Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Bookbinding Chapter VII Part 2
SEWING
the same now as is shown in prints of the early
sixteenth century, and probably dates from still
earlier times. In consists of a bed with two uprights
and a crossbar, which can be heightened on lowered
by the turning of wooden nuts working on a screw
thread cut in the uprights (see fig. 29).
To set up for sewing, as many loops of cord, called
“lay cords,” as there are to be bands, are threaded on
to the cross pieces, and to these, by a simple knot,
shown at fig. 28, cords are fastened to form the
bands. The “lay cords” can be used again and again
until worn out.
the cord is then pulled up round it by the left, and held in position on the key by the first finger
of the right hand. The key is then turned over, winding up a little of the string, and the prongs
slipped over the main cord. It is then put through the slit in the bed of the sewing-press, with
the prongs away from the front. The cord is then cut off, and the same operation repeated for
each band. When the bands have been set up, the book is laid against them, and they are moved
to correspond with the marks previously made on the back of the book, care being taken that
they are quite perpendicular. If they are of the same length and evenly set up, on screwing up
the crossbar they should all tighten equally.
It will be found to be convenient to set up the cords as far to the right hand of the press as
possible, as then there will be room for the sewer’s left arm on the inner side of the left hand
upright.
A roll of paper that will exactly fill the slot in the sewing-frame is pushed in front of the upright
cords to steady them and ensure that they are all in the same plane.
When the sewing-frame is ready, with the cords set up and adjusted, the book must be collated
to make sure that neither sheets nor plates have been lost or misplaced during the previous
operations. Plates need special care to see that the guards properly round the sheets next them.
the sewing is to be, and with the right hand a
needle and thread is passed through the kettle
stitch mark (see fig. 29). It is grasped by the
fingers of the left hand, is passed out through
the back at the first mark on the left-hand
side of the first upright cord, and pulled
tight, leaving a loose end of thread at the
kettle stitch.
The top back corner, on front and back waste
end paper, should be marked. When this has
been done, and all is found to be in order, the
book is laid on a pressing-board behind the
sewing-frame, the fore-edge towards the
sewer, and the front end paper uppermost.
As it is difficult to insert the needle into a
section placed on the bed of the
sewing-frame, it will be found convenient to
sew upon a largish pressing-board, which will
lie on the bed of the frame, and may have
paper) is taken in the left hand and turned over, so that the marks on the back come in the
proper places against the strings.
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