s in a day, with a rapidity which almost takes the breath
away from the beholder.

There is a kind of binding which dispenses entirely with sewing the
sheets of a book. The backs are soaked with a solution of india-rubber,
and each sheet must be thoroughly agglutinated to the backs, so as to
adhere firmly to its fellows. This requires that all the sheets shall be
folded as single leaves or folios, otherwise the inner leaves of the
sheets, having no sewing, would drop out. This method is employed on
volumes of plates, music, or any books made up of large separate sheets.

In notable contrast to these rapid methods of binding what are termed
case-made books, comes the hand-made process, where only partial use of
machinery is possible.

The rebinding process is divided into three branches: preparing,
forwarding, and finishing. The most vital distinction between a
machine-made and a hand-made binding, is that the cloth or case-made book
is not fastened into its cover in a firm and permanent way, as in
leather-backed books. It is simply pasted or glued to its boards--not
interlaced by the cords or bands on which it is sewed. Hence one can
easily tear off the whole cover of a cloth-bound book, by a slight
effort, and such volumes tend to come to pieces early, under constant
wear and tear of library service.

Let us now turn to the practical steps pursued in the treatment of books
for library use. In re-binding a book, the first step is to take the book
apart, or, as it is sometimes called, to take it to pieces. This is done
by first stripping off its cover, if it has one. Cloth covers easily come
off, as their boards are not tied to the cords on which the book is
sewed, but are simply fastened by paste or glue to the boards by a muslin
guard, or else the cloth is glued to the back of the book. If the book is
leather-covered, or half-bound, _i. e._: with a leather back and
(usually) leather on its four corners, taking it to pieces is a somewhat
slower process. The binder's knife is used to cut the leather at the
joints or hinges of the volume, so that the boards may be removed. The
cords that tie the boards to the volume are cut at the same time. If the
book has a loose or flexible back, the whole cover comes easily off: if
bound with a tight back, the glued leather back must be soaked with a
sponge full of water, till it is soft enough to peel off, and let the
sheets be easily separated.

The book is now stripped of its