In hand binding the basic purpose of the endpapers is to take up the strain of opening the covers of the book, which would otherwise be on the first and last sections or leaves. This is of particular importance in the case of the upper cover and first section or leaf. The endpapers (specifically the pastedowns) cover the raw edges of the covering material where it is turned over the boards, as well as the inside surfaces of the boards themselves. The free fly leaves protect the first and last printed leaves of the book. In addition, the board papers and fly leaves next to them have long provided a medium for decoration. See:DOUBLURE (1) .
In library and edition binding, particularly the latter, the endpapers perform the crucial function of holding the text block in its covers, or case. In many instances, only the endpapers hold the book and case together. In library binding, on the other hand, where the spine-lining material is considerably more substantial than that used in edition binding, the lining assists considerably in this function.
The paper used for endpapers is of considerable importance—not only the quality of the paper but also the manner in which it is used. Its pH should not be less than that of the paper making up the book, and preferably higher, but it should not, in any case, be less than 6.5 or more than 8.5. The BASIS WEIGHT of the paper should be sufficient so that when the adhesive is applied, the moisture will not cause the paper to cockle, as cockling causes problems when the book is later cased-in. Furthermore, thin paper will swell excessively when moist, and then when it dries will shrink and warp the covers. There is also the danger that the adhesive will strike through and cause the board papers and adjacent leaves to stick together.
The grain or machine direction of the endpapers should be parallel to the binding margin of the book; otherwise difficulty will be experienced in casing-in. When the grain of the paper is at right angles to the binding margin, the expansion of the paper is lengthwise, and, because one edge is secured to the text block (either sewn or tipped to it), that edge cannot expand; consequently the paper will buckle along it. If the book is cased and then pressed, these buckled areas will cause unsightly wrinkles on the board papers.
When colored endpapers are used, they should be made with fast colors so that the moisture of the adhesive will not cause the colors to offset onto the leaves of the book. When endpapers are lithographed or printed with maps or illustrations, they, too, should be printed with an ink that will not offset. (It should be noted that when a book with map, or otherwise pertinent endpapers, must be rebound, the endpapers must be carefully removed and rebound with the book, as they generally cannot be reused as endpapers; this step is expensive, and doubly so when the front and off papers are different, which requires that both be retained.)
Marbled endpapers were at one time used extensively, but today their use is confined almost entirely to a limited number of books bound by hand. If marbled paper is used, the same precautions as to grain direction and color fastness should be observed.
The most commonly used style of endpaper construction, at least in edition binding, consists of nothing more than folded sheets tipped to the front and back of the text block. This structure is not altogether unsatisfactory if the book is to receive careful and little use, but it is entirely unsatisfactory for a book that is to be consulted frequently. Since the endpaper is attached to the text block only by a thin line of adhesive, it pulls loose easily leaving only a flimsy spine lining fabric made of crash or gauze holding the case to the book. There is no reinforcement of the joint; consequently, the board paper splits because of the constant bending as the book is opened and closed. These difficulties can be overcome to a certain extent by the use of a cloth joint. Occasionally the tipped-on endpapers are also sewn to the text block, as though they were additional sections. This however, just weakens them even further, because the sewing thread passes through only one layer of paper, resulting, in addition to the normal strain, in a cutting effect of the thread.
Cloth-jointed endpapers may have either concealed or exposed joints. With the concealed joint, the fold of the endpaper is reinforced by a strip of cloth which is attached on the side of the paper next to the text block and the board so that it extends about an inch onto the board paper, thus masking the cloth. The additional stiffness in the joint helps to retain its shape, but it also creates a pull on the first few leaves of the first section because it makes the cover more difficult to open.
Separate leaves of paper are used for the board paper and fly leaf in constructing the endpaper having an exposed joint. They are connected by means of a cloth strip which is visible in the joint. In edition binding, these endpapers are made on a stripping machine, and the reinforcing cloth is generally a thin, smoothly finished muslin. In library binding, on the other hand, where the visible cloth joint is used frequently in adhesive binding, the cloth joint usually consists of a strong, durable (cambric) linen. Cloth-jointed endpapers are attached to the text block in several ways. The simplest is to tip them on, which is a weak method. When the papers have a concealed joint, the folded sheet is tipped to the section and the reinforcement is folded around the endpaper and section. The cloth joint is sewn to the text block along with the section. Another method consists of sewing the cloth joint to the section. The cloth is then folded back and glued over the sewing. The endpaper is tipped on, and the cloth is carried over the endpaper and glued down. Unless the book paper is quite flexible, however, this technique will cause the end sections to open as units rather than as individual leaves.
The Library Binding Institute has promulgated standards pertaining to the construction of endpapers to be used in library binding. The endpaper consists of three fundamental parts: a pasted-down or outward endleaf which becomes the pastedown, at least two free flyleaves, and a reinforcing fabric. For monographs and ordinary periodicals, the paper used in the construction of endpaper must have a basis weight of 60 pounds (24 X 26— 500) and must meet the following requirements:
Folding Tensile Tearing
Endurance Strength Strength
(M.I.T.)* (Testing Machines, Inc.) (Elmendorf)
Number of Pounds per Pounds per
folds 1 inch strip 1 inch strip
With the grain** 200 40 140
Across the grain 275 25 144
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology
** In the direction in which the majority of the fibers of a
machine-made paper are oriented.
During the first several centuries of the codex, endpapers consisted of little more than two or four leaves of vellum folded and sewn along with the sections of the book. When paper became the common material for book production, it then became necessary to reinforce the folds of the endpapers. A common type of endpaper, used in the first part of the 16th century, consisted of a fold of white paper employing a strip of vellum for reinforcement. The use of printer's waste for the fly leaves of endpapers was not uncommon during the 16th century.
The practice of reinforcing endpapers began to decline at the end of the 16th century, particularly in commercial binding, partly because there were more small books (where it was thought that reinforcement was not of great importance), and also because it became more and more difficult to obtain waste vellum in sufficient quantities, due to the increase production of books.
When bindings were to have plain white endpapers, it was a common practice to sew on four leaves at each end of the text block. The two outer leaves of each endpaper were often pasted together to create a stronger pastedown, while the two inner leaves were sometimes pasted together to create the "made" flyleaf, commonly associated with marbled or colored endpapers. The doubling of the board papers was done well before the coming of machine-made paper. This practice however, became more important when machine-made paper became prevalent, mainly because early machine-made paper tended to be relatively thin, and therefore weak. All of these techniques died out in the 1830s, after which time the more convenient procedure of making up the endpapers separately from the book became prevalent. Concurrently, it became the usual practice to simply tip the endpapers to the sections instead of sewing them, not only in regular commercial binding but also even in the best leather work.
A widely used method of endpaper construction in the 19th century consisted of pasting a folded white to a folded colored sheet, which was then folded around the free colored sheet to make a waste sheet. A white flyleaf was then tipped on followed by the made endpaper. Another 19th century technique consisted of tipping a folded white sheet to the text block and inserting the white and colored made-up leaves inside up to the fold. This provided a waste sheet, a colored board paper, a "made" leaf which opened all the way back to the fold, and eliminated the drag of the previous endpaper, and the two flyleaves. A variation of this technique used today consists of pasting the colored and white sheets together, tipping a folded white sheet to the remaining white sheet, and then swinging one of the white sheets around the assembly to serve as a waste sheet.
Cloth-joined endpapers were used as early as the 1840s but were generally not sewn in until this century. When they were sewn, the usual method was to overcast them to the first and last sections before sewing the book. Inner joints of leather were used occasionally in Europe as long ago as the 17th century, especially in France, but it was not until the second half of the 18th century that they became relatively common in the best English morocco and Russia leather bindings. The joints of this period, few of which were sewn in, were frequently used with much wider turn-ins than would be considered appropriate today, and were usually heavily decorated with fillets and rolls, as well as small tools.
Watered silk endpapers were used frequently in fine leather binding during the second half of the 19th century and up to World War 11, but are seldom used today. Watered silk has always been used in conjunction with leather joints. See: DRUMMING ON . See also: LIBRARY STYLE ENDPAPER ;MADE ENDPAPER ;ZIG-ZAG ENDPAPER .
(13 , 69 , 209 , 217 , 236 , 335 , 343 )
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