Technical Terms — Used in Bookbinding
All-Along.—When a volume is sewed, and the thread passes from kettle-stitch to kettle-stitch, or from end to end in each sheet, it is said to be sewed all-along.
Asterisk.—A sign used by the printers at the bottom of the front page of the duplicate-leaves printed to supply the place of those cancelled.
Backing-Boards.—Are used for backing or forming the joint. They are made of very hard wood or faced with iron, and are thicker on the edge intended to form the groove than upon the edge that goes towards the fore-edge, so that the whole power of the laying-press may be directed towards the back.
Backing-Hammer.—The hammer used for backing and rounding: it has a broad, flat face, similar to a shoemaker’s hammer.
Bands.—The twines whereon the sheets of a volume are sewn. When the book is sewed flexible the bands appear upon the back. When the back is sawn so as to let in the twine, the appearance of raised bands is produced by glueing narrow strips of leather across the back before the volume is covered.
Band-Driver.—A tool used in forwarding to correct irregularities in the bands of flexible backs.
Bead.—The little roll formed by the knot of the headband.
Bleed.—When a book is cut into the print it is said to bleed.
Bevelled Boards.—Very heavy boards for the sides champered around the edges.
Blind-Tooled.—When the tools are impressed upon the leather, without being gilt, they are said to be blind or blank.
Boards.—Are of various kinds, such as pressing, backing, cutting, burnishing, gilding, &c. The pasteboards used for side-covers are termed boards. The boards used for cutting books “out of boards” are called steamboat-boards. Tinned boards are used for finished work; while brass or iron-bound boards are used for pressing cloth-work.
Bodkin or Stabbing-Awl.—A strong point of iron or steel, fixed on a wooden handle, to form the holes in the boards required to lace in the bands. Used also for tracing the lines for cutting the fore-edge.
Bole.—A preparation used in gilding edges.
Bolt.—The fold in the head and fore-edge of the sheets. Also the small bar with a screw used to secure the knife to the plough.
Bosses.—Brass plates attached to the sides of volumes for their preservation.
Broke up.—When plates are turned over and folded at a short distance from the back-edge, before they are placed so as to enable them to turn easily in the volume, they are said to be broke up. The same process is sometimes applied to the entire volume.
Burnish.—The effect produced by the application of the burnisher to the edges.
Burnishers.—Are pieces of agate or bloodstone affixed to handles.
Cancels.—Leaves containing errors which are to be cut out and replaced with corrected pages.
Caps.—The leather covering of the headband. Applies also to the paper envelopes used to protect the edges while the volume is being covered and finished.
Case-Work.—Work in which the boards are covered and stamped. The volume is then glued upon the back and stuck into them.
Catch-Word.—A word met with in early-printed books at the bottom of the page, which word is the first on the following page. Now used to denote the first and last word in an encyclopædia or other book of reference.
Centre-Tools.—Are single, upright, or independent tools used for the middle of the panels by the finisher.
Clearing Out.—Removing the waste-paper and paring away any superfluous leather upon the inside, preparatory to pasting down the lining-paper.
Collating.—Examining the signatures, after the volume is gathered, to ascertain if they be correct and follow in numerical order.
Corners.—The triangular brass tools used in finishing backs and sides. The gilt ornaments used on velvet books. Also, the leather pasted on the corners of half-bound books.
Creaser.—The tool used in marking each side of the bands, generally made of steel.
Cropped.—When a book has been cut down too much it is said to be cropped.
Dentelle.—A fine tooled border resembling lace-work.
Edge-Rolled.—When the edges of the boards are rolled. It may be either in gold or blind.
Embossed.—When a plate is stamped upon the cover so as to present a raised figure or design, it is said to be embossed. Some inappropriately term this kind of work Arabesque.
End-Papers.—The paper placed at each end of the volume, a portion of which is removed when the lining-paper is pasted down upon the boards. Also called Waste-Papers.
Fillet.—The cylindrical ornament used in finishing upon which simple lines are engraved.
Finishing.—Is that department that receives the volumes after they are put in leather, and ornaments them as required. One who works at this branch is termed a finisher.
Finishers’ Press.—Is the same as a laying-press, only much smaller.
Flexible.—When a book is sewn on raised bands and the thread is passed entirely round each band.
Folder.—This is a flat piece of bone or ivory used in folding the sheets and in many other manipulations. Also applied to a female engaged in folding sheets.
Fore-Edge.—The front edge of the book.
Foundation-Plate.—A plate of iron or brass upon which side-stamps are affixed.
Forwarding.—Is that branch that takes the books after they are sewed and advances them until they are put in leather ready for the finisher. One who works at this branch is termed a forwarder.
Full-Bound.—When the sides of a volume are entirely covered with leather, it is said to be full-bound.
Gathering.—The process of arranging the sheets according to the signatures.
Gauge.—Used in forwarding to take the correct size of the volume and to mark it upon the boards for squaring.
Gilt.—Is applied to both the edges and to the ornaments in finishing.
Glaire.—The whites of eggs.
Grater.—An iron instrument used by the forwarder for rubbing the backs after they are paste-washed.
Gouge.—A tool used in finishing, the face of which is a line forming the segment of a circle.
Guards.—Strips of paper inserted in the backs of books intended for the insertion of plates, to prevent the book being uneven when filled; also the strips upon which plates are mounted.
Guides.—The groove in which the plough moves upon the face of the cutting-press.
Half-Bound.—When a volume is covered with leather upon the back and corners, and the sides are covered with paper or cloth.
Hand-Letters.—Letters cut and affixed to handles, and adjusted singly upon the volume when lettering it.
Head and Tail.—The top and bottom of a book.
Headband.—The silk or cotton ornament worked at the ends so as to make the back even with the squares.
Imperfections.—Sheets rejected on account of being in some respect imperfect, and for which others are required to make the work complete.
In Boards.—When a volume is cut after the paste-#boards are affixed to form the sides, it is said to be cut in boards. The term is also applied to a style of binding in which the boards are merely covered with paper.
Inset.—The pages cut off in folding and placed in the middle of the sheet.
Inside Tins.—So called from being placed inside of the boards when the volume is put in the standing-press.
Joints.—The projections formed in backing to admit the boards; applied also to the inside when the volume is covered.
Justification.—The observance that the pages of a volume agree and are parallel throughout, so as to insure a straight and equal margin.
Kettle-Stitch.—The stitch which the sewer makes at the head and tail of a book; said to be a corruption of chain-stitch.
Keys.—The little instruments used to secure the bands to the sewing-press.
Knocking-Down Iron.—So called from having the slips, when laced in, pounded down upon it, so that they will not show when the book is covered.
Laced In.—When the boards are affixed to the volume by means of the bands being passed through holes made in the boards, they are said to be laced in.
Lettering-Block.—A piece of wood, the upper surface being rounded, upon which side-labels are lettered.
Lettering-Box.—The box in which the type are screwed up preparatory to lettering.
Lining-Paper.—The coloured or marbled paper at each end of the volume.
Marbler.—The workman who marbles the edges of books, &c.
Mitred.—When the lines in finishing intersect each other at right angles and are continued without overrunning each other, they are said to be mitred.
Out of Boards.—When a volume is cut before the boards are affixed, it is said to be done out of boards.
Overcasting.—An operation in sewing, when the work consists of single leaves or plates.
Pallet.—Name given to the tools used in gilding upon the bands, sometimes applied to the lettering-box.
Panel.—The space between bands; also applied to bevelled and sunk sides.
Papering Up.—Covering the edges after they are gilt, so as to protect them while the volume is being covered and finished.
Paring.—Reducing the edges of the leather by forming a gradual slope.
Pastewash.—A thin dilution of paste in water.
Pencil.—A small brush of camel’s hair.
Pieced.—When the space between bands, upon which the lettering is placed, has a piece of leather upon it different from the back, it is said to be pieced or titled.
Plough.—The instrument used in cutting the edges of books and pasteboards.
Points.—Holes made in the sheets by the printer; they serve as guides in folding.
Polisher.—A steel implement used in finishing.
Press.—There are various kinds of presses,—viz.: laying or cutting, standing, stamping, embossing, gilding, and finishing.
Rake.—An instrument used in forwarding, to harden the backs while being pastewashed in the standing-press.
Rasped.—The sharp edge taken off the boards.
Register.—The ribbon placed in a volume for a marker; also a list of signatures, attached to the end of early-printed works, for the use of the binder.
Rolls.—The cylindrical ornaments used in finishing.
Run Up.—When the back has a fillet run from head to tail without being mitred at each band, it is said to be run up.
Runner.—The front board used in cutting edges, &c.
Sewer.—The person who sews the sheets together on the sewing-press—generally a female.
Set-Off.—Designates the transfer of the ink to the opposite page.
Setting the Head.—Is covering the headband neatly with the leather, so as to form a kind of cap.
Shaving-Tub.—The paper cut from the edges of a volume are called shavings. The receptacle into which they fall while the forwarder is cutting the edges is termed the shaving-tub.
Signature.—The letter or figure under the footline of the first page of each sheet to indicate the order of arrangement in the volume; sometimes applied to the sheet itself.
Size.—A preparation used in finishing and gilding, generally made from vellum.
Slips.—The pieces of twine that project beyond the volume after it is sewn.
Squares.—The portions of the board that project over the edges.
Stabbing.—The operation of piercing the boards with a bodkin for the slips to pass through; also the piercing of pamphlets for the purpose of stitching.
Stamps.—The brass tools used in finishing to impress a figure upon the leather; they are distinguished by hand-stamps and stamps for the press.
Start.—When any of the leaves are not properly secured in the back, upon opening the volume they will project beyond the others, and are said to start.
Steamboating.—Cutting books out of boards, a number being cut at the same time.
Stitching.—The operation of passing the thread through a pamphlet for the purpose of securing the sheets together.
Stops.—Are small circular tools, adapted to stop a fillet when it intersects at right angles, to save the time used in mitreing.
Title.—The space between bands, upon which the lettering is placed.
Tools.—Applied particularly to the hand-stamps and tools used in finishing.
Trindle.—A strip of thin wood or iron.
Turning Up.—The process of cutting the fore-edges in such a manner as to throw the round out of the back until the edge is cut.
Tying Up.—The tying of a volume after the cover has been drawn on, so as to make the leather adhere to the sides of the bands; also for setting the head.
Whipping.—The process of overseaming plates.
Witness.—When a volume is cut so as to show that it has not been cut as small as some of the leaves, their uncut edges prove this, and are called witness and sometimes proof.
Wrinkle.—The uneven surfaces in a volume, caused by not being properly pressed or by dampness, also caused by improper backing.