olors and are used in
various patterns, which are embossed on the surface during the process
of manufacture.

The ordinary patterns which are in the greatest use to-day are
designated in the trade by letters. Perhaps the most familiar is the
"T" pattern, straight parallel ridges or striations, about forty to
the inch, and running across the cloth from selvage to selvage. When
properly used, these ribs run from top to bottom of a book cover. For
this reason it is not economical to use the "T" pattern if the height
of the cover is not a multiple of the width of the cloth, as it
results in a waste of cloth. This explains why the cost of the book
bound in "T" pattern is frequently somewhat higher than the same book
bound in another pattern of the same cloth.

A similar design is the "S" or silk pattern, made up of finer lines
running diagonally across the cloth, giving the surface a sheen
somewhat resembling silk. Also in common use are a group of patterns
composed of small irregular dots or points, the finest of which is
known as the "C" pattern, a coarser pattern of similar design, the
"J," and, coarser still, the "L," which has somewhat the appearance of
the coarse grain of a morocco leather. The pattern known as "H" is a
simple diamond made by intersecting diagonal lines similar to the ribs
of the "T" pattern. Other patterns in less common use are those
resembling morocco leather, pigskin, and patterns in fancy designs.

Following the increased use of the common cloths, attention was given
to the artistic effects which might be obtained by using colored inks
and gold on lettering and design, and also to the effect obtained by
pressure of hot binders' dies or stamps upon covers made with embossed
cloths, which latter process is known in binding as "blanking" or
"blind" stamping.

With these advances in the art of cover decoration came the demand for
the more delicate tints and richer shades of the colors, and as a
result finer colors than could be produced in the common cloths were
introduced to meet this demand; these fabrics were called the "extra"
cloths. They have a solid, smooth surface, more "body," and are in
every way firmer and better fabrics, and more costly, too, some of the
shades costing from twenty to forty per cent more than the common
cloths.

Extra cloths are used largely on the better class of bindings, such as
the popular fiction, holiday books, scientific books, and books of
reference, and when