Bookbinders (ca 1961)

[Music] Americans at work in an art that is the preservation of all Arts the making of books these men are masters of their tools from the most primitive instruments to the latest equipment of the machine age with other Craftsmen these are the people who make the pen mightier than the sword history itself began only when men carved their exploits and Visions in stone and clay and traced them in crude ink over parchment and Papyrus striving to live in Eternal memory through the written word as history began with writing it is continued with printed Records books were the Great Treasures of the earliest civilizations today they are the great means of communication between people and Nation even in the most modern book binderies Americans pursue a craft steeped in the tradition of ancient guilds although the books most of us by are machine made all qualified journeyman bookbinders must know how to take apart and put together a book by hand books from collections of an earlier day must be restored and this is a loving art regarded almost with reverence by its practitioners The well-worn Inheritance must be carefully undone remove the broken cover unstring the worn out threads take the precious publication back to the beginnings of a book this is a work of infinite patience of painstaking attention to detail a fingered skill that is equal to the occasion good books are constantly given rebirth by workers like [Music] these put the pages back together again sew them again for another generation of life everything must be redone except for the printing this must be kept as it was for the typography may make the book A collector's item this is a happy marrying of antique values with modern practicality and these workers know that the wearing out of a book from rereading is a truer estimate of its worth than any review by a Critic Hammer the book into a shape better than when it was new make it last longer this time no matter how easy it looks there's a knack to this that must be learned handed down applied [Music] thoughtfully carefully hand rounded seemingly hopeless specimens can be restored to a usefulness that will outlive their [Music] owners a bath is prepared for marbleizing the pages of the ancient book any one of a number of patterns may be created by spattering spots of color deftly placing them just [Applause] so the design is transferred to the book by dipping its trim edges top bottom and side for exactly the right length of time in exactly the right manner it would be impossible to get the same effect by any known printing process if you think it's easy try it but please not on a cherished first [Music] edition a new cover is applied in the same style as the original perhaps with certain modern improvements boards the bookbinder calls them covered with cloth and leather fabricated for prolonged life before being ready for recirculation this assembly of literary material must be pressed into final [Music] shape then the most fascinating part to the uninitiated lettering the back with nothing to guide him but his mind Mind's Eye and the skill of his fingertips The Artisan lays on the gold [Music] leaf with quick expert Strokes he stamps the title and other pertinent information a masterpiece of the Modern bookbinder's Art the restored volume is ready for the reader who would make the most of his literary [Applause] inheritance today large sheets bearing several Pages come off the printing presses traditionally these sheets are just about the size of the skin from one sheep used for printing long before paper was a practical possibility the uncut sheets go to the folding machines which fold them to desired sizes called folio quto and octavo depending on the number of [Music] folds these machines can fold from 4 to 72 Pages as fast as you can turn a page the folded sheet is called a signature almost faster than you can follow the action Nimble fingers gather the signatures in the proper order and by foot action of the woman operator feed them to a sewing machine it is here almost miraculously that the various sections of the book are fastened together from back to front these seamstresses of the printed word can make no mistakes or the book will be entirely out of kilter since the resulting sewn portions of the book form a spongy collection of Pages they are put in a mashing machine to press them more tightly together in uniform [Music] thickness a trimming machine shaves the edges of the pages to give the clean smooth look and feel that you know in the finished book this tumble type trimmer somewhat resembles the cold cut slicer of your butcher it is this process that makes it possible to thumb through a book to a wanted page for that elusive fact or quot ation that you need so badly at the [Music] moment while the body of the book is in production the cover is being prepared elsewhere in the plant first the boards as they are called are cut to size these will become front and back parts of the covers as they proceed on their way to becoming covers the boards may be imprinted with title and [Music] artwork The Operators of a stripping machine connect the two boards with a strip of cloth which will later become the back of the cover technically what most of us call a book cover is referred to by the book binder as a case without it the hard-bound book would not last [Music] long several more steps are necessary before the book is ready for its cover a kind of mergo round has been devised by the practitioners of this trade to combine these steps and to supplement their manual ability this machine does many of the things we saw earlier being done by hand but while handicraft sets the standard of quality these workers control expertly the machines needed today for modern mass production at this stage the back is rounded into its familiar shape so you can conveniently turn the pages it is lined and glued in Readiness for the covers it is here that the men who feed and tend this machine must feel most the truth of the biblical statement of the making of many books there is no end the greatest act in Precision of timing and Perfection of performance is reserved for the last under the supervision of experienced hands the casing in machine applies the covers to the [Music] books the watchful eye of the trained Craftsman is especially needed at this point each book with its cover must satisfy inspectors that it will not fall apart in your hand now the total job must be given final shape the complete assembly of pages and cover is put into a press where it is kept until thoroughly dry then the book is ready for you not only books but pamphlets as well are an important part of publishing these women are gathering the pages in correct order and placing them on a fast moving saddle for subsequent stitching or [Music] gluing a large Publishing House may have as many as 10,000 jobs going through it at any one time making the ruled pages of notebooks and ledgers is a fascinating aspect of this trade the paper ruler here has an arsenal of implements at his disposal for some forms he uses discs for others he uses penp points to spread the ink that divides the page into countless different patterns a seemingly Endless River of paper may be printed on both sides simultaneously when this Craftsman makes an ingenious adjustment of either discs or pens above and below it is doubtful that the bookkeeping of our industrial world could be carried on without this activity did you ever wonder how a spiral notebook was made no more complicated than this if you have Deft fingers and the right equipment the wire bindings are attached almost faster than you can watch the action sent on their way and locked into place at the end of a moving belt and there you have another indispensable tool of the business world the stenographer pad modern accountancy is indeed dependent upon these forms and record books with their single double and triple lines needed to separate the innumerable items that must be entered in the spaces between the art of bookmaking is older than printing by many centuries yet today's members of the Brotherhood of bookbinders artists of the AF CIO are able to supply the demand for the most important ingredient of the modern world literacy following a craft as ancient as cave drawings these union workers of the book industry are second to none in keeping Pace with progress the Ingenuity which has been passed on to the folders gatherers sewers trimmers liners and casemakers in a proud profession is constantly at work for you to produce our great lest treasure knowledge Americans at work presented as by the AF ofl CIO next week another interesting story of Americans at work Americans whose skill and effort help keep our country great and [Music] strong