(ix) End-papers (white, plain coloured or marbled).

(x) Whether, in the case of a large book, it is to have cloth
joints (inside the covers).

(xi) Design in gold or blind tooling on sides and back.

(xii) Lettering on back. This should be given in capital letters
precisely as it is desired to appear. If any lettering is
required in a panel other than the title-panel (second from top),
it should be stated which one; the number of the volume or the
author's name is put sometimes in the third panel from the top
and sometimes in the fourth.

(xiii) Leaves to be mended, cleaned, or pressed; and any
directions regarding illustrations, maps, etc.

A goodly list? Yes, but a necessary one unless one is content to leave
these things to the binder's discretion. He _may_ be one of the two who
are said to possess 'a sense of design and harmony of colour'; but unless
the collector has enclosed instructions as to all these points, if on its
return the appearance of the book displease him he has only himself to
blame.

The care which the book-lover bestows upon his volumes should not end,
however, when they return from the binder. Unless attended to from time
to time a leather binding--however good the leather--will perish,
probably, within a lifetime. Vellum, apparently, is everlasting, provided
it be kept away from the light and not exposed to great changes of
weather or temperature. But pigskin, goatskin, and of course calf, in
time lose by evaporation certain fats which are inherent in the leather.
Some collectors use furniture-polish or brown boot-polish to brighten up
dingy old bindings, and this certainly has a pleasing (and often
surprising) effect. But it is a bad practice, for the polish hardens the
leather, which soon cracks worse than before. 'It would add immensely to
the life of old leather bindings,' writes Mr. Cockerell, 'if librarians
would have them treated, say once a year, with some preservative.' And he
goes on to recommend that the bindings be rubbed over with a solution of
paraffin wax dissolved in castor oil. Our book-hunter has used a
preparation of glycerine for some years with success, but the paraffin
wax promises to evaporate less rapidly. Old calf bindings should be
treated at least once every year.

What shall we do with our volumes in 'original boards, uncut' when their
paper backs become tattered, their labels illegible? Is there no