J )® Comr}//me/2rs' o^ ^ AeiKodisi DookCoacem i(S)0 0(S]0 0(sJO 0©| San rriAHOSCO ^i^ '^ M # ill :h P A . ., i NEW YORK- USINESS OUSES OF The ETHODIST OOK ONCERN 111! tm m^'' ■ 'r0 E C C t -^,- ■^ f r: c ! " ■' ' ~ >- 'f~ ! *»• t^ ■ Boston Cincinnati Detroit rn'4 THE MAKING OF A BOOK THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN NEW YORK CINCINNATI Chicago Boston Pittsburgh Kansas City- Detroit San Francisco The Making Of A Book THE METHODIST BOOK CONCERN is the oldest publishing house in the United States. It has manufacturing plants in New York, Cin- cinnati, and Chicago — plants that have machinery and equipment the first cost of which amounts to $90^2,741.6^2. The making of books is only one branch of the business of this great publishing house. The manufacture and sale of Sunday school literature is much larger than that of books. The making of books, however, should be of interest to all readers of books. The following is a brief description of how this is done. In The Methodist Book Concern all manu- scripts considered for publication are first sub- mitted to the Book Editor for review, and he recommends certain of these for pub- The lication to the Publishing Agents, who. Manuscript in consultation with the Book Editor, pass on the manuscripts that have been favorably reported. Then an order is given to the Manufacturing De- partment to make electrotype plates of the manu- script, and instructions as to the size type to be used, the size of printed page, the size of the trimmed book, and such other details necessary for the information of the printer and binder. 313960 itnoi^rt cm ties HmM I- ' '•' I THE MAKING OF A BOOK After the ordor has been entered in the office of the Manufacturing Department, another order is issued to the various departments having to do with the making of the hook, giving Setting exphcit instructions as to every detail ^^^ '^^^^ the department nuist know. The foreman of the Composing Room receives the manuscript, exam- ines it carefully as to its being complete, and numbers all the pages seriatim. It is then given to the operator, either Linotype or Monotype, and the entire manuscript is put in type. The product of the machines is placed on galleys, and galley- proofs taken of the matter. The galley-proofs, with manuscript, or copy, are sent to the proof- reader, where the proof is read — a copyholder reading aloud from the manuscript to the reader. The galley -proofs then are passed to another reader, who reads the i)roofs silently. The proofs now go back to the operator to make the correc- tions. If the errors are numerous, a "revise" is taken of the galleys, and this "revise," with the first proof, is sent to the proofreader so that he may see that all errors marked in the first proof have been corrected. The matter on the galleys is then made up into pages of equal length, and page-proofs sent to the proofreader. AYhen tlu^ page-proofs have been corrected, a set of these is taken for the author or book editor, who is given an opportunity to read the manuscript in printed- page form. AVhen these proofs are returned, the THE MAKING OF A HOOK corrections and changes marked by the author are made, and a final "revise" sent to the proof- reader. Before sending the pages — locked up in forms, with guard-hnes around every page — into the Electrotype Foundry, a reserve-proof set of the forms is taken, showing just how these forms left the composing room for the electrotype foundry. Cases are prepared in the electrotype foundry by pouring melted ozokerite wax on slabs, or plates, of copper. This wax is shaved to an even thickness, and covered with graphite. Electrotype An impression of the book form is now Plate made by the molder in the wax case. A hydraulic press is used for this purpose. After the impres- sion is made, the raised wax is cut down by the molder, and the mold flashed with a gas flame. The "case" is now passed to the builder, who "builds up" with wax all the places in the mold that are to be "low" in the plate, and it is then put into the black-leader, where it is polished with graphite. It is now "stopped off," or all places where there is to be no deposit of copper are painted with melted wax, as copper will only deposit where there is graphite, which is a con- ductor of electricity. The case is now washed with water to get all air out of tlie inij)ression made. AYhile the water is still on the case, a weak solution of sulphate of copper is j)oured on it, and iron filings sifted into the solution, which ^OOa A 10 07[I>I/M :iHT iBffi no noiiiifoe sdi m isqqoa sdi asiBiiqiD^iq | IxiB ,3iidqB'p^ dim bsdeiloq s^bo ^di lo tiBq 1 9fcBD ^dT JIb 1970 i9qqo9 io ffllit niffi b abB^iqa | !o fio£iuIo8 a m gboiiaqqoa moil griwH nsdi 81 | oeIb^ ,8sbooB i9({qo9 slfgoqqo :,idqqoD:^ -io: siBdqlua I tbiom io ,98B5 9rfT .gJboi i9qqo3 moil bsbnaqgog 8f offlBnYb-ioiBigfig^ A .sboiIiBD sffi asmoDsd -ijilq sffi lo! bsiiwp^i inQiiua sdS simsa^^ of bsau sdJ oioi 8S0S ifisiiOD: ilov SIf A : .saaooiq §nl | oJ 9'rifli B oifii bs^xnolgfiBil gi aidi briB /loiBians^ lo iif^TiJi'j B boB eOfflBfr/b sdi ni insiioo ilov zig -qoo 'gfdiiaoq^b lo 'gnilBfq lol bsaij fei 9'gsilov 8id,t gSeiEBq ifPilllJD ohlosf^ ^dT .8Sfe.B0 9dl fio i^q sdi ol noliijfog adi boB s'^bofiB sdl d^^imidi 89bofiB sdi moil idqqoD giieocpb boB .g^bodiBD -91 dDidw^ \d3BBD sdS tio Hoiiufog 9di !o iuo ban | fiB ;lo:GOO.;ioodB lo ffoda s liimi Ijiv'gdi ni firBra | -51,- ai: fbde gfdT .bsmio! ai aa^fiioidJ ni doin^ oi ifm bnB /eJBW tod dfm j.mr ^idi moi! bsvorn 9xli lo 9bia i9bnu 9di 9i9dw ,mo(n -^iii^Bd 9dl | ;bi9m;::diiw-;qfj;:b9i9Bd:,m ai If^ffs | adiitttlkSj^.>[oid J . ■ d9nr:: hbBIo . 8didgi9-99idl Jtiodji * Jea9SBq;oJm liJD^:8i:iaB9^9drmooi gnidainii ^jfifq 9di asvig d9idw ;**e'Bd:!^iJ0i"::9ffl dguoidi Uh\ lo 9bi8 i9bnij;::9fIT^/^.889nioidS'mioliflii d^f^uoi b p 9Db! ,;Ml i9V9i9dw;'b9i9ffim6d -rrsflJ-- >i 9iB[q 9dl | oi :td^noid 9JBlq gdi !o 99b! 9dj boB ,woI od tbiii i ifgiioirfj aoaaBCf won 9tBfq 9fIT .99Blitr8 n9Y9 ob | &;\iund] n')d\ \mn /nnh f)no998 b ''i9dii>iioi** odt | \yyindc ai 9Jb[(i 'xfi 'ii'idv/ /.mnhiuu BfOYBck ^rfi I THE MAKING OF A BOOK precipitates the copper in the sohition on that part of the case poHshed with graphite, and spreads a thin fihn of coi)per over all. The case is then hung from copper rods in a solution of sulphate of copper, opposite copper anodes, also suspended from copper rods. The case, or mold, becomes the cathode. A generator-dynamo is used to generate the current required for the plat- ing i)rocess. A 115 volt current goes into the generator, and this is transformed into a three to six volt ciu-rent in the dynamo, and a current of this voltage is used for plating or depositing cop- per on the cases. The electric current passes through the anodes and the solution to the cathodes, and deposits copper from the anodes and out of the solution on the cases, which re- main in the vat until a shell of about .005 of an inch in thickness is formed. This shell is re- moved from the wax with hot water, and sent to the backing room, where the under side of the shell is tinned, and then backed up with metal about three-eighths of an inch thick. In the finishing room the cast is cut into pages, and then put through the "rougher," which gives the plate a rough uniform thickness. The under side of the plate is then hammered wherever the face may be low, and the face of the plate brought to an even surface. The plate now passes through the "rougher" a second time, and then through the sliaving machine, where the ])late is sluived 9 1 1 :>.■ f\> rW^TT^l ' - i THE MAKING OF A BOOK to the thickness required for ])rinting — less tlian one-sixth of an inch thick. The guard Hues are now removed, and the plate beveled so that it can be clamped to a patent block. When the plates for a book are ready for the press, the make-up man provides a form of patent l)locks on which the plates are to be clamped when on the ])ress. This form will contain , . • P The Form sixteen, thirty-two, or sixty -tour patent })locks, governed by the size of the sheet of paper or the size of the book to be printed. After one form has been printed, the plates are removed from the blocks, on the press, and others put in their places, and so on until the presswork of the entire book is completed. The make-ready on the press requires some time. The first impression made, at times, is hardly readable. One would think that, with tlie care exercised in the electrotype foun- «, . « . dry, hardly any make-ready would be necessary; but such is not the case. The pressman takes an impression of the form, and such por- tions of the plates as are low in this impression are then underlaid. Another impression is now taken of the form, and an overlay prepared. The pressman holds the reverse side of the sheet to a strong light, and marks a number of circles to indicate to his assistant the thicknesses of tissue })aper required to bring the impression up evenly. The assistant pastes on these tissues, and I lie 11 THE MAKING OF A BOOK overlay is then liung on the cyhnder of tlie press exactly over the pages of the form. With this in ])osition, another inij)ression of the form is made and submitted to the foreman for approval. If the make-ready is all right, the i)ress is ready to run. If not, a spot-sheet is i)repare(l to bring uj) any defects that are apparent in the proof. A sheet of paper is printed on one side first, then turned and printed on the other side. The press- man folds this sheet, printed on both sides, to make sure that the plates are laid right and that the register is perfect. ]Most books are printed on paper that will "work and turn," or, in other words, one side is printed on a given number of sheets of paper and then the other side printed from . Paper the same form. The pages are so laid that if page one should be to the extreme left of the form, page two, which backs page one in the printed book, will be on the extreme right of the form. All forms are imposed for certain folding machines, some of these folding the sheet at right angles and others in parallel folds. The printing press is a wonderful ])iece of machinery. It must be rigid to make an even impression. The form and the cylinder nuist measure exactly the same. Should tlu^ The Printing cylinder be smaller or larger, this will Press show after a few impressions by the wear on the form. The ink flow can be conlrolliMl l)y llumib- 13 THE MAKING OF A BOOK screws set against a ''knife," or blade of steel, and also by a ratchet controlling the distance the fonntain roller is to tnrn. For cnts a special over- lay is i)repared. A mechanical overlay is now used instead of the hand-cut overlay of years ago. The blacks or lights of a cut are controlled by the impression. The greater the pressure at a given l)oint, the darker or blacker that point will appear, although the light and dark places are covered with exactly the same amount of ink. The paper used in the printing of a book will have its effect in the result of the presswork. While type will print on a rough-surfaced paper, satisfactory results in the printing of cuts cannot be obtained on such a paper. All half-tone cuts should be printed on a paper having a smooth surface. The sheets printed on the flat-bed press, if turned on the press, are also cut on the press. There is a slitter on the press that cuts the sheet in -two as the second side is printed. The printed sheets, when the ink is dry, are sent to the Bindery, where they are folded. Having received the flat sheets, printed on both sides, from the Press Room, the first operation in the binding of a book is the folding of the sheets into signatures, or sections. If the Folding boo-k is printed on heavy i)a])er, the book has been so made up as to fold in sixteen-page sections; if printed on a lightweight or India paper, the printing has been so arranged that the 15 THE MAKING OF A BOOK sheets will fold in thirty-two-page signatures. Practically all the folding is now done by the aid of folding machines. These are built to fold sheets as small as two and one-half inches wide and three and three-quarters inches high up to a sheet the size of a large Bible with a width of twelve or fourteen inches and a height of sixteen to twenty inches. Some machines are called double sixteens, and w^ill fold the sheet and de- liver it in two receptacles, sixteen-page sections in each. A larger machine is called a quadruple folder, and will deliver four sixteen-page or two thirty-two-page signatures, or sections, in each revolution. If the book is illustrated, the illustrations, as a rule, are })rinted separately on coated paper, and are pasted in the section as indicated by the list of illustrations. All these sections are taken from the folding machines to the pasting department, wdiere the operators ''fan out" the single illustrations so that they are separated about one-eighth of an inch. This width has a thin coating of paste applied and is then placed on the sheet, where it will adhere very firmly in a few hours. All books have a four-page end of waste paper attached to the first and last section of the book; these are attached in nuich the same manner as are the illustrations. The different sections, perfect in themselves, are now ready to be assembled into n ix'rfecled 17 THE MAKING OF A BOOK book. This operation is called oailuMiii<> and col- latin"'. The averace book runs from ,111 n ^ Gathering three hundred and twenty to nve hun- dred pages. A i)orter brings the different sections, in the shape of bundles of five hundred signatures each, to the gathering table, untying and placing them on a table, and arranging them in what is known as a lay-out. Thus the first pile consists of section pages one to sixteen; the second, seven- teen to thirty-two; the third, thirty-three to forty-eight, and so on to the last pile. The gath- erer starts at the first section and lifts one sig- nature from that pile, and so on to the last pile, reversing the operation, starting with the last signature back to signature one, and so on, back- ward and forward, until the entire layout has been gathered. The next operation is that of sewing. This is performed by a very ingenious machine known as a Smythe sewer, consisting of four revolving arms on a shaft which swing around at a Sewing rate oi from lorty to seventy move- ments per minute. The operator merely finds the center of the section of the book and hangs it to the revolving arms, which then engage with other mechanism in the head of the machine and make a perfect lockstitch with from one to five ciu'ved needles, as may be required by the size for the sewing of the book. The sewed books are taken to a book-li-iinmei', 19 THE MAKING OF A HOOK or cutting inachiiKs wliore they aiv clampod in I lie machine in i)iles about six inches liigh, and I lie heads, sides, and foot of the books are . trinnned by descending knives with a shear motion. The ])ooks are now ])erfectly flat and square on the back, front, head, and fool. If the books are to have their edges gikk^d, they are taken from the cutting table to tlie gilding room. Here they are tightly clamped in rows in a press resting on a wood table, with Gilding a box underneath. When the books have been tightly comi^ressed between the ends, or cheeks, of the press, the operator sandpapers the edges very smoothly and supplements this by scraping the edges with a disk of steel with sharj) edges. A coating of diluted albumen is apjilied, and while still damp sheets of gold-leaf are laid on until the edges of the books on the top of ])ress are covered. He then takes a wooden handle with a flat agate burnisher fastened in the end, and rubs it very forcibly over the edges with a i)iece of linen paper under the burnisher. The gold-leaf now adheres to the edges, but is very dull. To brighten the gold, he takes another burnisher and rubs over the gold-leaf on the surface of the books, but without using the linen i)aper. The books are now ready to be taken out of the i)ress with one end gilded. If the book is to have full- gilt edges, the above described oi)eration has to be re])eated thrcH' tinu\s. ^21 THE :maktxg of a book The ])ooks are now all lurned one way, witli their baeks toward the workman, who applies a coat of hot flexihk^ <'lue to the hack. Alter the glue has set, the books are read}^ for Rounding the rounding and backing machine. A ^"** Backing ])air of rollers works in front of a flat feed-table, tlie lower one merely revolving on its axis, while the up])er I'oller rises and falls uniformly at a rate of about eleven times a minute. The book is j)laced in the machine, and as the rollers revolve, they force the book to become convex in the back and concave in the front. When the book has passed through the rollers, and before it is re- leased, a pair of beveled jaws clamp the book about one-eighth of an inch from the back, a heavy concave steel rolls back and forth over the back of the book and forces the hrst and last sec- tions over beveled clamps, forming a joint from the flat of the book, against which the covers rest. To strengthen the book, the back is glued with flexible glue and a piece of suj)ers, or cheese cloth, extending about three-quarters of an inch over the side, is attached, and a head and Head Banding tail piece, known as a headband, at ®"^ Lining the top and foot. The headband is made of calico, silesia, silk, or any other kind of woven fabric. I'he back of the book then receives another coating of flexible glue over the cheese cloth, and a piece of strong manila ])aper the width of I lie back of the book from joint to joint. l)nl a little ^3 WackinV TIIK MAKIXC; OF A HOOK shorter than tho len^tli of I lie hook, is fasloiiod over tlie eheese ck)lli willi paste. The Ijook is now ready for a eover or ease. The Hrst operation in niakin<;" a ease, or l)o()k cover, is to cnt the hoards to the size re(|uire(l for the hook. This is done on a niaeliine havin*;- a series of round, heNeknl knives on two case revoh'in<;' shafts. The cloth, coming in Making rolls from thirty-six to forty inches wide and from thirty-six to seventy-two yards long, is then cut on an ingenious machine, where slitters cut the cloth lengthwise and a straight knife, with a shear motion, cuts the cloth at right angles to the re- volving knives. The cloth is now clam})ed and the corners sheared off diagonally. The case- making machine heing adjusted properly, the cloth is placed to the left of the operator, and the boards in two hop])ers. The operator then ])laces the cloth on the top of a revolving brass cylinder, small fingers holding it fast. The cylinder, re- volving, brings the cloth in contact with another cylinder revolving in a trough of glue, thus a])ply- ing glue to the reverse side of the cloth. The cloth is now removed mechanically, glued side up, from the cylinder to a platfoi'in, and Ihe binder's boards placed on the cloth l)y rubber-suction de- vices; a paper l)ack-lining has also l)een cut from a roll and placed Ix'tween the l)()ards on (he cloth. Two steel l)ars now force I he ends of the cloth over and on the boards, at the same time making THE MAKLNC. OF A 1U)()K a tuck in the clolli; then aiiolluM- paii- ol' folding l)ars re])eat the turniii.i»-in ()j)erali()n, and the ease is (h'awn on the lop of a flat riil)l)er-haii', a fhit steel top descending and pressing the hoards and ghied cloth firmly together. The finished case is then drawn out by rollers and deposited on a platform. Before fastening the hook into the cover it is necessary to stamj) tlie title on the cover. This is - on the second arm. In the meantime the arm lias ascendcMl and the ])astini>' rollers hax'c been ])r(\ssed against the book; by an ingenious motion I lie back, or joint, of the book received a double quantity of paste. The arm then begins to rise, and the paste is applied to the two sides of the book, front and back; but just before the book })egins to rise with the arm, a finished case has l)een ])ushed forward from the magazine and rests with its center directly over the back of I lie book; and as the arm rises the front and back of the case are pressed to the side of the book by means of tw^o clamping rods. Another operator now takes the pasted book, with the case loosely attached, and places it in a standing press, con- sisting of six rods with a stationary bed and mov- able top with screw. A smooth hardwood board, bound with a strip of brass or aluminum and ex- tending about one-eighth of an inch all around on both sides of the board beyond the flat of the board, is used, and the books placed on the board around the four sides, the joint of the book resting on the thin strip of metal. Fhis operation is re- peated until the entire press is built up, or filled. 'Hie operator tlieii screws down the toj) of the press with the aid of a long iron bar iiiilil all the TIIK MAKI\(; OF A liOOlv boards, with the hooks, are tightly chiinpecL After they have been dainpecl for from six to twelve hours, the i)ress is unscrewed and the books taken out and i)laeed on the examining and wrai)|)ing table. The first thing which the examiner does is to see that the first and last leaf have been properly pasted. Then the title page is examined, to see that the book has been properly cased Examining in its cover. Finally, the paper jacket. Wrapping or wra])per, is adjusted, and the books are then l)iled in small enclosed hand- wagons and sent to the Sales Department, ready for shipping. The binding of a gilt-edge circuit or Oxford style of Bible is a branch of the binding business almost entirely distinct from the ordinary bind- ing. Almost all the work of the binding Bible of a Bible is done by hand, without the Binding aid of machinery. Up to the stage of cutting, the binding is very similar; but after that it varies. Most of the Bibles are round-cornered, and have full-gilded, red-under-gold edges. The leather covers are also made by the most skilled mechanics, as all kinds of leather and other ma- terial are used for the covers. In leather, sheep- skin, goatskin, cowhide, sealskin, and, in fact, most all kinds of leather made are used. The sheep- skin, calfskin, silk-cloth, and waterproof colored paper are used for lining the inside of (lie cover. The leather for the cover, after being cut from the THE MAKING OF A BOOK skin, has the edges skivered or pared. Then the edges are treated to a coat of paste, and, after they have lain in this state for a time, to allow the paste to penetrate, the workman is ready to make the case. The best Bibles have no lining or stif- fener of any kind on the inside — the leather is turned in on itself. To do this, two pieces of zinc, which, combined, are the exact size of the cover, are laid on the pasted leather and edges butted together. The pasted edges of the leather are then turned in over the edges of the zinc and the round corners carefully worked out smoothly with a bone folder. After the leather is properly turned in, the cover is made of the right size, but with the zinc on the inside. The operator next dips his folder in water and loosens and slightly raises the pasted edge or turn-in, and withdraws the zinc. Then with the ball of his hand he hammers down the pasted edge, completely turning in the leather cover of the right size. The stamping of the gold lettering is similar to the method used in the cloth cover. The casing-in is all done by hand. The backs of the Bibles, after being rounded, are glued and attached to the back only. After the glue has set the sides of the book are pasted and pressed between smooth boards lined with canton flannel, and when thoroughly dry are sent to the examining and wrapping table for a very critical examination before being wrapped, boxed, and sent to the Sales Department. 32 Ciaylord liros. Makers Svracuse, N. V. PM. JAN. 21 ,1908 ^\-^^ ^> UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY III Hill mil Hill mil III