BOTANY

The following is a list of the Technical Terms most commonly employed in Botany:—

Abnormal, contrary to general rules.

Accumbent, lying against anything, in distinction to lying upon; as the cotyledons of some cruciferous plants.

Acerose, stiff and slender and sharp-pointed, as the leaves of a pine-tree.

Achenium, a small, hard, one-seeded fruit, resembling a seed.

Aciculate, needle-shaped.

Acinaciform, scymitar-shaped.

Acinus, a bunch of succulent berries, as of grapes.

Acrogen, a plant which grows at its end only, without increasing in diameter, as ferns, and all flowerless plants.

Aculeate, covered with prickles.

Aculeus, a prickle.

Acuminate, tapering to the point, but flat.

Adnate, growing to any thing by the whole length.

Adventitious, appearing accidentally.

Æstivation, the arrangement of the parts of the flower before they expand.

Alabastrus, a flower-bud.

Albumen, a substance interposed in some seeds between the embryo and the seed coats.

Alburnum, the young wood; sap-wood.

Amentum, a catkin; the male inflorescence of the hazel, &c.

Amplexicaul, clasping a stem.

Anastomosing, the growing together of two parts which meet from different directions.

-androus, a Greek termination expressive of the male sex.

Anfractuous, doubled abruptly in several different directions.

Angiocarpous, having seeds enclosed in a pericarp.

Annotinous, a year old.

Anther, the case containing pollen.

Apetalous, having no petals.

Apiculate, abruptly pointed.

Apocarpous, where the carpels are distinct from each other.

Apophysis, the enlarged base of the theca of some mosses.

Apothecium, the shield, or mass of reproductive matter of a lichen.

Appendiculate, having some kind of appendages.

Arachnoid, resembling a spider’s web.

Areolate, divided into little spaces.

Aril, a peculiar wrapper of some seeds, as the mace of the nutmeg.

Arista, the beard or awn of grasses.

Asci, the cases in which the spores of lichens are enclosed.

Ascidium, a hollow leaf looking like a water vessel; as the pitcher of Nepenthes.

Attenuated, gradually tapering to a point without becoming flat.

Auriculate, having two lobes (like ears) at the base.

Awn, see Arista.

Axil, the acute angle formed by the junction of the leaf, &c. to its axis.

Axillary, growing in an axil.

Axis, the root and stem either taken together or separately.

Baccate, fruit covered with soft flesh.

Barbate, covered with long hairs resembling a beard.

Beard, a tuft of long hairs.

Biconjugate, in two pairs, placed side by side.

Bidentate, having two teeth.

Bifarious, arranged in two rows.

Bifid, divided into two shallow lobes.

Bifoliate, having two leaflets.

Bifurcate, twice forked.

Bijugous, in two pairs, placed end to end.

Binate, growing in pairs.

Bipartite, divided into two deep lobes.

Bipinnate, twice pinnate.

Biserrate, twice serrate.

Brachiate, when branches stand nearly at right angles to the stem from which they proceed.

Bract, the leaf or leaflet from the axil of which a flower grows.

Bulb, a scaly, underground bud.

Bulbotuber, a short, roundish, underground stem resembling a bulb.

Caducous, falling off sooner or later.

Cæsious, of a bluish grey colour.

Cæspitose, growing in tufts.

Calcar, a spur or horn; as in the Nasturtium.

Calcarate, having a spur or horn.

Calyculate, having a whorl of bracts on the outside of a calyx, or of an involucre.

Calyptra, the hood of a moss.

Calyx, the external envelope of a flower.

Cambium, a viscid secretion formed in the spring between the bark and wood of Exogens.

Campanulate, bell-shaped.

Canaliculate, channelled.

Cancellate, a leaf which has veins without connecting parenchyma.

Capitate, growing in a head.

Capitulum, a collection of flowers in a head.

Capsule, any dry many-seeded fruit.

Carinate, having a kind of keel.

Carnose, fleshy.

Carpel, one of the parts of a compound pistil; a single leaf rolled up into one of the integers of a pistil.

Carunculate, a seed having fungous excrescences growing near its hilum.

Caryopsis, a dry one-seeded fruit resembling a seed, but with no distinction between the seed coat and pericarp.

Caudate, prolonged into a sort of tail.

Cauline, of or belonging to the stem.

Cernuous, drooping.

Chalaza, a spot on a seed indicating the place where the nucleus is united to the seminal integuments.

Ciliated, fringed with hairs like an eyelash.

Cinereous, ash-coloured.

Circinate, rolled inwards from the point to the base.

Circumscissile, dividing into two parts by a spontaneous transverse separation.

Cirrhous, terminating in a tendril.

Clavate, club-shaped.

Claw, the stalk of a petal.

Clypeate, resembling a round buckler.

Cochleate, resembling the bowl of a spoon.

Collum, the point where the stem and root are combined.

Columella, a central part of the fruit of a moss, round which the spores are deposited.

Column, the combination of stamens and style in Orchideous and other plants.

Comose, having hairs at one or both ends, if speaking of seeds; being terminated by coloured empty bracts, if applied to inflorescences.

Conduplicate, doubled together.

Confluent, growing together so that the line of junction is lost to the sight.

Conjugate, growing in pairs.

Connate, growing together so that the line of junction remains perceptible.

Connective, the fleshy part that combines the two lobes of an anther.

Connivent, converging, as the anther of a potato blossom.

Conoidal, approaching a conical form.

Continuous, proceeding from something else without apparent interruption.

Contorted, twisted in such a way that all the parts have a similar direction, as the segments of the flower of an Oleander.

Convolute, rolled together.

Corculum, the rudimentary axis which connects the cotyledons of the embryo.

Cordate, heart-shaped.

Coriaceous, of a leathery texture.

Cormus, a solid, roundish, underground stem, as in Crocus.

Corneous, of a horny texture.

Corniculate, shaped like a slender horn.

Corolla, the second of the two envelopes that surround the stamens and pistil.

Corona, a combination of fertile and barren stamens into a disk, as in Stapelia.

Corymbose, when the branches surrounding a common axis are shortest at the top and longest at the bottom, so as to form a level-topped whole.

Costa, the midrib of a leaf.

Cotyledons, the leaves of the embryo.

Crateriform, shaped like a goblet.

Crenelled or Crenated, having rounded notches at the edges.

Crested, having some unusual and striking appendage arising from the middle.

Cruciate, when four parts are so arranged as to resemble the arms of a Maltese cross.

Cucullate, hooded, rolled inwards so as to conceal any thing lying within.

Culm, the straw of grasses.

Cuneate, wedge-shaped.

Cupule, the cup of the acorn, the husk of the filbert, chestnut, &c.; a peculiar combination of bracts.

Cuspidate, abruptly rounded off with a projecting point in the middle.

Cuticle, the external skin.

Cyathiform, cup-shaped, more contracted at the orifice than crateriform.

Cymbiform, having the form of a boat.

Cyme, an inflorescence having a corymbose form, but consisting of repeatedly-branched divisions.

Cymose, resembling a cyme in appearance.

Decandrous, having ten stamens.

Deciduous, falling off.

Declinate, curved downwards.

Decumbent, lying prostrate, but rising again.

Decurrent, produced downwards, as the base of a leaf down the stem.

Decussate, crossing at right angles.

Dehiscence, the act of opening of anther or fruit.

Deltoid, having the form of a triangle or Greek Δ.

Dendroidal, resembling a small tree.

Dentate, with sharp-pointed notches and intermediate curves instead of re-entering angles.

Depauperated, imperfectly developed; looking as if ill-formed from want of sufficient nutriment.

Depressed, flattened from point to base.

Diadelphous, having the stamens in two parcels.

Diandrous, having two stamens.

Dichotomous, repeatedly divided into two branches.

Dicotyledonous, having two cotyledons.

Didymous, growing in pairs, or twins; only applied to solids and not to flat surfaces.

Didynamous, having two pairs of stamens of unequal length.

Digitate, fingered, diverging from a common centre, as the fingers from the palm.

Dimidiate, half-formed, or halved, or split into two halves.

Diœcious, having stamens on one plant and pistils on another.

Dipterous, having two wings.

Discoidal, with the central part of a flat body differently coloured or marked from the margin.

Disk, a fleshy circle interposed between the stamens and pistils.

Dissepiments, the vertical partitions of a compound fruit.

Distichous, arranged in two rows.

Divaricating, diverging at an obtuse angle.

Dodecandrous, having 12 stamens.

Dolabriform, hatchet-shaped.

Drupe, such a fruit as the peach, consisting of a stem surrounded by flesh or fibrous matter.

Ducts, spiral vessels that will not unroll.

Dumose, having a compact bushy form.

Duramen, the heart-wood of timber.

Echinate, covered with hard sharp points.

Elaters, little spirally-twisted hygrometrical threads that disperse the spores of Jungermannias.

Elementary organs, the minute parts of which the texture of plants is composed.

Emarginate, having a notch at the point.

Embryo, the rudimentary plant before germination commences.

Endocarp, the hard lining of some pericarps.

Endogen, a plant which increases in diameter by addition to its centre, as a palm-tree.

Enneandrous, having 9 stamens.

Ensiform, having the form of a straight and narrow sword blade.

Epicarp, the external layer of the pericarp.

Epidermis, the skin of a plant, in the language of some writers; the cortical integument according to others.

Epigynous, growing upon the top of the ovary, or seeming to do so.

Equitant, when leaves are so arranged that the base of each is enclosed within the opposite base of that which is next below it; as in Iris.

Estivation, see Æstivation.

Exogen, a plant which increases in diameter by the addition of new wood to the outside of the old wood; as an oak-tree.

Farinaceous, mealy.

Fasciated, banded.

Fasciculated, collected in clusters.

Fastigiate, when the branches of any plant are pressed close to the main stem, as in the Lombardy poplar.

Filament, the stalk of the anther.

Filiform, slender and round like a thread.

Fistular, tubular but closed at each end; as the leaf of an onion.

Flabelliform, fan-shaped.

Flagelliform, resembling the thong of a whip.

Flexuose, wavy.

Floccose, covered with little irregular patches of woolliness.

Floret, a little flower.

Floscule, ditto.

Foliaceous, having the colour and texture of a common green leaf.

Foliation, the arrangement of young leaves within the leaf-bud.

Follicle, a simple fruit opening by its ventral suture only.

Foramen, the passage through the integuments of an ovule by which impregnating matter is introduced into the nucleus.

Fovilla, the fertilizing principle of pollen.

Frond, the leaf of a fern or of a palm.

Fruit, the full-grown ripened pistil.

Fugacious, lasting but a short time.

Fungoid, resembling a fungus; that is, irregular in form and fleshy in texture.

Funiculus, the stalk by which some seeds are attached to the placenta.

Fusiform, spindle-shaped, thickest in the middle, and tapering to each end.

Galbulus, a small cone whose scales are all consolidated into a fleshy ball, as in Juniper.

Galea, the upper lip of a labiate flower.

Geniculate, knee-jointed, when a stem bends suddenly in its middle.

Gibbous, prominent, projecting.

Glabrous, having no hairs.

Gladiate, the same as ensiform, but broader and shorter.

Gland, 1. the fruit of the oak, the hazel, &c.; 2. an elevation of the cuticle which usually secretes either acrid or resinous matter.

Glandular, covered with glands of the second kind.

Glaucous, covered with bloom like a plum.

Glochidate, covered with hairs which are rigid and hooked at their point.

Glume, one of the bracts of grasses.

Gymnospermous, having seeds which ripen without being enclosed in a pericarp.

Gynobase, an elevated part of the growing point of a flower-bud, rising between the carpels and throwing them into an oblique position.

Gyrate, see Circinate. Also, surrounded by an elastic ring, as the theca of ferns.

Hastate, having the form of a halbert-head; that is, with a lance-shaped centre crossed at the base by two lobes of a similar form standing at right angles with the centre.

Helmet, the hooded upper lip of some flowers.

Heptandrous, having 7 stamens.

Hexandrous, having 6 stamens.

Hilum, the scar left upon a seed when it is separated from the placenta.

Hirsute, covered with harsh long hairs.

Hymenium, the gills of a mushroom; that part in Fungi where the spores are placed.

Hypocrateriform, salver-shaped; having a cylindrical tube and a flat border spreading away from it.

Hypogynous, arising from immediately below the pistil.

Icosandrous, having 20 or more perigynous stamens.

Imbricated, overlapping, as tiles overlie each other on the roof of a house.

Incumbent, lying upon any thing.

Indehiscent, not opening when ripe.

Induplicate, doubled inwards.

Indusium, the membrane that overlies the sori of ferns.

Inferior, is said of a calyx when it does not adhere to the ovary; is said of an ovary when it does adhere to the calyx.

Inflorescence, the collection of flowers upon a plant.

Infundibuliform, shaped like a funnel.

Innate, growing upon any thing by one end.

Innovations, the young shoots of mosses.

Intercellular, that which lies between the cells or elementary bladders of plants.

Internode, the space between two nodes.

Interrupted, when variations in continuity, size, or development alternately occur in parts which are sometimes uniform; as when pinnated leaves have the alternate leaflets much the smallest, and when dense spikes are here and there broken by the extension of internodes.

Involucre, a collection of bracts placed in a whorl on the outside a calyx or flower-head.

Involute, rolled inwards.

Labellum, one segment of a corolla, which is lower than the others, and often pendulous.

Labiate, divided into an upper and a lower lip, as the corolla of dead nettle.

Lacunose, having numerous large deep depressions or excavations on its surface.

Lamina, the blade of a leaf.

Lanceolate, shaped like a lance-head; that is, oval, tapering to both extremities.

Lateral, originating from the side of any thing.

Latex, the vital fluid of vegetation.

Lax, not compact or dense.

Leaflet, a division of a compound leaf.

Legume, a kind of fruit like the pod of a pea.

Lenticular, small, depressed, and doubly convex.

Lepidote, covered with a sort of scurfiness.

Leprous, the same.

Liber, the newly-formed inner bark of Exogens.

Ligula, a membranous expansion from the top of the petiole in grasses.

Limb, the blade or expanded part of a petal.

Linea, very narrow, with the two sides nearly parallel.

Lip, see Labellum.

Loculicidal, when the carpels of a compound fruit dehisce in such a way that the cells are broken through at their back.

Locusta, the spikelet, or collection of florets of a grass.

Lomentum, a legume which is interrupted between the seeds, so as to separate into numerous transverse portions.

Lunate, formed like a crescent.

Manicate, when hairs are interwoven into a mass that can be easily separated from the surface.

Marginal, of or belonging to the edge of any thing.

Medullary, of or belonging to the pith.

Micropyle, a small passage through the seed, called the foramen when speaking of the ovule. See Foramen.

Mitriform, conical, hollow, open at the base, and either entire there or irregularly cut.

Monadelphous, with the stamens united into one parcel.

Monandrous, with one stamen only.

Moniliform, shaped like a necklace.

Monopetalous, with several petals united into one body by their edges.

Mucronate, tipped by a hard point.

Multifid, divided into many shallow lobes.

Multipartite, divided into many deep lobes.

Muricated, covered with short, broad, sharp-pointed tubercles.

Muriform, resembling the bricks in the wall of a house.

Navicular, shaped like a very small boat.

Nectary, any organ that secretes honey.

Nerves, the stronger veins of a leaf.

Node, the part of a stem from which a normal leaf-bud arises.

Normal, according to general rules.

Nucleus, the central part of an ovule, or a seed.

Nucule, a small hard seed-like pericarp.

Oblique, larger on one side than on the other.

Ochrea, two stipules united round the stem into a kind of sheath.

Octandrous, having eight stamens.

Operculum, the lid of the theca of a moss.

Ovary, the hollow part of a pistil containing the ovules.

Ovate, having the figure of an egg.

Ovule, a rudimentary seed.

Palate, the lower surface of the throat of a labiate corolla.

Palea, either the inner bracts of the inflorescence of a grass, or the bracts upon the receptacle of the flower-head of a Composita.

Paleaceous, covered with paleæ.

Palmate, the same as digitate, only the divisions more shallow and broader.

Panduriform, oblong, narrowing towards the base, and contracted below the middle.

Panicle, a compound raceme; a loose kind of inflorescence.

Papilionaceous, a flower consisting of standard, wings, and keel, like that of a pea.

Pappus, the calyx of a Composita, as of dandelion.

Parenchyma, the pulp that connects the veins of leaves.

Parietal, growing from the lining of any thing.

Pectinate, divided into long, close, narrow teeth like a comb.

Pedate, palmate, with the lateral segments lengthened and lobed.

Pedicel, one of a great many peduncles.

Peduncle, a flower-stalk.

Peltate, attached within the margin.

Pentandrous, having five stamens.

Perfoliate, surrounding a stem by the base, which grows together where the margins touch.

Perianth, a collection of floral envelopes, among which the calyx cannot be distinguished from the corolla, though both are present.

Pericarp, the shell of a fruit of any kind.

Perichætium, the leaves at the base of the stalk of the fruit of a moss.

Perigone, same as Perianth.

Perigynous, growing from the sides of a calyx.

Perisperm, same as Albumen.

Peristome, a curious set of processes surrounding the orifice of the theca of a moss.

Peronate, laid thickly over with a woolly substance ending in a sort of meal.

Personate, labiate, with the palate of the lower lip pressing against the upper lip.

Petal, one of the parts of a corolla.

Petaloid, resembling a petal in colour and texture.

Petiole, the stalk of a leaf.

Petiolar, of or belonging to the petiole.

Phyllodium, a petiole transformed into a flat leaf-like body.

Pileus, the cap of a mushroom.

Pilose, covered with short fine hairs.

Pinnate, divided into a number of pairs of leaflets; bipinnate, each leaflet is also pinnate; tripinnate, each secondary leaflet pinnated also.

Pinnatifid, divided in a pinnated manner nearly down to the midrib.

Pistil, the combination of ovary, style, and stigma.

Pith, the central column of cellular tissue in an Exogen.

Placenta, the part of the ovary to which the ovules are attached.

Plane, quite flat.

Plumule, the rudiment of a stem in the embryo.

Pollen, the powder contained in an anther.

Pollen-tubes, the membranous tubes emitted by pollen after they fall on the stigma.

Polyadelphous, when the stamens are combined into more than two parcels.

Polyandrous, when there are more than 20 hypogynous stamens.

Polypetalous, when the petals are all distinct.

Pome, a fruit like that of the apple, pear, &c.

Præfloration, same as Æstivation.

Prickle, same as Aculeus.

Primine, the external integument of the ovule.

Pseudobulb, the solid above-ground tuber of some Orchideæ.

Pubescent, covered with very fine soft down.

Pulverulent, covered with a powdery appearance.

Putamen, same as Endocarp.

Pyriform, shaped like a pear.

Quartine, the innermost integument but one of the ovule.

Quinate, combined in fives.

Quintine, the innermost integument of the ovule.

Raceme, an inflorescence like that of the currant.

Rachis, the axis of inflorescence.

Radical, arising from the root.

Radicle, the rudimentary root in the embryo.

Ramenta, soft, ragged, chaff-like hairs growing upon the petiole of ferns.

Raphe, the line of communication between the hilum and chalaza.

Raphides, acicular or other crystals scattered among vegetable tissue.

Reniform, kidney-shaped.

Resupinate, inverted, so that the part which is naturally lowermost becomes uppermost.

Reticulated, traversed by veins having the appearance of network.

Retuse, blunt, and turned inwards more than obtuse.

Rhizoma, a creeping stem like that of Iris.

Ringent, same as Personate.

Root-stock, same as Rhizoma.

Rostrate, furnished with a sort of beak.

Rosulate, having the leaves arranged in little rose-like clusters.

Ruminated, pierced by numerous perforations full of chaffy matter like a nutmeg.

Runner, the prostrate stem of such plants as the strawberry.

Sagittate, resembling the head of an ancient arrow.

Samara, a kind of one-seeded indehiscent pericarp, with a wing at one end.

Sapwood, the newly-formed wood, which has not been hardened by the deposit of secreted matter.

Sarcocarp, the intermediate fleshy layer between the epicarp and endocarp.

Scale, an abortive leaf.

Scape, the flowering-stem of a plant.

Scarious, dry, thin, and shrivelled.

Scrobiculate, irregularly pitted.

Scutellum, the fructifying space upon the thallus of a lichen.

Secund, arranged or turned to one side.

Secundine, the second integument of the ovule.

Sepals, the leaves of the calyx.

Septa, same as Dissepiment.

Septicidal, when the dissepiments of a fruit are divided into two plates at the period of dehiscence.

Septifragal, when the dissepiments of a fruit are broken through their middle by the separation of the back of the carpels from the centre.

Sericeous, silky.

Serrate, toothed like the edge of a saw.

Sessile, seated close upon any thing, without a stalk.

Setose, covered with setæ or bristles.

Shield, the fructification of lichens.

Sigmoid, bent like the letter S.

Silicle, a short two-valved pod, such as is found in garden cress.

Silique, the same but longer, as in the cabbage.

Sinuate, turning in and out in an irregular manner.

Sori, the fructification of ferns.

Spadiceous, resembling a spadix, or bearing that kind of inflorescence.

Spadix, the inflorescence of an arum; an axis closely covered with sessile flowers, and enclosed in a spathe.

Spathaceous, enclosed within a spathe, or bearing that kind of bract.

Spathe, a large coloured bract which encloses a spadix.

Spatulate, shaped like a druggist’s spatula; that is, long, narrow, and broadest at the point.

Spike, an inflorescence in which the flowers are sessile upon their axis.

Spikelet, one of a great many small spikes collected in a mass, as in grasses.

Spine, a stiff, sharp-pointed, leafless branch.

Spongiole, or Spongelet, the tender, growing tip of the root.

Spore, or Sporule, the reproductive body of flowerless plants, analogous to the seed of flowering plants.

Squarrose, composed of parts which diverge at right angles, and are irregular in size and direction.

Stamen, the fertilizing organ of a flower, consisting of filament and anther.

Standard, the upper single petal of a papilionaceous flower.

Stellate, arranged in the form of a star.

Stigma, the upper end of the style, on which the pollen falls.

Stipe, the stalk that bears the head of a mushroom; also the stalk of the leaf of a fern; also the stalk of any thing, except of a leaf or a flower.

Stipulate, furnished with stipules; exstipulate, having no stipules.

Stipule, the scale at the base of some leaf-stalks.

Stomate, a minute hole in a leaf, through which respiration is supposed to be carried on; a breathing pore.

Strigose, covered with stiff unequal hairs.

Strophiolate, having little fungous excrescences surrounding the hilum.

Stupose, having a tuft of hairs in the middle or at the end.

Style, the stalk of the stigma.

Subulate, awl-shaped.

Syncarpous, having the carpels consolidated.

Terete, taper.

Ternate, united in threes.

Testa, the skin of the seed.

Tetradynamous, having six stamens in four parcels; two of which consist of two stamens, and two of one each.

Tetrandrous, having four stamens.

Thallus, the leafy part of a lichen; the union of stem and leaf in those and some other tribes of imperfect plants.

Theca, the case which contains the sporules of flowerless plants.

Tomentose, covered with short close down.

Toothed, the same as Dentate.

Torulose, alternately contracted and distended.

Torus, the growing point of a flower, on which the carpels are placed.

Triandrous, having three stamens.

Trifarious, arranged in three rows.

Trifid, divided into three lobes.

Trifoliolate, having three leaflets.

Tripartite, divided into three deep divisions.

Tripinnate, when each leaflet of a pinnated leaf is pinnate; and the leaflets of the latter are pinnate also.

Triternate, when each leaflet of a ternate leaf is ternate, and the leaflets of the latter are ternate also.

Truncate, abruptly cut off.

Tube, the part of a flower where the bases of the sepals, petals, or stamens are united.

Tuber, a deformed, fleshy kind of underground stem.

Turbinate, shaped like a spinning top.

Umbel, an inflorescence whose branches all radiate from one common point.

Umbilicate, having a depression in the middle.

Umbonate, having a boss or elevated point in the middle.

Undulated, wavy.

Unguiculate, furnished with a claw, or short stalk.

Urceolate, shaped like a pitcher.

Utricle, a small bladder.

Vagina, the sheath formed by the convolution of a flat petiole round a stem.

Valve, one of the parts into which any dehiscent body divides.

Vascular, containing vessels; that is, spiral vessels or ducts.

Ventricose, inflated.

Vernation, the manner in which the young leaves are arranged in their leaf-bud.

Verrucose, covered with warts.

Versatile, swinging lightly upon a sort of pivot.

Verticellate, arranged in a whorl.

Vexillum, same as Standard.

Villous, covered with long, soft, shaggy hair.

Virgate, having long, slender rodlike shoots.

Vitellus, a fleshy bag, interposed between the embryo and albumen in some seeds.

Vittate, striped, as distinguished from fasciate or banded.

Whorl, an arrangement of more leaves than two around a common centre upon the same plane.

Public domain (Project Gutenberg, pre-1930 text)


BOTCH

A piece of bad workmanship; or where improper materials are used and do not answer well.


BOTCH

A bungling, incompetent workman.

The American Printer: A Manual of Typography


BOTTLE ARSED

An epithet applied to letter, when, either through a fault in casting, or dressing, it is wider at the bottom of the shank than it is at the top.

This is an old term, and as such I have inserted it; but, owing to the superior skill, or the greater care, of the present letter founders, such a thing now never occurs.


bottle rubber

See: GOLD RUBBER.

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.


Bottled

Type wider at the bottom than at the top.


bottom color

The base color applied to a leather and then corrected to the desired shade by the application of succeeding colors during the finishing process. In SUEDE LEATHER, however, the bottom color is the final shade.

Hitchcock, Frederick H. The building of a book…2nd ed. New York. Bowker. 1929.

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


bottom combs

See: MARBLING COMBS.


bottom edge

See: LOWER EDGE.


BOTTOM LINE

The last line in the page, except that in which the signature, or the catch word or direction word, is inserted.


BOTTOM NOTES

The notes at the bottom or foot of a page. They are usually composed in a type two sizes smaller than that used for the body of the work: thus, if the work be printed with a Pica type, the notes will be composed in Long Primer; if with English, the notes will be Small Pica. They are also termed <i>Foot Notes</i>.


bottom split

The innermost layer of a split cowhide. Because they are relatively thick, cowhides are generally split into at least two layers (and sometimes three) if they are to be used as a "light" leather. If split once, the two layers are the grain and flesh splits; if split twice, the layers are the grain, middle, and bottom split. When processed into leather the bottom split is called a BUFFING (1).

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


bouilly

See: CUIR-BOUILLI.

bound flexible. A term sometimes used to indicate a book that has been sewn on single or double raised cords, the slips of which have been laced into the boards. See also: FLEXIBLE SEWING; LACING-IN.

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


bound in

An insert which has been sewn in with the sections of a book. See also: BIND IN.

Feipel, Louis Nicholas, and Earl W. Browning. Library bookbinding manual…Chicago. American Library Association. 1951.


bouquet marble

A drawn marble pattern formed in the manner of small flowers side by side and used mainly for marbled endpapers. The bouquet is generally produced from two or three shades of brown and one throwing of black. After the colors have been dropped on, drawn with a stylus and combed in the usual manner, a rake is drawn through the colors right and left across the entire surface of the size in such a manner that the teeth of the second row trace exactly through the pattern left by the teeth of the first row. A somewhat different pattern is produced by treating the colors in the same manner but omitting the marbling comb and spreading the drops of color only with a stylus into very narrow cross lines followed by raking.

Halfer, Josef. The progress of the marbling art…Translated by Herman Dieck, Buffalo. Kinder. 1893.

Tavik, Anton. The art and practice of edge marbling. Baltimore. The author. 1908.


BOURGEOIS

The name of a type, a size larger than Brevier, and smaller than Long Primer. It is not enumerated in Moxon’s list of the sizes of types. See Types.


BOW THE LETTER

When compositors pick a bad letter out of a form in correcting, it is usual to rub the face of it on the stone and to bend the shank, if it be not a thick letter; this is done to prevent such letters being distributed and used again; in Moxon’s time it was styled bowing a letter. After the form is locked-up and the stone cleared, these bowed (or bent) letters are thrown into the shoe.


BOWL

A small wooden bowl, which it is usual to have in composing rooms, in which to carry water to different parts for the purpose of wetting matter.


BOWL OF THE BALL STOCK

The hollow part of the ball stock, in the crown of which the handle is inserted; it is filled with wool, and the pelt, or canvass, is nailed to it. An old one is generally used for a paste bowl in the press-room.


BOWYER

Extract from the Will of Mr. William Bowyer, Printer, who died on the 18th of November, 1777, when he had nearly completed his 78th year.

“And now I hope I may be allowed to leave somewhat for the benefit of printing. To this end, I give to the master and keepers, or wardens and commonalty, of the mistery or art of a Stationer of the city of London, such a sum of money as will purchase Two Thousand Pounds, three per cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, upon trust, to pay the dividends and yearly produce thereof, to be divided for ever equally amongst three printers, compositors or pressmen, to be elected from time to time by the master, wardens, and assistants, of the said company, and who at the time of such election shall be sixty-three years old or upwards, for their respective lives, to be paid half yearly; hoping that such as shall be most deserving will be preferred. And whereas I have herein before given to my son the sum of Three Thousand Pounds four per cent. Consolidated Annuities, in case he marries with the consent of my executors: now, I do hereby give and bequeath the dividends and interest of that sum, till such marriage takes place, to the said Company of Stationers, to be divided equally between six other printers, compositors or pressmen, as aforesaid, in manner as aforesaid; and, if my said son shall die unmarried, or married without such consent as aforesaid, then I give and bequeath the said capital sum of Three Thousand Pounds to the said Company of Stationers, the dividends and yearly produce thereof to be divided for ever equally amongst six other such old printers, compositors or pressmen, for their respective lives, to be qualified, chosen, and paid, in manner as aforesaid.—It has long been to me matter of concern, that such numbers are put apprentices, as compositors, without any share of school-learning, who ought to have the greatest: in hopes of remedying this, I give and bequeath to the said Company of Stationers such a sum of money as will purchase One Thousand Pounds three per cent. Reduced Bank Annuities, for the use of one journeyman compositor, such as shall hereafter be described, with this special trust, that the master, wardens, and assistants, shall pay the dividends and produce thereof half-yearly to such compositor: the said master, wardens, and assistants, of the said company, shall nominate for this purpose a compositor who is a man of good life and conversation, who shall usually frequent some place of public worship every Sunday, unless prevented by sickness, and shall not have worked on a newspaper or magazine for four years at least before such nomination, nor shall ever afterwards whilst he holds this annuity, which may be for life if he continues a journeyman: he shall be able to read and construe Latin, and at least to read Greek fluently with accents; of which he shall bring a testimonial from the rector of St. Martin’s, Ludgate, for the time being: I could wish that he shall have been brought up piously and virtuously, if it be possible, at Merchant Taylor’s, or some other public school, from seven years of age till he is full seventeen, and then to serve seven years faithfully as a compositor, and work seven years more as a journeyman, as I would not have this annuity bestowed on any one under thirty-one years of age: if, after he is chosen, he should behave ill, let him be turned out, and another be chosen in his stead. And whereas it may be many years before a compositor may be found that shall exactly answer the above description, and it may at some time happen that such a one cannot be found; I would have the dividends in the meantime applied to such person as the master, wardens, and assistants, shall think approaches nearest to what I have described. And whereas the above trusts will occasion some trouble; I give to the said Company, in case they think proper to accept the trusts, two hundred and fifty pounds.”—Extracted from Anecdotes, Literary and Biographical, of Mr. Bowyer, by J. N. [John Nichols?] in Gent. Mag. Dec. 1778, p. 570.

6,000l. stock was immediately transferred by the executors of Mr. Bowyer, and now stands in the name of the Company; the yearly dividend is 180l.—Hansard’s Typographia, p. 280. Note.


box

1. A container for maps, bundles of loose sheets, samples of materials, disintegrating books, etc., that may be open at one end or completely closed in. See also: CUT CORNER PAMPHLET FILE; PAMPHLET BOX; PRINCETON FILE; PULL-OFF BOX; SLIPCASE; SOLANDER BOX. 2. A leather "marble" consisting of marbling water thrown on in small drops, followed by small spots of brown and black. Additional marbling water is then thrown on in large drops, followed by small spots of blue sprinkled on. When all is dry, scarlet and two or three coats of orange are sprinkled on. The leather is bent and twisted in several places during the course of applying the colors and water to form veins. 3. A surface pattern in leather, usually black calfskin, consisting of fine, box-shaped creases formed by BOARDING (1) the skin in two directions, head to tail and belly to belly. See also: WILLOW (2) 4. The trough-like receptacles on a folding machine into which the folded sections drop. 5. One of the magazines of a gathering machine.

Burdett, Eric. The craft of bookbinding; a practical handbook. London. Davis & Charles. 1975.

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

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


BOX

The divisions of a case, in which the letters lie, are termed Boxes; as the a box, the e box, the i box, &c.

Box. The female screw in the head of a press, in which the spindle works. It is made of brass, and is usually cast on the screw of the spindle, round on the outside with a projecting part of about half an inch on the whole length of each opposite side, to keep it firm in the head, and prevent it turning round. It is fitted tightly into the head, and kept in its place by two bolts, driven into the under side, with return heads which project over the bottom of the box. It is also called the Nut of the Spindle.


box

The compartments of a case in which the types are placed.


box pocket

A stiffened three-dimensional BOOK POCKET.


box side

A cowhide cut in half down the backbone, full chrome, semi-chrome, or vegetable tanned, and usually colored black. It has a grain pattern of fine box-shaped creases formed by BOARDING (1) in two directions. head to tail and belly to belly. When colored it is usually called WILLOW SIDE.

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


BOXWOOD

The best boxwood used in engraving is of a good yellow colour, of a fine close grain, that has been of a slow growth, clear of knots and any imperfections, such as cracks or flaws; the finest lines may be engraved on this wood, as it is both hard and tough, and, with care in printing, the number of impressions that may be taken from an engraving on it would appear incredible. Papillon, in his History of Engraving on Wood, gives a specimen, from which, he states, there had been upwards of three hundred and seventy thousand impressions previously printed; and if the block had been carefully cleaned, and well printed, it would still have produced respectable impressions. Boxwood of a dull bad yellow colour, and of an open coarse grain, is not fit for engraving on, neither is wood that is of a blackish colour at the heart; for, in these cases, it has begun to decay, is brittle and tender, and if engraved on, the lines would not stand, but would fail in printing. Our principal supply of boxwood comes from the Levant, and is called Turkey box.


BRACE

A character cast in metal thus marked ⏞. The compositor is to have these cast of several breadths, viz. to several number of lines of a designed body (most commonly of Pica body) that they may hook in or brace so many lines as his copy may show him.—M.

It is used in poetry at the end of a triplet, or three lines which have the same rhyme.

Braces are also used to connect a number of words with one common term, and are introduced to prevent a repetition in writing or printing.—Murray.

Braces are cast to different bodies as high as English; and braces on Long Primer are now cast from three to eight ems in length, which look much neater than the old fashion of middles and corners, filled up with metal rules.

The founders in casting long Braces always make the swell in the face of them proportionably thick to their length, so that in using them with small letter they look heavy and clumsy; I would recommend that long Braces should be cast to a small body, not larger than Brevier, and the faces of all the lengths uniform, so that when there happens to be a range of them of different lengths in a page they might harmonize, and not make such an incongruous appearance as they now do. When Braces are wanted longer than those already cast, I would not use middles and corners, but make them of Brass Rule in one continued piece, which has a better appearance than when they are joined, and which may be made with a file in a neat manner by any clever compositor.

Bracket. See Crotchet.

Bramah’s Press. See Hydrostatic Press.


Brace

is a Character *Cast* in *Mettle* thus marked The *Compositer* is to have these *Cast* of several Breadths, viz. to several numbers of *Lines* of a designed *Body* (most commonly of *Pica Body*) that they may hook in or Brace so many *Lines* as his *Copy* may shew him; as at *Charge* is a Brace of four *Lines*. See also § 24. ¶ 1.


bradawl

An AWL with a chisel edge used for piercing holes in boards in preparation for LACING-IN.

Forsyth, K. Marjorie. Bookbinding for teachers, students and amateurs. London, Black. 1932.


Bradel binding

A type of binding having a hollow back, and not unlike a library binding, except that it is considered to be temporary. The style was originated in Germany by Alexis Pierre Bradel, also known as Bradel l'ainé, and also as Bradel-Derome, son-in-law and successor to Nicholas-Denis Derôme. The style was taken to France sometime between 1772 and 1809. Bradel bindings generally have split boards into which are attached the extensions of the spine lining cloth. The edges are uncut, sometimes with the head edge being gilt. They generally have a leather or linen spine. In France the style was known as "Cartonnage à la Bradel," or as "en gist." See also: LESNÉ, FRANÇOIS A.D.

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


Braille book

A book printed by the Braille process, i.e., the dampened paper is embossed with codes of raised dots. Braille books are bound much like other books except that they are generally liberally stubbed and they are not pressed after casing-in, as the pressure would flatten the raised characters.


Braille printing paper

Paper used in the Braille printing process. It is usually produced from a high quality chemical wood pulp in basis weights of 32 to 36 pounds (17 X 22 - 500). Significant properties required include a smooth surface, good elongation, and high tensile strength.

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.


BRANCHING-OUT

Opening or extending the matter in title-pages, heads of pages, or other parts, and also in jobs, with quadrats, leads, reglet, or other proper materials.


branding

1. A method of marking a book with hot irons that burn letters or symbols into one or more edges, generally for purposes of indicating ownership. Branding was most often employed in Mexico, and was initiated in the early 17th century by the monks in charge of convent libraries. Brands of iron or bronze were used, usually on the head edge, although it was sometimes done on the fore edge and occasionally on both head and tail edges. Unfortunately, the process often damaged the covers, title pages, and endpapers; however. as a mark of ownership, it was effective in deterring the theft of books, as the brand could only be removed by trimming deep into the margins. 2. The process of rolling a FLESHER or SHEEPSKIN with hot rolls for the purpose of smoothing the skin.

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

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


brashiness

The relative inflexibility of the cast film of a dry animal glue. The term also refers to brittleness of an adhesive resulting from drying, plasticizer migration, and the like.

McGuire, Edward Patrick. American adhesive index. Mountainside, N. J. Padric. 1962.


brass boarded

A leather, usually a cowhide BUFFING (1), that has been boarded by hand or grained with a faint parallel line effect.

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


brass boards

See: BACKING BOARDS; CASING-IN BOARDS.


BRASS RULES

Pieces of brass of different thicknesses made letter high, to print with.—M. They are made in lengths of fourteen inches, but of late years lengths half as long again have been made; one of the edges is bevilled so as to print a fine line, and when a thicker line is required the bottom edge is placed uppermost, which is the full thickness of the brass; by this means lines of different thicknesses are obtained, and also double lines, a thick one and a fine one when required. They are used for column lines in table work; to separate matter that requires to be distinct; and to be placed round pages.

I have found in practice that the best way of forming a good joining at the corners with brass rule, is to cut the rules a little longer than the precise length wanted, and to let one piece project a little at each corner; to push the other piece close up, and, when the form is locked up, then to file the projecting parts away, which makes the corners equal, as shown below.

Wherever two rules join, the end of that which abuts on the other should be cut with a little bevil, so that the upper side should project a little to form a junction with the face of the other; this also prevents the rule binding at bottom.

An ingenious compositor will make many things out of brass rules, such as neat long braces, instead of using middles, corners, and metal rules, which rarely join well, swell rules of different varieties, and many fancy rules, as occasion may require.

In cases where diagrams are required, and there is no engraver within reach, they may be formed by a clever workman, with brass rule. There have been of late years many ingenious and elaborate performances with this article in imitation of architectural drawings of buildings, with pillars, &c.; and I believe no one has displayed more ingenuity and skill in the production of such works than Mr. Ebenezer Parkes, of Fetter Lane.

Two rectangles side by side

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


brayer

1. An old term for a pestle with which ink was spread before being applied to a printing surface. Made of wood, it was round, flat at one end, and had a handle at the other end. 2. A printer's hand inking roller, also used in making BRAYER PRINTS.


BRAYER

A round wooden rubber with an upright handle, almost of the fashion of a ball stock, but solid and flat at the bottom, and not above three inches in diameter. It is used on the ink block, to bray or rub out ink with so as to spread it out in such a manner that a small quantity may be taken up when the ball is pressed upon the block, tolerably diffused upon the surface, and not in a mass, which causes the ink to be more expeditiously distributed, with less risk of making monks and friars.

BREAD, SALE OF, Ireland.

1 & 2 Vict. c. 28. “An Act to repeal the several Acts now in force relating to Bread to be sold in Ireland, and to provide other Regulations for the making and Sale of Bread, and for preventing the Adulteration of Meal, Flour, and Bread, in that Part of the United Kingdom called Ireland.”

s. 7. “And be it enacted, That no Baker or other Person who shall make Bread for Sale in Ireland, nor any Journeyman or other Servant of any such Baker or other Person, shall, at any Time or Times, in the making of Bread for sale in Ireland, use any Mixture or Ingredient whatever in the making of such Bread other than and except as herein-before mentioned, on any Account or under any Colour or Pretence whatsoever in the making of such Bread, upon pain that every such Person, whether Master or Journeyman, Servant or other Person, who shall offend in the Premises, and shall be convicted of any such Offence by the Oath, or in case of a Quaker by Affirmation, of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, or by his, her, or their own Confession, shall for every such Offence forfeit and pay any Sum not exceeding Five Pounds nor less than Fifty Shillings, or in default thereof shall, by Warrant under the Hands and Seals of the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices before whom such Offender shall be convicted, be apprehended and committed to the House of Correction, or some Prison of the City, County, Borough, or Place where the Offence shall have been committed, or the Offender or Offenders apprehended, there to remain for any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months, with or without hard Labour, from the Time of such Commitment, unless the Penalty shall be sooner paid, as any such Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices shall think fit to order; and it shall be lawful for the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices before whom any such Offender or Offenders shall be convicted to cause the Offender’s Name, Place of Abode, and Offence to be published in some Newspaper or Newspapers which shall be printed or published in or near the City, County, Borough, or Place where the Offence shall have been committed; and the Proprietor and Proprietors, Printer and Printers, and every other Person or Persons concerned therein, are hereby authorized to print and publish the same when he, she, or they is or are required so to do by or by the Order of such Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices; and he, she, or they is and are hereby indemnified from any Prosecution or Prosecutions for printing and publishing the same or causing the same to be printed and published in such Newspaper or Newspapers by or from any Person or Persons whomsoever, any Law, Statute, or Usage to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding; and the Costs and Charges of such printing and publishing shall be paid out of such last-mentioned Penalty or Forfeiture, in case any shall be so forfeited, paid, or recovered.”

s. 11. “And be it enacted, That every Miller, Mealman, Flour Factor, or Baker in Ireland, in whose House, Mill, Shop, Stall, Bakehouse, Bolting-house, Pastry Warehouse, Outhouse, Ground or Possession any Ingredient or Mixture shall be found which shall, after due Examination, be adjudged by any Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices of the Peace to have been deposited there for the Purpose of being used in adulterating Meal, Flour, Dough, or Bread, shall, upon being convicted of any such Offence, either by his, her, or their Confession, or by the Oath, or in case of a Quaker by Affirmation, of One or more credible Witness or Witnesses, forfeit and pay on every such Conviction any Sum not exceeding Ten Pounds nor less than Forty Shillings for the First Offence, Five Pounds for the Second Offence, and Ten Pounds for every subsequent Offence, or in default of Payment thereof shall, by Warrant under the Hand and Seal or Hands and Seals of the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices before whom such Offender shall be convicted, be apprehended and committed to the House of Correction or some Prison of the City, County, or Place where the Offence shall have been committed, or the Offender or Offenders shall be, there to remain for any Time not exceeding Three Calendar Months, with or without hard Labour, from the Time of such Commitment, (unless the Penalty be sooner paid,) as any such Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices shall think fit and order; and it shall be lawful for the Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices before whom any such Offender shall be convicted to cause the Offender’s Name, Place of Abode, and Offence to be published in some Newspaper or Newspapers which shall be printed or published in or near the City, County, Borough, or Place where the Offence shall have been committed; and the Proprietor or Proprietors, Printer or Printers, and every other Person and Persons concerned therein, are hereby authorized to print and publish the same when he, she, or they is or are required so to do by or by the Order of such Magistrate or Magistrates, Justice or Justices; and he, she, or they is and are hereby indemnified from any Prosecution or Prosecutions for printing and publishing the same or causing the same to be printed and published in such Newspaper or Newspapers by or from any Person or Persons whomsoever, any Law, Statute, or Usage to the contrary notwithstanding; and the Costs and Charges of such printing and publishing shall be paid out of such last-mentioned Penalty or Forfeiture, if any such shall be so forfeited and paid or recovered.”

A tool to spread ink


brayer

A wooden or glass rubber, flat at the bottom, used to bray or spread out ink on the ink-block.


brayer prints

Decorative endpapers and cover prints produced by rolling an inked brayer over paper under which flat objects, such as leaves, ferns, etc., have been placed. Alternative methods are to ink the objects and press the paper on them with a clean brayer, or to roll the inked brayer over the paper and then place objects underneath and roll with an ink of a different color.

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


Brazil wood

The heavy wood of any of the tropical trees, family Leguminosae, which yield a red, water-soluble dye, brazilin (C16H14O5) which at one time was used to produced coloring materials used both in marbling and in dyeing leather. Brazil wood dyes have been largely superceded by the synthetic dyestuffs.


bread crumbs

The particles of ordinary crustless bread, used by some restorers to remove loose dust from maps, charts. etc., and for dry cleaning the leaves of books.

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.


break

1. The parting of adjacent sections of a book due to failure of the sewing. See also: START. 2. A crack in the gold or foil BLOCKING or tooling of a book. 3. In papermaking, a complete separation of the web of paper, either on or off the machine. 4. In leather manufacture, the minute wrinkles formed when the grain surface of leather is bent so that its grain side is sharply concave. If the wrinkles formed are very fine. and there are many of them to the linear inch, the leather is said to have a fine break, whereas if they are large and there are relatively few to the linear inch, the leather is said to have a coarse break. A very important aspect of the "break" in leather is that when the leather is flexed to cause the break to appear, it should disappear once the leather is again flattened. Since a fine break is considered to be one of the more important characteristics of leather, tanners attempt to obtain as fine a break as possible. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to prevent excessive cohesion of the fibers in the grain surface of the leather, which is one of the major purposes of FATLIQUORING leather. Break is influenced to a great extent by the amount of oil in the grain layer and increases in fineness with an increase of oil.

The butt area of a skin usually has a finer break than the belly; tighter skins have finer breaks than looser ones, and a leather like calfskin will have a much finer break than cowhide.

Improper methods of finishing may cause an otherwise fine break to become coarse, but the kind of tannage has little effect on break.

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

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

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


BREAK

A piece of a line.—M. The last line of a paragraph.

Breve. See Accented Letters.


break

a piece of a *Line*. Also the *Mettle* that is contiguous to the *Shank* of a *New Cast Letter*: This *Break* is formed in the *Mouth-piece* of the *Letter-mould*, and is called a *Break*, because it is always broke from the *Shank* of a *Letter*.


breaking length

The length of a strip of paper, cut either in the machine or cross direction, or a strip of cloth, cut either in the warp or filling direction which would break of its own weight when suspended vertically. It is a value calculated from the tensile strength of the material. Under normal circumstances paper will have a greater breaking length in the machine direction than in the cross direction, and cloth a greater breaking length in the warp direction than in the filling.

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

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

U.S. National Bureau of Standards. Fabrics for book covers. Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office. (Product Standard PS 9-68). 1968.


breaking strength

1. See: BURSTING STRENGTH. 2. The breaking load or force, expressed in pounds per inch, required to rupture a material, such as cloth or paper. breathing. A property of leather, characterized by a resistance to water in the liquid form but having the ability to allow the passage of water vapor. "Breathing" is considered important in maintaining the suppleness and handle of leather, and is one reason why some conservationists oppose the use of hard waxes in leather dressings.


Brethren of the Common Life

See: BROTHERS OF THE COMMON LIFE.


Bretons, Pere et Fils, Le

Two renowned producers of marbled papers of 17th century France. They produced finely veined papers, some of which, with fine veins of gold and silver, were very exquisite. The Bretons also made excellent papers stenciled with flowers on paper with a highly calendered surface.

Loring, Rosamond Bowditch. Decorated book papers…1st ed. 1942; 2nd ed. 1952. Cambridge, Mass. Harvard University Press.


BREVIER

The name of a type, a size smaller than Bourgeois, and larger than Minion. In Moxon’s time 112 Brevier bodies measured a foot. See Types.


brick guard

A type of COMPENSATION GUARD, but specifically one side stitched to the text block to compensate for pocket material.

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


brightening agents

Chemical agents at one time used extensively in leather dye batches to brighten the color of the finished leather. One such agent was sulfuric acid, which is not only destructive but virtually impossible to remove from leather effectively and completely. Another was formic acid, which, being weaker and more volatile, was less destructive. See also: P.I.R.A. TESTED.

Royal Society of Arts. London. Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Report of the committee on leather for bookbinding… London. Bell. 1905.


brighter binding

A movement initiated in about 1910 in Great Britain by Alexander Philip to encourage libraries to have their books bound in bright. colorful cloth, so as to enliven the appearance of the then drab and colorless bookstacks in the libraries of that time. The belief was that bright bindings meant bright cheerful libraries, whereas a library filled with dark blue and black bindings had the opposite effect. Se also: BINDING SCHEMES.

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


brightness

Originally, a judgement of the amount of light reflected to the eye from the surface of a material, regardless of hue or color saturation. Brightness is now measured by optical comparators. Many factors affect the brightness of a material such as paper, including the degree of bleaching of the pulp, as well as the addition of chemicals. Chemically treated high-grade text and book papers have a brightness in the range of about 96 (on a scale of 100), coated papers range from about 70 to 85, while mechanical wood machine-coated papers are in the range of about 60 to 75. Newsprint is generally below 60.

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.

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


brightness reversion

A paper pulp, and particularly a bleached paper pulp, which has lost BRIGHTNESS because of natural or artificial aging.


brime

A finely powdered burnt GYPSUM. Brime is dusted on GOLDBEATER'S SKIN in order to eliminate as much friction as possible during the MOLD (2) stage in the manufacture of gold leaf.

Barnes, Richard H. Gilding & the making of gold leaf. n.p. 1962.


BRING-UP

To bring-up a form of types is to place overlays over those parts on which the pressure is deficient in order to increase it and to equalize it over the whole surface of the form.

With wood-cuts, in which an equal pressure over the whole surface is not wanted, it is to place underlays on the bottom of the block, under those parts which require to come stronger than the rest, these are the dark parts and the foreground, and to cut away the tympan sheet over the light parts and the distances when requisite, and to overlay those parts which require to be firm, with smooth thin paper. I have always found India paper the best, but the minute hard particles and all the extraneous substances, should be taken out by scraping it carefully with a knife, so as to render it quite smooth and even, otherwise the engraving will be injured.

In order to produce the finest impression possible, it is necessary that it should be the impression of the surface of the types and the engraving, and the surface only; therefore it is requisite to have very little blanket in the tympans, and that of the finest kerseymere or woollen cloth, or paper alone, so that it shall not be pressed in between the lines, which, when the pressman neglects this precaution, produces rough coarse lines; of course the overlays should be as few as possible and of very thin paper. See Fine Presswork, Making Ready, Overlay, Underlay.


brining

A method generally used in the larger abattoirs for curing hides and skins for transportation to tanneries. After flaying. the hides are washed thoroughly to remove blood and soluble protein matter and the hair is scraped under a spray of water. The flesh side is brushed vigorously to remove surplus flesh. The hides are then hung in pits or run in large paddles in a very strong solution of sodium chloride. using 30 pounds of salt to every 10 gallons of water. This gives a very good and uniform salt penetration for heavy hides in 1 to 14 hours. The hides are then drained and piled and treated with salt in the WET-SALTING process. The purity and strength of the brine must be checked before it is reused, as it may become contaminated with halophilic bacteria. The use of a salt solution as a preliminary treatment for preserving cowhides has been standard practice in South America for many years, and has been in commercial use in the United States since about 1935. Brining, followed by wet-salting, is a more expensive method of cure than salting alone; however, it reduces putrefactive damage to the hides to a considerable extent over simple salting.

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


bristol board

A lightweight board that can be made on either a Fourdrinier or cylinder papermaking machine. There are three types of bristols: 1) index, 2) mill, and 3) wedding. They range in thickness from 0.006 inch and greater. The original bristol board, made in Bristol. England, was a pasted board made of rag content paper, but very little bristol today is of this character. Bristols are sometimes filled, but are more commonly pasted or plied, the thicker sheets being made by pasting sheets of the same stock together until the desired thickness is attained. They are designated as 2-ply, 3-ply, etc., according to the number of sheets used. The highest grade of bristol is wedding, followed by index and mill.

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

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


British marble

A marble pattern, with or without veins, which somewhat resembles the SPANISH MARBLE. It is usually executed entirely in varying shades of black although colors are sometimes used.

Nicholson, James B. A manual of the art of bookbinding… Philadelphia. Baird. 1856.

Woolnough, Charles W. The whole art of marbling as applied to paper, book edges…Rev. ed. London. Bell. 1881.


brittleness

The property or condition of a material, such as, paper, board. adhesives etc, that causes failure of the material when it is deformed by bending. As virtually any material will fail if bent or folded a sufficient number of times, brittleness is of practical interest only when deformation producing failure is small or the number of folds is relatively small in number.

Over the course of many years. high acidity in paper, and particularly acidity resulting from inorganic acids of low volatility has been suspected of being the chief cause of brittleness in paper. This acidity can be attributed to several sources: 1) papermaking procedures, e.g., excessive ALUM in sizing or excessive chlorine in BLEACHING (1), which may lead to the formation of acid; 2) ink; and 3) conditions of storage, which may allow acid gases such as SULFUR DIOXIDE to gain access to the paper, which. in the presence of heat and other conditions. may lead to the formation of acid. See also: ACID; ACID GASES; ACIDITY; ACID SIZE; DEACIDIFICATION; DURABILITY (OF PAPER); FOLDING ENDURANCE.

Barrow, William J. Manuscripts and documents, their deterioration and restoration. 2nd ed. Charlottesville, Va. University of Virginia Press. 1972.

Barrow (W. J.) Research Laboratory. Test data of naturally aged papers. Richmond, Va. Barrow (W. J.) Research Laboratory. Permanence/durability of the book, no. 2. 1964.

Walton, Robert Petrie. Causes and prevention of deterioration in book materials. New York. New York Public Library. (Reprinted from the New York Public Library. Bulletin. April 1929). 1929.


broad

1. A sheet of paper which, after being folded, has the grain direction running with the shorter dimension of the paper. 2. A sheet of paper folded in such a manner that the resulting pages are wider than they are deep, i.e., an OBLONG fold or page, as distinguished from an upright page or "deep fold."


BROAD

The technical name of a piece of furniture equal in width to a broad quotation.


Broad-side

a Form of one full *Page*, Printed on one side of a whole Sheet of Paper.


Broad-side

A form of one page, printed on one side of a whole sheet of paper.


BROADSIDE

A form of one full page, printed on one side of a whole sheet of paper, whatever size the paper may be of: thus, we have demy broadsides—royal broadsides—double crown broadsides, &c.


brocade

1. A book cloth, generally made from silk or cotton, woven in jacquard construction and characterized by allover formal design of slightly raised floral and figure designs introduced by additional threads in the filling. 2. In papermaking, a heavily embossed cover paper. 3. A marbled paper with a brocadelike pattern.

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


brochure

A "stitched work" (from the French "brocher," to stitch). It is a short printed work, with or without a paper or self-cover, and sewn or stitched.

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


Broke up

When plates are turned over and folded at a short distance from the back-edge, before they are placed so as to enable them to turn easily in the volume, they are said to be broke up. The same process is sometimes applied to the entire volume.


broken

1. The tendency of a book to open readily at a place or places where the binding has been forced or strained, causing the book to lose its shape. This may be caused by: 1) improper opening of a new book that is tightly bound; 2) improper backing, which flattens the spine and affects its contour; 3) using paper with the grain running at right angles to the spine, resulting in leverage and causing THROW OUT of one or more sections; 4) sections, either with or without plates, that are too bulky, and are forced apart during backing, leaving ridges; and 5) the use of animal glue during the gluing process before rounding and backing, that is too cold or is not sufficiently flexible. In a TIGHT BACK leather binding, it may result in ridges appearing on the spine where the leather has been forced away from the paper. 2. A book broken completely through so that it is in two or more pieces. This generally occurs in relatively old books, particularly those of the 19th century, in which the paper and glue have become so embrittled and inflexible that when the book is opened, it breaks apart.

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

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


BROKEN LETTER

By broken letter is not meant the breaking of the shanks of any of the letters, but the breaking of the orderly succession in which the letters stood in a line, page, or form, &c. and mingling the letters together, these mingled letters being called pie.—M. Instead of Broken Letter it is now styled Broken Matter.


broken line

1. A blocked or finished line or rule intentionally "broken" by uniformly spaced openings. 2. A blocked line that is not solid as a result of breaks in the gold leaf.

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


BROKEN MATTER

The deranging the order of types after they are composed, so as to make it pie. Moxon styles it Broken Letter, which see.


BROKEN MATTER

Pages of type disrupted and somewhat intermingled.


BROKEN NECK

A ball is said to be broken-necked, when the wool in the bowl of the ball stock separates from the body of wool in the ball; so that when the ball is held in a horizontal position by the handle it hangs down in a flabby manner.


BROKEN OVER

When plates are turned over or folded a short distance from the back edge, before they are placed in the volume, so as to facilitate their being turned easily or laid flat, they are said to be broken over. When a leaf has been turned down the paper is broken.

The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise


Broken up

When plates are folded over a short distance from the back edge before they are placed in the book, that they may be turned easily, they are said to be broken up. The same process is sometimes applied to an entire book.


brokers

Binding agents, who were go-betweens or self-appointed salesmen of publishers or library binders, and who solicited binding business and then let out the work to the lowest-priced bidder on their list. Mason Locke Weems ("Parson Weems"), the creator of the George Washington cherry tree myth, seems to have been one such agent, working between binders and the publisher, Matthew Carey. Binding brokers, who flourished in the United States well into the 20th century, are rare today.

Feipel, Louis Nicholas, and Earl W. Browning. Library bookbinding manual…Chicago. American Library Association. 1951.

Skeel, Emily Ellsworth (Ford). Mason Locke Weems, his works and ways. New York. 1929. 3 vol.


bronze leaf

See: DUTCH GOLD.


bronze powder

A metallic powder made from various bronze or brass alloys and used principally in lacquer or varnish vehicles, or with bronzing liquid, as the so-called gold paint. The powder can be prepared to duplicate every shade of gold from a pale or lemon color to a deep coppery hue. Bronze powder darkens or discolors after a relatively short time, and this, plus the fact that the paint made from it has a lackluster, grainy quality, makes it unsuitable for use in bookbinding.

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


bronzed edges

A decorative edge pattern on a book produced by impressing bronze leaf on the edges by means of an engraved roller. The leaf is first pressed into the gravure and then rolled on the edge. This technique was generally executed over colored edges, with albumen or gum arabic being used to secure the leaf to the paper. Bronzed edges were employed mainly in the latter part of the 19th century.


Brothers of the Common Life

Associations of clerics and laymen that originated in the Netherlands in the 14th century. The reformers, Gerhard Groote and Florent Radewyns, inspired a small group of men at Deventer (Holland) to join together in community life in pursuit of holiness. The movement spread throughout the Netherlands and Germany and was influential until the time of the Reformation.

One of the principal occupations of the Brothers was the production of books. but, unlike the monastery scribes, they established their book trade specifically for the purpose of supporting their organization, using the profits derived from the sale of books in their missionary work. In addition, instead of offering their works in Latin, they issued them in the vernacular of the area in which they were produced.

At the Convent of St. Jerome at Ghent, the Brothers were noted for the excellence of the manuscripts and bindings they produced. Two examples of their work are embellished with a panel representing their patron, St. Jerome, kneeling before a crucifix. In the background, beyond the mountains, is a view of the belfry of Ghent, surmounted by the dragon, and the spires of three churches.

Their first book was issued in 1476 from the Nazareth Monastery in Brussels.

Goldschmidt, Ernst Philip. Gothic and Renaissance bookbindings. 2nd ed. Amsterdam. Israel. 1967. 2 vol.


brush

An implement used for the application of paste. glue, or other adhesive liquid, powder, glair, etc., to the surface of paper, board, cloth, leather, or other material. A brush is composed of a gathering of hair or bristles (natural brushes), or some synthetic material. secured in a plastic compound and held in a metal ferrule which is crimped around a handle. A high quality brush always has the natural tips of the hairs or bristles. The various shapes of brushes are achieved by cutting, trimming, and fashioning the root (butt) ends of the hairs. A pointed brush, for example, is shaped by inserting the hairs, tips downward, in a brass "cannon," in the size and shape made for the purpose, and trimming them at the root end. Very superior brushes have a considerable hold of hair within the ferrule, sometimes as much as is seen beyond the ferrule, while cheaper brushes have but little hold.

Burdett, Eric. The craft of bookbinding; a practical handbook. London. Davis & Charles. 1975.

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


brushing

The process of developing a mild luster on the finished surface of a leather by the action of a rotary brush. The term is also used with reference to freeing the surface of leather of the fine fibrous dust created by buffing—i.e.. by drawing the skins between a pair of long rotary brushes.

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


brushing out

See: FIBRILLATION.


buckle

1. The wrinkling near the head and binding edge of a section, which may be caused by paper that is too thick, or by too many folds in forming the section, and which may be accentuated by the grain direction of the paper being incorrect—i.e.. running from spine to fore edge rather than head to tail. 2. Book covers or cover boards that have been warped and twisted in several directions. See also: COCKLE (1-3).


buckle folding

See: FOLDING


buckram

A BOOK CLOTH made from cotton or linen, usually the former, and closely woven, occasionally with a double warp. It is filled or coated and calendered to give it a smooth finish which blocks well and is reasonably durable. Originally, the term applied only to a starch-filled fabric; today, however, it applies also to coated and impregnated fabrics having a heavy base. The material used to fill the interstices and/or cover the base fabric is usually pyroxylin, but it may be starch, china clay, clay, or other nonfibrous material.


buckram

Properly a coarse linen cloth, stiffened with glue or gum. Most buckram, so-called, is made of cotton. See also Linen-finish buckram and Art canvas.


buckskin

A leather produced from the hides of male deer or elk. It usually has a suede finish and is oil tanned or alum tawed. It has a soft texture, and is pliable and reasonably strong. Examples of its use (in England) can be traced back to the 16th century. Imitation buckskin is sometimes made from sheepskin. See also: DEERSKIN.

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

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


buds

A decorative ornament filling a small panel on a ROLL (1), usually in the conventionalized form of a spray bearing buds.

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


buff leather

A leather which has a yellowish, cream or white surface and is finished with a soft, velvet nap. It is produced from cowhide from which the grain layer has been removed by FRIZZING. It is an oil-tanned leather.

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


buffalo

A leather produced in imitation of RUSSIA LEATHER, but of far greater strength than the genuine leather. It is made from the hide of the large, shaggy-maned North American ox, Bison bison, and was used extensively in covering books in the United States in the latter half of the 19th century.


buffed leather

A leather from which the top surface of the grain has been removed. See also: BUFFING (2); CORRECTED GRAIN.

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


buffing

1. A very thin innermost split of a hide, usually a cowhide, which is colored and grained to give the appearance of the outer surface of the hide. A buffing is created when a hide is split into three layers. At one time it was used extensively for linings, as well as for covering trade books. It was never used in fine bookbinding. 2. The process of producing a fine nap on the grain surface of leather by means of carborundum paper or on the flesh sides of small skins by the action of an emery wheel. In sandpapering the grain surface of leather, the sharp edges of the carborundum, or other abrasive material, cut the microscopic fibrils in the grain surface and produce a fine nap on the surface. Many of the grain defects in a leather do not penetrate into the leather nearly to the depth of the grain layer, and can be entirely removed by buffing. When a leather is buffed to a measurable depth, as it may have to be if the grain defect is very deep, it is said to be buffed; when it is buffed to a lesser depth, it is said to be snuffed. When a leather is buffed so lightly as not to impair the grain pattern, the leather is said to have a CORRECTED GRAIN. 3. The process of polishing the leather covers of a book with a soft fabric wheel.

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

Wheelock, Mary E. New books for old. St. Louis. St. Louis Public Library. 1916.


buffing

The name given to the thin sheet of cowhide taken off in the operation of buffing or splitting. It is usually of very inferior quality.


buffingnette

A water-resistant cloth made in imitation of leather. While it is adequate for the sides of books that receive considerable use, as it is stain and water resistant, it is not adequate for full covering, as it does not wear well in the areas of the joints. It is also difficult to block, and labels do not adhere to it well unless the surface is abraded and coated with shellac.

Dana, John Cotton. Notes on bookbinding for libraries. Rev. ed. Chicago. Library Bureau. 1910.


build in

The process of placing newly cased-in library books between smooth or brass-bound boards and applying pressure in a standing press or hydraulic press, or applying dry heat and (considerable) pressure for a brief time (usually 8 to 15 seconds) in a hydro-press or BUILDING-IN MACHINE. Building in forms the joints, compresses the book, secures it firmly in its case and reduces substantially any possibility of board warpage. See also: CASING-IN.

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


building-in machine

A machine used to BUILD IN the text block of a book into its case or covers. Building-in machines substitute heat and great pressure for the element of time required to set and cure the adhesive and form the joints. For intermittent or relatively small production, a single-clamp machine, such as the type often found in library binderies, is often adequate. It can build in books up to 12 by 14 by 4 inches in size, and can process up to five books per minute, depending upon the skill of the operator and the CLAMP DWELL setting of the machine. In general, the longer the dwell time, the more solid the binding, which is essentially the reason why a book built in by this type of machine is not as solid as one left in a press for a longer period of time. In edition binding, multiple-clamp machines are usually used, and can process up to 36 books per minute. In edition machines, books may be manually inserted, or fed in automatically after CASING-IN. See also: CASING-IN MACHINE.

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


built-up lettering

Multilined decorative lettering, "built up" by forming the letters with pallets and gouges rather than by the use of hand letters.

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


built-up patterns

Decorative patterns in blind or gold built up from individual line and solid tools.

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


bulk

1. The thickness of the gathered leaves or sections of a book before sewing, or the thickness of the bound book before its covers are attached, or before casing-in. 2. The thickness of a sheet of paper in relation to its weight. With two papers of equal weight per ream, the one which "handles" the thicker is said to "bulk" the better. 3. The thickness of a specified number of sheets of paper or board under a specified pressure. Bulk here is important in gauging the thickness of a proposed book. 4. In papermaking in its most correct meaning, "bulk" is the ratio of fiber volume of a sheet to total volume, including air spaces which may be void or filled with loading or sizing materials. See also: BULK EQUIVALENTS.

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.

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

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


BULK

A platform fixed to the end of a frame on which to put a letter board with letter; there is another sort sometimes adopted, called a Loose Bulk, which is a small table made of deal, for the same purpose, but moveable to any part where it is most convenient to use it.

BULLET.

When a workman, at case or press, either for neglect, want of punctuality, or for gross misconduct, is discharged instanter, and the usual notice of “a fortnight” is not given, it is said, He has got the Bullet.

A loose bulk table


bulk equivalents

The number of pages per inch of a paper of a given caliper (thousandths of an inch):

Caliper/  Pages

4 sheets  per Inch

5.5     1,454

6.0     1,332

6.5     1,230

7.0     1,142

7.5     1,066

8.0     1,000

8.5       942

9.0       888

9.5       842

10.0       800

10.5       762

11.0       726

11.5       696

12.0       666

12.5       640

13.0       614

13.5       592

14.0       570

14.5       552

15.0       532

15.5       516

16.0       500

16.5       484

17.0       470

17.5       456

18.0       444

18.5       432

19.0       420

19.5       410

20.0       400

20.5       390

21.0       380

21.5       372

22.0       364

22.5       356

23.0       348

23.5       340

24.0       332

24.5       326

25.0       320

25.5       314

26.0       308

26.5       302

27.0       296

27.5       290

28.0       286

28.5       280

29.0       276

29.5       272

30.0       266

30.5       262

31.0       258

31.5       254

32.0       250

32.5       246

33.0       242

33.5       238

34.0       234

34.5       232

35.0       228

35.5       224

36.0       222

36.5       218

37.0       216

37.5       212

38.0       210

38.5       208

39.0       204

39.5       202

40.0       200

40.5       198

41.0       194

41.5       192

42.0       190

42.5       188

43.0       186

43.5       184

44.0       182

44.5       180

45.0       178

45.5       176

46.0       174

46.5       172

47.0       170

47.5       168

48.0       166

48.5       164

49.0       162

49.5       162

50.0       160

Book Manufacturers' Institute. Helpful aids in book production. New York. Book Manufacturers' Institute. 1953.


bulked up

A deliberate attempt to make a book thicker and, therefore, of a more substantial appearance. Books, and especially novels, are sometimes "bulked up, ' i.e., printed on BULKING BOOK PAPER so that a higher price may be charged. Such paper, however, is often inferior in both strength and printing quality to a more compact paper.

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


bulking book paper

A paper produced to give maximum bulk per unit ream weight. It is produced from a number of paper furnishes designed to impart this property, including cotton linters, rag pulp, esparto, and chemical wood pulps. Some grades contain a large percentage of mechanical wood pulp mixed with other pulps. The paper furnish is provided with little or no fillers. This paper is usually made to specifications of finish, caliper, or both. Bulking book paper picks easily and often causes difficulties in printing. See also: BULKED UP; NOVEL PAPER.


bumping hammer

See: BACKING HAMMER.


bundle

1. A seldom used term applied to a printed sheet that has been folded to make a section. 2. A unit of board measure, generally of weight of 50 pounds. The actual number of boards in a bundle will depend on area and caliper of the boards. 3. At one time, a package of paper containing 2 perfect reams, or 1,000 sheets, but in today's usage, a package of paper weighing about 125 pounds and containing any number of sheets, depending on the size, caliper, and type of paper.

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


BUNDLE

A bundle of paper consists of two reams. See Paper, Ream.

Bur. See Rag.


bundling

1. The process of tying up the sections of a book under pressure before GATHERING (1), for the purpose of keeping them clean, flat, and ready for gathering, while at the same time compressing them into a compact and solid state. 2. The process of gathering together a number of skins of leather, usually 12, of the same kind, weight, and grade. The total area of leather is indicated on the bundle.

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


bundling press

See illustration</> A type of press used to compress the newly folded sections of a book or group of books, usually of the same title. Bundling presses are usually of three types: 1) the hand-bundling press, which consists of a floor stand on which two jaws are mounted horizontally. One of the jaws is stationary and the other movable. The group of sections with strings around it is placed between the jaws and compressed by forcing the movable jaw towards the stationary one. The jaws are designed so as to allow for the tying of the bundles while under pressure; 2) the power-bundling press, which is either vertically or horizontally oriented, and in which a movable bed is driven toward a stationary head by power supplied by an electric motor through a system of gears and racks; and 3) the pneumatic bundling press, which may also be vertically or horizontally oriented, in which the movable jaw is driven by a piston to which power is supplied by compressed air. In all three types, when the sections of several books are to be bundled together, the groups are placed between boards, bundled, and the entire group, including boards, is tied before being removed from the press.

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

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


Bur

Rough edge of a type which the founder neglected to take off in dressing.


buried cords

See: SAWING IN.


burnish

1. The glossiness or brilliance produced by rubbing the gilt edges or leather cover of a book with a burnishing or polishing tool. See also: BURNISHER (5) (2). 2. In papermaking, to burnish or polish the surface of a paper. See also: GLAZED (1).

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


burnish

The effect produced by the application of the burnisher to the edges.


burnish

The gloss produced by the application of the burnisher to the edges after coloring, marbling or gilding.

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


burnish

The gloss produced by the application of the burnisher to the edges.


Burnished

The effect produced by the application of a burnisher to edges.


burnished edges

The colored or gilt edges of a book which have been polished, usually by means of a bloodstone or agate implement called a BURNISHER (2). See also: BURNISHER(S) (2).


burnisher

See illustration</> 1. One who burnishes the edges of a book. 2. The tools used to burnish the edges of a book. They are made of metal, agate (quartz), or bloodstone set in handles. The bloodstone type is the best and also the most expensive. Burnishers are generally available in two basic shapes—flat and toothed. They are relatively delicate tools and chip easily if handled roughly; they may be kept smooth and in good condition by rubbing them on the flesh side of a piece of leather coated with whiting, or, if too rough to be smoothed in this manner, by rubbing them on a zinc-lined board coated with a small amount of flour or emery mixed with machine oil.

Burdett, Eric. The craft of bookbinding; a practical handbook. London. Davis & Charles. 1975.

Cummins, John Francis. The printer's guide. 2nd ed. Dublin. n.p. 1952.

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


burnisher

Are pieces of agate or bloodstone affixed to handles.


burnisher

Pieces of agate or bloodstone affixed to convenient handles.


burnisher

Pieces of agate or bloodstone affixed to handles. With them a gloss is produced on the edges of a book.


burnishing brushes

A black lead or shoe brush, having stiff but not harsh bristles, and used, after coating the edges of a book with black lead, to burnish the edges before glairing for edge-gilding.


burnt gypsum

See: BRIME.


burnt sugar

One of the coloring materials which, when dissolved in water, can be used to restore the proper tone or shade to the leaves of a book that have been washed. The burnt sugar is added to the resizing bath, and the paper is "toned" at the same time it is sized.

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


burnt umber

A dark brown pigment produced by calcining raw umber, and used in a mixture of red ochre, oil, and water, as a sprinkle for the edges of books. See also: SPRINKLED EDGES; UMBER.

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


burst factor

The BURSTING STRENGTH of paper in grams per square centimeter divided by the BASIS WEIGHT of the paper in grams per square meter, which gives the burst factor as a numerical value. See also: BURST RATIO.

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


burst ratio

The BURSTING STRENGTH of a material in points per pound. See also: BURST FACTOR.


bursting strength

The combined tensile strength and stretch of a material as measured by the ability of the material to resist rupture when pressure is applied under specified conditions to one of its sides by an instrument used for testing the property. Testing for the bursting strength of paper is a very common procedure, although its value in determining the potential permanence or durability of paper is suspect. See also: BURST FACTOR; POINTS PER POUND.


butcher cuts

Damage to hides and skins caused by improper and/ or unskilled flaying, and usually seen in the form of cuts or furrows on the flesh side. In extreme cases, the cuts may go completely through the skin, thus reducing its value greatly. Butcher cuts are sometimes particularly noticeable on parchment and vellum.

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


butt

1. That part of a hide or skin corresponding to the animal's back and sides after cutting away the shoulder and belly, and consisting of the thickest and strongest part of the skin. See also: SHELL. 2. Any type of hinge or joint used for reinforcement, or for fastening a bulky insert into a binding.

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


butterstamp

See: BAND PALLET.


BUTTON OF THE TYMPAN

An iron button with a female screw, screwed on a square shanked bolt, that goes through the bottom frame of the outer tympan, in wooden presses, and turns on the upper side of the inner tympan, to assist in keeping it tight in its place.

In very fine work also, when the paper is stout and heavy and large sheets, and it is not customary to fly the frisket, but to turn it down upon the paper before the tympan is turned down upon the form, a button is placed upon the lower frame of the outer tympan, which clasps the extreme end of the frisket, and confines the sheet of paper in its place on the tympan, and prevents it slipping down.


buttonhole stitch

An embroidery stitch used in making a HEADBAND, and executed by drawing the needle and thread from the upper through the lower edge of the core, and out over the lower thread of the preceding stitch. The stitches are repeated, sometimes in alternate colors, e.g., blue and green, to form a firm line of adjacent loops around the core.

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

Davenport, Cyril James Humphries. English embroidered bookbindings. London. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner. 1899.


C

The Roman equivalent of 100. See also: ROMAN NUMERALS.


C clamp

A C-shaped, general purpose clamp that grips between the open ends of the "C" by means of a long, flat-ended screw that threads through one end and presses the clamped material against the other end. It is used mainly for holding leather or book boards while using the SPOKESHAVE. It is called a "G-clamp" in Great Britain.

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


c m pattern

The code name for a small pebbled pattern in a book cloth.


c-pattern

The code name for a pattern in a book cloth formed by covering the surface of the cloth with small raised dots. Also called "crêpe."

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


C-stage

The third and final stage in the reaction of some thermosetting resins, characterized by the relatively insoluble and infusible state of the resin. Some thermosetting resins in this stage are fully cured. Also called "resite." See also: A-STAGE; B-STAGE.

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


Cabinet

A receptacle for cases, chases leads, &c.


cabinet size

See: OBLONG.


cable pattern

See: ROPE PATTERN.


cabretta leather

A leather produced from the skins of sheep which have hair instead of wool, i.e., straight-haired sheepskins. The leather is produced in India, China, South America, and Africa, the best grades coming from the latter two areas. In the United r States, the term is generally considered to indicate specifically a Brazilian sheepskin. Cabretta is generally chrome tanned and has a very fine grain and a strong fiber network.

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


cahier

A number of loose sheets assembled for binding, or bound loosely together to form a notebook or pamphlet. 2. The French expression for the signature of a bound book.


cake glue

Generally, an animal GLUE supplied in large slabs up to 3 inches in thickness. The slabs are broken into small pieces, soaked in cold water until they absorb as much water as possible, and then heated to useable consistency. Flexible (internally plasticized) glue does not have to be soaked.


calcium acetate

A chemical (Ca(C2H3O2) . 2HO), prepared by neutralizing acetic acid with lime or calcium a  carbonate, and used in the preparation of other acetates and in the deacidification of paper.


calcium bicarbonate

A salt obtained by replacing only one of the two hydrogen atoms in carbonic acid (H2CO3) by the metallic atom calcium, giving (Ca(HCO3)2). It is employed in a 0.2% solution to carbonate excess calcium hydroxide used in deacidifying paper, and also to precipitate calcium carbonate into the fibers of the paper being treated. The precipitated calcium carbonate acts as a buffer to neutralize any acid that forms in the paper subsequent to treatment.

Barrow, William J. The Barrow method of preserving deteriorated documents. Richmond, Va. The author. 1965.