The Harrington Bindery

Recently I came across what is referred to as the K 118 binding style, named so for the bindery in which it is believed to have come from. Bound in approximately 1493 in the city of Nuremberg and from all I can tell seem to be the only historical examples that exist to have been photographed. Its structure intrigued me because it seems to allow for an incredible amount of flexibility in the spine allowing for the creation of books that opened flat, had no wasted space in the gutter and did not sacrifice quality construction to achieve these ends (as is the usual case these days). Its principle elements seem relatively simple to deal with. Sewing is on supports, but cords or tapes can be chosen. Rounding is pronounced or excessive by some standards. The combination of thread thickness, gathering size and amount of round should be so, as to eliminate swell once finished. Boards are rounded on the outside of the spine edge to extend the round on the spine and the sewing supports are attached with a 1/32" gap between the boards and the spine. The spine is lined with parchment sized to fit in between the tapes or cords and three times longer then the spine itself. The parchment is softened only slightly to reduce the expansion/contraction of wet parchment and worked very well into the spine ensuring proper adhesion. The excess third of parchment left on either side of the spine is shaped by removing two wedges of the parchment leaving two small and one large tabs on either side. The small tabs are attached to the top of the cover boards first then the large tabs are fed through and attached to the underside of the cover boards and attached. The completed book can then be covered with any variety of material because the strength of the structure relies on its internal mechanisms.

I really am looking forward to experimenting with the possibilities this structure may afford. I have an aniline dyed piece of goat parchment to experiment with and a variety of technical and instructional documents I have printed as folios that will make for a fine test.

Levy, Bruce R. "The Restoration Rebinding of Speculum Naturale by Vincent of Beauvais, and the   Subsequent Development of Several Options for Conservation Rebinding Structures Based on Details Found During the Restoration." The Restoration Rebinding of Speculum Naturale. AIC Book and Paper Group, 3 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v06/bp06-08.html>.

"BOOKWORKS IN PROGRESS." K118: Sewing. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://bookworksinprogress.blogspot.com/2011/01/k118-sewing.html>.

Levy, Bruce. "Book Binding: A Lesson from the Fifteenth Century." Book Binding: A Lesson from the Fifteenth Century. Bookstellyouwhy.com, n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://blog.bookstellyouwhy.com/bid/230213/Book-Binding-A-Lesson-from-the-Fifteenth-Century>.

Trouble arose this morning. Attempts to loosen the levers, spring already attached, were met with ripping, tearing delamination sounds. The spring had been prepared, dried, attached and dried again before I had started so moisture wasn't an issue. I slowly worked one side then the other, switching back and forth. I crammed a bone folder down the spine trying to see if I could loosen a possible attachment point where on an earlier book adhesive had oozed between the clowthings during the attachment of the spine and had firmly adhered the spine of the book to the spring, also causing issues upon opening. This however was not the case here, I try to open up a little more same delamination sounds. At this point I decided; wherever it was that was breaking down was beyond the point of simple repair. I opened the book by the lever with gentle but firm pressure, It fought me at first which is normal for a spring back binding but, at the half way open point, instead of springing up into the reverse round and presenting the pages the spring had almost entirely come off. What had happened, what the noise was, was the fabric that held the spring to the book block and levers had been ripped off the surface of the inside of the spring and allowed it to come off entirely.

  After briefly panicking I deciding to go for a walk and grab a coffee before resuming, to think through what went wrong and how to fix it. Here is some of what I came up with:

Because of the size of the book (10" x 14" x 2.25") I had used a thicker weight upholstery linen as the fabric liner on the spring.  Maybe the extra thickness and inflexibility caused an issue.

Davey board spring - the spring was made with .07" board and wrapped in acid free kraft paper. A very strong spring.

Linen cord endbands - Less flexible than maybe I needed. The kicker being later that day I tried for the first time sewing on parchment cores which I found to be significantly more flexible and nicer to work with.

The attachment of fabric to springby design is insufficient. 

I have read that once the spine is attached that the book should not be opened until the covering material has been attached.

  Upon returning I jumped back into it, first removing the spring cloth that remained attached to the levers. By what is left behind you can see I did a better job on one side than the other.

I decided the endbands and the spring would stay the same moving forward. Both had been used before in other projects with success and the advantages possibly to be gained with their replacement I considered dubious at best. I also have always had issues with the idea that if the book was opened after the spring was attached but before the covering material had been then the structure itself could be ruined. Without any further explanation of why that may be the case I've always assumed that the structure needed the covering material for strength. But I've hated that idea, that one couldn't check the action or anything else within the book until it was all but finished. Not to mention that if the covering material had to be structural it would affect the aesthetic choices that could be made by limiting the choices of materials available. No, even if it was standard or tradition I would need to find another way around it. The books I will make won't be ruined by opening them.

So Here's What I Did:

I had a thinner gauge of 100% linen cloth on hand and went ahead and prepared a piece with homemade spray starch and an iron. Once prepped it is glued to the inside of the spring as usual. I then drilled out two holes 1/4" apart 1/8" from the edge of the spring and 1/4" into the area of the cloth. I then cut out four 4" x 3/32" strips of parchment and fed them through the drilled out holes from the inside to the outside. Each had the loose ends tied in square knots, trimmed, spread with PVA hammered flat and consolidated to a round little rivet shape. Tackets, yes the answer must be tackets! The idea for theses parchment stitches come from the very beginnings of bookbinding and from what I can tell if they are good enough to last 500 years as part of a structure then they are definitely good enough here.

 How did it turn out?