marble or Manila paper, to twenty
cents each. Black roan is perhaps the best leather for pamphlets, as it
brings out the lettering on the backs more distinctly--always a cardinal
point in a library.

But there is a more economical method, which dispenses with leather
entirely. As no patent is claimed for the invention, or rather the
modification of well-known methods, it may be briefly described. The
thinnest tar-board is used for the sides, which, _i. e._, the boards, are
cut down to nearly the size of the pamphlet to be bound. The latter is
prepared for the boards by adding two or more waste leaves to the front
and back, and backing it with a strip of common muslin, which is firmly
pasted the full length of the back, and overlaps the sides to the width
of an inch or more. The pamphlet has to be stitched through, or stabbed
and fastened with wire, in the manner commonly practiced with thin books;
after which it is ready to receive the boards. These are glued to a strip
of book muslin, which constitutes the ultimate back of the book, being
turned in neatly at each end, so as to form, with the boards, a skeleton
cover, into which the pamphlet is inserted, and held in its place by the
inner strip of muslin before described, which is pasted or glued to the
inside of the boards. The boards are then covered with marbled paper,
turned in at each edge, and the waste leaves pasted smoothly down to the
boards on the inside. The only remaining process is the lettering, which
is done by printing the titles in bronze upon glazed colored paper, which
is pasted lengthwise on the back. A small font of type, with a
hand-press, will suffice for this, and a stabbing machine, with a small
pair of binding shears, constitutes the only other apparatus required.
The cost of binding pamphlets in this style varies from seven to twelve
cents each, according to the material employed, and the amount of labor
paid for. The advantages of the method are too obvious to all acquainted
with books to require exemplification.

Two still cheaper methods of binding may be named. What is known as the
Harvard binder, employed in that library at Cambridge, Mass., consists
simply of thin board sides with muslin back, and stubs also of cloth on
the inside. The pamphlet is inserted and held in place by paste or glue.
The cost of each binding is stated at six cents.

The cheapest style of separate treatment for pamphlets yet suggested is
of stiff Manila paper,