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SG204A Program C


Introduction to the History and Craft of Book Bindings

3 Units
Instructor: Prof. Giuliano Camilleri

COURSE STRUCTURE

Morning Lectures: Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM;
Workshop: Monday – Friday 3:00-7:00 PM;
Classroom: Book Binding studio

Course Description

No prerequisites required

Through a lecture and workshop format, this course introduces students to the history and evolution of Western bookmaking, from the handmade codex to modern industrialized book-making processes. Students craft 4 traditional books and in the process learn the materials, tools, sewing structures and assembly process of the various elements.

This course is designed primarily to provide knowledge and skills to people going into the field of book conservation/preservation and management of book resources, although it can also be useful to people going into the field of bookbinding and book design.  For those planning a career as book conservators, this is a good introduction to the field to be followed up by further education. For those planning to manage book collections or archives, it offers basic skills in identifying the nature of bound material, understanding the state of preservation, best practices in handling, storage and conservation.

Students of the following subjects can find this program useful: Bookbinding, book conservation and restoration, library science, library management, archival sciences, management of rare book collections, book design, and history of technology.

Course Objectives

Student Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  • Describe and define book components and writing supports

  • Identify and explain differences of book binding structures

  • Design and create four historical types of book bindings

Summary of Lecture Content

Book components and terminology, writing support/media

Overview of bound written material

  • Tablets

  • Scrolls

  • Bamboo books

  • Palm leaf books

  • Codex

Paper: Overview

  • Manufacturing techniques

  • Eastern paper

  • Western paper

  • Machine made paper

Parchment: Overview

  • Manufacturing techniques

  • Identification of animal skins

Decorative papers

  • Glue paper

  • Xylographic paper

  • Printed paper

  • Marbled paper

Writing area

  • Pricking

  • Ruling

  • Margins

  • Pagination

Inks

  • Carbon ink

  • Iron gall inks

  • Mixed inks

  • Printing inks

The book structure: general notions about book structure and terminology

Textblock

  • Sections, gatherings, quires (paper folding, paper sizes)

  • Textblock edges (trimming, cut, uncut, edge decoration)

  • Endleaves, (paste down, Fly leaves, integral endleaves, separate endleaves)

Sewing

  • Unsupported  (Coptic-Islamic- Byzantine)

  • Supported (Western)

  • Sewing thread: vegetable fibres (linen, hemp, cotton), animal (silk, wool, gut), synthetic

  • Sewing supports: cord (single, double), tape, leather (tanned, alum tawed–strip, single, double, tongue, split, twisted)

  • Sewing techniques: Without supports (sewing with curved needle, chain stitch, kettle stitch. With support (with straight needle, on cords. Single, double, all along, herringbone sewing.)

Spine

  • Spine shapes (Rounded and backed, curved, flat)

  • Spine lining materials: vegetal materials (cotton, linen cloths), animals (leather, parchment), reused fragments, manuscript and printed waste

  • Spine lining techniques: over-all, transverse, comb, panel, slotted

Adhesives

  • Starch paste

  • Animal glue (rabbit, bovine, ovine, mixed)

  • Synthetics

Endbands: Western/Eastern

  • With cores

  • Without cores

  • Primary sewing (tiedowns, warps, single or double)

  • Secondary sewing (chevron, decorative, bead)

  • Endband attachment

  • Material for the cores: vegetable cord, synthetic, animal (leather strips)

  • Material for sewing: vegetable threads (linen, cotton), silks

Boards

  • Board material (wood, paper laminate, pulp board, millboard, manuscript/printed waste)

  • Board attachment (lacing in, sewn, lining attachment)

  • Board profiles (bevels, squares)

Cover

  • Covering material (leather, parchment, paper, textiles)

  • Turn-ins (square, mitre, tongue-mitre, overlapped)

  • Cover decoration (finishing tools, blind tooling, gold tooling, rolls, centre-pieces, small hand tools)

Fastenings

  • Fastening materials (leather, iron, bronze, silver)

  • Fastening components (ties, straps, pins, clasps, catchplates)





Afternoon Workshops

In the workshop sessions each student will create four blank page model bookbindings from scratch, copying historical binding techniques and making use of original materials and traditional tools.

Featured
Western Medieval-Style Binding
Western Medieval-Style Binding

Europe from 14th to 19th centuries with parchment or paper book blocks.

Features:

The book block is sewn on three double cord supports with packed sewing all along.

A parchment or linen spine lining is applied on the spine between the supports (panels).

Western end bands with primary and secondary sewing around cord cores are made at head and tail. The supports are laced through the boards. Attaching the spine lining on the inside of the boards reinforces the board attachment.



Limp Parchment Binding
Limp Parchment Binding

Sewing structure commonly found in Southwestern Europe from the 15th to 18th centuries with book blocks in parchment and paper.

Features:

The book block is sewn on three single alum tawed support with all along packed sewing.

A spine lining of Japanese paper is applied to the spine to secure the book block. End bands with primary sewing on alum tawed cores are made.

A soft laced cover is applied to protect the book block.



Unsupported sewing structure (Islamic style)
Unsupported sewing structure (Islamic style)

Used typically from the Early Middle Ages to the 18th century in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, commonly with book block in paper.

Features:

The text block is sewn on four sewing stations.

A spine lining of linen is applied to secure and stabilize the book-block.

Islamic end bands (primary and secondary sewing) are executed at head and tail. The cover will be made in two halves with front flap.



Modern Western Case Binding, Sewing on Tapes
Modern Western Case Binding, Sewing on Tapes

Used typically during the 18th and 19th centuries with paper media.

Features:

The book block is sewn on three linen tapes with all along sewing.

A linen cloth spine lining is placed to secure the book block.

Two false end bands are applied to the spine at head and tail.

A cloth case cover will be made to cover the book block. Decorated paper endleaves will be added.



Description of Assignments

Reading list supplied with acceptance to the program.

Create from scratch four blank page books using four historical bindings systems and original materials and tools.

Grade Breakdown:

Term paper #1: 8-page paper on a topic to be assigned 20%
Exam: mixed format – quiz and essay questions. 20%
Book #1        15%
Book #2        15%
Book #3        15%
Book #4        15%

Grading scale:

94-100 = A 90-93 = A-
87-89 = B+ 84-86 = B
80-83 = B- 77-79 = C+
74-76 = C. 70-73 = C-
67-69 = D+. 64-66 = D
60-63 = D- Below 60 = F

Earlier Event: June 6
SG203A Program B
Later Event: June 6
SG204B Program C