Bookbinding : Its Background and Technique

New York: Rinehart & Company, Inc, 1946. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine in Very Good Slipcase. First Edition. Hardcover. KEEP! - One of the most important books on the history of bookbinding. In these two volumes one of the world's foremost practitioners and teachers of traditional bookbinding presents both an eminently practical guide and an historical overview to this centuries-old art. The author devotes Volume I to the historical development of bookbinding with chapters on the codex of the Christian era; how bookbinding became a craft and a trade in the 15th century; how book production shifted from monasteries to the illustrious printer-publishers of the 15th century; how different national styles of book decoration evolved. Examines the contributions of influential bookbinders such as Jean Grolier, Le Gascon, Roger Payne, John Ratcliff, and others and describes various practices such as sewing, use of boards and leathers, hand vs. machine binding, among others. Illustrated by ninety-one black-and-white plates, portraying fine examples of bookbinding. In Volume II, illustrated by 189 figures, Diehl walks the reader through the steps in the process: collating and paging; pressing; sewing; backing; lacing-in; cutting inside margins, and many more. Indices; glossaries; bibliographies. (S-K 1838, Appleton p.79; Brenni no.19 & 51).Printed by The Southworth-Anthoensen Press, Portland, Maine. Black cloth boards, gilt lettering on spines of both volumes, in original slipcase. Tight, bright, and unmarred. 2 volumes, 8vo., 91 full page plates. Bumped corner on back cover of volume two and slipcase shows damage on rear top.