The first of a series of articles on design is by Stewart Maclennan, Director of the National Art Gallery. He is a skilled binder, learning his craft under Douglas Cockerell, who continued Cobden Sanderson's work. He is a member of the Architectural Centre.

Bookbinding may be defined as the process of binding books. Like most definitions which seem obvious, it is inadequate as we shall see.

It is in keeping with modern production methods that the bindery should be a separate and efficient department where the paper sections of the book are sewn together and receive a protective outer covering before passing along the chain to the distributors. Most of the books that we handle are made in editions running into thousands and machine technique is necessary to supply the demand at reasonable cost. There is very little craftsmanship apparent in the book apart from the craftsmanship of the author, yet craftsmanship is there.

Mechanical Binding in Mass

Craftsmen designed the type and format, a tradition of craftsmanship lies behind the recipe and the process of making the paper and the binding, or rather casing, is a mechanical reproduction of the bookbinder's craft. Like all reproductions it is inferior to the original, but these machine casings answer present days needs and must not be ignored. They must be accepted and made as efficient and as sightly as possible without increasing the cost of production. It seems to me that the person most competent to design casings for mass-produced books would he either a practising craftsman with a thorough knowledge of machine methods, or a designer trained in machine methods but possessing a background of sound craftsmanship.

Room for the Handcraftsman

Let us consider for a while the attitude of a craftsman to his work. There are still bookbinders who practise the craft. Not many books are bound by hand but special books still require special treatment and single volumes or very small editions are more economically bound by hand. Our bookbinder will revel in such jobs as rolls of honour written out on vellum, or illuminated addresses—strange as it seems they can be very beautiful. Valuable early printed or written books need rebinding and repair. Fine books, treasured by their owners, may be worthy of rebindings that will give full scope to the binder. No craftsman would waste his time on a book printed on shoddy paper and he would shun so-called ‘art’ papers, expensive but glossy, unpleasant to touch and lacking in substance.

Bindings by Ian Parsons and Nora Smallwood for Chatto & Windus.

The Craftsman's Aim

Let us give him a good book printed on hand-made or even high-grade machine paper, well printed in good type, with generous and nicely proportioned margins and with illustrations, if any, that are part of the book and not reproduced as separate plates to be “tipped” into the book. Give him such a book and he will, if he is a good craftsman, produce a binding that will be worthy. He will visualize just the sort of binding that will be in character; he will select his materials with care and his workmanship will ensure that the book may continue in use for many years. He will hope that the book will even improve with age and use. The pages will be firmly secured in such a manner that the book will open easily, the joints where straining occurs will be cunningly strengthened, the book will be pleasant to handle and when closed it will resume its original shape. The title will be clearly shown and decoration, if necessary, will be apropriate. Accepting the natural limitations of his craft and showing due respect to the matter, the printing and illustration of the book, he will find that he can enrich the volume by unobtrusively adding something of his own personality to it, and so will he create a minor work of art. He will have the right to expect in return that the book, after it leaves his hands, will receive the treatment that it deserves. It will be handled frequently, but with due care the handling will “feed” the leather and keep it supple. It will be protected against damage by dust and damp and strong sunlight. He hopes that when repair becomes necessary the book will be handled by a craftsman who will appreciate and, as far as possible, preserve his original work. A binding well done will give him great satisfaction. His tools will be the best procur- page 5 able and will be kept in perfect condition. Some he will make himself, but the great majority will be from the hands of craftsmen who understand and take pride in the making of tools. He will be a happy man, for good craftsmen are never miserable since they have learned the real joy that comes from work well done.

The Craftsman's Brain Controls the Machine

The worthwhile crafts have long and honourable traditions and it was natural that craftsmen should, at first, detest the machine which flooded the market with cheap imitations of their wares. Realization is just dawning that the machine takes over the hack work and leaves the craftsman free to do the work that is worthy of his special ability and training. From the ranks of craftsmen come the industrial designers—men who learn to understand the limitations and possibilities of the machine, as craftsmen do the tools, materials and methods of their craft.

Modern Trends

So far, in spite of some interesting experiments such as spirex bindings, machine-made books generally are simply inferior imitations of the original hand-bound volumes. No doubt the vogue for book packets, which obscure the cloth casings, has directed attention away from book construction. At least, the jacket carries the publicity and the cloth casing underneath is simple and inoffensive. We no longer see imitation cords, pseudo leather and half leather or fake headbands. Some day a craftsman designer will combine tradition with new processes and new materials and produce books from the line that will compare with a well designed machine-made saucepan.