Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Bookbinding Chapter VII Part 5
MATERIALS FOR SEWING
with only two strands of very long fibres to facilitate fraying
out. For very large books where a double cord is to be used,
the best water line will be found to answer, care being taken
to select that which can be frayed out. If tape is used it
should be unbleached, such as the sailmakers use. Thread
should also be unbleached, as the unnecessary bleaching of
most bookbinder’s sewing-thread seems to cause it to rot in a
comparatively short time. Silk of the best quality is better
than any thread. The ligature silk, undyed, as used by
surgeons, is perhaps the strongest material, and can be had in
various thicknesses. It is impossible to pay too great
attention to the selection of sewing materials, as the
permanency of the binding depends on their durability. The
rebinding of valuable books is at best a necessary evil, and
anything that makes frequent rebinding necessary, is not only
objectionable on account of the cost involved, but because it
seriously shortens the life of the book.
Experience is required to judge what thickness of thread to
use for any given book. If the sections are very
thickness of the thread in that part will be excessive, and make the book unmanageable in
“backing.” On the other hand, if the sections are large, and a too thin thread is used, there will
not be enough swelling to make a firm “joint.” Broadly speaking, when there are a great many
very thin sections, the thinnest thread may be used; and coarser thread may be used when the
sections are thicker, or fewer in number. In the case of large manuscripts on vellum it is best
to use very thick silk, or even catgut. Vellum is so tough and durable, that any binding of
vellum book should be made as if it were expected to last for hundreds of years.
In selecting the thickness of cord for a book some judgment is required. On an old book the
bands are best made rather prominent by the use of thick cord, but the exact thickness to be
used is a matter for taste and experience to decide.
A very thick band on a small book is clumsy, while a very thin band on the back of a heavy
book suggests weakness, and is therefore unsightly.
In bindings of early printed books and manuscripts an appearance of great strength is better
than extreme neatness.
When the sewing is completed, the cords are cut off close to the lay cords, and then the keys
will be loose enough to be easily removed. The knots remaining on the lay bands are removed,
and the keys slung through one of them.
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