Fore edge. The front edge of the leaves.

Forwarding. Comprises all the operations between preparing and finishing, including the forming and trimming of the books, and the covering of the boards.

Gaufre Edges. Impressions made with the finisher's tools on the edges of the book after gilding.

Gouge. A finishing tool forming the segment of a circle.

Guards. Strips of paper inserted in the backs of books, upon which inserts are mounted, intended to prevent the books being uneven in thickness when filled.

Inlaying. (1) Extending “extra” illustrations by inserting them in leaves to correspond to the size of a book. (2) A style of Mosaic work made by the insertion of vari-colored leathers or other material on the cover or doublé.

Kettle-Stitch. A catch-stitch formed in sewing at the head and foot.

Lacing-In. Lacing the bands on which the book is sewn through holes in the boards to attach them.

Limp. A cover without boards or other stiff materials, allowing the sides to be pliable.

Marbling. A method of coloring the edges or end papers in various patterns, obtained by floating colors on a gum solution.

Mitred. Tooled lines meeting at a right angle without overrunning.

Morocco. A fine kind of grained leather prepared from goatskin. Levant Morocco. The skin of the monarch breed of goat; a large grained Morocco.

Overcasting. Oversewing the back edges of single leaves of weak sections; also called whipstitching or whipping.

Pointillé. The dotted style of Le Gascon.

Preparing. Comprising all the preliminary operations up to “forwarding,” including folding, gathering, collating, and sewing.

Register. When the printing on one side of a leaf falls exactly over that on the other it is said to “register.”

Rolls. Cylindrical ornamental tools used in finishing.

Sawing-in. When grooves are made in the back with a saw to receive the bands.

Semis. A diaper design made up of the repetition of one or more small tools.

Signature. Each folded sheet or section of a book.

Squares. The portion of the covers projecting beyond the edges of the book.

Tall Copy. So called when the book has not been reduced in size by trimming, with the leaves entirely uncut.

Tooling. Impressing the design or pattern in gold leaf, with finishing tools, by hand. Blind Tooling. The impression of finishing tools without gold leaf.

Specimen decorative backs for half or full leather bindings.
Edition work or single volumes.

Interpretation of Styles

ALDINE OR ITALIAN

Ornaments of solid face without any shading whatever, such as used by Aldus and other early Italian printers. The ornaments are of Arabic character. A style appropriate for early printed literature.

GROLIER

An interlaced