Sewn Board Bindings

SEWN BOARD BINDINGS
Bookbinding
In the coming spring, the bookbinding department plans to take
a trip to England to visit notable libraries, conservation labs,
binderies, and equipment suppliers. As this educational trip is
outside the normal curriculum and we are responsible for our
own travel costs, we have begun fundraising by doing what we
do best: making books. This is also an excellent opportunity for
us to get some experience in a more production style of working
– rather than the single-item focus that our projects usually take.
This year, we created a small “edition” of sewn board bindings

to sell at the school’s annual open house and the Boston
International Antiquarian Book Fair . This particular structure,
designed by Gary Frost, takes advantage of the sewing and
board attachment features of the earliest form of the codex but
has a final form that is more in-line with a modern case binding.
Like the Ethiopian and Coptic bindings that I shared some time
ago, the sewn board binding exhibits unsupported sewing, a
squareless cover ( i.e. cut flush to the text), and boards sewn
directly to the sections. In the Ethiopian binding, the sewing
passes through a lacing path drilled through the board, while in
the sewn board structure, the covers are composed of folios of
thin card that are “sewn to the text as if they were outermost
sections of the book” (Booklab Booknote 8, p. 2). Frost
(2004) describes the “particular attribute of the through the fold
sewing pattern across the entire bound book” as a “secure cover
to text attachment”, providing “exemplary docile, flat opening”.
This helpful feature provides a “full gutter reveal” so that books
with text are more easily scanned or copied, while blank books
are more easily inscribed. The textblock of the sewn board
structure has little or no shoulder, requiring “no damaging or
distorting backing of the outermost gatherings” (Frost, 2004). In
addition, the squareless cover prevents the textblock from
sagging when shelved upright.
A description of the benefits of the sewn board structure is all
well and good – but a description of the production may be
more useful to the reader. We began the project by outlining the
materials required and individual steps of the project. Each
person would make 12 books, and each book required 4
sections of text paper, 2 folios of endsheet paper, and 2 folios of
20 pt board for the covers, as well as filler board, book cloth,
and decorative paper covering. Jobs were distributed among the
first years: a person was assigned to each board sheer, cutting
specific dimensions of paper and board, while another group of
students gathered around a large table, dividing up the stacks of
paper and folding sections.
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Next the folded sections were distributed into even piles, placed
between boards, and pressed overnight.
The next day, endsheet folios were tipped on to the outer
sections with PVA (polyvinyl acetate) and the sections and
boards of each volume were pre-pierced for sewing using a
guide. The sewing pattern of 6 sewing stations is the same used
for link stitching across linen tapes. The two outermost stations
are used for the conventional kettle stitch, while the other pairs
of stations provide another link. When the thread exits the
section at one station pair, it is linked through the sewing of the
lower section, creating a support. The picture below (found at
random through the interwebs because I failed to take a decent
picture of my own) illustrates the pattern.
At this stage, the cover folio was also filled by tipping in a 4ply
museum board at the fold with PVA. This will make a much
thicker (and more pleasing looking) board later in the process.
When sewn, my own stack of books looked like this:
The next stage of the process involved lining the spines. Each
book was pasted up with Aytex-P wheat starch paste and lined
with a piece of Kizukishi Japanese tissue that extended on to
each board about 1/8″. Etherington and Roberts (1982) indicate
that the purpose of the spine lining is “to support it and to
impart a certain degree of rigidity while still maintaining the
necessary flexibility for proper opening” and that the “weight
and stiffness of the spine lining material is of considerable
importance.” In this case, we wanted to maintain the significant
flexibility of the structure, so no subsequent paper or textile
linings were applied. After lining, the spines look like this:
Up to this point, all of the book structures in the first year
curriculum have been methodically trimmed, section by section,
before sewing using the board shear. This process takes a
considerable amount of time, so for our production project (and
in accordance with Frost’s instructions found in the Iowa Book
Works Kit) we trimmed the edges after sewing in a guillotine
(or “hand lever cutter” – kind of like these). This gives the
edges a very even, almost machined look. (When all stacked up,
I kind of think they look like a layer cake.)
In the next step, little corners of book cloth were adhered with
PVA to cover the areas of exposed board at the spine edges of
the head and tail.
These add a little refinement to the finished product (as you will
see shortly). In this stage, a filler card of 10 pt board was
attached to the outside of the cover folios in order to even out
the added thickness of the spine covering (that will be added in
a later step).
The layers of the covers were then adhered together with 3M
#414 Polyester Double sided tape. This allows the layers of
board to be laminated together quickly, without the risk of
warping from moisture in the adhesive or the requisite long
pressing time.
With the boards now solid, book cloth spine strips were adhered
with PVA. The spine covering is not adhered completely to the
spine, but on the boards about a 1/4″ from the spine edge. This
allows for a firm attachment of the material, but without
restricting the opening of the book.
Finally, the books were covered with decorative paper. In many
cases, we used paste papers that we had made in class a few
weeks before.
Instead of gluing out the entire sheet of paper, the final board
covering is “drummed” on. In other words, the edges of the
sheet are brushed out with adhesive and the sheet is applied
tightly across the board. Much like the method of board
lamination, the drummed on paper allows the boards to be
quickly covered while remaining flat. The endsheets are
similarly treated; adhesive is applied to only the edges of the
pastedown. The result is a thin book with thick boards and a flat
spine. Here is an example I made with Italian marbled paper
(by Atelier Flavio Aquilina) .
As you can see, the spine tabs and flush-cut boards give the
book a very finished appearance while not sacrificing the
flexibility of the opening.
Here is a view of the inside “paste-down” and flyleaf.
We had a lot of fun with this project. The sewn board structure
is quite versatile and can be embellished with edge decoration
and leather spines or simplified according to one’s taste. These
books are also easily stamped – the spine can be stamped before
being adhered to the board or the covers stamped after
finishing. I also really enjoy the way that these books open. I
think that I will use this structure for all of my future notebooks.
As a conservation student, I will also be on the lookout for
instances in which this particular structure might be used as a
viable treatment option. I cannot sum up the advantages of the
sewn board binding better than Gary Frost (2004) when he
concludes, “This book conservation structure is based on
historical prototypes, the historical techniques are adapted to
contemporary production methods and the specific sewn board
practice is directed to the best applications.”
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SEWN BOARD BINDINGS

This year, we created a small “edition” of sewn board bindings

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