Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Douglas Cockerell with Drawings by Noel Rooke and other
Illustrations New York 1902
Book binding Chapter XII Part 1
PREPARING FOR COVERING
other stout paper should be well glued on at the
head and tail, care being taken that it is firmly
attached to the back and the headband. When dry,
the part projecting above the headband is neatly
cut off, and the part on the back well
sand-papered, to remove any irregularity caused by
the tie-downs attaching the headband. For most
books this will be quite sufficient lining up, but
very heavy books are best further lined up between
the bands with linen, or thin leather. This can be
of glue.
The only thing now left to do before covering will be to set the squares and
to cut off a small piece of the back corner of each board at the head and
tail, to make it possible for the boards to open and shut without dragging
the head-cap out of place. The form of the little piece to be cut off varies
with each individual binder, but I have found for an octavo book that a cut
the best result (see fig. 58). When the corner has been cut off, the boards should FIG. 58. be
thrown back, and the slips between the book arid the board well pasted. When these have
soaked a little, the squares of the boards are set; that is, the boards are fixed so that exactly the
same square shows on each board above head and tail. A little larger square is sometimes an
advantage at the tail to keep the head-cap well off the shelf, the essential thing being that both
head and both tail squares should be the same. In the case of an old book that has not been
recut, the edges will often be found to be uneven. In such cases the boards must be made
square, and so set that the book stands up straight.
When the slips have been pasted and the squares set, tins can be put inside and outside the
boards, and the book given a slight nip in the press to flatten the slips. Only a comparatively
light pressure should be given, or the lining up of the headbands or back will become cockled
and detached.
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