THE CRAFTS 
Under the management of Miss Emily Peacock, 232 East 27th Street, New York. All inquiries in regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be answered in the magazine under this head. 
All questions mast be received before the 10th day of month preceding issue, and will be answered under "Answers to Inquiries" only. Please do not send 
stamped envelope for reply. The editors will answer questions only in these columns. 
around the back less one-eighth inch to allow for stretch- 
ing, and the others to correspond with these, the fifth 
measured by the width of the board, the sixth, three-fourths 
inch from it as shown in Illus. No. . 1 1 
The second horizontal line is three-fourths inch below 
the first, the next the exact length of the board below and 
the next three-fourths inch below that. Cut out this pat- 
tern on the outside lines and draw one just like it on tin- 
leather, making the lines three-fourths inch inside the edge 
very heavy, as these mark the limit of the paring. Cut out 
the leather. Paring should be practiced first on some scraps 
of leather. Illus. No. 12 shows exactly the position to be 
taken. The leather should be very thin on the edges, 
practically feather-edged. It must be quite smooth, when 
it is nearly smooth enough it can be sand-papered to xe- 
pedite matters. The leather being ready to use, take the 
book from the press and prepare it for covering. Put it in 
No. 13— Stretching leather 
r back of book on paring stone 
PRACTICAL BOOKBINDING 
Mertice Mac Crea Buck 
(continued) 
Now the leather may be prepared. It must be taken, 
if it is .morocco, (the leather most used by amateurs) from 
the side of the skin, as the part directly over the back-bone 
is weak. A sufficiently large piece being found, a paper 
pattern is drawn. This must be very accurate. Draw the 
top line first and all the vertical ones at right angles to it, 
the second one three-fourths inch from the first, the third 
the exact width of the board from this, the fourth the width 
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No. 12 
the finishing press, back up, sandpaper the back of the 
book, then cut away the four back corners as shown in the 
same illustration, cutting them with a sharp knife on a 
piece of tin. If the back seems still a little rough, paste a 
piece of thin paper over it, let this dry and sand-paper again. 
Before putting on the leather have ready a perfectly 
clean paring stone, a piece of canton flannel, a long thread 
of silk, clean water and a clean sponge. Paste, with a 
large brush, a small brush, and a bone folder. The leather 
is laid flat on the stone and covered all over with the paste 
which must be well rubbed in with a stiff brush. The back 
of the book is then laid on the leather, exactly in the space 
marked for it, the edges of course being upwards. The 
book is then turned over with the leather, so that the fore 
edges rest on the stone, and the leather worked down over 
the back with the palms of the hands as shown in the photo- 
graph, (Illus. No. i3),stretchingitwell,andrubbingit smooth. 
The leather must then be turned in at the head. This is 
done by standing the book up and pushing the boards away 
a little at the back so that the three-fourths inch margin 
can be folded down into the space, with the two thumbs, as 
shown in Illus. No. 14. It should be left a little loose to 
allow free play in the joint. The top margins are then foldei I 
down and well rubbed with a folder. The tail is then treatei I 
the same way — then the two front edges. 
Bach corner is folded down as shown in the sketch, but 
it is better not to try to finish these, as they can be done 
