Lexicon of Bookbinding

All the important terms from A to Z

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y
  • A sheet of paper of any traditional size, folded three times to make a section of eight leaves.

  • The groove remaining in the back edges of the folded sections after a book has been taken apart. This must be flattened or 'knocked out' with a hammer before rebinding.

  • A method of decorating a book bound in leather by pasting pieces of leather, often of different colours, directly onto the leather cover, and tooling the edges to bind them down.

  • Easing the stiffness out of a newly bound book.

  • Jewelry, book cover decoration. Forms most of the vegetable kingdom, removed, simplified, stylized.

  • The flexible part of the covering material (leather, cloth or paper) on which the board opens. See also joint.

  • Reinforcing a section, or joining a number of single sheets together, by sewing through the back margin. Often used to reinforce first and last sections.

  • See squares.

  • See turn-in.

Letter o