Читать книгу A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding - James B. Nicholson - Страница 6

Table of Contents

SHEET WORK.

As the gathering of the sheets of a book, after they have been printed and dried off, is nearly always performed at the printer's, it will not be necessary to enter into any details on that subject, but to consider, as the commencement of binding, the operation of

FOLDING,

which is of great importance, the beauty of a book depending on its being properly and correctly folded, so that, when it is cut, the margin of the different pages may be uniform throughout, and present no transpositions, to the inconvenience of the reader and deterioration of the work.

The various sizes of books are denominated according to the number of leaves in which the sheet is folded; as folio, quarto, octavo, 12mo, 16mo, 18mo, 24mo, 32mo, &c. Each form presents a certain number of pages, so disposed that, when the sheet is properly folded, they will follow the numeric order. In commencing the folding of any work, particular attention should be paid, in opening out the quires or sets, to observe that the signatures follow each other alphabetically, and, if consisting of two or more volumes, that the whole of the sheets belong to the right one.

Although each form is folded in a different manner, it will not be requisite to detail the whole, as a description of the octavo and twelvemo will amply furnish an idea of the proper way of folding the larger and smaller sizes.

Octavo.—The sheets being placed on the table with the signature, which will be seen at the bottom of the first page, turned towards the table at the corner nearest to the left hand of the workman, will present pages 2, 15, 14, 3, below, and above, with their heads reversed, pages 7, 10, 11, 6, (reading from left to right.) The sheet is then taken with the left hand, by the angle to the right, and creased with the folder in the right hand, in the direction of the points made in the printing, taking care, by shading to the light, that the figures of the pages fall exactly one on the other, which will be 3 upon 2, and 6 upon 7, and thereby presenting uppermost pages 4 and 13, and above 5 and 12. The top part of the sheet is then brought down, with the left hand, upon the lower, pages 5 and 12 falling upon 4 and 13, directed properly, and again folded. The sheet then presents pages 8 and 9, which are then folded evenly, 9 upon 8, forming the third fold and finishing the sheet.

Twelvemo.—The signature to this size, when placed before the workman, should be at the top, on his left hand, and towards the table, the sheet presenting pages 2, 7, 11; 23, 18, 14; 22, 19, 15; 3, 6, 10. On the right, pages 11, 14, 15, 10, are separated from the others by a larger space, in the middle of which are the points, indicating the proper place where the pages should be cut off. The folder detaches this part, and, placing page 11 upon 10, makes a fold, and 13 upon 12, which will be uppermost, finishes the folding of what is called the inset, and which bears the signature of the sheet it has been separated from, with the addition of a figure or asterisk, as A5 or A*. The remaining eight pages are folded in the same way as the octavo, and when done the inset is placed in the middle of it, taking care that the head-lines arrange properly.

Books are sometimes printed in what is called half sheets, but they are folded the same, after cutting them up; the octavo in the direction of the points, the twelvemo in oblong direction of the paper, and laying them apart from each other. There are also oblong octavos, which are folded in the middle in a line with the points, the second fold in the same direction between the heads of the pages, and the third on the length of the paper.

In the first fold of the octavo sheet is shown the manner of folding the folio, and in the second the quarto; the twelvemo also presents us with the eighteens, after the sheet is cut into three divisions. Little or no difficulty will be experienced in folding any other size that may occur, attention to the disposition of the pages and signatures being only required.

It will often be found necessary to refold a book which, previous to being bound, may have been done up in boards, sewed, or otherwise. This should in all cases be carefully attended to, after the book has been taken to pieces, the back divested of the glue and thread, and the corners or other parts which may have been doubled turned up. This is usually done by examining if the margin at the head and fore-edge is equal throughout, bringing those to their proper place that are too short, and cutting those that are longer than the general margin. By these means a uniformity will be presented after the edges of the book are cut, which could never be attained if not attended to while the book is in this state.

The sheets of the book, being all folded, are then laid out along the edge of the gathering table, in the regular order of the signatures; the gatherer then commences at the last sheet or signature, takes one sheet from the parcel, one from the next, and so on until the first sheet or title is placed upon the top of the rest. The sheets are then held loosely in the hand, and allowed to fall lightly upon their backs and heads upon a smooth board, until they arrange themselves in an even, uniform manner. They are then

COLLATED,

to see that the whole of the sheets belong to the same work and volume, as also that none are wanting. This is done by taking the book in the right hand by the upper corner of the fore-edge, and with the left opening the sheets on the back and letting them fall successively one after the other. The signatures will be thus seen in alphabetical or arithmetical order, as a, b, c, &c., or 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., to the last, which should always be examined to ascertain that it is the completion of the book. By these means any sheet incorrectly folded is also detected. Books in folio and quarto are generally collated with a needle or pricker, by raising the sheets singly from the table; but this practice should be resorted to as little as possible, as the work is liable to be damaged. If any sheet is wanting, or belongs to another volume, or is a duplicate, the further progress of the work must be suspended till the imperfection is procured or exchanged. Those that have been wrong folded must be corrected, and any cancels occurring in the work cut out and replaced by the reprints, which will generally be found in the last sheet of the book. It is usual also with some binders to place any plates belonging to the volume, at this period; but as the liability of damage to them is great in the process of beating, or rolling, it will be much better to perform that operation after the book is brought from the stone, for which directions will be given. The book, being found correct, will be ready for the beating-stone, which, although it has been almost entirely superseded by the introduction of machinery, will always be invaluable to a binder of limited means; and the amateur will find it to be an essential process to secure the first great requisite of good binding—solidity

BEATING, PRESSING, ETC.

The first operation is commenced by shaking the volume upon the stone by the back and head, so as to make the whole even and facilitate the division of it into as many equal parts, which are called sections or beatings, as may be judged necessary according to the thickness and other circumstances. A section is then taken and well beaten over, drawing it with the hand towards the body so as to bring the various parts successively under the hammer, and carefully avoiding striking more blows in one part than the other, except giving the edges a slight extra tap round. The section is then turned, and the like proceeding gone through; as also on each side after it has been separated and the bottom part placed on the top, the middle of the section being thereby brought under the action of the hammer. This being done, the sheets are replaced in their proper order, and two or three taps of the hammer given to make them lie even. In beating those books with which, from their value, greater care is required, it is usual to place a guard or waste leaf of paper on each side of the section, to avoid any stains or marks which the stone or hammer might be liable to make.

It requires more skill than actual strength in beating, the weight of the hammer being nearly sufficient for many works. Attention must be paid to the hammer descending parallel to the surface of the stone, to avoid marking or cutting the sheets with the edge.

Before beating a book, care should be taken to observe if it has been recently printed, for if so it would set off by being beaten too much. This will be easily ascertained by referring to the date at the foot of the title, or by smelling the ink it has been printed with, which, being composed partly of oil, will not have got perfectly dry. This will particularly be the case with machine-printed works. As, however, it is frequently necessary to bind a volume immediately after being printed, it will be requisite to take every precaution against its setting off, which would destroy the beauty of the work. It is the practice of some to put the book into an oven after the bread has been taken out, or into a stove heated sufficiently to dry the ink and make it search into the paper; but, as these means are not without danger of getting the paper blackened or soiled, it is a better plan to interleave the sheets with white paper, which will receive all the ink set off. Should the sheets have been hotpressed, which is readily distinguished, this precaution will not be necessary.

When employed at the beating-stone, the workman should keep his legs close together, to avoid hernia, to which he is much exposed if, with the intention of being more at ease, he contracts the habit of placing them apart.

A rolling-machine has been invented as a substitute for the beating which books require previous to being bound. The book is divided into parts, according to the thickness of the book; each part is then placed between tins, or pieces of sole-leather; the rollers are then put in motion, and the part passed through. This is repeated until the requisite degree of solidity is obtained. The great objections to the rolling-machine are the liabilities to cause a set-off, or transfer of the printing-ink, upon the opposite page, by the friction which is produced by passing between the rollers, and the bow-like appearance which they give the book, and which is to the forwarder a serious cause of annoyance, and sometimes all his skill and care are insufficient to remedy the evil caused by the rollers.

A powerful embossing press, technically called a smasher, has lately been employed with great advantage. A book is placed between tins, the platen is adjusted to a proper height, and the large fly-wheels set in motion. The platen descends in a perpendicular manner; then, upon its ascending, by means of a small handle the distance between the platens is decreased; the wheels still continuing in motion, the book, upon the descent of the platen, is compressed more forcibly than at first. The operation is repeated until the book has experienced the whole power of the press. It has been calculated that by this process a single volume will, if necessary, undergo a pressure equal to a weight of from fifty to eighty tons.

This process has an advantage over every other hitherto employed in which machinery has been engaged; and it is, in some respects, preferable to beating, as the book is of the same thickness in every part, while in beating there is a great liability to beat the edges thinner than the centre; and the air appears to be as completely forced out as if the beating-hammer had been used; and there seems to be no disposition in the book to swell up again after undergoing this crushing process.

In some binderies a hydraulic press is relied upon for compressing the sheets, without their undergoing the beating or rolling process. For publishers' work it has been found to answer the purpose for which it is employed, as the press can be filled up by placing the books in layers of from one to four or eight, according to their size, between iron plates; and the immense power of the press is thus evenly distributed through a large quantity of sheets at the same time.

HYDRAULIC PRESS, FROM THE MANUFACTORY OF

ISAAC ADAMS & CO., BOSTON.

The power of compression is derived from the pump to the left of the press, which is supplied with water from a cistern sunk under it. The water thus sent, by means of the tube seen passing from it to the centre of the foot of the press, causes the cylinder to which the bed is fixed to rise and compress the books or paper tightly between the bed and head of the press. When it is forced as high as can be by means of the pump-handle seen, a larger bar is attached and worked by two men. The extraordinary power of this press is so great as to cause, particularly in common work, a saving of more than three-fourths of the time required in bringing books to a proper solidity by the common press. When it is wished to withdraw the books, the small cock at the end of the tube at the foot of the press is turned, the water flows into the cistern below, and the bed with the books glides gently down in front of the workman. Two presses are frequently worked by the same pump, one being on each side.

The hydraulic press is manufactured by nearly all the press-makers, differing only in the general design, the application of power being the same.

After beating, should there be any plates to the work, they, as before stated, must now be placed among the text. Great care must be taken to make the justification of the plates uniform with the text, by cutting off any superfluity at the head or back, and by placing them exactly facing the pages to which they refer, pasting the edge next to the back. Any that may be short at the head must be brought down, to preserve a uniformity. It is advisable to place a leaf of tissue-paper before each plate, particularly when newly printed, as the ink of copper-plates is longer in drying than that of letter-press. When a work contains a great number of plates, which are directed to be placed at the end, they are sewn on the bands by overcasting, which operation will shortly be treated of in full.

The book, being now ready for pressing, is taken in sections, according to the work and the judgment of the workman, and placed between pressing-boards the size of the volume, one on the other, and conveyed to the standing-press, which is pulled down as tight as possible by the press-pin, or fly-wheel, according to the nature of the standing-press; although it must be premised that when a book has been through the smasher, no further pressing will be required until it reaches the hands of the forwarder.

After the book has been sufficiently pressed, it will be necessary again to collate it, to correct any disarrangement that may have taken place during the beating and pressing. It is then ready for being sawn out.

SAWING THE BACKS.

This operation is performed in order to save the expense of sewing upon raised bands, and also to prevent the bands on which a book is sewn appearing on the back. After beating the book up well on the back and head, it is placed between two cutting-boards, the back projecting a little over the thick edge, and tightly screwing in the laying or cutting-press, the whole being elevated sufficiently to prevent the saw damaging the cheeks of the press. Then with a tenant-saw the proper number of grooves are made, in depth and width according to the diameter of the band intended to be used, which will depend on the size of the book. A slight cut must also be given above the first and under the last band, for lodging the chain or kettle-stitch. It is very necessary that the saw should be held parallel with the press, without which precaution, the grooves being deeper on one side than the other, the work will present, when opened, a defect to the eye.

The end-papers, which should consist of four leaves of blank paper, folded according to the size of the book, are now prepared, and one placed at the beginning and end of each volume.

SEWING.

According to the number of bands wanted, must be attached to the loops on the cross-bar of the sewing-press as many pieces of cord, of proper length and thickness, and fastened with the aid of the keys in the groove of the press as nearly equal in tightness as possible. When this is done, the back of the first sheet in the book is placed against the cords, which must be moved upwards or the contrary to the marks of the saw, when the small screws at each end under the cross-bar must be moved upwards till the strings are equally tight. All this being disposed, the book is commenced sewing by placing the end-paper, which has no marks of the saw, on the sheet before laid down, and sewing it throughout, leaving a small end of thread to form the knot, after sewing the first sheet, which is then taken from under and sewn the whole length.

There are various ways of sewing, according to the size and thickness of the sheets of a book. A volume consisting of thick sheets, or a sheet containing a plate or map, should be sewn singly the whole length, in order to make the work more secure and solid. Great care should also be taken not to draw the thread too tight at the head or foot of the book. The thread, in order to keep the book of the same thickness at the ends and centre, should be drawn parallel with the bench, and not downwards, as is too frequently the case. Upon the proper swelling of the back mainly depends the regularity of the round and firmness of the back in the after-stages of the binding.

When a book is sewed two sheets on, three bands are generally used. Taking the sheet and fixing it on the bands, the needle is inserted in the mark made for the kettle-stitch and brought out by the first band; another sheet is then placed, and the needle introduced on the other side of the band, thus bringing the thread round it, sewn in like manner to the middle band, and continued to the third, when, taking again the first sheet, it is sewn from the third band to the other kettle-stitch, where it is fastened, and another course of two sheets commenced, and so continued to the last sheet but one, which is sewn the whole length, as directed for the first sheet, as also the end-paper. Three bands are preferable to two, the book being more firm from being fastened in the middle, which is the only difference in sewing on two and three bands.

Half-sheets, to obviate the swelling of the back too much, are usually sewn on four bands, which admit of three on a course: the first sheet is sewn as in three bands, from the kettle-stitch to the first band, the next to the second, and the third takes the middle space; then the second sheet again from the third to the fourth band, and the first from thence to the other kettle-stitch. The third sheet having only one stitch, it is necessary that, in sawing, the distance from the second to the third band should be left considerably longer than between the others. Quartos are generally sewn on five bands to make the work firmer, but if in half-sheets, as in the folio size, six or more are used, sewing as many sheets on as bands, giving each sheet but one tack or sewing, and piercing the needle through the whole of the course at each end or kettle-stitch before fastening the thread. This, which gives sufficient firmness, is necessary to prevent the swelling of the back which a less number of sheets in a course would make and spoil the appearance of the binding.

When the book is composed of single leaves, plates, or maps, or, as in the case of music, where, from the decayed state of the back, it is necessary to cut off a portion with the plough in the manner pointed out for cutting edges, the whole must be attached to the bands by what is called whipping or overcasting. This is by taking a section, according to the thickness of the paper, and forcing the needle through the whole at the kettle-stitch, and on each side of all the bands, at a distance sufficient to secure the stitches from tearing, bringing the thread round each band, as before directed, and fastening it at the end before proceeding with another course. To keep the whole of the sheets properly even, the back is sometimes glued immediately after cutting, and when dry divided into sections. Atlases and books of prints, when folded in the middle, will require a guard, or slip of paper, to be pasted to them, so as to allow them to open flat, which they could not do if attached to the back, and which would destroy the engraving. These guards must be of strong paper about an inch in breadth and folded to the right size. They are sewn by overcasting, as above directed.

A better method for books of plates, or single leaves, is, after cutting the back evenly with the plough, to lay it between boards and glue the back evenly over with thin glue. After it has become dry and hard, separate it into thin sections; then let it be sawn out in the usual manner; it should then be taken and whipped, or overcast in separate sections with fine thread, care being taken in whipping the sections that it be evenly and neatly done. After the sections are all whipped, they should be sewn or affixed to the bands in the same manner as folded sheets.

The old mode of sewing on raised bands combines many advantages. This style is still adopted with many works, particularly with those having a small margin; in fact, it is, both for elasticity and durability, far superior to any mode that is practised; it is, however, a very slow process, and necessarily an expensive one; and many binders who pretend to bind in this manner, to obviate this, have their books sewed in the ordinary way, and then, by sticking false bands upon the back, give them the appearance of having been sewn on raised bands. If it is intended to sew a book purely flexible, it should be knocked up even and square, placed between two pieces of pasteboard, and placed in a laying-press; then draw a line across the back, near the head, where it will be cut by the forwarder in cutting the edges. Next take a pair of compasses and divide the back lengthwise into six even portions, except the bottom or tail, which should be longer than the rest, in order to preserve a proper symmetry of appearance; then draw lines square across the back with a black lead-pencil from the compass-points of the five inner divisions, for the places upon which the bands are to be sewed; then make a slight scratch with a saw about one-quarter of an inch inside of where the book will be cut, for the kettle-stitch at the head and likewise at the tail. Upon taking the book out of the laying-press, take the pasteboards and saw them at the points marked by the lead-pencil of a depth sufficient to allow the cords upon which the book is to be sewn to enter. The boards will then serve as a guide to set the bands of the sewing-press at the commencement of the operation, and afterwards, during the progress of the work, will be found useful to regulate any deviations that may be inadvertently taking place. After the sewing-press is properly regulated and the end-paper sewn as previously described, the sheets should then be taken, one at a time, in their regular order, and sewn all along, from one end of the sheet to the other, or, more properly, from one kettle-stitch to the other, taking especial pains to observe that in sewing each sheet, after the first kettle-stitch has been caught, the needle must be passed to the farthest side of the nearest band, then passed to the other side of the band, and so on for each successive band. By this means the thread will have passed completely round each band, upon which the sheet will revolve as upon a hinge, without the slightest strain upon either the band or the thread. The inner margin is thus preserved its full size, and the freedom of the volume much increased.

If you desire to revel in the full enjoyment of a flexible back, have it sewn with silk upon silken bands or cords, and you will have a combination of elasticity and strength that cannot be surpassed.

For large volumes of engravings, the best mode of binding, so as to secure strength and also to allow the plates to lie flat when the volume is open, is to mount the plates with linen upon guards. To do this properly, select paper of the same thickness as the plates, cut it in strips an inch or an inch and a half wide, paste the back edge of the plate about a quarter of an inch in depth, from top to bottom; then lay a strip of thin linen or paper-muslin along the pasted edge of the plate, and rub it so that it will adhere. The strips of linen must be sufficiently wide to project beyond the plate as far as the width of the paper guards. One of the latter is then to be evenly pasted over and laid upon the projecting strip of linen, carefully smoothed, and laid between pasteboards to dry after they are thus mounted. The plates are then whipped along the back edge of the guard, and sewed in the usual manner.

It was proposed by M. Lesne, bookbinder of Paris, in a Memoir presented by him to the "Société d' Encouragement," January 18, 1818, that in order to give to books the three essential qualities of binding, elasticity, solidity, and elegance, they should be sewn similar to the Dutch method, which is on slips of parchment, instead of packthread; but to remedy the inconvenience arising from one slip being insufficient to make the back of a proper solidity, as well as being liable to break, and, if doubled or trebled, presenting a bad effect on the back when covered, he suggested the adoption of silk for the bands, which in a much less diameter is far stronger than packthread double the thickness. It is also preferable for sheets that require sewing the whole length to use silk, this being much stronger than thread, and insuring a greater solidity to the work. It will be observed that the cuts of the saw, apparent in other bindings, are not seen in opening the volume. When the volume is entirely sewn, the screws are loosened, the cords detached from the keys, and about two inches of the cord left on each side of the book to attach the boards that are to form the sides.

INDIA-RUBBER BACKS.

In those instances where the leaves of a book are held together by caoutchouc cement instead of by sewing, the sheets are cut up into separate leaves, and every leaf made true and square at the edges. The back edge is then brought to a rounded form, by allowing the sheets to arrange themselves in a grooved recess or mould; and in that state the leaves are all moistened at the back edges with a cement of liquid caoutchouc or India-rubber. The quantity so applied is very small. In a few hours, it is sufficiently dry to take another coat of a somewhat stronger caoutchouc solution. In forty-eight hours, four applications of the caoutchouc may be made and dried. The back and the adjoining part of the sides are next covered with the usual band or fillet of cloth glued on with caoutchouc; after which the book is ready to have the boards attached, and to be covered with leather or parchment, as may be desired.