XVIII

THE MAKING OF A BOOK

The publisher of a large technical weekly was asked on one occasion by a reader for some copies of an issue of several weeks previous, the supply of which happened to be exhausted. When told that the copy was out of print and could not be obtained, the reader inquired, "Why couldn't you have your stationer run off a few copies for me?" This remark was not intended to be humorous; it was an inquiry made in good faith, and although an extreme case, it serves to show that many readers have little or no idea of the methods used and the work involved in producing a finished publication, either book or periodical.

Printing "The art preservative of all arts" -may seem, to the hasty observer, like one of the simplest of arts. Any child with a simple knowledge of spelling, can arrange lettered blocks in readable words; again, with a toy press any child can stamp paper with inked type neatly and deftly. The arrangement of letters and making their impressions are rated by many as the great features of printing. These elementary processes are so simple that persons who would not attempt the work of

any craft aside from their own specialties, are confident of their ability to make, or direct the making of, a book, but in real practice this apparent simplicity disappears. The establishment that undertakes to manufacture books, must be provided with tons of type of various faces and sizes; it needs type-making and type-setting machines of great complexity and cost, large and expensive presses, and a great variety of machinery for electrotyping, folding the sheets, and binding the books. All this machinery but relieves the drudgery of manual labor, leaving still the necessity of a high degree of skill in craftsmanship, requiring for the attainment of the best results both practical experience and a theoretical knowledge of the many processes involved.

Although there are a great many factors to be taken into account in the making of a book, for general explanatory purposes, the work may be divided into two divisions: the preparatory work, or the preparation of the manuscript; and the work of manufacture, or the actual mechanical production. The first of these concerns the author and the publisher and has already been treated in detail. The second division deals with the composition, proof-reading, illustrating, paper stock, electrotyping, presswork, binding, etc. After the work is finished, a third and very important feature of the business comes into play, namely,

246

ENGINEERING LITERATURE

the marketing of the book, which invo cisms and reviews, systems of publicit sale and retail trading, and other ma within the scope of the present work

THE PHYSICAL SIDE OF BOOKS

To book readers, as well as to th work among books, it is worth while to familiar with their make-up; their paper, typography, etc. To learn abo things pays, because knowledge of the to the sum of one's interest and becaus of the knowledge one may acquire abo is of actual use in daily work, helping t of book values, to order bindings with ination, and to handle books with goo ment. Again, because in learning ab physical features of a book one not on useful information on several trades tl parts of the broader trade of bookmaki acquires also that habit of criticising or ciating which tends to the development o taste and to an interest in objects of a general culture.

The physical features of a book i paper, ink, and binding, which may be of paper, cloth, or leather. On the qual these depends the durability of the book

The fears that have often been expr are no doubt true, that the bulk of the ch

books published to-day will soon totally disappear as a result of bad paper and poor binding. In the past when books were considered worth printing, they were also considered worth preserving, and they wore out in service only. When they were doomed to a long undisturbed stay on the library shelf, they were often bored full of holes by worms, but after several centuries of existence, the paper remained tough and sound, the ink was black, and the stout leather or pig-skin bindings still performed their duty of firmly holding together the printed leaves. The paper in these books was hand-made of linen rags, carefully and honestly manufactured; the sheets were strongly stitched together with good flaxen thread; the binding was made of honest leather, slowly tanned, and as a result sound and long-lived; and the book thus made was a thing to be preserved and to be enjoyed, not for one lifetime only, but for generations. But an examination of the books that are produced in such quantities to-day, that have stood upon library shelves for a comparatively few years, or that have had much use, will show marked evidences of quick deterioration, principally on account of poor papers and bindings.

Papers. Book papers are made from linen, cotton, and hemp rags, and wood fibres; also among other materials, from the waste products of sugar cane, corn stalks, wild clover,

esparto, and several other plants which have a good fibre. In linen and cotton the fibres are longer than those of the other substances mentioned and as they consist of a very pure form of cellulose, which is exceedingly resistant to all changes, such rags yield papers of the highest quality and the greatest durability, and are, therefore, used mostly in manufacturing fine writing papers, ledgers, and book covers, where strength is necessary. At the present time the output of the book publishers is so great that linen and cotton rags are no longer available for the manufacture of ordinary paper, and we are forced to resort to wood pulp, the stock usually used for books being made from spruce or fir pulp.

The wood is reduced or disintegrated either by sulphurous acid or by caustic soda or by grinding, the last process being used for stock in very low grades of paper, such as newspapers and wrapping paper, but rarely for book paper. This chemically treated wood, as well as straw and esparto, have much shorter fibres than rags, and also contain compound celluloses which are subject to change, resulting in the slow disintegration of papers made therefrom. What is known as "mechanical" or "ground" wood, which is merely spruce wood ground very fine into pulp, has even shorter fibres, and contains, in addition to compound celluloses, other bodies which are sub