o paper, and of parchment. I take no account here of obsolete
styles--as ivory, wood, brass, silver and other metals, nor of velvet,
satin, and other occasional luxuries of the binder's art. These belong to
the domain of the amateur, the antiquary, or the book-fancier--not to
that of the librarian or the ordinary book-collector.

Roan leather is nothing but sheep-skin, stained or colored; basil or
basan is sheepskin tanned in bark, while roan is tanned in sumac, and
most of the so called moroccos are also sheep, ingeniously grained by a
mechanical process. As all the manufactures in the world are full of
"shoddy," or sham materials, the bookbinder's art affords no exception.
But if the librarian or collector patronises shams, he should at least do
it with his eyes open, and with due counting of the cost.

Now as to the relative merits and demerits of materials for binding. No
one will choose boards covered with paper for any book which is to be
subjected to perusal, and cloth is too flimsy and shaky in its attachment
to the book, however cheap, for any library volumes which are to be
constantly in use. It is true that since the bulk of the new books coming
into any library are bound in cloth, they may be safely left in it until
well worn; and by this rule, all the books which nobody ever reads may be
expected to last many years, if not for generations. Cloth is a very
durable material, and will outlast some of the leathers, but any wetting
destroys its beauty, and all colors but the darkest soon become soiled
and repulsive, if in constant use. In most libraries, I hold that every
cloth-bound book which is read, must sooner or later come to have a
stout leather jacket. It may go for years, especially if the book is well
sewed, but to rebinding it must come at last; and the larger the volume,
the sooner it becomes shaky, or broken at some weak spot.

The many beautiful new forms of cloth binding should have a word of
praise, but the many more which we see of gaudy, fantastic, and
meretricious bindings, and frightful combinations of colors must be
viewed with a shudder.

Vellum, formerly much used for book-bindings, is the modern name for
parchment. Parchment was the only known writing material up to the 12th
century, when paper was first invented. There are two kinds--animal and
vegetable. The vegetable is made from cotton fibre or paper, by dipping
it in a solution of sulphuric acid and [sometimes] gelatine, then
remo