Aldis, M.A.
Cambridge: at the University Press 1916
covering is next proceeded with. The principal materials used
for the covering of books are leather, vellum, buckram, and
cloth. Embroidery, silk, and other fabrics are also occasionally
employed, but for fine bindings and for books that have to
stand hard usage there is nothing to equal leather, provided,
of course, that it is of good quality. Much of the leather used
for binding during the last seventy or eighty years has failed
to stand the test of time. The superiority of the older material
is frequently seen in books that have been rebacked, where
the new back has already perished leaving the original sides
still in possession. This inferiority, due to faulty methods of
preparation and the use of injurious chemicals, was the
subject of investigation by a Committee of the Society of Arts
a few years ago. Their report has already borne good
shoulder his share of the blame for the unsatisfactory condition of leather bindings. Paring the leather facilitates
neatness of finish, but it also greatly weakens the leather. Too often strength is sacrificed to the over-rated virtue of
'finish,' and the leather is so pared down as to leave no more than a thin layer of the outer skin, and this especially at
the hinges where the strain is greatest and strength is most needed. To judge the quality of leather, especially after it
is on a book, is a matter of special knowledge and much experience; some of the imitation leathers now in use may
easily deceive the unwary. Punch' 8 definitions of the three grades: 'leather, something like leather, nothing like
leather,' is particularly applicable to the bindings of to-day.
Morocco, which has no rival for fine bindings, originally came from southern Spain and Morocco and was made of goat
skins tanned with sumach. Seal, a good leather possessing qualities somewhat similar to morocco, is not so well
known as it deserves to be. The small goat skins, dyed in various shades of red, which have of late years been
imported from the Niger country, are excellent material and the irregularity of colouring gives a pleasing effect, but the
surface is not suitable for decorative tooling. Russia leather so much in fashion a century ago, probably owing to the
attraction of its odor, is not durable; after a time it gets dry and friable and the backs and joints break away in a fine
powder. Old calf is often very good material, but the modern product, though its smoothness and colorings are
attractive, should be avoided, since the virtue has been taken out of the leather in the manufacture, and it will not
last. Pigskin is the strongest leather used in bookbinding and will stand much hard wear. It is therefore especially
suitable for heavy volumes and books in everyday use; but as any attempt at dying involves loss of some of its
qualities it should be used only in its natural colour. Even in the selection of pigskin, the familiar advertisement tag,
'beware of imitations,' is by no means to be disregarded.
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