The school book perhaps the most despised branch of work in the bindery, has unjustly come to be treated as a sort of step child by bookbinder and bookseller. Although everything has been cut down as finely as possible as regards paper and printing, yet the cost of binding must also be cut down, and a profit on the whole is still looked for. Thus it is that school books can only be produced by machinery. Folding, sewing, board cutting, trimming, and lettering are all done exclusively by machinery. All finishing work pressing, head banding, decorating the paper covers, have fallen off. The cover is always made in advance and the book fixed into it. A good goat skin is seldom used for the hack, almost always split sheep skin, thereby also saving paring, or the so called split horse hide. These latter are put on the market in various colors and grains and are well suited for the work. A third-rate marbled paper is used for covering, as prices are not given for better kinds. A stout smooth paper is strongly recommended for end papers.

Frequently, in the smaller towns, there are still produced Bible histories, catechisms, and the like in half leather bindings, tanned sheep skin, the sale of which is likely to be large and assured for many years. The whole skin must be damped and well stretched previous to cutting out, in order that it may be cut into backs to the best advantage.

The backs are laid on top of each other and pressed out in the wooden press between two old boards to remove all superfluous moisture. The edges are then pared with a sharp knife, the backs pasted, laying every two with pasted sides together to prevent their drying, and the books fixed in the leather backs. For this purpose the books are set in boards previously cut to size. In this case the books take tight backs; the joints are well rubbed down with the folder.

Thinner volumes in cloth have likewise tight backs. The cloth for the backs is cut into strips of handy length as wide as the length of the backs must be, is glued and cut a suitable width with a knife upon the cutting board, measuring with the eye. Recently, the so called" taking off," as practiced in fancy goods work, has been adopted for the sake of its cleaner and neater results in pasting and gluing covers. A large zinc plate is coated with glue, neither too thick nor too thin, the cover is laid face downwards and taken up, so that it is evenly coated all over with the glue or paste. The work requires some practice, but it is very quick and, above all, is neat and clean. The boards are laid upon these strips by a worker (allowing for the thickness of the back), turned in at top and bottom by a second worker, and the books at once fixed in. The backs, still damp, fit very well to the books, the joints are well rubbed in; covering and pasting on are done afterwards.

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