Exploring

Inherent Vice: Structures

Bookbindings

The basic form of the book has not changed fundamentally over the centuries, but changes in the materials and methods used in bookbinding have sometimes compromised the quality of the resulting bound volumes.

Book Structure

The earliest books were in roll form, made from papyrus. As vellum (which is more flexible than papyrus) began to be more commonly used, the practice of folding sheets and fastening them together began. Gradually the process of binding that is still used today was developed: individual folded signatures were sewn through the fold, then the signatures were attached to each other by sewing them to cords placed at right angles to the folded signatures. Boards were added to protect the pages, the cords (usually hemp cord or linen tape) were laced into the boards, and the boards were covered with protective material (e.g., leather, parchment, papers, and/or bookcloth). Ideally, a binding should be strong and flexible, so that the book opens completely and the pages lay flat.

For brief illustrations of the terms used to refer to the different parts of a book, see the Dartmouth College Preservation Service's A Simple Book Repair Manual Web site.

Decline in Binding Quality

During the latter half of the 19th century and much of the 20th century, poor quality paper was used for book pages. The quality of boards also declined, with wooden boards replaced by various types of boards made from compressed paper pulp that become acidic over time. Many modern bookcloths (woven fabrics that contain pigments and sizes) used as coverings fade easily and are vulnerable to attack by insects or mold. Adhesives used in binding are also often unstable. Sometimes different parts of a book respond differently to changes in the environment, causing distortion.

Changes in binding methods also contributed to a decline in binding quality. Gradually, hand-sewing of books decreased in favor of machine sewing. Books that are machine oversewn rather than sewn through the fold do not open well, and their pages tear easily if they become brittle. Inexpensive case bindings, in which the cover is prepared separately and then attached to the textblock by gluing the endsheet to the case, are less durable than traditional bindings in which the cords were laced in to the cover or slipped into a split in the cover board and adhered (known as a split board structure). Perfect bindings (in which the pages are attached to each other with adhesive rather than sewn) often fail. Pages or entire sections of the book may fall out.

Look at the Australian Heritage Collections Council's reCollections Web site to see illustrations of common types of bindings. Think about the variety of bindings that you have within your own collections.