blocking. although decoration with inked and painted ornaments, as well as cut-out openwork backed with pieces of painted or gilded parchment were also used. Decoration consisting of openwork with parchment backing was executed before the leather (which was already cut to size) was attached. as was blind tooling or stamping when the fragile papyrus boards were employed. The tooling was in all likelihood done with unheated tools on moistened leather. Coptic bindings make up the oldest surviving "family" of leather bookbindings, and represent the ultimate source of all decorated leather bindings.

Dahl, Svend. History of the book. 2nd English ed. Metuchen, N.J. Scarecrow. 1968.

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

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

Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. The history of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D. Compiled by Dorothy Miner. Baltimore. Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery. 1957.


copy

1. A single example of a written or printed work. 2. One of the theoretically identical specimens of a work which together comprise an edition. impression, or issue. Different copies may also be printed on different qualities of paper. When printed in a different format, they constitute different editions, e.g., a paperback edition, and generally follow the original issue. 3. An imitation or reproduction of an original work. 4. To imitate or reproduce an original work by printing, or some other means. 5. Subject matter, either manuscript or printed, that is to be put into type or plates. 6. The material to be reproduced by photographic or other means, as well as the result of some process of reproduction.

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.

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


COPY

The manuscript that is to be printed, or a book that is to be reprinted; in short, any subject that is to be printed, is termed Copy.

Where it is possible, copy should always be kept locked up in a fire-proof closet. As it is rare for an author to have a duplicate, the loss of the manuscript would in many instances be irretrievable; it is also necessary to be very careful of the copy of new editions, in which the author or editor has made alterations; of all posthumous MS. works; and of unique copies, which sometimes are entrusted to the printer, the loss or destruction of which would be an unpardonable offence, unless it could be shown that all human precautions had been taken for their preservation.

I cannot omit noticing the careless manner in which many compositors keep their copy, leaving it loose on their frames and in their windows, and frequently neglecting to shut them when they quit work in summer, by which means the copy is sometimes blown away and lost, and at other times portions of it are destroyed as waste paper. The best method of preserving it is to have a paper case, or an old book cover, to put it in, and to keep it in the well of the frame, or the drawer when there is one.

Copy is generally given out to the compositor in regular portions: if it be printed, a sheet at a time; if in manuscript, a chapter, or section, as it may be; for the compositor has never the whole volume in his hands at once, excepting it be bound, and not allowed to be cut up, or taken to pieces. If the author supply it in small quantities at a time, it is usually handed to the compositor as it is received.

Many gentlemen who write for the press fall into an error, that appears inconsistent even with common reasoning; viz. that the worse the manuscript is written, the more likely the work is to be correctly printed: for, say they, the more difficulty the printer meets with in reading it, the more pains he is obliged to take to understand the subject; and of course he will print it more accurately than if he could pass it over in a slovenly manner.

In refutation of this prevalent error, I would ask those gentlemen, if they have never received letters from their friends, so hastily and carelessly written that their utmost efforts to decipher every word have been baffled, although they might arrive at the general meaning of the whole; I have myself seen letters which set at defiance all attempts to read them: I would ask those gentlemen, whether in examining ancient MSS. they have not often been perplexed in making out the subject, and after all their endeavours have at last risen from the task in many instances rather guessing at the meaning than being certain of it. Even so, and worse, is the case of the printer with ill-written manuscript, who frequently is ignorant of the subject on which he is engaged; how then is it probable that he should produce a proof as correct as if the manuscript were written in a fair legible hand?—it is neither probable nor possible. I have known more than one author, when appealed to for information on his own writing, unable to read it, and of course unable to explain to the workman the difficulty he was labouring under; and I have heard one of these very persons, among others, maintain, that the worse a manuscript was written, the more probability there was of its being correctly printed.

By the Act of the 39 G. 3. c. 79. s. 29. it is enacted, “That every Person who, from and after the Expiration of forty Days after the passing of this Act, shall print any Paper for Hire, Reward, Gain, or Profit, shall carefully preserve and keep one Copy (at least) of every Paper so printed by him or her, on which he or she shall write, or cause to be written or printed, in fair and legible Characters, the Name and Place of Abode of the Person or Persons by whom he or she shall be employed to print the same; and every Person printing any Paper for Hire, Reward, Gain, or Profit, who shall omit or neglect to write, or cause to be written or printed as aforesaid, the Name and Place of his or her Employer on one of such printed Papers, or to keep or preserve the same for the Space of six Calendar Months next after the Printing thereof, or to produce and shew the same to any Justice of the Peace, who, within the said Space of six Calendar Months, shall require to see the same, shall, for every such Omission, Neglect, or Refusal, forfeit and lose the Sum of twenty Pounds.”


COPY MONEY

It appears from Moxon’s work, that in his time each compositor received a copy of the work on which he was employed, or, in lieu of it, a sum of money, which was called Copy Money. This custom is abolished, and no remains of it exist. See Ancient Customs and Take up a Sheet.

Copyright. See Literary Property.


cord marker

An old term applied to the marks made across the spine of a gathered book to indicate the positions of the cords, tapes or bands on which the book was to be sewn, and, in the case of sewing on recessed cords, where the sawing-in was to be done.

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


cord sewing

See: FLEXIBLE SEWING; RECESSED-CORD SEWING.


cording

The process of inserting and tying string or cord on hanging cards, calendars, catalogs, and other items, the material being either pre-punched or pierced with an awl. Cording is done either by hand or on semi-automatic or automatic machines.

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

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


CORDING QUIRES

The outside quires of a ream of paper.—M. They are now called Outsides, or Outside Quires. See Cassie Paper.


Cordoban leather

Originally, a "leather" that was basically alum-tawed hair sheepskin, usually of a naturally white color but also dyed red. It was first produced in Córdoba, Spain, by a combination of Arab and Spanish craftsmen following the Moorish invasion of the 8th century. Sometime during the 14th or 15th century the method of producing Cordoban changed from tawing to vegetable tannage. Within Spain the name for all these materials, including CORDOVAN LEATHER, was guadameci. The terms "Cordoban." "Cordovan," and "Spanish leather" have been used in England for centuries to denote indiscriminately several kinds of leather, some imported from Spain, others from France and Holland, as well as some actually produced in England and called "cordwain," which is probably a corruption of the French cordouan.

Waterer, John William. A guide to the conservation and restoration of objects made wholly or in part of leather. 2nd ed. London. Bell. 1973.


Cordovan leather

A soft. fine-grained, colored leather produced mainly from the SHELL of a horse butt, but now also produced from goat- and pigskin. It is a vegetable tanned and curried leather. The name derives from Córdoba, Spain, where the leather was first produced. Cordovan is well known for its non-porosity, density, and good wearing characteristics. At one time it was used fairly extensively in bookbinding, particularly in Spain. See also: MUDÉJAR STYLE.

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

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


cords

The cotton, hemp, linen. or silk cords or bands, of varying thicknesses, which extend across the backs of the gathered sections and are used in sewing books through the folds. They are either sunk into saw cuts in the sections, as in RECESSED-CORD SEWING. or rest against the sections to form the raised cords or bands used in FLEXIBLE SEWING. See also: BANDS (1); TAPES; THONGS (2); WEBBING(S) (1).


corduroy

A durable, cut-pile fabric having vertical ribs, made of cotton or plain and twill weaves, and made in various weights and colors. Corduroy was used to some extent in the early part of the 20th century as a covering material for blankbooks and other large volumes.


cordwain

An English term for CORDOBAN LEATHER, or CORDOVAN LEATHER.


corium

See: DERMIS.


cork back

An imitation leather having a reverse surface of ground cork, producing the appearance of the flesh side of a leather.


corner

1. The juncture of the two edges of a book cover at the fore edge and head and tail. Types of corners include the LIBRARY CORNER, ROUND CORNER, and SQUARE CORNER. 2. The cloth, leather, or other material on the corners of half bindings. 3. A CORNERPIECE (2). 4. See: BOOK CORNERS.


corner

The triangular brass tools used in finishing backs and sides. The gilt ornaments used on velvet books. Also, the leather pasted on the corners of half-bound books.


corner

The triangular tools used in finishing backs and sides. The leather or material covering the corners of half-bound books. The metal ornaments used usually in keeping with clasps.


corner

Leather pieces pasted on the corners of a half-bound or three-quarter-bound book.


CORNER IRONS

Irons screwed on the coffin of a wooden press at the extremity of each corner: these irons form a right angle at the outside, and an obtuse angle on the inside, being thicker at the angle than at the extreme ends, so as to allow the quoins to wedge up the form on the press stone. They are quadrat high.


corner knife

A type of knife used for cutting leather at the corners of a book in the process of covering.

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


corner mitering

See illustration</> The process or operation of accurately joining the edges of the covering material of a book that has been turned-in at the edges of the board. The purpose is to have a minimum of overlapping of cloth, or a pared overlapping of leather or vellum.

Corner mitering has been altered considerably down through the history of bookbinding. One particular method, which was used well into the 16th century, involved cutting the leather so as to leave a tongue, with the cut- ting usually being done after the leather had been turned-in. In other methods, the leather was turned-in and then cut so that the vertical edges of the leather butted, or nearly so. An opposite technique was to cut the leather before turning it in, with the result that it overlapped a great deal more than is usual today, and left a small gap at the corners. This technique appears to have been in general use from the second half of the 16th century to the end of the 18th or early years of the 19th. Toward the end of this period the leather was pared thinner and the gap at the corner was considerably neater. During the last three-quarters of the 19th century the most common method of corner mitering of full leather bindings was to pare them diagonally and on a bevel before turning-in, so that the two edges overlapped to the extent of the bevel, coming together at an angle of 45° from the corner.


corner pull test

A test similar to the PAGE PULL TEST, except that the leaf clamping device is limited to gripping only the upper or lower corner of the leaf. This test is designed to determine if a leaf will tear before it can be pulled from the binding, and is used mainly in testing the strength of adhesive bindings.


Corner quadrates

A quarter section of a hollow square or rectangle.


corner tool

A bookbinding finishing tool used to make corner designs on a binding. It can also be used to make the center design, four impressions of the same tool resulting in a center pattern. See also: CORNERPIECE (1).

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

Philip, Alexander John. The business of bookbinding for librarians …Gravesend. A. J. Philip. 1935.


cornered

The corners of boards that have been rounded, or the covering material which has been formed around the rounded corner. Boards are generally round-cornered on a cornering machine, or with a curved chisel.

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

Perry, Kenneth Frederick, and Clarence T. Babb. The binding of books. Rev. ed. Bloomington, 111. McKnight & McKnight. 1967.


cornering machine

A foot- or power-operated machine used for cutting the round (or other shape) corners. of paper, cards, book boards, etc. The machine employs a curved chisel for this purpose.

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


cornerpiece

1. A bookbinding finishing tool, usually ARABESQUE, designed to be used at the corners of a leather binding, usually for the purpose of matching a centerpiece or other form of decoration. 2. Metal corners attached to a binding to protect the corners of the covers from damage. Removable pasteboard cornerpieces are sometimes used to protect the corners of books during shipment.

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

Smith, Frederick Richard. Bookbinding. London. Pitman. 1929.


corners

See: BOOK CORNERS.


CORRECT

When the corrector reads the proof, or the compositor mends the faults he marked in the proof, they are both said to correct; the corrector the proof, the compositor the form.—M. In the first case, it is now styled reading the proof; in the next, the compositor has to put right the errors and mistakes he has made in the workmanship, previously to the sheet being sent to the author or editor; this he does by picking out the wrong letters or words by means of a sharp bodkin, and replacing them with the right ones; but if he have left an out or made a double, he then takes the matter into the composing stick, and over-runs it till he comes to the end of a paragraph; or the error may make one or more even lines, when the trouble is much lessened; still the length of the page must be had in view and kept right, either by branching out where it will admit of it, or by driving a line or two out, or getting a line or two in in the adjoining pages, according to circumstances, but never to make even lines too suddenly so as to cause the spacing to be unsightly, by being too close, or too wide, for the sake of saving a little trouble in over-running a few lines.

For the regularity and despatch of business a compositor should never delay correcting after he has received the proof: it causes disappointment to the author or proprietors of the work, and injures his employer in his business, by obtaining for him the character of want of regularity and punctuality; it injures the pressmen, by delaying the forms going to press; and it ultimately injures himself, by causing him to stand still for want of letter. It is a general rule in printing offices, that a compositor should always impose as soon as the sheet on which he is at work is out and made up, and that he also should correct his proof without loss of time. See Author’s Proof. First Proof.


CORRECT

A compositor is said to correct when he amends the faults marked in a proof.


correct pattern

The contour of a hide flayed so as to permit the tanner to produce the maximum amount of good leather. It is a standard pattern adopted by packers and tanners.


corrected grain

A leather from which the surface of the grain has been partially removed by BUFFING (2) to a depth governed by the condition of the stock, and upon which a new surface has been built by means of various finishes. See also: BUFFED LEATHER.

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


corrected white

See: DYED WHITE.


CORRECTING

is the rectifying of such errors in the types as the compositor may have made, and any defects in the workmanship; it also includes making such alterations as the author, on examining the proof sheets, may think necessary.

The German printers have an implement, made of wood, similar to the back and bottom of a composing stick, in which they gather the corrections, and place it with them in it on the form, without risk of injuring the types, leaving their hands free from incumbrance. This appears to be an improvement on our practice, which is, when the corrections are numerous, to gather them in a composing stick, and place it on the face of the form, for convenience of having them close at hand; this should be avoided, and neither metal, nor any other article that is likely to injure the types or an engraving, should ever be laid on the face of the letter.

The French and the Italians employ a pair of tweezers for picking the wrong letters out of the form, by which they avoid injuring the letter with the bodkin; but there is a bodkin attached to the other end, to use when necessary. They say this is superior to our method of taking out the wrong letter with a bodkin, and executed more readily. In fact, with us there is frequent injury done by the inexperienced or careless workman in using the bodkin: the letter is often injured that is drawn out; if the bodkin is not very sharp, it occasionally slips and spoils the face of six or seven adjoining letters; and, by its injudicious use, the next letter, under the blade of the bodkin, is often rendered useless.

The specimen in p. 191. shows the manner of marking the corrections in a proof. The following is an explanation of the marks therein used, which will enable a gentleman who has to superintend a work through the press to correct the proof sheets in a way that will be clearly understood by the printer, and will tend to promote correctness, by preventing those mistakes that occasionally occur owing to his not comprehending all the marks on the proof.

Where a word is to be changed from small letters to capitals draw three lines under it, and write caps. in the margin.

1. The substitution of a capital for a small letter.

2. The marks for turned commas, which designate extracts or quotations.

3. The insertion of a hyphen.

4. The substitution of a small letter for a capital.

5. To change one word for another.

6. To take away a superfluous letter or word, the pen is struck through it and a round topped d made opposite, being the contraction of the word dele, do thou expunge.

7. A letter turned upside down.

8. The insertion of a word or letter.

9. The substitution of a comma for another point, or for a letter put in by mistake.

10. The substitution of a ; for another point.

11. When words are to be transposed, two ways of marking them are shown; but they are not usually numbered, unless more than three words have their order changed.

12. When a paragraph commences where it is not intended, connect the matter by a line, and write in the margin opposite run on.

13. To draw the letters of a word close together that stand apart.

14. The marks for a new paragraph.

15. The substitution of a period or a colon for any other point. It is customary to encircle these two points with a line.

16. Where a space or a quadrat stands up and appears, draw a line under it, and make a strong perpendicular line in the margin.

17. Where there is a wrong letter, draw the pen through that letter, and make the right one opposite in the margin.

18. The transposition of letters in a word.

19. The mark for a space where it has been omitted between two words.

20. The manner of marking an omission, or an insertion, when it is too long to be written in the side margin. When this occurs it may be done either at the top or the bottom of the page.

21. When one or more words have been struck out, and it is subsequently decided that they should remain, make dots under them, and write the word stet in the margin.

22. When a letter of a different size from that used, or of a different face, appears in a word, draw a line either through it or under it, and write opposite w. f., for wrong fount.

23. Marks when the letters in a word do not stand even.

24. Marks when lines do not appear straight.

25. The mark for the insertion of an apostrophe.

Where a word has to be changed from Roman to Italic draw a line under it, and write Ital. in the margin; and where a word has to be changed from Italic to Roman, write Rom. opposite.

To change a word from small letters to small capitals, make two lines under the word, and write sm. caps. opposite. To change a word from small capitals to small letters make one line under the word, and write in the margin lo. ca. for lower case.

Where the compositor has left an out, which is too long to be copied in the margin of the proof, make a caret at the place, and write opposite, Out, see copy.

The specimen when corrected would be as follows.

It is sublimely declared in the Christian Scriptures, that “God is Love.” In truth, to figure to ourselves under any other character a Being of infinite wisdom to conceive, and power to execute his designs, would appal the imagination of his dependent creatures. Neither can we find, in reasoning à priori, and from the nature of things, any foundation for believing that the misery rather than the happiness of those dependent creatures can be desired or devised by a Being who cannot possibly be actuated by any of the motives from which we know that injustice proceeds, as ignorance, selfishness, or partiality; and who can have entertained, so far as we are able to discover, no other object in creating man, except the intention of finally communicating a larger proportion of happiness than misery. These are the principles from which is deduced the necessity of justice and benevolence in the Creator.

Arguments of this nature will have more or less effect, according to the constitution of the mind to which they are presented. At the same time it must be conceded, that the works of God, generally considered, form the best criterion of his intentions; and that, however indisputable the eternal truths may be which render goodness inseparable from power and wisdom, there still remains a reasonable inquiry, how far the actual appearance of the world justifies this conclusion.

Composing stick for corrections

A tool for removing a letter

An example page with handwritten proof corrections


CORRECTING STONE

The stone on which the compositor imposes and corrects his forms.—M. It is now called Imposing Stone, which see.


CORRECTIONS

The letters marked in a proof are called Corrections.—M. At the present time, the right words or letters that are to replace the wrong ones are understood by the word; thus a compositor, when he collects the right letters for the purpose of correcting a form, is said to <i>Gather the Corrections</i>.


CORRECTIONS

The alterations or errors marked in a proof.


CORRECTOR

Moxon uses this word to designate the person whom we now call a Reader. The word is not now used. See Reader.

Counting off Copy. See Casting off Copy.

Cowper, Edward. See Machines.


corrugations

Wrinkles across the middle of sheets of handmade paper, caused by the paper being wetted during printing and not drying evenly thereafter. The sheet is stretched in the printing area by the force of the press, resulting in uneven tension between the printed and unprinted areas. See also: CONVEX COVERS.

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


Corvinus bindings

Bindings belonging to Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary (1458-1490) and famous as a patron of the arts. The magnificent library which he gathered together at the royal palace of Budapest contained manuscripts celebrated as the most marvelous masterpieces of Italian miniature painting of the Renaissance. They were executed by the greatest Florentine miniaturists of the day. These manuscripts, embellished with gold and colors on the inside, were adorned with equally superb bindings, many of which are in red velvet or morocco leather, decorated with gold tooling, inlays of leather of a different color. enamel, and cameos. Some were strongly reminiscent of Oriental motifs, while others were more Italian in character. Many manuscripts were also bound in brocade with bosses and clasps of silver.

In 1526 the king's library, which was estimated at anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 volumes, was sacked by the Turks.

Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. The history of bookbinding 525-1950 A.D. Compiled by Dorothy Miner. Baltimore. Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery. 1957.


Cosway bindings

Leather bookbindings produced in the usual manner, except that they have miniature paintings inset into their covers. They are named after Richard Cosway (c 1742-1821), the English miniaturist. Cosway actually had nothing to do with the execution of these bindings, as they were not introduced until early in the 20th century. They were probably the invention of the firm of Henry Sotheran. booksellers, or their manager, J. Harrison Stonehouse. The books were bound by Robert Rivière, in good quality Levant morocco, with morocco joints, watered-silk linings, and the miniatures painted on ivory, glazed, and insetted in the covers.

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


cottage style

A style of book decoration in which the top and bottom of a center rectangular panel slope away from a broken center, producing a kind of gabled effect. The spaces are filled in, at times, with French sprays and branches in combination with lacework, and sometimes with the same small tools used in the fan ornament. Although this style of decoration may have originated in France, perhaps as early as 1630, it is most characteristic of English binding of the late 17th century (c 1660) to about 1710. The style was still being used on pocket almanacs and devotional books as late as, or even later than, 1822.

Dutton, Meiric Keeler. Historical sketch of bookbinding as an art. Norwood. Holliston Mills. 1968.

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

Horne, Herbert Percy. The binding of books; an essay in the history of gold-tooled bindings. 2nd ed. New York. Haskell House. 1970.

Prideaux, Sarah Treverbian. Modern bookbindings, their design and decoration. London. Constable. 1906.


cotton

A soft, fibrous, usually white organic substance that clothes the seeds of various plants, especially of the genus Gossypium. The cotton fiber resembles a flat, twisted tube. having a thin wall and a wide central canal. known as the lumen. Because of this wide lumen, the cylindrical fiber collapses upon drying to the form of a flat, twisted tube, somewhat in the shape of a corkscrew. The fiber length may be as much as 30 mm. and the width between approximately 0.01 and 0.03 mm., giving a ratio of length to width of more than 1,000 to 1. Cotton consists of more than 90% cellulose, exclusive of COTTON LINTERS. Since it is almost pure cellulose, cotton fibers are readily affected by acids and moderately strong oxidizing agents. Alkali compounds in moderate amounts and at normal temperatures, however, have little effect on them. Cotton is used extensively in the manufacture of sewing thread, spine lining cloth, book cloth (including buckram), as well as higher grade papers and other products used in archival work.

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

Langwell, William Herbert. The conservation of books and documents. London. Pitman. 1957


cotton bating

A soft, fluffy cotton fiber, having a sized surface to hold the fibers together, and used as a padding medium for album covers, gold cushions, etc.

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


cotton content

See: COTTON FIBER CONTENT PAPER.


cotton drill

See: DRILL (1).


cotton fiber content paper

Papers which are made from cellulose fibers derived from COTTON LINTERS, cotton or linen cuttings, and lint cotton. Flax is also sometimes included in this definition. Also called "rag content paper" and "cotton content paper."

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.

Coupe, Raymond Richard. Science of printing technology. London. Cassell. 1966.