dozen or more signatures,
places each of these between smooth wooden boards, and puts the whole
into an upright iron press, in which it is subjected to a great
pressure, and where it ought to remain over night in order to make it
entirely flat and solid. A better way of pressing a book at this stage
of the operation is to pass it several times through a rolling
machine, which is made for this special purpose with two heavy iron
rollers, say twenty inches long and ten inches in diameter. These
machines are seldom used in America, but are invariably found in the
equipment of binders' workshops abroad, which is perhaps one reason
why English books are so solidly bound.

Following the pressing, or the rolling, the book is placed, back
uppermost, in another press, something like a wooden vise. By means of
a handsaw, several cuts, just deep enough to cut entirely through the
fold of each signature, are made across the back of the book. Seven of
these saw marks are usually made, the five in the middle being for the
cords on which the book is sewed, and the two at the ends for threads
which help to make the sewing more secure. If the book is to have a
binding with raised bands across the back, no actual cuts are made,
the back being simply scratched to guide the girl in sewing, so that
the heavy twine on which she sews will stand out on the back, forcing
the leather up in the five middle places and forming the raised bands.

After it has been sawed, or scratched, the book goes to a girl who
collates it--that is, examines it thoroughly, signature by signature,
and makes sure that everything is in its right place. If the volume is
old or especially valuable, it is gone over page by page. The first
and last signatures are then whip-stitched, or sewed over and over
along the back edges, and then put in their places.

The book is then sewn on a "sewing frame." This is a small wooden
table about twelve by eighteen inches, with legs only one inch high.
At two corners there are upright wooden screws, some fifteen inches
long with movable collars which support a crosspiece. To this
crosspiece are fastened three stout cords, their other ends being
attached to the table. The position of these cords are regulated to
fit the saw marks on the back of the book, then they are tightened by
means of the screw collars. The sections of the book are then placed
against these cords, one by one, and the threads passed through the
saw cuts and outs