pancies of opinion. The so
universally prevalent cloth binding is too flimsy for books subjected to
much use--as most volumes in public collections and many in private
libraries are likely to be. The choice of the more substantial bindings
lies between calf and morocco, and between half or full bindings of
either. For nearly all books, half binding, if well executed, and with
cloth sides, is quite as elegant, and very nearly as solid and lasting as
full leather; for if a book is so worn as to need rebinding, it is
generally in a part where the full binding wears out quite as fast as the
other. That is, it gets worn at the hinges and on the back, whether full
or half-bound. The exceptions are the heavy dictionaries, encyclopaedias,
and other works of reference, which are subjected to much wear and tear
at the sides, as well as at the back and corners. Full leather is much
more expensive than half binding, though not doubly so.

Every librarian or book collector should understand something of
book-binding and its terms, so that he may be able to give clear
directions as to every item involved in binding, repairing, or
re-lettering, and to detect imperfect or slighted work.

The qualities that we always expect to find in a well-bound book are
solidity, flexibility, and elegance. Special examination should be
directed toward each of these points in revising any lot of books
returned from a binder. Look at each book with regard to:--

1. Flexibility in opening.

2. Evenness of the cover, which should lie flat and
smooth--each edge being just parallel with the others
throughout.

3. Compactness--see that the volumes are thoroughly
pressed--solid, and not loose or spongy.

4. Correct and even lettering of titles, and other tooling.

5. Good wide margins.

A well-bound book always opens out flat, and stays open. It also shuts up
completely, and when closed stays shut. But how many books do we see
always bulging open at the sides, or stiffly resisting being opened by
too great tightness in the back? If the books you have had bound do not
meet all these requirements, it is time to look for another binder.

The different styles of dressing books may all be summed up in the
following materials: Boards, cloth, vellum, sheep, bock, pig-skin, calf,
Russia, and morocco--to which may be added of recent years, buckram,
duck, linoleum, and the imitations of leather, such as leatherette and
morocc