John Cotton Dana

“ To secure a good binding the spirit of the binder must go into it. In drawing the thread, in paring and placing the leather, in applying the paste and glue, and in every other of the many processes involved, the man without good will, as the man without skill, can spoil the whole binding. Librarians should learn to esteem bookbinding highly. It is a craft which lies close to them. It is preëminently their business to encourage it to grow in excellence. They should develop their local binder’s interest in his calling, stand by him, urge him on to better work, and pay him adequately for it. ”

“ The sum of all my observations is, the best is the cheapest. If a book is worth binding let it be bound by the best man available. If possible, buy books so well bound from the publishers’ sheets, that they will never need to be bound again. ”

“ As long as there are so few assistants who are at all familiar with paper, type, binding, literary quality, popularity, cost, etc., it is well to discourage almost all book repairs.
As soon as we admit, as we must, that a good book, costing from one to two dollars, must be mended carefully if at all, we have opened the door for a large expense. An assistant can easily spend an hour or two on a book, repairing its cover, mending a few leaves and putting it in order. ”

“ When the cords or bands are broken in a book in which they are used it is as useless to attempt to fasten book and cover together as it is when the super gives way in publishers’ binding.
Loose leaves appear earliest in books printed on paper which is so heavy that it breaks almost as soon as it is folded. If the loose leaves of such books are tipped in they tend to tear out with them the ones they are tipped onto. Leaves should rarely be tipped into books which have never been rebound. ”

“ The question of whether or not repairs shall be made at all should be decided by a person who has not only technical skill in repairing; but also knowledge of the use to which the book in hand is likely to be subjected. This, because in many cases it will be evident to a person who knows about the use the books are to have that certain of them should not be repaired at all, no matter if in quite a dilapidated condition, with loose covers and loose leaves; but should be neatly wrapped in good manila paper, labeled plainly on the back and set again on the shelf. ”

“ After satisfactory materials and methods of binding for a library have been discovered and adopted, there still remain many questions which can be well answered only by one having a wide knowledge of books. ”

“ Even then, however, it is usually better to find a binder who will take the contract from the library at a fixed price per volume, using the library’s room and material. Such a binder can sometimes get additional work from other libraries or from private individuals. It should be noted that the amount paid for binding is not quite all that a binder who works in the library may expect to divert to his own shop; for a clever and obliging workman will make himself useful in repairing and in doing many small jobs of cutting, mounting, etc., which will add a good deal to his income. ”

“ The weakest point in a book is the joint. In publishers’ binding of today this joint is made by a piece of super, which is glued to the back of the book and then to the inside of the cover, plus the end paper which is pasted over it and also onto the cover. This super is weak. If it is put on with a poor glue that glue soon grows hard and the joint is further weakened thereby. It breaks or tears easily. Also, it parts easily from the back to which it is glued and from the cover. No strings or tapes pass from the book to cover. ”

“ Take fiction for example. More than half of the binding bills of most free public libraries are probably chargeable to novels. One of these comes to the hands of the person in charge of binding in such condition that at the first glance it seems desirable to rebind it. Let us suppose that it is still in publisher’s cloth; is quite soiled outside, but still fairly clean within; that the cover has parted from the [37] book in front; that several leaves are loose and two of them frayed at the edges; that at the back the outside sheets of several signatures are nearly worn through or broken ”

“ As the large libraries have a good deal of work which the average commercial binder does not care to take, like map mounting, rare-book mending, and ordinary book repairs, the ideal condition for them would be a small bindery with two or three hands, in the building; a contract for all ordinary binding and rebinding with an outsider, and the purchase of many new books especially bound direct from the sheets. ”

“ As a great many of the library books which call for rebindings have to be trimmed at the back and overcast, it is essential that the overcast sewing be of a flexible nature, one that permits of the easy opening of the book. Probably few of the factors in book construction and book injury have been more effective than the tight binding, held open with difficulty, which is produced by nearly all of the current overcasting or whipstitching. ”

“ If books bound in leather are much handled they last longer than if they stand undisturbed on the shelves, because the oil from the hand helps to keep leather soft, pliable, and alive. The committee concluded that no leather, with the sole exception of Niger goat, made by the natives on the river Niger in Africa, and imported just as it leaves their hands, can be fully recommended as free from elements which lead to its early decay. ”

“ Sometimes the book’s back is still further reinforced by pasting or gluing to it a piece of vellum, leather or heavy cloth before the process of putting on the cover begins.
Set rules for sewing books should not be laid down. Each book is treated by the skillful binder, or should be, in accordance with the character of its paper, the number of inserts, the thickness of the paper, the size of the signatures, the size of the leaves, the use it is to receive, and other facts. The good binder binds each book well according to its kind. ”

“ A careful consideration of the relative value of current numbers of periodicals in a library and of space, time and energy that should be put on their presentation to the public, will lead one to the conclusion that the best way to handle them is to lay them in alphabetical order on plainly labeled ordinary book shelves wide enough to hold the larger ones, set about six inches apart, that the numbers for the past six months may be kept together. ”

“ Enough has been said, [35] however, to show that the books sewn by hand and fastened carefully to the cover as described will, if properly made, wear much longer than a book bound by machinery, if bound as above described. But, just as a machine properly handled can produce paper of greater uniformity of thickness and of a quality superior in many respects to the best hand-made paper, so the machines used in binding can, if properly handled, bind books even more strongly than can any save the most careful workman. ”

“ In most libraries of moderate size and in all large ones, there should be a supervisor of binding and repairs; a person thoroughly familiar with the whole routine of library work, familiar also with literature, keeping close watch of the rise and fall in popularity of new books. ”

“ Books which have one or both of their sides broken, but are otherwise perfect, can have their boards replaced. Do not do this to books in publisher’s binding, as such books will soon have to be rebound in any case.
On a book which is hand sewn, with leather back, a broken board can be replaced thus: Pull off the cloth side, lift up the leather carefully where it laps over the side, also the muslin on the inside and pull out the broken board. Put hot glue along both edges of new board to be inserted, and put in place. Rub down well, and put under pressure, then reside and insert new end leaf. ”

“ The skilful maker of paper by hand (in a few places in this country the craft is still practiced) can secure considerable evenness in the layers of fiber or pulp on the wire of his frame; but the layer is never of quite the same thickness throughout. Handmade paper can sometimes be distinguished by these variations in its thickness. Machine-made paper is of nearly uniform thickness. ”

“ Books differ even more. No library can or should exactly follow any one style in its rebinding work. I add, however, the following directions for ordinary, much-used 12mo volumes, in the hope that they may be found suggestive. They should be read in the light of all the rest of this book, and not taken as final authority at any point.
Pull apart with great care. Remove all threads and old paste and glue. Smooth out the backs by beating. Guard the outer and inner leaves of all signatures that are broken or weak with paper or jaconet. ”

“ Books printed with more care, on better paper, with a better quality of cloth on the cover, and a more elaborate title in real gold instead of some cheaper imitation of it, books, that is, like the novels issued by the better class of publishers, can be produced in quantities of from one to three thousand, for from 15 to 30 cents each. ”

“ Let your binder be sure that what he uses is good, whether the price he pays be high or low. He can tell whether it is good or not by testing it. Glue pots should be cleaned out frequently. Glue should be treated with judgment as to heat and degree of thickness at which it is used. It is animal matter that quickly changes its character and loses its strength under wrong conditions.
The boards to be used in a book should depend, as to quality and thickness, on the character of the volume they cover. Expensive boards on a book which will probably soon be too dirty to be kept, are not essential. ”

“ It is sometimes possible to take a broken book out of its case entirely, remove the old and attach new [72] super, add new end sheets, put it again into the case and get considerable use from it. But any other kind of mending of the joint is almost futile and even this is injurious. And the better such mending seems at first to succeed, the greater the harm it is really doing to the whole book. For the mending usually consists in pasting a strip of strong paper or cloth along the joint. ”

“ Binding Materials Suitable for a Library
The Newark Library has tried many experiments in the choice of materials. It finds that thin, imported, acid-free pigskin, first used in this country by Mr. Chivers, is the best material for backs. It wears well; does not rot; is easily manipulated and takes gold lettering well. A disadvantage is its tendency to darken with handling. It works well on books of all sizes and all kinds, whether they are handled much or not.
Morocco, if tanned so that it will not rot, is more expensive than pigskin. ”

“ The large shop is the only place in which some of the most important economies are possible, and only the large shop can afford to hire the most competent foremen and workers. Even the large libraries find it wise to rent their binderies to competent men who will do binding at contract prices. Under this arrangement some libraries find it pays to give up room to a bindery; though, as I have already remarked, they would not find it economical to do so were there efficient library binding establishments in the immediate vicinity. ”

“ The book bound strongly and flexibly from publishers’ sheets is from the first more convenient to handle and pleasanter to read, and usually looks better throughout all its one long life than do, on the average, those books which twice or thrice in their histories get into a broken-backed, loose-leaved, generally disreputable condition. ”

“ Modern leather is certainly far less durable than old leather.
The most prevalent decay is a red decay, and this may be differentiated into old and new, the old red decay being noticeable up to about 1830, and the new decay since that date.
Another form of deterioration, more noticeable in the newer books, renders the grain of the leather liable to peel off when exposed to the slightest friction. This is the most common form of decay noted in the most recent leathers. ”

“ Or, if they must be kept for historical or religious or superstitious or other reasons she will advise that they be neatly tied up in paper, labeled, and put back on the shelf.
Knowledge of the art of mending implies not only knowledge of the process of making a book by machinery and by hand; but also knowledge of the different kinds of paper, how they wear, if they break easily, if they will soon grow brittle, and the effect on them of attempts to hold them with paste or glue. ”

“ The use of mineral acids in brightening the color of leather, and in the process of dyeing, has a serious effect in lessening its resistance to decay.
Quite modern leather dyed black seems, in nearly all cases, to have perished, although old black morocco (sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries) in good condition is not uncommon.
In a very large proportion of cases the decay of modern sumac-tanned leather has been due to the sulphuric acid used in the dye bath, and retained in the skin. ”

“ In rebound books which are in their last days and [73] will never be rebound again it is sometimes proper to tip in.
Full-page illustrations which come loose can in most cases be left out to advantage. To tip them in again hurts the leaves they are fastened to. They are usually so poor that it is a kindness to the reader to throw them away.
In the long run a book needing more than very slight repairs will give better return if so rebound at once that it will hang together until so dirty that it will have to be thrown away. ”

“ For the finer books it is better than pigskin as it preserves better its appearance under much handling.
Cowskin is good for books which are to be much handled and are likely to be worn out and discarded within five years. Only the best quality should be used. Dark red is usually preferable to light red or brown. It costs less than pigskin.
English Imperial Morocco cloth makes a good full binding for books that are not to receive much wear. It cannot be lettered easily, and if much handled soon looks dingy at the top and bottom of the back and along the joint and at the corners. ”

“ When a book is out of the cover, but has its sewing intact and the super or paper over the sewing firmly in place, it may be wise to give the back a coat of hot glue and put book again into its cover, thus making it a tight back. ”