Antiquarian Bookcrafts

Bookbinding conjures up images of bespectacled men lovingly caressing a book with jewel encrusted sides, opening it carefully with a slight creak, blowing dust off the pages which scatter adding to the air of suspense and contribute to the combined whole, the impression we have of bookbinding as special and antiquated.

Bookbinding conjures up images of bespectacled men lovingly caressing a book with jewel encrusted sides, opening it carefully with a slight creak, blowing dust off the pages which scatter adding to the air of suspense and contribute to the combined whole, the impression we have of bookbinding as special and antiquated.

Spine orientation and titling conventions:
The spine of the book is an important aspect in book design, especially in the cover design. When the books are stacked up or stored in a shelf, the spine is the only visible surface that contains the information about the book. Obviously in a book store the details on the spine are what initially attract the attention. In left-to-right read languages (like English), books are bound on the left side of the cover; looking from on top, the pages increase counter-clockwise. In right-to-left languages, books are bound on the right. In both cases, this is so the end of a page coincides with where you flip. Early books did not have titles on their spines; rather, they were shelved flat with their spines inward, and titles written with ink along their fore edges.

Tooling/Stamping:
When finishing work is done by hand held tools, it’s tooling. When by machine, it’s stamping.  

Biopredation:
An attack to books by living matter, which may include insects or mildew.

Colophon:
Details of the printer's typography or the publisher's symbol often found on the last page of a book and sometimes referred to as such when a printer's or publisher's 'device' is found on the copyright page. Sometimes states the number of copies printed, and in the case of a limited edition, will cite the copy number and may contain the signature of the author, illustrator, or publisher.

Ding:
A small bump or dent leaving an impression, sometimes caused by careless handling or storage.

Foxing:
The brown age spots thought to be caused by impurities in paper (e.g.: acid, exposure to humidity, etc.)

Frontpiece (Frontis):
The illustration facing title page.

Gauffered edges:
A pattern tooled on gilt edges of a book

Mull:
The cloth that reinforces the hinges and is pasted directly to the body of a book and is hidden by the spine.

Whipstitching:
To sew a book's leaves by passing the thread over and over the spine. Often seen in early pamphlets.

Vellum:
(from the Old French Vélin, for ‘calfskin’) is mammal skin prepared for writing or printing on single pages, scrolls, codices or books. It is generally thin, smooth and durable. To create tension, scraping is alternated by wetting and drying. A final finish may be done abrading the surface with pumice, then chalking to accept ink.