Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Librarians by Douglas Cockerell with Drawings
by Noel Rooke and other Illustrations
New York
1902
Book binding Chapter XVI
Part 5
show evidence of having been designed with the
tools; of being, in fact, mere arrangements of the
tools, and not of having been first designed with a
pencil, and then worked with tools cut to fit the
drawing. This does not of course apply to patterns
composed entirely of lines, or to patterns
composed of lines of dots.
If artists wish to design for gold tooling
without first mastering the details, probably the
safest way will be for them to design in lines of
gold dots. Some successful patterns carried out in
binding should always be constructed on some geometrical plan, and whatever pattern there is,
symmetrically distributed over the cover.
If lettering can be introduced, it will be found to be most useful when arranging a pattern. I t
gives dignity and purpose to a design, and is also highly decorative. Lettering may be arranged in
panels, as at page 332, or in a border round the edge of the board, and in many other ways. I t
may either consist of the title of the book, or some line or verse from it or connected with it, or
may refer to its history, or to the owner. Anything that gives a personal interest to a book, such
as the arms of the owner, the initials or name of the giver or receiver of a present, with perhaps
the date of the gift, is of value.
possible to employ long, slightly-curved
lines. Gold-tooled lines have in
themselves such great beauty, that
designers are often tempted to make
them meander about the cover in a weak
and aimless way. As the limitations
enforced by the use of gouges tend to
keep the curves strong and small, and as
the use of the small fillet tends to the
production of long, weak curves, students
are advised at first to restrict the curved
that a gouge or fillet line is very thin, and will look weak if it goes far without support. For this
reason interlaced lines are advocated.
Gouge lines are easier to work, and look better, if a small space is left where the gouges end.
This is especially the case where lines bearing leaves or flowers branch from the main stem (see
fig. III).
Gouges and fillets need not always be of the same thickness of line, and two or three sets of
different gauges may be kept. A finisher can always alter the thickness of a gouge with emery
paper.
One method of arranging gold-tooled lines is to treat them in design as if they were wires in
tension, and knot and twist them together. Provided the idea is consistently adhered to
throughout, such a pattern is often very successful.
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