Bookbinding and The Care of Books

A Handbook for Amateurs Bookbinders & Librarians by
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902

Book binding Chapter X Part 3

GILDING OR COLOURING THE EDGES OF A CUT BOOK

Gilding the edges of a book cut in the boards is
much the ame process as that described for the
trimmed book, excepting that when gilt in boards
the edges can be scraped and slightly
sand-papered. It is the custom to admire a
perfectly solid gift edge, looking more like a solid
sheet of metal, than the leaves of a book. As the
essential characteristic of a book is, that it is
composed of leaves, this fact is better accepted
and emphasized by leaving the edges a little rough,
so that even

when gilt they are evidently the edges of leaves of paper, and not the sides of a block, or of
something solid.
  To gild the edges of a cut book the boards should be turned back, and cutting boards put on
each side of the book flush with the edge to be gilt. For the foredge the book must be thrown
up with trundles first, unless it is desired to gild in the round, a process which gives the
objectionable solid metallic edge.
  After the edges have been gilt they may be decorated by tooling, called “gauffering.” This may
be done, either by tooling with hot tools directly on the gold while the leaves are screwed up
tightly in the press, or by laying another coloured gold on the top of the first and tooling over
that, leaving the pattern in the new gold on the original colour. But, to my mind, edges are best
left undecorated, except for plain gold or colour.
  If the edges are to be coloured, they should be slightly scraped, and the colour put on with a
sponge, commencing with the fore-edge, which should be slightly fanned out, and held firmly,
by placing a pressing-board above it, and pressing with the hand on this. The colour must be
put on very thinly, commencing from the centre of the fore-edge and working to either end, and
as many coats put on as are necessary to get the depth of colour required. The head and tail are
treated in the same way, excepting that they cannot be fanned out, and the colour should be
applied from the back to the fore-edge. If in the fore-edge an attempt is made to colour from
one end to the other, and if in the head or tail from the fore-edge to the back, the result will
almost certainly be that the sponge will leave a thick deposit of colour round the corner from
which it starts.
  For colouring edges almost any stain will answer, or ordinary water colours may be used if
moistened with size.

When the colour is dry the edge should be lightly rubbed over with a
little beeswax, ad burnished with a tooth burnisher (see fig. 57).

In addition to plain colour and gilding, the edges of a book may be decorated in a variety of
ways. The fore-edge may be fanned out and painted in any device in water-colour and
afterwards gilded; the painting will only show when the book is open. The fore-edge for this
must be cut very solid, and if the paper is at all absorbent, must be sized with vellum size before
being painted. The paints used must be simple water-colour, and the edge must not be touched
with the hand before gilding, as if there is any grease or finger mark on it, the gold will not stick
evenly. Painting on the fore-edge should only be attempted when the paper of the book is thin
and of good quality. More common methods of decorating edges are by marbling and
sprinkling, but they are both inferior to plain colouring. Some pleasant effects are sometimes
obtained by marbling edges and then gliding over the marbling.

Chapter X I Part I

Back to Chapter X Part 2

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