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by Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf
Published in London 1897
Bookbinding Sewing Bands
head and tail, and making it the catch-up stitch as well. When
the head-band was worked in sewing, the book was, of
course, not afterwards cut at the edges. When this was done,
wooden boards were used instead of mill boards, and twisted
leather instead of cord, and when the book was covered, a
groove was made between each double band. This way is still
imitated by sticking a second band or cord alongside the one
made in sewing, before the book is covered. The cord for
flexible work is called a "flexible cord," and is twisted tighter
and is stronger than any other. In all kinds of sewing I advise
the use of Hayes'Royal Irish thread, not because there is no
other of good manufacture, but because I have tried several
kinds, and Hayes' have proved to be the best. The thickness of
the cord must always be in proportion to the size and
thickness of the book, and the thickness of the thread must
depend on the sheets, whether they be half sheets or whole
sheets.
Ordinary Sewing
impossible to make a proper rounding or get a right size "groove" in backing. If the sections are thick or few, a thick thread
must be used to give the thickness necessary to produce a good groove.
If the book is of moderate thickness, the sections may be knocked down by occasionally tapping them with a piece of
wood loaded at one end with lead, or a thick folding-stick may be used as a substitute. I must again call particular
attention to the kettle stitch. The thread must not be drawn too tight in making the chain, or the thread will break in
backing; but still a proper tension must be kept or the sheets will wear loose. The last sheet should be fastened with a
double knot round the kettle stitch two or three sections down, and that section must be sewn all along. The next style of
sewing, and most generally used throughout the trade, is the ordinary method.
is somewhat different, in as much as the thread is not twisted round the cord, as in flexible work, when the cord is
outside the section. In the method the cord fits into the saw cuts. The thread is simply passed over the cord, not round
it, otherwise the principle of sewing is the same, that is, the thread is passed right along the section, out of the holes
made, and into them again; the kettle stitch being made in the same way. This style of work has one advantage over
flexible work, because the back of the book can be better gilt. In flexible work, the leather is attached with paste to the
back, and is flexed, and bent, each time the book is opened, and there is great risk of the gold splitting away or being
detached form the leather in wear. Books sewn in the ordinary method are made with a hollow or loose back is
independent of the leather covering; the lining of the back only is creased, and the leather keeps its perfect form, by
reason of the lining giving it a spring outwards. Morocco is generally used for flexible work; calf, being without a grain, is
not suitable, as it would show all the creases in the back made by the opening. This class of sewing is excellent for books
that do not require so much strength, such as library bindings but for a dictionary or the like, where constant reference
or daily use is required, I should sew a book flexibly. Some binders sew their books in the ordinary way, and paste the
leather directly to the back, and thus pass it for flexible work; but I do no think any respectable house would do so. A
book that has been sewed flexibly will not have any saw cut in the back, so that on examination, by opening it wide, it
will at once be seen if it is a real flexible binding or not. Intelligence must, however, be used; a book that has already
been cased (or bound and sewn on cords) must of necessity have the saw cuts or holes, and such a book would show
the cuts. There is another mode called "flexible not to show." The book is marked up in the usual way as for flexible and
is also slightly scratched on the band, and the saw; but not deep enough to go through the sections. A thin cord is then
taken doubled for each band, and the book is sewn the ordinary flexible way; the cord is knocked into the back in
forwarding, and the leather may be stuck on a hollow back with bands, or it may be fastened to the back itself without
bands.
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