Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Librarians by Douglas Cockerell with Drawings
by Noel Rooke and other Illustrations
New York
1902
Book binding Chapter XIV
Part 9
Tooling on Most covering vellum has a sticky
Vellum surface, that marks if it is handled. This
should be washed off with clean water before
tooling. The pattern is blinded in through the
paper as for leather, excepting that the paper must
not be pasted directly to the vellum, but may be
held with a band going right round the board or
book. I t is best to glaire twice, and to lay on a
small portion of gold at a time with benzine. As
vellum burns very readily, Tooling on the tools
must not be too hot, and some Vellum skill is
surface. Vellum must not be polished or varnished.
Varnish must be used sparingly, and is best applied
with a pad of cotton-wool. A little varnish is poured on
to the pad, which is rubbed on a piece of paper until it is
seen that the varnish comes out thinly and evenly. It is
then rubbed on the book with a spiral motion. The
quicker the surface is gone over, provided every part is
covered, the better. Varnish will not work well if it is very
cold, and in cold weather both the book and varnish
bottle should be slightly warmed before use. Should an
excess of varnish be put on in error, or should it be
necessary to retool part of the book after it has been
varnished, the varnish can be removed with spirits of
wine. Varnish acts as a preservative to the leather, but has
the disadvantage, if used in excess, of making it rather
brittle on the surface. It must, therefore, be used very
sparingly at the joints. It is to be hoped that a perfectly
elastic varnish, that will not tarnish the gold, will soon be
discovered.
smooth surface (see fig. 83), leaving each board in the press for some hours. After each board
has been pressed separately the book should be shut, and pressed again with pressing plates on
each side of it, and with tins covered with paper placed inside each board. Light pressure should
be given to books with tight backs, or the leather may become detached. If, on removing from
the press, the boards will not keep shut, the book should be pressed again with a folded sheet of
blotting-paper in each end. The blotting paper should have the folded edge turned up, and be
placed so that this turned-up edge will be in the joint behind the back edge of the board when
the book is shut. A small nipping-press suitable for giving comparatively light pressure, is shown
at fig. 89.
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