Bindings
A binding is a mechanism. It has to hold several hundred leaves in order, let them turn, survive being pulled off a shelf by one board, and do all of it for decades. Style is what happens after those requirements are met.
Case binding
The text block is sewn and finished, the cover is made separately, and the two are joined at the end. Almost every hardback made since the middle of the nineteenth century works this way, for good reason: it is quick, it is repairable, and the case can be replaced without touching the sewing.
Its weakness is the joint. All the movement of opening concentrates in the endpaper hinge, so that is where failure starts. Cloth-reinforced hinges and a well-chosen endpaper paper buy years here.
Laced-board binding
Sewing supports — cords or tapes — pass through holes in the boards and are pasted down inside. The boards become part of the sewing structure rather than an addition to it. It is stronger, slower, and the right choice for a thick or heavy block.
Sewn boards binding
A modern structure in which the boards are sewn on with the sections. Very little adhesive, opens completely flat, and uses less material than anything else on this page. Our first suggestion for editions and for anything that will be photographed or scanned.
Long stitch
Sections sewn directly through a leather or heavy paper cover, with the stitching visible on the spine. Honest, quick and flat-opening; not suitable for a block that needs a rounded and backed spine.
Cloth over boards
Library buckram for anything that will be handled daily.
Quarter leather
Leather spine and corners, cloth or paper sides. Wear happens where the leather is.
Paper sides
Hand-marbled sides over boards, the cheapest honest binding we make.
Choosing between them
| Case | Laced boards | Sewn boards | Long stitch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opens flat | partly | partly | yes | yes |
| Heavy blocks | fair | best | no | no |
| Adhesive used | moderate | moderate | very little | none |
| Repairable later | easily | yes | yes | yes |
| Bench time | low | high | medium | low |
Rounding and backing
Rounding gives the spine its convex shape; backing forms the shoulders the boards sit against. Done well, they let a thick book open evenly and keep the block from sagging forward into a concave spine. Done in a hurry, they crush the folds — which is why the hammer stays in its drawer on days when the bench is busy.