he rounding being accomplished by
striking one side of the back as the book lay flat, and then the
other, forming it at the same time by the hand, to give the back the
convex, and the front the concave, form. Some persons are found now
who think the hollow or concave front of the book is made by trimming
it in that way.

The backing process gives the groove on which the cover is hinged. In
olden times this was done by clamping the book in a press between
backing irons, with the back projecting enough to give the proper
groove, and gradually drawing it over from the centre with the hammer.
In small job shops this is the practice to-day, but in large
establishments it has given place to modern machines. The first
innovation was what is called the roller backer. This makes the
groove, the book being first rounded as described. Then came the
rounder and backer, which is run by power, and both rounds and backs
the book at one operation.

To show the advance made, it may be stated that 500 books was a good
day's work with press and hammer. With the advent of the roller backer
1000 was a fair day's work, but when the power machine was invented,
the production jumped up to 4000 and over, a day.

After the book is rounded and grooved, the back is glued and a piece
of coarse woven cloth, wide enough to lap over each side an inch or
more, is put on, and over this another coat of glue and a piece of
paper the width of the back are applied.

The book is then ready for the cover, which is put on by pasting the
first and last leaf, drawing the cover on, and putting it in press
between boards whose edges are bound with a brass band, the rim
projecting above the surface of the board. This rim presses the cloth
between the covers and the back of the book, making a hinge upon which
the cover opens. Two men can paste and press 1500 to 2000 books a day.
A new machine has been put on the market within a year, that, with the
same help, will do the work at the rate of 4000 a day. This process is
termed "casing in."

The making of the book cover is a distinct branch in binding edition
work. The pasteboard formerly was cut by hand shears, one piece at a
time. It is now done by rotary shears, cutting from six to ten pieces
as fast as the sheets of board can be fed to the machine.

The cloth for the cover is cut to the proper size, glued by hand, the
boards laid on by gauge, and the edges turned in with a folder. A man
expert at the work c