46 
RERAMIC STUDIO 
book to counteract the pull of the leather when covered. 
When dry these boards are cut to the size of the book with the 
plow in the lying press. This plowing of the board leaves a 
polished edge all around. Two rows of holes are punched in 
each board to correspond to the bands on the book and through 
these holes are laced and pounded the cords making the book 
and its covers one. With the heavy English cord used it is 
almost impossible for the covers to ever come off. With tins 
on either side of the covers the book is pressed and takes its 
permanent shape. The glue is scraped off the back with flour 
paste and a wooden stick and then the book is ready for its 
most difficult process -the cutting of head, tail and fore-edge. 
These are cut in the lying press with the plow. The head and 
tail are cut a little smaller than the boards and without much 
difficulty. For the fore-edge trindles are put in to straighten 
the back for the time, boards are placed on either side of the 
book and then it is put into the press so that everything is 
even before it can be cut. If the book slips a hair's breadth 
the fore-edge will be cut unevenly. Now the book goes to the 
gilder to have the edges gilded. Valuable books are cut by 
hand all the way around and gilded before being sewed and 
this is called rough gilt. The head bands either single or 
double are woven of silk over parchment firmly into either end 
and set there with glue and paper. The corners of the covers 
next these head bands are cut off, the five cords lacing the 
covers on are cleaned and re-set, the bands on the back nipped 
up well and the book is forwarded and ready to be covered 
with leather and finished. 
BACniNG /\ 30or( 
For this kind of binding onty the best Levant Moroccos 
and pig-skin are used. First books are bound in leather back 
and corners, with paper sides. Books to be decorated are 
bound in full leather. The leather is cut the size of the book 
with a margin all around. This margin and the middle of the 
back are pared thin with a broad knife. The covering of books 
is almost a craft by itself. It takes much skill to make sharp 
even bands on the back, to model the corners and to make the 
hoods over the headbands. The leather is wet, thoroughh^ 
pasted and then put on the book. Band nippers are used to 
make the leather stretch over the bands and much patient 
rubbing with band sticks is done to polish the back. The 
book is put away to dry until the next day when it is carefully 
opened up so that the covers wiU open back and touch. When 
the leather has dried open, the corners are cut and finished, 
the turnover inside cut even all around and paper filled in. 
The leather on the covers is now crushed in the press and then 
the book is ready for decorating, the goal towards which the 
binder looks most eagerly all through his work. 
Simple and conventional designs should be used in 
"finishing" books. Easel pictures or flower painting in 
mosaic and gold are in the worst possible taste, even though 
the workmanship may be marvelous. Few tools and those 
combined according to the best rules of design, are good princi- 
ples on which to work. There are three kinds of decoration 
"Blind tooling," "Gold tooling," and "Mosaic." For all of 
these the design is first made on strong paper; the tools are 
heated and the first impression made on the leather by pressing 
them througli the paper. These impressions are deepened by 
wetting the leather and pressing the warm tools in a second 
time. For "blind tooling" the polish is given by going over 
the design a third time with the hot tools oiled. For " gold 
tooling" the leather is prepared with vinegar, glaire, palm oil 
and gold leaf, the hot tools are pressed into their places again 
and the loose gold is taken off with a rubber. In the "mosaic " 
decoration parts of the design are cut from thin, contrasting 
leathers, fixed into their places on the book and tooled over 
with gold. There is no limit to the time one may put on a 
well loved book and the fascination and pleasure in the work 
grows on one as the years go by. When decorated the leather 
is varnished, the end papers pasted back, the book opened leaf 
by leaf and then pressed to make sure that it will open and 
close properl3^ 
It takes a long time to learn how to bind books worthy of 
decoration, but this only proves the dignity and worth of the 
craft. Patience, the love of books and, incidentally, a sense 
of humor are necessary virtues in a good binder. 
The presses and tools for a binding plant can be purchased 
for about S75.00, and then one can add indefinitely to one's 
finishing tools as taste and purse may dictate. Instruction in 
binding is usually given in private studios, but there are two 
schools which have made it one of their departments and where 
tuition is practically nominal: The Art School, Norwich, Conn., 
and the School of Industrial Arts, Trenton, N. J. 
T, J. Cobden-Sanderson, of London, is the best binder of 
the day and several of his pvipils are teaching in this country. 
It is only eight years since women took up this craft, but the 
work of these years has proved that it is a work quite as suitable 
for them as for men, and several of them stand on ec[ual footing 
in the book-binding world. 
TALKS, TEA AND THINGS 
A SERIES of talks and an interesting exhibition of hand- 
work in various branches took place at the Ridge Club 
House, Bay Ridge, N. Y., from May 3d to 6th. 
On May 3d Miss Averill told about Japanese flower arrang- 
ment and showed a charming arrangment of a flowering shrub. 
May 4th, Mrs, E. D. Sawyer read a paper on Household Decora- 
tion. May 5th, Mrs. Victor Shitm exhibited her hand loom, 
assisted by Mrs. Anna Emberg who showed a wonderful col- 
lection of hand woven textiles. May 6th, Miss Mary White 
told of baskets from many lands, illustrating her talk with 
interesting and rare specimens loaned by Mr. Frank Covert. 
As an outcome of the talks and exhibition an interest has 
been awakened in Bay Ridge and piazza classes formed to 
study certain of the crafts through the summer months. The 
exhibition showed some interesting work from various artists 
and craft workers: — Baskets and bead work by Miss Mary 
White; designs for table covers and plate doilies for summer 
cottages by Mrs. E. D. Sawyer; burnt wood by Miss Lulu 
Githens; metal work and jewelry by Miss Emily Peacock; 
childrens' book plates bj^ Gardner C. Teall; Porti-ait sketches 
of children by Chas. Buchanan; dyed stuffs and bead weaving 
on cloth bj' Miss Sara Pierce White and hand woven Pilgrim 
rugs from Pittsfield, Mass. 
