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by Joseph W. Zaehnsdorf
3rd Edition Published in London 1897
ends, are to be cut, one for each side of the book. The end papers are to be laid down
on a board, or on a piece of paper on the press to keep them clean, with the pasted or
made side uppermost, the single leaves on the top. They should then be fanned out
evenly to a proper width, about a quarter of an inch for an 8vo., a piece of waste paper
put on the top, and their edges pasted. The slips or cords thrown back, the white fly is
put on the book, a little away from the back, and the made ends on the top even with
the back, and again left to dry with the weight of a few boards on the top. If, however,
the book or books are very heavy or large, they should have "joints" of either
bookbinders cloth or of leather of the same colour as the leather with which the book is
to be covered. Morocco is mostly used for the leather joints. If the joints are to be of
cloth, it may be added either when the ends are being put on, or when the book is ready
for pasting down. If the cloth joint is to be put on now, the cloth is cut from 1 to 3
inches, according to the size of the book, and folded quite evenly, the side of the cloth
which has to go on the book being left the width enfolded 3/4 one side, leaving 1/4 the
other, the latter to be put on the book. The smallest fold is now glued, the white fly put
on, and the fancy paper on the top; the difference being, that the paper instead of being
made double or folded is single, or instead of taking a paper double the size of the book
and folding it, it is cut to the size of the book and pasted all over. It will be better if the
marble paper be pasted and the white put on and well rubbed down, and then the
whole laid between mill-boards to dry. A piece of waste or brown paper should be
slightly fastened at the back over the whole, (turning the cloth down on the book) to
keep it clean and prevent it from getting damaged. The strongest manner is to overcast
the ends and cloth joint to the first and last section of the book, as it is then almost
impossible either for the cloth or ends to pull away from the book. If, however, the cloth
joint is to be put on after the book is covered, the flys and ends are only edged on with
paste to the book just sufficient to hold them while it is being bound; and when the book
is to be pasted down, the ends are lifted from the book by placing a thin folding-stick
between the ends and book and running it along, when they will come away quite
easily. The cloth is then cut and folded as before and fastened on, and the ends and flys
properly pasted in the back. Morocco joints are usually put in after the book is covered,
but I prefer that if joints of any kind are to go in the book they should be put in the same
time as the ends. Take great care that the ends are quite dry after being made before
attaching them, or the dampness will affect the beginning and end of the book and
cause the first few leaves to wrinkle.
When the ends are quite dry the slips should be unravelled and scraped, a bodkin
being used for the unravelling, and the back of a knife for the scraping. The object of
this is, that they may with greater ease be passed through the holes in the mill-board,
and the bulk of the cord be more evenly distributed and beaten down, so as not to be
seen after the book has been covered.
large and heavy books it is better to allow the bulk of the cord to be seen rather than sacrifice strength. To a certain
extent this may be avoided by cutting a small portion of the mill-board away to allow the cord to lodge in. There is
another way of putting on the end papers, that is, to sew the ends on with the book when sewing. The paper is
folded at the back with a small fold, the sheet placed in the fold, and the whole sewn through. It is at once
apparent that under no circumstances can there be any strain on the ends, and that there is hardly any possibility of
the ends breaking away from the sheets. For books subjected to very hard wear (school books, public library books,
etc.) this method of placing the ends is by far the best. See opposite page.
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