Booklet

“ The dummy booklet thus completed is submitted to the customer and when approved goes to the workrooms with the copy. The compositor, make-up man, stockman, pressman and binder have no excuse for any misunderstanding, as, generally speaking, they have merely to duplicate the dummy. The labor of the estimate man, too, is lessened, as the dummy booklet affords a substantial basis upon which to figure the cost. ”

“ The printer’s share in producing such a booklet is large, altho he is called upon to work in conjunction with the writer, the artist and the engraver.
Much of the booklet printing is planned by advertising writers and commercial artists. The best results are obtained when artist and writer blend their ideas harmoniously; this is possible only when the writer has artistic tastes and a definite understanding of typography. In many booklets the text matter does not fit the decoration. ”

“ Published in booklet form, four to eight pages in length, 8 by 10 1/2 inches in size, they are designed for easy inclusion in the standard size three- ring notebook. Illustrations and technical diagrams are line drawings, black on white, and may conveniently be reproduced when quick multiple copies are required. ”

“ For a booklet of this kind the type should be no smaller than ten-point. Instead of stinting margins and sacrificing legibility, as is often done in endeavoring to force copy into a limited number of pages, additional leaves should be added.
The cover and inside papers having been prepared in the proper size and number of leaves, the dummy is stitched with wire or sewed with silk floss as may be desired. The arrangements of the title-page, the first text-page and a page entirely text matter are indicated in proper position by means of pencil and crayon ”

“ It occupies no less than thirty-eight treble-columned folio pages, and contains the titles of more than three thousand works. To attempt to convey to the reader an idea of this curious and sumptuous library, without transcribing a large proportion of its catalogue, I am afraid will be a futile labor; but as that would occupy too much space, and to many of my readers be, after all, dry and uninteresting, I shall merely give the names of some of the most conspicuous. Years indeed it must have required to have amassed a collection so brilliant and superb in those days of book scarcity. ”

“ I can, perhaps, scarcely express this difference more accurately than by remarking that while the catalogue of a small, and more especially of a popular, library, should be a finding catalogue, that of a large library representing all departments of literature must be to a great extent a literary catalogue. It is not meant merely to enable the reader to procure his book with the least possible delay, but also to present an epitome of the life-work of every author, and to assist the researches of the literary historian. ”

“ A reader seeking a book of a known author, in the vast majority of cases, wants simply the number by which to call for it, and can find it much sooner in a brief title catalogue. In the rare cases where more is needed the class number refers instantly to all these facts on the cards. On the other hand, a reader seeking books on a known subject, needs the full title, imprint, cross-references, and notes, to enable him to choose the book best suited to his wants. ”

“ The most distinctive thing about a book is the possibility that someone may read it. Is this a truism? Evidently not; for the publishers, who print books, and the libraries, which store and distribute them, have never thought it worth their while to collect and record information bearing on this possibility. In the publisher’s or the bookseller’s advertising announcements, as well as on the catalogue cards stored in the library’s trays, the reader may ascertain when and where the book was published, the number of pages, and whether it contains plates or maps ”

“ This high development of the desirable book is the result of an arrangement to print so many copies of a volume on paper of larger size than that of the bulk of the impression. The tall copy is the result of careful cutting by the binder, or of no cutting at all. In this primitive shape a book has separate charms for a distinct class of collectors who esteem rough edges, and are willing, for the sake of this excellence, to endure the martyrdom of consulting books in that condition. ”

“ A catalogue which contains such exact reproductions of rare and authentic portraits, is itself a work of art, and serviceable to the student. When the shop of a bookseller, with a promising catalogue which arrives over night, is not too far distant, bibliophiles have been known to rush to the spot in the grey morning, before the doors open. There are amateurs, however, who prefer to stay comfortably at home, and pity these poor fanatics, shivering in the rain outside a door in Oxford Street or Booksellers' Row. ”

“ Its three elements of body, surface, and tint must all be considered, and either body or surface may determine the size of the book or the character of the type. A smooth surface may be an element of beauty, as with the paper employed by Baskerville, but it must not be a shiny surface. The great desideratum in modern paper from the point of view of the book-buyer is a paper that, while opaque and tough, shall be thin enough to give us our books in small compass, one more akin to the dainty and precious vellum than to the heavier and coarser parchment. ”

“ Care of Books.—In order to insure the proper handling 53 of books by the public, the staff must set a good example in this respect. Care should be used in opening a new book so as to loosen but not break the joints of the binding. Careless cutting of the leaves produces a ragged appearance which is not conducive to increased respect for the volume, after it gets out into circulation. Suitable paper cutters with smooth dull edges should be provided and nothing else used. Don’t trust the public to cut the leaves of new books or magazines. ”

“ A synoptical table of contents should be prefixed to the catalogue.
For those who desire a rough outline of headings into which a library usually classifies itself, I will name one. The briefest is as follows:— (1) Theology, (2) Philosophy and Science, (3) Art, (4) Political Economy, (5) Law, (6) History and Literature.
Bookcases.
The chief faults of bookcases arise from their being designed and made by men who have never used a book. A first requisite in bookcases is simplicity, bearing in mind that the books are the ornament and not the bookcases. ”

“ But as all books are not literature, so all literature is not in books. Can a rug-collector enjoy a catalogue? I sometimes think that for the over-worked business man a book-catalogue is the best reading there is. Did you ever see a rug-collector, pencil in hand, poring over a rug-catalogue? ”

“ Newsboard, vellum, and paper for memorandum pad, or calendar,
or pad to be mounted.
We shall now begin to deal with materials that are more exclusively employed in bookbinding work. The simple articles considered at first are not books; but because the processes involved and the materials used will be used later in the more difficult work of binding a real book, they are made a part of this course.
The wise teacher will become somewhat familiar with handling the required materials before attempting to give instruction. ”

“ On borrowing a book, immediately put a cover upon it—and let the cover be of clean, smooth, white or light-coloured paper. What is called nankeen paper is best and strongest for this purpose. Newspaper, or any paper that is printed, makes a vile book-cover. Beside its mean and dirty appearance, the printing-ink will not only soil your own hands while reading, but will do more injury to the binding than if it was left uncovered.
To cover a book neatly—take a sheet of nice paper of more than sufficient size, and lay the book open upon it. ”

“ A catalogue of a library is, strictly speaking, but a list of the titles of the books, which it contains. It is not generally expected to give any further description of a book than the author gives, or ought to give in the title-page, and the publisher, in the imprint, or colophon; except the designation of form, which is, almost universally, added. ”

“ The economy to each particular library, in the expense of plates for its catalogue, will be in proportion to the number of books, which it may contain in common with any other library, whose catalogue has been already stereotyped on this plan. The title of the same book, in the same edition, will, of course, be cast but once, and will thenceforward serve for the catalogue of every library possessing that book, which may enter into the arrangement. ”

“ Connected with the subject of indexes is that of dictionary catalogues, in which the alphabetical and the subject catalogues are found in a single list. I retain the opinion I have always held, that this plan may answer where the library and the catalogue are not extensive, but that where they are, confusion results; the wood cannot be seen for the trees. I therefore recommend the librarian of even a small library, in planning his catalogue, as well as everything else, to make sure whether his library may not be destined to become a great one. ”

“ As bibliographers, we cannot indeed but wish, that the catalogue of every library were a bibliographical dictionary of its books. Practically, however, we must restrict our efforts, within the limits of probable accomplishment. There is no species of literary labor so arduous, or which makes so extensive demands upon the learning of the author, as that of the preparation of such works. ”

“ As soon as Writing occurs in a portable form, whether as cylinders of baked clay in Assyria, or as tablets of bark, wood or wax, or as sheets of parchment or paper, there is a volume, and there is the possibility of a collection of books which forms a Library. ”

“ They feed on old dry wood, and often infest bookcases and shelves. They eat the wooden boards of old books, and so pass into the paper where they make long holes quite round, except when they work in a slanting direction, when the holes appear to be oblong. They will thus pierce through several volumes in succession, Peignot, the well-known bibliographer, having found 27 volumes so pierced in a straight line by one worm, a miracle of gluttony, the story of which, for myself, I receive "cum grano salis." ”

“ For fear of any possible mistake, I should perhaps emphasise the point that the collection must be one not of printers' marks cut out from books, but of books in which the marks are printed. Even in the case of book-plates, it has often been noted how much they gain in interest when they are found in situ, though there is always the haunting fear that the conjunction of book and plate may only be due to the ingenuity of the vendor. ”

“ If there are many of these titles it will be well to adopt some sign, such as a dagger, at the beginning of the title to indicate the character of the pamphlet.
When we have decided to arrange in one general alphabet the titles of ordinary books, both those whose authors are known and those which are anonymous, we are still left with a large number of books which are different in character from ordinary books. We then have to decide how to deal with journals and transactions, ephemerides, observations, reports, etc. ”

“ A few copies were unearthed in this way, but the number was exceedingly small, not more than two or three, I believe, and the pamphlet, for it is nothing more, is at this moment an object of deep interest to the few, who are in reality very many, when we come to reflect that none but perhaps half a dozen can ever hope to possess it.
When we get into bookland, more particularly into that secluded corner of it where specialists assemble to compare notes and exhibit their treasures, confusion springs up on the instant. The specialist cannot always know his business thoroughly. ”

“ Where on the shelves of the library is a certain book to be found, if it is not in use by a reader?
To answer these questions certain “entries”, or records, are made in the catalog, called the author, title, subject and series entries. Question 6, which is asked in connection with all the other questions, is answered by the call number, which appears on every entry.
The most general book of reference is the dictionary. Every one is more or less familiar with its arrangement. ”

“ Collinges gaue an acct of 1s. laid out for coale and wood for the drying of ye bookes harmed by ye raine.”
From the instructions, in Latin, to the Librarian which are set out in the classified and alphabetical catalogue of 1658 we learn that the library was arranged in two parts, East and West, and that the books were classified. “On the East part the treasury of the books is double, major and minor. The larger part is divided into ten classes folio. The smaller has only four classes of books in 4to and 8vo. The numbering of all classes must always be begun from the bottom. ”

“ The term Book comes from the Danish bog, a beech-tree, which abounds in Denmark and whose wood is much used for engraving-blocks. The Leaf of a book is in allusion to the ancient custom of writing on the bark of trees; while Volume is derived from the Latin volvo, I roll, relative to the Egyptian papyri, each one of which when rolled up formed a document or volume complete in itself. A storehouse for books is styled a Library, in accordance with the Latin librarium, a book-case, derived in the first instance from liber, a book. ”