I figured that it was a good idea to list-off some paper and bookbinding terms, as this seems to be one of my favorite subjects for projects/procrastination.
The 'glossary' below is the term list that I would give to my bookbinding students to bind up in a pamphlet as their first project and to keep as a resource. It is by no means exhaustive, but it is a good starting point. These terms are geared towards the projects that they were doing, which offers some explanation for the eccentric smattering of themes.
It is in alphabetic order (seemed like a reasonable idea at the time) and I have thrown in a picture or two of past binding projects, just to break up the monotony. There are links for more in-depth reading, instructions, and supplies at the bottom... in case some insatiable passion for book-craftery has been awakened.
Hope it is helpful:
Accordion book: any form of book that incorporates an accordion
fold in its interior construction.
Artist book: a book that has been designed and constructed to
demonstrate the skill and unique vision of the bookmaker using noncommercial
materials and methods.
Awl: also known as a pin tool or a probe and it can
come in a variety of sizes. This is used
for making the sewing holes in the paper and other materials.
Barrel stitch: a type of running stitch used without tapes or
chords that is used to bind up the text block.
Board sheers: a paper cutter that can come in a wide variety of
shapes and sizes that is made up of a flat cutting table and a blade that is
pulled down and pivoted on a hinge. This
is generally used for thicker things, like book board, but only one sheet at a
time.
Bone folder: a
carved bone stick that can come in a variety of shapes and sizes used to aid in
folding, burnishing, and smoothing.
Book cloth: any type of cloth traditionally used in cover
construction. The cloth is either backed
with paper or starch which keeps the glue or paste from seeping through to the
finished side.
Book board: the modern material used for covers and boxes to
house text blocks and books. It can come
in many thicknesses and it is made of many layers of paper. Book board is currently made of paper but it
used to be made of pulped rope and the earliest book ‘board’ was wooden panels.
Brass folder: like the bone folder, but made of brass. It is only for use with leather or tougher
materials. Not for paper use since it is
more likely to leave marks.
Chain Lines: (see Handmade paper and Laid Lines)
paper can be made in a frame by hand. A
mesh that catches the paper fiber is supported by chains. These chains tend to run against the grain
direction in the paper and run along the shortest dimension of the paper sheet.
Chord: a thin twisted rope made from plant fiber which
the text block is sewn onto.
Codex: 1st century AD Romans developed the first Western
books (not scrolls) with pages and boards.
These books used heavy wooden boards as covers and these books were
called ‘codices’ after the Latin for ‘trunks of trees’.
Coptic stitch: a method of sewing the text block together
developed by the Copts. The Coptic
stitch is generally used for exposed bindings.
Deckle: is the frame that handmade paper is made on. The feathered,
thin edge of handmade papers occurs because of the deckle and so it is called a
deckle edge (often deckle for short). This edge can also be artificially made by
tearing and distressing the edge of a piece of paper.
End sheets: the spreads at the end and beginning of the book
comprising the fly leaves and paste downs.
Exposed bind: is a binding where the spine is not covered by
cloth, leather, or some other material.
Instead the stitching that holds the text block together and the back of
the text block are visible.
Fly leaf: is both the first and last page in a book. It is generally a decorative paper and it is
used to protect the pages in the text block.
French fold: a binding method where the folded spreads that
make up the text block are not held together by stitching or glue in the spine,
but rather they are glued together, two spreads at a time at the front edge at
the book.
Full cloth: a binding where the cover is fully covered with
cloth.
Full leather: a binding where the cover is fully covered with
leather.
Grain: the direction that the fibers in a paper line up
along. A paper naturally tears and
expands along this axis and so the grain of the paper should always be kept
parallel to the spine.
Guillotine: a paper cutter where the blade comes down and cuts
material on a flat bed. Many papers and
materials can be cut at once so a guillotine is an essential tool for
straitening up edges after sewing the text block or gluing together a perfect
bind.
Handmade paper: is any paper that is made in small batches, one
sheet at a time on frames instead of in large batches of one continuous sheet
in factories. Even if the paper is
machine made, it is still cut down to a size similar to a handmade sheet. Traditionally, one sheet is called a ‘folio’
(and when it is folded down it is still a folio, but in folded form it is a
signature). When the folio is folded once, this pamphlet is called a ‘quarto’
because there are four pages that are created.
When the folio is folded twice it is called an ‘octavo’ and when it is
folded three times it is called a ‘sixteen-mo’.
Occasionally, paper will be made much larger than the normal size range
and then folded down; in these instances there are a wide variety of names,
such as ‘elephant’ or ‘emperor’ folios.
Headband: a protective and decorative chord or band at the
top of the text block at the spine of the book.
A headband can be made by wrapping silk thread around a chord and sewing
it into the top of the text block, or it can be added as a pre-made tape, cut
down to size, and glued down on the text block.
Hollow: the flattened paper tube that is glued in the spine, in-between the text block and the cover. The hollow allows a book to open flat with both covers resting on a flat surface. It also reduces stress on the book while it is open, so it adds to the life of a binding.
Laid lines: the ridges and valleys running horizontally across a sheet of handmade paper that has been made in a chain-supported frame (see Chain lines).
Leaf: the back and front of a single page in a book.
Leather: the tanned skin of an animal used as a cover
material. The most common leathers used
are calf, pig, and goat. Before a
leather hide can be used in book binding in needs to be pared down, which is
essentially scraping of the back fibers of the leather to make it thinner and
easier to bind with.
Medieval bind: codices with panel covers, pages of vellum, sown
onto chords that are then laced into the covers, with metal clasps and locks to
keep the book together, and the spine is flat on books prior to the 15th
century and afterwards they took on a rounded shape.
Modern bind: books with paper pages, book board covers, and
sown onto tapes. There are some
variations in the form but all of these elements are normally in a contemporary
hardcover binding.
Needle: like a normal sewing needle, but thicker and with
a smaller eye proportional to size than a quilting needle.
Pamphlet: a simple sown binding that generally incorporates
one folio and a cover paper.
Paper weight: measured in several different ways. More commercial papers will give you
poundage, which is telling you the weight of the parent sheet of paper. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in
parent sheet size across the industry, so this measurement is generally
meaningless. Commercial paper is also
called either ‘text’ or ‘cover,’ ‘text’ always being the lighter weight and
‘cover’ always being the heavier. Paper
can also be measured in ‘GSM’ which stands for grams per square meter. This is the only accurate was to measure and
compare paper weights but only more expensive and high quality paper is
marketed with this information.
Parent sheet: the larger sheet of paper that smaller sheets are
cut down from before they are sold commercially.
Paste down: the recto side of the fly leaf spread which is
glued down onto the cover.
Perfect bind: a binding of a single stack of loose sheets that
is glued at the spine and has a soft cover.
This is most commonly seen as a trade paperback.
Post binding: a stack of single sheets held together between
boards by metal, removable posts.
Post hole puncher: a mechanical puncher used to make clean holes in
thick materials (like book board) for post binding or stab binding.
PVA glue: poly vinyl acetate.
The glue used in bookbinding because it is archival (meaning non acidic
and not going to become acidic over time), dries clear, flexible, water soluble
before drying, and heat activated after drying.
Quarter cloth: a binding where the cover is a quarter covered by
cloth. The cloth will extend a quarter
of the front cover, go around the spine, and then extend a quarter of the back
cover. The rest of the cover will generally
be covered with paper.
Quarter leather: a binding where the cover is a quarter covered by
leather. The leather will extend a
quarter of the front cover, go around the spine, and then extend a quarter of
the back cover. The rest of the cover
will be either paper or cloth.
Recto: the right facing leaf in a spread.
Scorer: a tool made of bone similar to a bone folder but
slimmer; it comes to a sharper point, it is normally curved, and it is used for
scoring papers to make folding easier.
Signature: or ‘gathering’ is a folded down folio which is then
ready for sewn binding.
Sizing: a substance added to paper (a starch or glue)
while it is being made that makes it stiffer and gives the paper a finer
surface for drawing and printmaking. Unfortunately,
sizing discolors with age and in the sunlight but it can be washed out. Sizing is normally washed out of paper before
it is used for watercolor since it will make the paper warp irregularly with
uneven water applications.
Spatula: a metal tool that comes in a variety of shapes and
sizes used for lifting, separating, and tearing.
Spine: the back of the book which is a hinge for the
covers and pages.
Spread: the two pages that you are looking at when you
open up a book at any given time.
Stab binding: an exposed binding synonymous with Eastern binding
where thread is elaborately and decoratively sewn through the covers and
through the papers that makes up the text block as a stack.
Tape: a woven linen strip that signatures are sown onto.
Tear down: instead of cutting the paper with a blade, it is
manually torn down using a ridged surface, like a ruler, as a guide.
Text block: essentially everything that goes in-between the
covers.
Thread: made from linen, comes in a variety of colors and
thicknesses, and it can come either waxed or un-waxed.
Tip in: to glue in a single sheet into the text block
after the text block had been previously completed by sewing or gluing.
Vellum: tanned, thin, calf skin used for the covers of
books (called a soft calf binding).
Vellum can also be referring to any type of tanned animal skin and when
it is used as the pages in books it is often called parchment. Because the surface of vellum is so fine and
smooth, paper is often marketed as having a ‘vellum’ finish.
Verso: the left facing leaf in a spread.
Wax: beeswax is used to coat thread so that it holds
knots better and protects the tread fibers in an exposed binding. A microcrystalline wax is applied and buffed
into cloth, leather, and paper to protect and seal it on covers or any surface
that experiences heavy wear.
Weaver’s knot: also known as a slip knot, this is the knot used
to join on segments of thread.
Wheat paste: an adhesive made by cooking wheat starch in
water until it becomes a thin paste. It
is then strained and thinned with water.
Due to its perishable nature, it should be used quickly and an
anti-fungal agent, such as Thymol, is incorporated into the paste during
cooking.
So, how about that insatiable passion for all things book, paper, and their crafting and upkeep?
More terms and fantastic information:
Good place to buy supplies:
Fantastic post Allison and many thanks for listing us as a resource at the bottom! All the best, Paul
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