PublishersBindingsOnline,18151930:TheArtofBooks[bindings.lib.ua.

edu]Thispaperappearscourtesyof
GaryFrost,UniversityConservator,UniversityofIowaLibrariesandisalsoavailableonTheUniversityofIowa
Librarieswebsiteat:http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/preservation/Gary.html

HistoryofAmericanBookbinding
Friday,March9th
BrynMawrCollegeLibrary

CaseConstruction,ClothCoveredBookManufacturing
IntheUnitedStates,18201850
PresentedbyGaryFrost

introduction

Theadventofcaseconstructionbookbindinginbookmanufacturingoccurredin
theUnitedStatesbetween1820to1850.Thisisaperiodinwhichbookbinding
washandworkwithtoolsandequipmentguidedbyphysicaleffortalone.While
caseconstructionenabledtheeventualmechanizationofindustrialbookbinding,
thatmechanizationoccurredafterthestructurehadfirstprovenitselfasanew
industrialprototypeandasapreferredmethodofbookmanufacturingbyhand.

Whileassociatedwiththeuseofclothcoveringgenerallyandwiththe
subsequentdecorationofclothcovering,thesearesecondaryfeaturesofcase
constructionbindingasanindustrialprototype.(1)Productionclothcovering
longprecededthe182050periodofcaseconstructiondevelopmentwhile
decorationofclothcoversbydirectstampingbeginsonlyattheendofthe
period.Whatthisperioddoesincludeistheconvergenceofcaseconstruction
withfeaturesofclothcoveringandclothdecorationintoapracticalproduct.

Casedandlaced(2)constructionsarefrequentlydifferentiatedbyaconstruction
sequenceofcovermadeseparatelyfromtextforwardingversusaconstruction
sequenceofcoverbuiltdirectlyonthetextblock.(3)Althoughthisdistinctionis
notanabsolute(4),separatedcasecoverconstructionenabledsimultaneous
productionofcoversandtext,facilitatedthebenchtopcoveringofboardswith
cloth,andpermitteddirectstampingofthespineofthecover.Ultimately,case
constructionprovidednoobstacletotheeventualmechanizationofthebinding
process.

observingevidenceinextantU.S.bindings

Therearecertaincharacteristicsthatindicateeitherlacedconstruction,inboards
orcaseconstructioninclothcoveredproductionbindingfromthefirsthalfofthe

1
nineteenthcentury.(5)Sewingontosawedincordswasstandardforbothcover
attachmenttypesindicatingstabilityinthisdepartmentstaffedbywomen.
Doublesheet,sewnendpapersarealsostandardtobothtypesthoughputdown
inadistinctlydifferentmanner.Thetextsforwardedinboardswereusually
untrimmedandunopened.Bycontrast,workforcaseconstructionwasusually
trimmedbyplowingofthreeedges.

Withlaced,inboardsworktheboardswerecrashedonorattachedwithajab
ofglueinthegutterofthepastedown.Thisfirst,partiallyadhered,sheetwas
thenpartiallytornawayjustbeforecovering,usuallyleavingaremnanthalfleaf
whichwascapturedbytheturninsoftheclothandboardpapers.Thisisclear
evidenceofinboardswork.Onlyasinglesheetofpastedownisthenavailableto
beputdownwithinboardswork.Withcaseconstruction,twopastedownsheets
includinganytextbacklininglappingontothesesheets,arealladheredontopof
theturninsoftheclothcover.(6)Caseconstructioncoversareinvariablyfull
clothwhileinboardsworkisfrequentlyquarterclothwithdyedpapercovered
boards.Withcasebindingthespineofthecover,withaseparateinlayapplied,is
freeofthetextback.Withinboardsbindingthespineofthecoverisfrequently
adheredtighttothetextback.

Printedpaperlabelsarecommontobothtypesofconstructioninearlycloth
binding.(7)Productionstampingingolddirectlyontheclothspine,firstwith
lockeduptypeandsubsequentlywithdies,canonlybeaccomplishedwithcase
construction.Goldtitlingwasprovidedforinboardsclothworkbutitrequired
eithertoolingbyhandontotheclothspineorontoanappliedskiverlabelwhile
workingdirectlyontheboundbook.

contextofbinderymethods

CaseconstructionbookbindingwaswelldevelopedintheGermantradeofthe
mid18thcentury.Thisworkfeaturedwellsewntextsonvellumstrapswith
trimmedandcolorededges.Forwardingtothatstagecouldbecontinuedwith
leathercoveringor,asalessexpensiveoption,caseconstructionpapercovers
couldbeappliedtothetext.Thesecoversconsistedofaspinewrapperthatwas
lappedandadheredundereitherboard.Thislappedcomponentassemblywas
thencutoutasawhole.Thebareboardcovercouldbecaseddirectlytothetext
or,morefrequently,thebareboardcoverwasovercoveredindecoratedpaste
paperswithlabelpieceandgoldtoolingbeforecasingin.ThisGermancased
bindingworkcontinuedthroughoutthe19thcenturywithvariationsofwhole

2
clothandquarterclothwithdecoratedboardpapersinstalledoverthe
underlyingbareboardcover.

ClothcoveringwascommonininexpensiveAmericanbindingbytheturnofthe
19thcentury.AnearlierAmericanclothwaslinencanvasadheredoverallwith
spineadheredtighttothetextbackoflacedconstructionwork.Theintroduction
oflighter,polishedanddyedcottonclothwhichwassizedwithstarchand
calenderedoccurredinthe1820s,thoughagain,inassociationwithlaced
constructionwork.Inboardscoveringusingthelightercottonclothwasdifficult.
(8)Cottonclothforsuchcoveringswasfrequentlyreinforcedoverall,orinthe
spinearea,withpaperlining.Evenso,trippingtheturninsofthegluestruck
clothwhilemanipulatingthebookwithboardsattachedwascertainlynota
promisingindustrialmethod.

Caseconstructiongreatlyeasedcoveringusingcottonclothsincetheboards
couldbelaiddownwithoutthetextattached.Such,binderymethods
conversionsfrominboardstocaseconstructioncauseddisruptioninthe
assignmentsofforwardersandfinishersandentailedconsiderablebusinessrisk.
(9)Inthe1820to1850periodfinisherswereassignedtoclothworktoprovide
stampingonthecoversusingeitherlockeduptypeorsmallerdies.Forwarders
werereassignedfromcuttingoutandcoveringstationstocasemakingstations
andcasinginstationswhileotherworkersloadedandunloadedthepressesfor
buildinginthework.InthislastoperationtheAmericandevelopmentofedged
pressboardsgreatlyfacilitatedspeedandaccuracyinloadingpresseswhileit
alsoneatlysealedandformedthecaseconstructionjoints.(10)

Evidenceindicatesthatcaseconstructionbindingwithitsbinderyfeaturessuch
asthebenchtopcasemakerandedgedboardsforbuildingin,wasintroducedin
theU.S.inNewYorkintheearly30s.Manybinderiescontinuedwithlaced
construction,inboardseditionworkwellintothenineteenthcenturyeven
thoughcaseconstructionspeededandfacilitatedclothcoverfabricationand
finishing.OutsideofNewYork,andwithgenresofshorterrunbookproduction,
lacedconstructionclothcoveringlastedthroughoutandbeyondthe18201850
period.

BindingattheJ.&J.HarpercompanyinNewYorkoffersanexampleofthe
adventofclothcasebindingintheUnitedStates.Productioninboardcloth
bindingwasmanufacturedhereinthelate1820s.Fromevidenceofthebindings,
thechangeoverfrominboardlacedtocaseconstructionoccurredaroundmid
yearin1831.Thesamepolishedcottonwasusedasinpreviousyears,butthe

3
textedgeswerenowtrimmed.Trimmingandwholeclothcoveringwere
componentsinthedramaticindustrialreorganizationoftheworkthat
accompaniedtheconversiontocasebinding.Metaledgedpressingboards,
producingthefamiliarmoderngroovedjoint,cameintousein1833reflectingthe
increasingspeedonthecasinginandpressingline.Newvarietiesofbookcloths,
bothribbonembossedandgrained,cameintouseduringtheperiodfrom1833to
1835.Finally,goldimpressiononthespine,producedfromlockeduptype,
appearsin1836whenitsupplantsprintedpaperlabeling.Thedecadefrom1826
1836musthavebeenanamazinglyexcitingtimeinthemanagementofand
participationinbinderyoperationsoftheJ.&J.Harpercompany.

conclusion

Caseconstructionbindingenabledindustrialbinderiestoproduce1000sof
booksperdaybyhandmethods.Inthelasthalfofthe19thcenturycase
constructiondominatedallotherstructuraloptionsinAmericanworkandlaced,
inboardsconstructionwastotallysupersededasanindustrialprocess.Only
afterthemechanizationofcaseconstructionbindingdidasubsequent
mechanizationofthewrapperconstruction,orpaperbackstructure,developto
challengecaseconstruction.Sothedominanceofcaseconstructionlastedovera
century.Inthespecialtiesoflibrarybindingandeditionbindingcase
constructiondominatestothepresentday.

Casebindingmanufacturehasmigratedsuccessfullytodigitaltechnologies.Both
computerassistedandkeyboardguidedequipmentisinplacewhilethe
materialsusedarelikewiseproductsofdigitaltechnologies.However,itis
possiblethatcaseconstructionwillnotdominatethefutureofthepaperbased
book.Itismorelikelythatwrapperconstructionwilldominate.Surprisingly,itis
evenpossiblethatthebuiltinboardsprincipleexemplifiedincodexprototypes
fromlateantiquitytothe19thcenturycouldreturntobookproduction.As
productionmethodschange,caseconstructionbookbindingmayfinallyassume
alegacyidentitylikecigarboxmakingorphotocasemaking.

footnotes

(1)NarrativesofthehistoryofEnglishandAmericanbookbindinginthe19thcenturyoffera
contraryimpressionthattheintroductionofcottonclothcoveringanddiestampingoncloth
constitutedthechangethatintroducedanewindustrialprototype.

(2)Casedandlacedbookbindingcanbeconceptuallyseparatedintermsofcovertotext
attachmentwithcasedbindingcoversealedandhingedtothetextatapositionawayfromthe

4
foldoftheendpaperandlacedconstructiondistinguishedbycoverattachmentexactlyatthefold
oftheendpaper.Thisdistinctionalsocorrelateswiththetypicaljointgrooveofcaseconstruction
contrastedwiththetight,groovelessjointoflacedconstruction.

Tradeexpressionssuchasboardsandinboardstermsareusedfordescriptionoflessand
moreexpensivebinding.Interminglingofbindery,booktradeandbibliographicaltermsconfuses
narrativesofcaseconstructionbinding.Ihavechosencasedandlacedbecausetheywork
fairlywell,areequivalentandyetdistinctandtheyassistindescriptionofotherconstruction
typessuchasthelacedcase

(3)AneloquentexpressionofthisdifferentiationisofferedbyMichaelWinship;Boardsare
attachedtothebookbeforetheyarecoveredorafter.

(4)Aparticularexampleoftightjointlacedconstructionproductionusingcovermadeoffthe
booksequencewasofferedbytheoldHarcourtBinderyinBostonwithitsproductionoffancy
setsforthedepartmentstoretrade.Anexampleofcaseconstructionbuiltinboardsisofferedby
splitboardtechnique.

(5)IhaverecordedandtabulatedfeaturesofhundredsofAmericanclothbindingsonimprints
fromthe1820stothe1850s.Occasionallyownersinscriptionsprovideanexactdateforthe
binding.Alsohelpfulforbindingdatingareboundinadvertisements.

(6)Itisnotcleartomeatwhatpointthedoublepastedownwasmadetogether.Thismayhave
beendonewithpasteasanindependentoperationatthetimeoftextbackliningoritmayhave
occurredontheflyatcasingin.

(7)Lookingatbooksontheshelf,theadventofcaseconstructioninclothworkisalmost
invisiblesincetheletterpresslabelsoflacedandcasedworkproduceanidenticalappearance.

(8)useofanimalglueswasconventionalbythe19thcenturyandthisaddedtothemiseryof
adheringthecottonclothseventhoughthestarchsizewassomewhatresistanttothestrikeofthe
glue.Prevalenceofclothcoveringinlacedconstructionisprobablyareflectionofthedifficulty
ofworkingtheearlyclothsontotheboundbook.

(9)Anoptionforpublishinghouseswassettingupentirelynewcaseconstructionbinderies.

(10)Thisseeminglysimpleinnovationwasquiteimportanttothemanufacturingprocess
particularlyasitenablethequickerloadingofpresspriortothesettingofglue.Earlyedged
boardsmusthavebeenironsincebindingexamplesshowspotsofrustinthejoints.Brasswas
subsequentlyadoptedasthestandardforedgedboards.ItsprovenanceasanAmerican
inventionisreflectedintheBritishresistancetogroovedjointsuntilthe1950s.

bibliography

TheArtofBookBinding,NewYork,1850,OakKnoll,1984.

ADayattheBookbindery,LadysBook,Philadelphia,1852.

5
ANewModeCalledClothBinding,TheAuthorsPrintingandPublishingAssistant,1839,
BookArtsPress,1980.

Arnett,JohnAndrews,ArtofBookbinding,London,1835.

Darley,LionelS.,BookbindingThenandNow,London,1959.

Dodd,George,DaysattheFactories,London1843.

Leighton,Douglas,ModernBookbinding,London,1935.

Sadleir,Michael,EvolutionofPublishersBindingStyles,17701900,NewYork,1930.

Tomlinson,WilliamandMasters,Richard,Bookcloth18231980,1995.

03.05.07