ever fine coloring or a better appearance is
desired. These cloths are chiefly used in the plain fabric, which is
known as "vellum," and in the "T," "S," and "H" patterns. The trained
eye easily recognizes extra cloth from the common cloths, by the
appearance of the surface; but any one may readily distinguish them by
the appearance of the back, which in the extra cloths is not colored,
but in the commons is the same color as the face.

Of the second division of cloths, in which the appearance of the
threads becomes a part of the effect, there are first the "linen"
cloths. The name "linen" applied to this group is really a misnomer,
for many laymen are led to think that such cloths have flax as a
foundation and are therefore genuine linens. This is not so, for there
is but one genuine linen book cloth to be had, and that is a coarse,
irregularly woven cloth, dyed in dull colors, and manufactured by a
foreign house. It is quite expensive, costing sixty cents a square
yard, which is one of the reasons why it is seldom used.

The chief characteristics of the linen cloths are that the coloring
used fills the interstices, but allows all the threads to be clearly
seen. The irregularities of the weaving, therefore, stand out plainly,
and produce to a certain extent the appearance of woven linen fabrics.

Linen book cloths are made in two grades, and are sold by the yard
under special names given to them by the manufacturers. The cheaper
grade is sold under the name of "vellum de luxe," "X" grade, or
"Oxford." A better grade of linen book cloth sells (in 1906) at about
sixteen cents per yard under the names "art vellum," "B" grade, and
"linen finish." It is a very durable fabric and extensively used.

The linen cloths are made principally in the plain surface, and in the
"T" pattern, but almost never in any other patterns, the reason for
this being the fact that the character of the cloth is very little
changed by the embossing, which is used with greater effect on the
solid colors. These linen cloths are especially adapted for school and
other books which are constantly handled, as their construction shows
the wear less than do the solid colors.

The buckrams might have been properly classed with the linens, as that
is what, in fact, they are. Linen cloth observed through a microscope
which magnifies the threads to a coarseness of about forty to the inch
gives us the exact appearance of the buckram, which is a heavy, stron