ABSTRACT
Enthusiastic antiquaries amongst bookbinders are insistent in claiming that their craft dates back to the time when the Assyrians and Babylonians used tablets of clay for keeping their records. The joining together of wax tablets may justly be claimed as bookbinding, of a nature which is to-day considered of utility in binding sketch-books, albums, and the like. The evolution of the book through all its phases having been outlined, the modern printed sheet and its method of folding may be considered. The desirability of more strength naturally suggested that the ends of the threads could be better utilized by fixing them round the cords, thus joining the sections more effectually, especially as the loose ends of the cord supplied a means of attaching protecting boards. The idea of economy possibly suggested to the Egyptians and their neighbours the desirability of slitting the front fold of the zigzag leaf and utilizing both sides of the page.
