No. 29 Antique Dutch
Is done in a different manner to any of the processes hitherto described. The colours used for this kind of work must be of first-rate quality, and must be ground with spirits of wine or extra strong gin, and mixed up with the same and a little gall, just sufficient to make them float and spread to the extent required. Instead of brushes, have a tapering piece of wood, about the thickness of a little finger, in each pot of colour, (small pots will do, capable of holding about a tea-cup full.) The colours required are red, orange, blue, and green. The red must be the best scarlet lake; the orange, orange lead; the blue, ultramarine and indigo; and the green, indigo and Dutch pink. These must be ground and mixed, as before directed, to the consistence of cream. The lake should be ground one day and the other colours a few days before using, and kept moist. The gum will require to be used thicker for this work than for any other. Having every thing in readiness, take a pot of colour in the left hand, and with the right proceed to lay on the colour with a piece of wood or with a quill, in sloping stripes, like those made by a school-boy in learning to write. Commence with the red and make two strokes almost together, leaving a small open space, and then making two more, and so on, until the required extent has been gone over. Next take the orange, and make one stripe between the two stripes of red; then proceed to fill up the wider space with a stripe of green and a stripe of blue. Perhaps the following may more clearly illustrate the order in which the colours should be arranged on the trough:—
G B R O R G B R O R G B R O R G B
As in the former instance, the initial letters signify the colours. Draw the comb through and the pattern is complete.
EDGES.
The patterns for edges are produced in the same manner as those for paper; and having already devoted so much space to this beautiful art, hitherto confined to a few, it would be useless to repeat the processes. Yet there are some things in regard to edges which every good marbler should understand. When plates are interspersed in any book along with the letter-press, it will require particular care in marbling, or the colour and size will run in and spoil the appearance of the plates. To obviate this, keep the book tightly compressed, and where the plates are at the beginning of the book only, lay it down, when marbled, the beginning side-upwards. For edges you may do with a smaller trough, also a smaller quantity of colour than for paper. The solution to work upon had better be gum-tragacanth alone. Colours for edges will look all the brighter by the addition of alcohol, spirits of wine, or whiskey; but they will evaporate more quickly. Having every thing in readiness, take the book, or, if more than one, as many as you can conveniently manage to hold tightly, with the backs in the right hand and the fore-edge in the left, and let them touch the colour, the back first, allowing them gradually to descend till the whole end is covered; but be very careful that none of the size or colour comes over the fore-edge, which it will do if dipped too deep, and leave a nasty unsightly mark, and greatly disfigure the book. In doing the fore-edge, the beginner had better place the volume between a pair of cutting-boards, and, having thrown out the round, turn back the boards, and proceed as with the end; when done, wipe off the superfluous size from the boards with a sponge, put the boards back in their place, and let the volume dry.
GLAZING OR BURNISHING.
The sheets of paper are burnished by a machine constructed for the purpose. A smoothly-faced flint is fixed in a block of wood, in which is inserted one end of a pole about five feet in length, the other end being attached to and working in a cavity in a spring-board fixed overhead, allowing it to work backwards and forwards upon a plank hollowed out for the purpose. The paper is moved over the plank, and the friction of the flint in passing to and fro over the surface of the paper produces a high polish. Sometimes the paper is calendered by means of friction cylinders—a superior method.
COMBS.
These are made in various ways, some to be worked on the top of the trough and called top-combs, others to be worked by putting the points down to the bottom of the trough and called bottom-combs. The best thing for making them is of brass pin-wire. The comb for small nonpareil ought to have from twelve to fourteen teeth to the inch, for the second size eight, and for large, four.
SIZING THE PAPER.
It is sometimes necessary to size the paper after marbling. The way of making the size is as follows:—Take of the best white soap two pounds, put it in a large copper with about twenty gallons of water; when it is quite dissolved, add thereto about four pounds of the best glue, keeping the whole constantly stirred, to prevent the soap and glue from burning; when both are quite dissolved, strain it into a tub, and when cool, it is ready for use. Should it be found too thick, add more hot water. The best way of sizing is to fill a trough with the liquor and to lay the marbled surface of the paper down upon it, then hang it on the sticks to dry.
PATENT MARBLED CLOTH.
This is an article recently introduced, and in some quarters meets with considerable favour. There are as yet no manufactories of it in this country. It, however, possesses no advantages over good marbled paper, and for outsides will not compare with the papier D’Anonay for durability.
ADDENDA.
In taking leave of the subject of marbling, there is but little more to add. For, when the learner is master of all this book teaches, he will have attained such proficiency in the art as to require nothing further in the way of instruction. Should some new pattern come up, let him apply the principles that govern in mixing and distributing the colours, and, with the aid of his own experience, his chance of accomplishing it will be as good as any one else’s. As a step to the attainment of mastery in the art, let the workman divest himself of the various nostrums he has been put in possession of by interested parties, and give himself up with assiduity to the directions here laid down. What is here given is the result of twenty-five years’ actual experience of C. W. Woolnough, of London, whose marbles rank among the most beautiful productions of the present day. Therefore let the workman adhere to the instructions, and ultimate success will crown his efforts. Should there be any difficulty in obtaining any of the articles described, they may be procured from Mr. Charles Williams, No. 213 Arch St., Philadelphia. The specimens of marbled paper accompanying these pages, illustrate the prominent classes or patterns of marbling. They were executed by him, and show his mastery of the art.
BURNISHING.
The edges are burnished by placing the volume open, with the fore-edge between boards, similar to backing-boards, in the laying-press, and screwing it tightly therein; then with the burnisher rubbing the edge firmly and smartly over till it presents a uniformly bright surface, and free from any dents or inequalities. When the fore-edge is finished, the volume must be taken out of the press, and the head and tail burnished in a similar manner, the ends of the boards resting in the groove by the joints, the covered boards of the volume being open. Common calf, sheep, and half-binding, may be burnished with the boards closed, six or eight together, but it will be necessary to delay pasting the sides on the latter till after the operation, to avoid the liability of tearing.
GILT EDGES.
This description of edge is the best preservative against external injury and damp. Previous to laying on the gold, the workman must have in readiness the articles necessary to form the groundwork and cause the gold to adhere to the edge. The first is a mixture of red bole or chalk and black lead, well-ground and reduced by water to a fluid consistence, after having added to it a few drops of muriatic acid or vitriol. The size used by some is made from the white of an egg in five times the quantity of water well beaten together; but that most generally used is made from parchment or vellum shavings boiled in water to extract the gluten. It is then passed through a piece of fine muslin and set aside to cool. When cold it is very easy to judge of its strength. Some use ice in summer-time to chill it, as a test of its strength. If too strong or thick, add water, then warm it to melt the size and allow the water to become incorporated with it. To become a good gilder requires considerable judgment, as every variety of paper requires a different treatment. No rule can be laid down that will answer in every case; but if the workman will but pay attention to the directions here given, exercise patience, and above all reflect upon the effects of his operations, ultimate success will be certain. English books are made from linen rags, and the paper is sized. They gild more easily and the edge looks better than American books. They do not require as strong a size for gilding as books printed on paper made from cotton. Books printed in this country are generally made from cotton rags. Quantities of alum and lime are employed in bleaching the pulp, to the sore annoyance of many a gilder, who has found that a damp day would invariably put both his skill and patience to the test. The best qualities of American paper are sized; the generality, however, is not. To determine whether the paper is sized or not, apply the tip of the tongue to it; if it adhere to the tongue, it is not sized, and will consequently require a stronger size for gilding than if it were sized paper. The liability of parchment size to decompose or turn to water in hot weather can be entirely counteracted by adding a very small portion of oxalic acid. Having every thing in readiness, put the book in the laying-press, between the gilding-boards, placed even with the fore-edge of the book and with the cheeks of the press; screw up as tightly as possible with the press-pin.
Then commences the most difficult operation, and one upon which the beauty of the edge almost entirely depends—namely, that of scraping. This is done with a steel scraper. A piece of saw-blade answers the purpose very well. After being ground square on the edge and rubbed perfectly smooth upon the oil-stone, it is kept in order by a smooth steel. The edge must be scraped perfectly smooth, so as not to show the marks of the knife in cutting, or of the scraper. After this is done, it must be coloured lightly over with the bole or chalk, rubbed immediately dry with fine clean paper shavings. This process will have to be repeated three times; it is then well burnished with the agate, and, with a broad, flat camel’s-hair pencil, or piece of soft sponge, a coat of size laid evenly on the surface.
The gold is next cut on the gold-cushion to the size required. A slip of paper larger than the edge is drawn over the head of the workman, and by a light pressure upon the cushion the gold will attach itself to the paper; it is then turned, with the gold upwards, (care being taken to have sufficient upon the paper to cover the entire edge,) and laid upon the cheek of the press; then pass a flat camel’s-hair pencil, dipped in clean water, evenly over the edge, and immediately lay on the gold by taking up the paper, turning the gold towards the edge, and presenting it with sufficient celerity not to allow the gold to be drawn from the paper in portions by the size. To do this well will require some practice and a steady hand. Should there be any breaks in the gold, other portions must be applied, and, if dry, moisten with water applied by a fine pencil, and lay on the gold.
After the edge is entirely dry, which generally happens in from one to two hours, it must be burnished. For this purpose a flat blood-stone burnisher is the best, to be afterwards followed by a flat agate. Let there be no marks of the burnisher, but spare no pains in burnishing to have the edge perfectly uniform and clear. The head and tail of the volume must be gilt with the same precaution, the back towards the workman. The foregoing direction have been derived from the practical experience of Mr. James Pawson, one of the best gilders in this country.
Should the work be of such a nature that it is desirable to give it the character of the period in which the book was written, or an additional degree of beauty and elegance, this part of book-ornament may be pursued farther in the manner we shall now describe.
ANTIQUE STYLE.
After the edge is finished as above directed, and before taking out of the press, ornaments, such as flowers, or designs in compartments, must be stamped upon it in the following manner. A coat of size is passed quickly over with great precaution and lightness, and only once in a place, to avoid detaching any of the gold. When dry, rub the edge as lightly as possible with palm-oil, and cover with gold of a different colour to the first; then with the tools used in gilding leather, warmed in the fire, proceed to form the various designs by firmly impressing them on the edge. The gold that has not been touched by the tools is then rubbed off with a clean cotton, and there remains only the designs the tools have imprinted, which produce a fine effect. This mode is, however, now seldom used, though almost all the books in the original binding of the sixteenth century are so executed.
GILDING UPON MARBLED EDGES.
This edge, which Dr. Dibdin, in his “Bibliographer’s Decameron,” calls “the very luxury, the ne plus ultra of the Bibliopegistic Art,” is one requiring great care and expertness in the execution. The edges must be scraped before marbling. After the edges have been tastefully marbled, and not overcharged with colour, the book must be put in the press, and well burnished as before directed. The size must then be laid lightly on, to prevent unsettling the colour of the marble, by which the edge would be destroyed, and the gold immediately applied and finished off as in other edges. When dry the marble is perceived through the gold, and presents an appearance of great beauty.
GILDING ON LANDSCAPES, ETC.
When the edge is well scraped and burnished, the leaves on the fore-edge must be evenly bent in an oblique manner, and in this position confined by boards tied tightly on each side, until a subject is painted thereon in water-colours, according to the fancy of the operator. When perfectly dry, untie the boards and let the leaves take their proper position. Then place the volume in the press, lay on the size and gold, and, when dry, burnish. The design will not be apparent when the volume is closed, from the gold covering it; but when the leaves are drawn out it will be perceived easily, the gilding disappearing, and a very unique effect will be produced. The time and labour required makes this operation expensive, and it is consequently very seldom performed. It is, however, considered necessary to describe the proceeding, as the taste or wishes of some may render it necessary that the workman should know how to operate.
After the volume is gilt, the edges must be enveloped in clean paper, by glueing the extremities one upon the other, to preserve the edges from injury in the subsequent operations. This is taken off when the volume is completed.
BLACK EDGES.
Books of devotion are generally bound in black leather, and, instead of being gilt on the edge, blacked to correspond with the covers. It will therefore be necessary in this place to describe the process.
Put the book in the press as for gilding, and sponge it with black ink; then take ivory-black, lamp-black, or antimony, mixed well with a little paste, and rub it on the edge with the finger or ball of the hand till it is perfectly black and a good polish produced, when it must be cleared with a brush, burnished, and cased with paper.
Coloured edges, to look well, require to be scraped in the same manner as for gilt. To lay the colour on evenly, and produce a high burnish, requires more labour than gilding. They are therefore quite as expensive. After the colouring or gilding of the edges, the next process is to attach the
REGISTER,
To do which the back, near the head, is lightly touched with glue, and one end of a piece of ribbon proportioned to the volume is affixed. The leaves are opened, and the other portion of the ribbon placed between the leaves; the portion intended to hang out at the bottom being turned back until the book is completed, to prevent its being soiled.
HEADBANDS.
The headband is an ornament in thread or silk, of different colours, placed at the head and tail of a book on the edge of the back, and serves to support that part of the cover projecting above in consequence of the squares of the boards, giving to the volume a more finished appearance. Thus it will be seen that the headband must equal the square allowed for the boards. For common work, the headband is made of muslin pasted upon twine; but for extra work, and volumes requiring greater durability, it is made of thin board and parchment pasted together and cut into strips of the breadth required. These flat headbands produce a much better effect than the round ones.
There are two kinds of headbands,—viz.: single and double. For ordinary work, cloth pasted round the band, or common thread, is used; for extra, silk and sometimes gold and silver thread. If the volume is small, it is placed, with the boards closed and drawn down even with the edge, between the knees; or, if larger, placed at the end of the laying-press, with the fore-edge projecting towards the body of the workwoman. (The headbands are usually worked by females.)
SINGLE HEADBAND.
Take two lengths of thread or silk, of different colours, threading one in a long needle, and tying the ends of the two together. Supposing red and white to have been taken, the white attached to the needle, it is placed in the volume five or six leaves from the left side, and forced out on the back immediately under the chain-stitch of the sewing, and the thread drawn until it is stopped by the knot, which will be hid in the sheet; the needle is then passed a second time in or near the same place, and, after placing the prepared band under the curl thus made, the thread is drawn tight, so as to hold it firm. Before placing the band, it must be bent with the fingers to the curve of the back of the book. The red thread is now taken with the right hand, and, bringing it from the left to the right, crossed above the white thread, passed under the band, and brought round to the front again and fastened by passing over it, in the same way, the white thread, taking care that the bead formed by these crossings touches the edge of the volume. In repeating thus alternately the operation, crossing the two threads and passing each time under the band, which is thereby covered, it must be occasionally fastened to the book by inserting the needle, as before directed, once in as many places as the thickness of the book may require, and giving it a double tack on the right side on completing the band, fastening it on the back with a knot. These fastenings give firmness to the headband and the exact curve of the back. The two projecting sides of the band must be cut off near the silk, giving the band a slight inclination upwards, to prevent the work slipping off before covering.
DOUBLE HEADBAND.
This headband is made of silk of various colours, and differs from the single, both in being composed of two bands, a large and small one, and in the manner of passing the silk. It is commenced in the same way as the single; but, when the bands are fastened, the smaller above the larger, the red silk is taken with the right hand and passed above the white, under the bottom or larger band, brought out under the upper or small one, carried over it, brought out again over the large band, and the bead formed, as above directed, near to the edge of the book. The white silk is then passed in the same way, and so on alternately till the whole is completed.
GOLD AND SILVER HEADBAND
Both single and double made as above, the only difference being in the use of gold or silver thread. Great care must be here observed in tightening the thread at the bead.
RIBBON HEADBAND.
This style varies but little from the other, the same-coloured thread being only passed several times round, instead of alternately with the other, and making the bead at each turn, taking care that the under thread is not observed, and then passing the other colour, in a similar manner, as many or more times than the former. This will produce a band—from which it is named—having the appearance of narrow ribbons of various colours. Three or more colours may be used in a pattern.
COVERING.
The skins prepared for binding are dressed in a peculiar manner. They are soft and of equal thickness throughout. The cutting out of covers is an important operation, as by attention much economy may be effected. For this purpose patterns in pasteboard of all the sizes of books should be made, and such as are required placed on the skin, turning them every way, so as to obtain the greatest number of pieces possible, allowing about an inch round for paring and turning in. Should the books be of the same size, a volume taken by the fore-edge and the boards laying open on the leather will enable the workman to judge to a nicety the most advantageous way to cut. The narrow pieces, &c. left on the sides will do for the backs and corners of half-bound work. The leather must be cut out dry, except russia, which must be well soaked with warm water, care being taken to avoid creasing. It will also require to be well rubbed out on a marble slab with the folder. If the russia is grained properly in the skin, it will not require wetting or rubbing.
Each cover must be pared round the edges with a long knife, called the paring-knife; and great care and skill are requisite in order to do it well. The French binders use a knife for this purpose somewhat similar to a chisel, and it must be confessed that their bindings surpass in this respect those of any other country. It is impossible to determine the precise point at which the paring commences. The declension is so gradual that it cannot be perceived. As an illustration of this fact, there is a specimen of Bauzonnet’s in the possession of a connoisseur of this city, covered with very thick Levant morocco, with a joint of the same material, and the interior of the board lined with morocco, thus making three different pieces. And the paring is so exquisitely done that, were it not for the colours, it would be impossible to tell where they joined. The whole interior of the board is as level as a piece of polished marble.
Whatever may be the substance or material with which a book is covered, the manipulations are the same. It is well pasted over with the brush and placed on the volume in the same way, care being taken to preserve from stains those that are costly and delicate, particularly morocco and calf. The cover should be placed on a board, and the side of the skin which is to be applied to the volume pasted well and evenly upon the surface, leaving no more than what is necessary to make it adhere. The cover being then laid on a table, or clean milled board, the volume is taken in the hands, the squares at head and tail equally adjusted, and placed upon the nearest side of it, in such a position that the back of the volume, which is from the workman, will be in the middle. The far part is then brought over to the other side, and care taken not to disarrange the squares. The cover, which now projects an inch all round the volume, is drawn tightly on the back with the open hands, by turning the projecting portion of the cover outward and resting the book on the fore-edge, at the same time working the leather in such a manner that it will adhere closely to the sides of the raised bands as well as to the back. A square band, with the leather fitting closely and evenly to the back on each side of the band, is a great point to attain, and any thing short of it is a blur upon the binding. After the back has been sufficiently manipulated, lay the cover perfectly smooth upon each side, then open the boards and lay one upon the paring-stone, and pass the paring-knife between the board and the cover diagonally across the corner of the latter, in such a manner that, when the leather is turned over, one edge will merely fold over the other; turn the book and operate in a similar manner on the other corners.
The cover at the head and tail of the book must next be turned in, by taking it by the fore-edge and placing it upright on the table with the boards extended, and with the hands, one on each side, slightly forcing back the boards close to the headband, and folding the cover over and into the back with the thumbs, drawing it in so that no wrinkle or fold is seen. Having turned in the cover the whole length of the boards, the volume must be turned and operated on at the bottom in a similar manner. The volume is then laid flat upon one side, and the cover turned over the fore-edge of the other, the corners being set by the aid of the thumb-nail and folder as neatly as possible; the same operation is repeated upon the other side. Any derangement of the square of the boards that may have taken place in covering must also be rectified.
The setting of the headband is the next operation, which is very important to the beauty of the binding, by properly forming a sort of cap over the worked headband of the leather projecting across the back a little above a right line from the square of one board to the other. With a small smooth folder, one end a little pointed, the double fold of the leather must be rubbed together to make it adhere, and, if the boards have been cut at the corners, the hand applied thereon, and finally forcing the headband close to the leather, staying it even on the back with the finger, and forming a neat cap of the projecting part on the top of it. The folder is then applied on the edges of the boards, to give them a square appearance and make the leather adhere. One board is then thrown back, the folder placed lengthwise along the joint or groove, holding it firmly by the right hand; the board is then gently forced by the left hand until it projects slightly within or over the joint. Upon this depends the freedom and squareness of the joint,—one of the most charming features of a well-bound book. After this operation has been performed upon both boards, the headbands will again require attention; and, in order to set them firmly, pass a piece of sewing-thread around the book between the back and the boards, and, after it is tied, manipulate the head as before, so as to make it perfectly square and even with the boards and back. The volume is rubbed alongside of the bands, and then set aside until nearly dry, when the thread is taken off and the boards again set in the joint.
If the book has been sewn on bands, or if the artificial bands are large, it is sometimes necessary, to make the leather adhere to the back, that the volume should be tied up, which is done by placing a board, longer than the book, on each side, projecting slightly over the fore-edge, and tying them tightly with a cord from end to end. Then, with a smaller cord, the leather is confined to the sides of the bands, by crossing the string. For example: suppose the book had three bands, one towards the head, one towards the tail, and the other in the middle; the book would be taken in the left hand, the head upwards, the cord by the help of a noose passed round close to the inside of the band nearest to the tail and drawn tight, then carried round again and brought close to the other side. The string, tightened, is thus crossed on the other side of the volume, and the band held between it. The cord is in like manner carried on to the second and third bands, fastened, and the whole set square with the folder. It will be best understood by the following engraving.
For morocco, and books in other substances, having but small bands, tying up is not resorted to, being generally rubbed close in with the folder, or a box stick for the purpose. Antique work having high, narrow bands, must have the leather well worked in between the bands by the hands, and then the bands must be compressed by the band-nippers. For morocco, however, where the beauty of the grain is liable to be destroyed, great care must be taken, as the slightest mark or scratch is indelible.
A few observations must not be omitted relative to morocco, velvet, silk, and coloured calf, which, from their nature, require the greatest neatness to avoid stains and alterations in the colours. Covers of the former description must not be drawn on too tight or rubbed with the folder, as the grain or pattern of the material would thereby be destroyed; and extra care must be taken with the coloured calf to prevent damage. They must be drawn on with the hands on each side at the same time. The table should be covered with a marble slab, and the hands kept perfectly clean. Silk should be prepared previously, by pasting a piece of paper thereon, and be left to dry, so that, when pasted for covering, the dampness will not affect its appearance. Velvet will require great care, from its peculiar texture making it necessary that it be rubbed one way only in covering. From this cause, having ascertained the direction of the nap, the back of the book is glued and laid upon it and drawn smoothly; then the sides are in like manner glued over, and afterwards the edges turned in. This proceeding causes the whole to lie perfectly smooth, which velvet would not do if drawn in a contrary way to the grain or nap, or if the glue was applied to the velvet.