Fig. 34.Fig. 35.a, Cloth joints b, End sheets
Fig. 34.
Fig. 34.
Fig. 34.
Fig. 35.a, Cloth joints b, End sheets
Fig. 35.a, Cloth joints b, End sheets
Fig. 35.a, Cloth joints b, End sheets
In the case of marbled endpapers, the folio is cut of paper to match the book, a piece of super or canvass is put along the fold like a guard, then the single sheet of marbled paper is pasted entirely over the first page of the folio which is then tipped in to the cloth of the joint. Where a book is to be resewed, sometimes single end sheets of heavy cover stock, together with the cloth for the joint, are folded around the backs of the first and last sections and sewed in with them, Fig. 35. Then when the boards are put on, the cloth is drawn back over the edge as before.
Another method of attempting to reinforce and strengthen the first and last parts of a book is to sew through the endpapers that are to remain free as “flyleaves” and the leaves of the first half of the first and last sections. This seems of somewhat doubtful value, although it may be of some service in the case of a thick, heavy book.
A very practical and easy method of rebinding moderately thin books which have torn backs, is to sew them in the manner described for a fourth-grade Language Book, Fig. 40, page55, and put on a new case binding. In such cases, care must be used to make the joint wide enough to allow the boards to come well in front of the stitches; otherwise, the book would not open without tearing the cover.
Plate III shows a number of library books rebound in this manner by seventh grade boys.
PLATE IIILibrary Books Rebound by Seventh Grade Boys.
PLATE IIILibrary Books Rebound by Seventh Grade Boys.
PLATE IIILibrary Books Rebound by Seventh Grade Boys.
VI.EQUIPMENT.
Equipment for elementary bookbinding, as already indicated in a preceding chapter, can be made almost entirely to fit the purse.
The statement occurs in text books and has gone the rounds on “good authority” that very little can be done in the way of bookbinding without a large and unusually expensive equipment. It is difficult to understand how such a statement could be made by anyone who is familiar with craft binding and its simplified forms as they may be worked out in the lower grades of our schools.
Of course, it is possible to spend any amount for bookbinding equipment, but there are many schools where good elementary work is being done with absolutely no equipment except pocket knives, scissors and such other aids as may be picked up about any school building.
It is entirely possible to adjust the upper grade work so that only a few will be handling the same processes at the same time, thus making a small equipment answer the purposes of a good sized class.
For making the typical books under good conditions with a moderate number of pupils in the eighth grade or high school, the following equipment may be said to be elaborate, and can be had for about $75:—
Even this equipment may be very materially reduced. Many of the items may be improvised, made, or furnished by the pupils.
For instance, the sewing frames are of simple construction and offer an excellent problem for the class in woodwork.
The plow and press are not an essential even in high school work. Most excellent work may be done by cutting both paper and boards with a sharp knife guided by a trysquare or straight edge, against a cutting tin. Any ordinary hammer will do for backing purposes. So this brings us back to the repeated proposition that much and good bookbinding can be done in the schools with almost no equipment.
VII.SUGGESTIVE COURSE.
In the previous discussions of the three main types of books, practically every process used in elementary hand-binding has been described.
The following outline is the result of several years of effort on the part of the author, to develop a series of problems involving the bookbinding processes, meeting some of the constructive needs of the various grades of the school, and relating in some vital way to the regular school interests.
It was thought that confusion would be avoided by indicating the methods and processes of a set of specific problems. It is understood that these problems are only typical and that from these, a great variety of books may be worked out in response to special needs. In the practical work of the class, these problems are not dictated step by step and in detail, to the pupils; but as far as possible each pupil plans for himself, size, number of pages, proportions, color combinations, decoration, etc. A very large part of the value derived from such work, comes from the necessity of thinking and planning in advance, and from the privilege and exercise of choice.
Let us assume that we are taking the problem of the fourth grade spelling book, page53, Fig. 38. The first thing necessary is the spelling paper as a basis for our plans.
Each child is given a sheet of paper, say 3½×8 inches. The class is questioned to bring out the general characteristics of the cover needed, such as the direction of opening, the necessity for a hinge in the top cover, etc.
Then the matter of the squares or the extension of the boards is taken up and the pupils express opinions as to the amount of the extension. After reasons are given for various opinions, the pupils calculate and write on the sheets of paper the sizes the boards are to be cut.
Then comes the question of the distance the hinge is to be from the back. One pupil may answer three inches and another one-half an inch. Reasons are brought out why neither is satisfactory and also why it may vary, say, from three-fourths of an inch to one and one-half inches, and each child writes on his paper the distance he prefers. The same plan is used with reference to the width of the hinge; and since this may vary greatly, even from one-fourth to two inches, guided always by the ideas of good proportion and fulfillment of purposes, the pupils are asked to write down their preferences.
Then is taken up the question of the proportion of cloth to paper on the covers. In the first place, it is apparent that constructive considerations demand that the cloth must reach from the back some distance beyond the hinge toward the foredge, but how far beyond is a question of good proportion. It is always found that children vary but little in their judgments of proportion in this matter. The author has made this proposition to scores of children:—“Let’s have the cloth and the cover paper meet at the middle of the cover,” and in the whole number of children, there has never been one who would agree to any such an arrangement. When the matter of the cloth has been determined, the pupils calculate the sizes the pieces of cloth and paper must be cut, allowing the proper turn-ins. These dimensions are written down with the other decidedpoints. From this information, the pupils make simple drawings. From samples of various colors of cloth, paper, and cords, the pupils select satisfactory combinations. In this, as in all other matters, if pupils make wrong selections or show poor judgment, it is the opportunity of the teacher to suggest and to convince them of the wisdom of some other choice.