The Book-Hunter at Home Part 12

As to the merits and demerits of the different coloured moroccos, you will find these fully dealt with in the bookbinding manuals. White and black we are warned against especially. The bookbinding authorities tell us that vellum, if exposed to a strong light, perishes and chips off like egg-sh.e.l.l; and we are warned to place vellum bound volumes with their backs to the wall, lettering the fore-edge with pen and ink, as was often done of old. But if kept away from the windows this precaution seems to be unnecessary. The beautiful brown vellum used for binding and repairing old books by Messrs. John Ramage and Son is very attractive and is, perhaps, as durable a binding as it is possible to have. Possibly other bookbinders use it, though I do not remember to have seen it used by any other firm. So far as I am aware this firm is the only one in London capable of executing work of the very highest cla.s.s at a price within the means of the modest collector.

It has been said that there are only four bookbinders in London who may be trusted not to mutilate a book, and that there are only two who have any sense of design and harmony of colour. But this is not to be wondered at when we consider that the majority of the bookbinders' customers know nothing whatever of bookbinding good or bad, requiring only that their volumes shall present a gorgeous appearance to the eye. Consequently the ordinary binder is rarely called upon to pay those minute attentions to detail demanded by a hypercritical collector. Bibliophiles are born, not made, and it were foolish to expect that every bookbinder has the love of books at heart. In nine cases out of ten it is our own fault if the binder goes wrong, for it means that our instructions have been either too meagre or lacking in a knowledge of technical detail.

When sending a book to the binder, definite instructions should always be enclosed. The details should be set forth clearly on a slip accompanying the volume. It should be stated:

(i) Whether the book is to be bound in pigskin, vellum, or morocco (Levant, Niger, smooth or rough grained).

(ii) The colour.

And here let me say that it is always better to choose the leather (the actual skin) oneself. The binder will make up two little books, lettered with the collector's name on the cover, containing moroccos of different hues; one he will give to the collector, the other he will retain. As every sample in these books is numbered, when ordering it is merely necessary to give the number (written _very distinctly_!). It is perhaps superfluous to add that, at the outset, the collector will have obtained a guarantee from his binder that only acid-free skins shall be used in binding his books. And he will also be careful to avoid selecting the very bright tints, such skins not being so durable as those of more sombre hue.

(iii) Whether quarter, half, or whole binding.

(iv) If quarter or half binding, whether the sides are to be covered with cloth (buckram or linen, and colour) or paper (marbled or plain, and colour).

(v) Treatment of the edges: whether top edge gilt (t.e.g.), all edges gilt, gilt on red, gilt on the rough, marbled, sprinkled, yellow, red, or blue edges (the last two very effective on folio books bound in pigskin), edges trimmed or untrimmed, uncoloured, etc.

(vi) Round or square back.

(vii) Solid or hollow back.

(viii) Round or square raised bands, big or small, or 'no bands'

(_i.e._ not showing).

(ix) End-papers (white, plain coloured or marbled).

(x) Whether, in the case of a large book, it is to have cloth joints (inside the covers).

(xi) Design in gold or blind tooling on sides and back.

(xii) Lettering on back. This should be given in capital letters precisely as it is desired to appear. If any lettering is required in a panel other than the t.i.tle-panel (second from top), it should be stated which one; the number of the volume or the author's name is put sometimes in the third panel from the top and sometimes in the fourth.

(xiii) Leaves to be mended, cleaned, or pressed; and any directions regarding ill.u.s.trations, maps, etc.

A goodly list? Yes, but a necessary one unless one is content to leave these things to the binder's discretion. He _may_ be one of the two who are said to possess 'a sense of design and harmony of colour'; but unless the collector has enclosed instructions as to all these points, if on its return the appearance of the book displease him he has only himself to blame.

The care which the book-lover bestows upon his volumes should not end, however, when they return from the binder. Unless attended to from time to time a leather binding--however good the leather--will perish, probably, within a lifetime. Vellum, apparently, is everlasting, provided it be kept away from the light and not exposed to great changes of weather or temperature. But pigskin, goatskin, and of course calf, in time lose by evaporation certain fats which are inherent in the leather.

Some collectors use furniture-polish or brown boot-polish to brighten up dingy old bindings, and this certainly has a pleasing (and often surprising) effect. But it is a bad practice, for the polish hardens the leather, which soon cracks worse than before. 'It would add immensely to the life of old leather bindings,' writes Mr. c.o.c.kerell, 'if librarians would have them treated, say once a year, with some preservative.' And he goes on to recommend that the bindings be rubbed over with a solution of paraffin wax dissolved in castor oil. Our book-hunter has used a preparation of glycerine for some years with success, but the paraffin wax promises to evaporate less rapidly. Old calf bindings should be treated at least once every year.

What shall we do with our volumes in 'original boards, uncut' when their paper backs become tattered, their labels illegible? Is there no other treatment for them than a visit to the binder's? That depends entirely upon one's energy, one's capacity for taking pains, one's neatness of finger, and the time at one's disposal. As I have said, the pleasure in handling volumes so attired is sufficient excuse for a desire to retain them in their original condition as long as possible. There is a facility in opening, a lightness in holding, and a simple charm in their appearance that is unknown to their more richly clad brethren. Our book-hunter for his part has long since given up sending such volumes to the binder's. Let the adept exercise his craft upon tomes in worn-out leather bindings; with the repairing of books in their original boards our amateur himself will deal.

It is not a difficult matter, and it can be done by the bibliophile at home. The first requisites are some sheets of strong, tough paper, brown and coloured. These can be procured for a few pence from any paper-merchant or place where they sell wrapping-paper. A pot of 'Stickphast' paste, a pencil, a ruler, a pocket-knife, and a pair of scissors are the accessories. Sometimes it is necessary only to re-back the volume. This is a simple matter. First of all the tattered paper on the back is sc.r.a.ped off, then a strip of brown or coloured paper is cut the required width and an inch and a half longer than the height of the volume. Cover the strip with paste, then take the volume in your left hand and paste the back and half an inch on to the sides, having first of all placed a sheet of clean paper, slightly larger than the book, inside the cover at each end (_i.e._ under the boards). This is to prevent soiling.

Now press the back of the book on to the strip, lying on the table ready pasted, so that it adheres; and with your right hand press the sides of the strip over on to the sides of the book. Experience will quickly teach you that if you use too much paste you will make a mess; whilst if you use too little the strip will not stick. If the paper is very thick it is necessary to rub the paste well into it.

Next put the back of the book upon the table (which we trust you have covered with a newspaper) and allow the boards to fall flat, holding the leaves upright. Now comes the tricky part of the business: you have got to fold the projecting ends of the new back _over_ the top and bottom of the boards and _under_ the body of the book. If this is not quite lucid, get a volume in boards and hold it as we have directed, you will soon see what is meant. It is a ticklish operation and the paper is easily torn if too thin _or too damp_. It also requires some patience, for probably you will find that the strip has come away from the sides during your manipulations. Press it down again and do the other end. Pressing and pulling gently and kneading are the secrets of success. A small rubber squeegee such as photographers use is useful here. With it you can press out the superfluous paste under the sides of the strip; but it must be used cautiously and not too hard.

Now close the volume, not forgetting to insert sheets of clean paper between boards and leaves at either end, take it up again in your left hand, and pat and finger it carefully till you are satisfied that all is well. Then remove a volume of similar thickness from a rather tightly packed shelf, and insert your patient in its place _as far as the strip_.

Leave it here to dry for at least twenty-four hours.

If the original paper label is legible and intact, it can be easily soaked off the tattered back, though you may have to operate first of all with the pocket-knife to remove it entire from the book. Press it between blotting-paper and allow it to dry naturally. When the new back is dry (not before) the label may be pasted on to it. If, however, the label is missing or too tattered to be of service, there is nothing for it but to write another one with your best penmans.h.i.+p, copying the original, if you have it, in facsimile. Such labels should be written with Indian (_waterproof_) ink upon rather thin paper of a different colour from the back. Light buff is the most useful colour, though pale blue and light green can be used sometimes with advantage.

Should you wish to make your work look extra neat, and to disguise the fact that the volume has been rebacked, it is possible sometimes to raise the end-papers at the inner corners of the boards, so that the projecting ends of the backing-strip may be tucked under. So much for rebacking.

Sometimes, however, the boards are too dirty or broken to be retained, or some of the boards in a set of volumes are missing. Then there is nothing for it but to provide new boards or patch up and re-cover the old ones.

Here again the labour is not very great. New boards may be cut from a cardboard box of suitable size and thickness. Those used by dressmakers are not very suitable, the card being generally too soft. If your volume lacks one or both boards, paste the back with stickphast, and then press on to it a strip of very thin linen (a strip torn from an old cambric handkerchief serves admirably) about two inches wider than the back and an inch shorter than the height of the book. The linen will project an inch on either side of the back. Now put the volume aside to dry.

When the back is dry, having provided suitable boards, paste the linen sides on the underside of each board, _i.e._ so that when the book is shut, the linen is between leaves and board. The best way to do this is to take a volume of similar thickness, cover it with newspaper, and place it flat upon the table with its fore-edge to the back of the 'patient.'

Then lay the board on the supporting volume, and so paste the linen to it. Do one side after the other, stand the book 'ajar,' and allow to dry.

Now you may proceed just as in re-backing, covering the boards first of all by pasting over them a rather thin but _opaque_ paper. You will find the squeegee useful here. These side-papers are measured and cut one inch larger than the volume at head, foot, and fore-edge. The projecting edges are folded over the boards and rubbed down with the squeegee. The corners need some attention and pressing.

When you have re-backed your book and all is dry, you will have to provide it with end-papers. Any opaque white paper will do, provided it is not too stiff. That used for lining chests of drawers will answer the purpose, though a paper of slightly better quality is preferable. Measure it carefully about one-eighth of an inch less at head and foot than the height of the book. You need not trouble about the width: so long as the free edge projects beyond the fore-edge when you close the book it can be cut level afterwards. Do not use too much paste, and crease the paper carefully along, and slightly into, the 'joint' with an ivory paperknife.

Do not close the book until it is dry.

Whenever you may have occasion to add new end-papers, remember to preserve all indications of the pedigree of your book, by which I mean traces of previous owners.h.i.+p. If there be a bookplate, soak it off, and when dry paste it inside the end cover. If there be autographs of interest on the boards, soak the paper off, cut out the writing and paste it back again when you have finished the book.

When you have provided your volume with new boards, however, you may prefer to clothe it in a 'whole binding'; that is, to use a single piece of paper to cover both back and sides. This is slightly more difficult and some little patience is needed; but when successfully accomplished the effect repays one amply. Lay your book on a sheet of coloured paper, so that the boards are flat whilst you are holding the leaves perpendicularly; then pencil and rule lines all round, leaving a margin of about three-quarters of an inch. Cut out this piece, paste it, paste the back and boards, and lay the book down again on the paper just as you did to begin with. The book is held in this position with either hand whilst the edges are turned up over the boards. It takes a little practice, and one requires some experience in the shrinkage of the paper used. Old boards that have their corners broken can be easily repaired by the use of plenty of paste rubbed well into the breaks, and by using fairly strong covering paper.

There is another matter of which mention must be made here, for it is a necessary adjunct to the binding of books, and that is cleaning, or was.h.i.+ng, as it is generally called. Often one comes across leaves in a volume that are stained or spotted in such a manner as to spoil the appearance of the book which otherwise is perfect. Such blemishes can usually be removed when the volume is rebound. Either it is not such a difficult matter as many who have written of these things would have us believe, or else our book-hunter has been singularly fortunate. For he confesses to having achieved considerable success in this direction. Like all other matters involving care and thoroughness, it takes a good deal of time, and no small amount of trouble; but apart from these considerations there is no reason why any bibliophile endowed with patience and a capacity for taking pains, should not attend to the was.h.i.+ng of his more 'grubby' volumes himself.

It is not the writer's intention here to go into the various processes employed, for that has been done already by experienced bookbinders; but perhaps the methods which he has employed successfully may be of interest and, possibly, of some use to beginners.

Perhaps it is hardly necessary to say that your first experiments should be made upon books of no value whatever, preferably volumes that have been picked out of the penny tub for this purpose. You will also have procured (if indeed you do not already possess) a copy of Mr. Douglas c.o.c.kerell's invaluable little book which I have already mentioned, and have studied it as has been suggested above. Mr. Zaehnsdorf's work also contains a chapter on this subject.

The paraphernalia required are not numerous or expensive, for they consist merely of three or four wide-mouthed gla.s.s-stoppered bottles in which to store your chemicals, and a few photographer's developing dishes (the _deep_ ones, of white porcelain) of a suitable size for octavo, quarto, or folio leaves.

Obviously the first thing to do is to remove from the book the leaf or leaves that require cleaning. Unless, like Gerard de Leew, the Antwerp printer, you are 'a man of grete wysedom in all maner of kunnyng,' you will not attempt to clean the leaves of a book _in situ_. In fact he would be a very brave (or foolish) man who, without great experience, tried to remove any sort of stain from a page without removing the leaf first of all. Our own experience is that it is better to pull the whole book to pieces--or rather _take_ it to pieces, for the word 'pull' in this connection makes one shudder. Carefully cut the threads that hold the quires to the bands, and little by little remove each quire. If the book is in an old leather binding, with a solid back, your task will be no easy one, for it is necessary to sc.r.a.pe away the glue from the back after it has been damped. A cloth dipped in very hot water and wrung out _tightly_ is sometimes of use here, but you must use the greatest caution.

Having removed the leaf, or rather sheet of four pages (we will suppose that the volume has been 'cut') that requires cleaning, you have now to diagnose its complaint and prescribe the correct remedy, which you will have learnt from the text-books we have mentioned. But if the leaf is not merely stained in part, but altogether brown and discoloured, the following treatment probably will prove efficacious. Put half an ounce of permanganate of potash in a jug that holds about a pint and a half, and fill it up with hot water. Stir with a piece of wood until the permanganate is dissolved. Then lay your sheet in a developing dish and pour the hot solution in gently, taking care that there are no bubbles and that the leaf is completely covered. At the end of five minutes (or ten if the paper is thick and heavily sized) pour back the liquid into the jug, and, holding the dish over a sink, let cold water run across it in a gentle stream until _all_ the permanganate is washed away.

The leaf will now be stained a deep brown. Stand the dish on end (the leaf of course sticks to the bottom of the dish) to drain while you prepare the bleaching part of the operation. Now take a similar jug, put half an ounce of oxalic acid into it, and again fill up with hot water.

Pour this (hot but not boiling) over the leaf as before. When the leaf is as white as the dish itself, which will take from five minutes to a quarter of an hour, pour off the solution and wash the surplus fluid away. Then let the leaf wash in gently running water for one hour. Our book-hunter always uses the bath for this purpose, but a tin foot-bath under a tap does excellently. The best way to dry the leaf is to press it gently between two sheets of unused blotting-paper, then remove the upper sheet and allow the leaf to dry naturally. Remember, however, that after any was.h.i.+ng or bleaching, leaves must always be 'sized' to give back to the paper that substance which the was.h.i.+ng has taken out. You will find full instructions for doing this in the text-books I have mentioned. It is quite a simple matter.

Mr. c.o.c.kerell recommends that the permanganate bath be only 'warmed slightly,' and that the leaf be left in it for 'about an hour.' Our book-hunter has found (fortunately not to his cost, for the volumes which he used for experimental purposes were valueless) that this sometimes rots the paper, and on one occasion the leaves at the end of an hour came to pieces when the solution was poured off. If used hot and quickly it does not seem to injure the paper, but the water must never be so hot that you cannot bear your finger in it, and you must take care never to use a _stronger_ solution. A strong solution of permanganate will reduce paper to pulp in a few minutes. For similar reasons our bookman prefers oxalic to sulphurous acid, but this too must never be used stronger than I have indicated. I hasten to add, however, in deference to such an excellent authority, that our book-hunter does not _recommend_, but merely states the methods with which he personally has been successful.

The most difficult stains to remove that the writer has yet come across are those made by a child's paint-box. Some colours are easily removed, but seventeenth-century gamboge is a perfect beast. The only successful way to deal with these 'stains' is by studying the chemistry of the 'colours,' and the re-actions of the chemicals of which they are made.

With a little experimenting there is no reason why any of these pigments should not be removed successfully, and at some future period of leisure our book-hunter hopes to record his own experiences in this matter.

Here a word of warning. Do not handle permanganate of potash in the room where your bleached leaves are drying. If you do probably you will be annoyed to find small purple specks on the leaves where the fine permanganate dust has settled. It is unpleasant stuff to use, and stains everything with which it comes into contact. Undoubtedly it is at its best in a closely stoppered bottle. Rubber gloves would be useful, if they did not make one 'all thumbs.' Remember that oxalic acid will remove the stains from your hands just as well as from paper--also that it bleaches carpets. (Item, don't conduct your operations in the dining-room.) The best thing with which to handle the leaves when wet is a broad flat bone paper-knife with smooth edges. On various occasions when our bookman has not had time to complete the bleaching process, he has dried the leaves in their brown state and put them aside for a week before bleaching. So far he has not found this to have any ill effect on the paper, though possibly if kept for a longer period--especially if they got damp--the permanganate might rot them.

A very hot and strong solution of alum I have used with success for leaves that are more dirty than stained, and do not really require bleaching. Ether is excellent for stains of a greasy nature, though some may prefer the stains to the vapour which it gives off. With hydrochloric acid, so strongly recommended by some, I have never had any success. If used strong it destroys the paper, and if used weak the leaf has to be left in it for so long as to reduce the paper almost to a pulp. Remember that as a general rule, the shorter the process of was.h.i.+ng the better.

Long immersion tends to rot the fibres of the paper. With regard to staining the leaf so as to match the rest of the book, our book-hunter generally uses a solution of cigarettes (Virginians are quite the best).

Possibly this is a very bad practice, but at least it is effective, the stain diffuses easily, and it can be regulated to any shade. Coffee is recommended by some.

Thumb-marks and the stains of dirty fingers are best removed by rubbing them lightly (and very carefully) with one of those disc-shaped erasers used by typists. These erasers remove the surface of the paper, so they must be used with extreme caution.[50]

There is yet another byway of book-collecting which we must study before we may graduate in book-lore. To the uninitiated the word 'bibliography'

conveys little more than a mere writing about books. But it is a vast study, and, if we are to become proficient in it, one that will occupy us for many years.