ABSTRACT
The theory of practical book decoration, known technically as “finishing” is quite simple; in practice it is quite the reverse. The amount of rolling must be determined by the size of the book, and the weight and hardness of the grain of the individual skin or part of the skin. Large books look better with a bold grain only slightly crushed, while small ones, especially if required for fine tooling, are better with the grain well crushed down. If the book is to be single-line panel only, then the marking up of the line round the side, and the line round each space between the bands, as well as at head and tail, is all that is necessary before putting on the preparations for the subsequent gilding. The whole book is then pressed between nickel and japanned plates and should remain at least twelve hours under moderate pressure.
