of the sides of the book with surrounding squares;
space 3 is the width of the back, and space 4 the width for the
overlaps on the fore-edge. The corners are cut, as shown at 5, and the
edges are folded over, as at B. The overlap 4 is then turned over, and
the back folded, as at C. The slips are now laced through slits made
in the vellum.

[Illustration: FIG. 75.]

A piece of loose, toned paper may be put inside the cover to prevent
any marks on the book from showing through; and pieces of silk ribbon
of good quality are laced in as shown, going through both cover and
vellum ends, if there are any, and are left with ends long enough to
tie (see fig. 76).

[Illustration: FIG. 76.]

If paper ends are used, the silk tape need only be laced through the
cover, and the end paper pasted over it on the inside.

Another simple way of keeping a vellum book shut is shown at fig. 77.
A bead is attached to a piece of gut laced into the vellum, and a loop
of catgut is laced in the other side, and looped over the bead as
shown.

If the book is to have stiff boards, and the vellum is to be pasted
to them, it is best to sew the sections on tapes or vellum slips, to
back the book as for leather, and to insert the ends of the slips in a
split board, leaving a French joint, as described for library
bindings. Vellum is very stiff, and, if it is pasted directly to the
back, the book would be hard to open. It is best in this case to use
what is known as a hollow back.

[Illustration: FIG. 77.]

To make a hollow back, a piece of stout paper is taken which measures
once the length of the back and three times the width. This is folded
in three. The centre portion is glued to the back and well rubbed
down, and the overlapping edges turned back and glued one to the other
(fig. 78). This will leave a flat, hollow casing, formed by the single
paper glued to the back of the book and the double paper to which the
vellum may be attached. Or it is better to line up the back with
leather, and to place a piece of thick paper the size of the back on
to the pasted vellum where the back will be when the book is covered.

When the book is ready for covering, the vellum should be cut out and
lined with paper. In lining vellum the paste must be free from lumps,
and great care must be taken not to leave brush marks. To avoid this,
when the lining paper has been pasted it can be laid, paste downwards,
on a piece of waste paper and quickly