Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Bookbinding Chapter II Part 2
books of odd shape, and the name folio, quarto, &c., are rather losing their true meaning, and
are often used loosely to signify pages of certain sizes, irrespective of the number that go to a
sheet.
On receipt, for instance, of an octavo book for folding, the pile of sheets is laid flat on the table,
and collated by the letter o signature of each sheet. The first sheet of the book proper will
probably be signature B, as signature A usually consists of the half-title, title, introduction, &c.,
and often has to be folded up rather differently.
The “outer” sides, known by the signature letters B, C, D, &c., should be downwards, and the
inner sides facing upwards with the second signatures, if there are any, B2, C2, D2, &c., at the
right-hand bottom corner.
page I, are shown at fig. 3. A folder is taken
in the right hand, and held at the bottom of
the sheet at about the centre, and the sheet
taken by the left hand at the top right-hand
corner and bent over until pages 3 and 6 come
exactly over pages 2 and 7; and when it is seen
that the headlines and figures exactly match,
the paper, while being held in that position, is
creased down the centre with the folder, and
the fold cut up a little more than half-way.
Pages 4, 14, 5, 12 will now be uppermost,
pages 12 and 5 are now folded over to exactly
match pages 13 and 4, and the fold creased
and cut up a little more than half-way, as
before. Pages 8 and 9 will now be uppermost,
and will merely require folding together to
make the pages of the section follow in their
proper order. If the folding has been done
carefully, and the “register” of the printing is
good, the headlines should be exactly even
throughout.
from folding two or more thicknesses of paper when joined at the top edges.
A “duodecimo” sheet has the pages arranged at fig 4. The “inset” pages, 10, 15, 14, 11, must be
cut off, and the rest of the section folded as for an octavo sheet. The inset is folded separately
and inserted into the centre of the octavo portion.
Other sizes are folded in much the same way, and the principle of folding one sheet having been
mastered, no difficulty will be found in folding any other.
Plates often require trimming, and this must be done with judgment. The plates should be
trimmed to correspond as far as possible with the printing on the opposite page, but if this
cannot be done, it is desirable that something approaching the proportion of margin shown at
fig. 2 (folio) should be aimed at. That is to say, the back margin should be the smallest, the head
margin the next, the fore-edge a little wider, and the tail widest of all. When a plate consists of a
small portrait or diagram in the centre of the page, it looks better if it is put a little higher and a
little nearer the back than the actual centre.
put in order by the list of printed plates, or
“instructions to the binder.” The half-title,
title, dedication, &c., will often be found to be
printed on odd sheets that have to be made up
into section A. This preliminary matter is
usually placed in the following order: Half-
title, title, dedication, preface, contents, list of
illustrations or other lists. If there is an index,
it should be put at the end of the book.
All plates should be “guarded,” and any
“quarter section,” that is, sections consisting
of two leaves, should have their backs
strengthened by a “guard,” or they may very
easily be torn in the sewing. Odd, single
leaves may be guarded round sections in the
same way as plates.
When a book has been folded, it should be
pressed.
There will sometimes be pages marked by the
printer with a star. These have some error in
them, and are intended to be cut out. The
printer should supply corrected pages to
replace them.
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