Bookbinding and The Care of Books
Librarians by Douglas Cockerell with Drawings
by Noel Rooke and other Illustrations
New York
1902
Book binding Chapter XVII
Part 1
turned over without shutting the Paste board, and
the other board opened and pasted down in the
same way (see fig. 117, B). In turning over a book,
a piece of white paper should be put under the
newly pasted side, as, being damp, it will soil very
readily. When both ends have been pasted down
the joints should be examined and rubbed down
again, and the book stood up on end with the
boards open until the end papers are dry. The
boards may be held open with a piece of cardboard
cut as shown at fig. 117.
and put down promptly after pasting. Thin vellum may be put down with paste in which there is
a very little glue, but thicker vellum is better put down with thin glue. In pasting vellum, very
great care is needed to prevent the brush-marks from showing through. If the vellum is thin, the
board must be lined with white or toned paper with a smooth surface. This paper must be quite
clean, as any marks will show through the vellum, and make it look dirty.
Pasting down End Papers-Opening Books
WHEN the finishing is done, the end
papers should be pasted down on to the
board; or if there is a leather joint, the
panel left should be filled in to match the
end paper. To paste down end papers, the
book is placed on the block with the board
open (see fig. 117, A), the waste sheets are
torn off, the joints cleared of any glue or
paste, and the boards flattened, as described
at page 171 for pasting down leather joints.
One of the paste-down papers is then
stretched over the board and rubbed down
in the joint, and the amount to be cut off to
make it fit into the space left by the turn-in
of the leather is marked on it with dividers,
measuring from the edge of the board. A
cutting tin is then placed on the book, the
paste down paper turned over it, and the
cover the ends of the joint (fig. 117, A, c). The cutting and pasting down of these small pieces in
the joint are rather difficult they should come exactly to the edges of the board.
When both paste-down papers are trimmed to size, one of them is well pasted with thin paste in
which there are no lumps, with a piece of waste paper under it to protect the book. The joints
should also be pasted, and the paste rubbed in with the finger and any surplus removed. The
pasted paper is then brought over on to the board, the edges adjusted exactly to their places, and
rubbed down. The joint must next be rubbed down through paper. It is difficult to get the paper
to stick evenly in the joint, and great nicety is needed here. All rubbing down must be done
through paper, or the "paste down" will be soiled or made shiny.
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