Bookbinding

Many thanks to the Internet Archive for providing this vintage footage.

THIS 13-minute film is part of the "Americans at Work" series made in 1961 by the American Foundation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organisations.

It starts with a quick history lesson about the importance of literature through the ages and then looks at restoring a historical book.

It shows marbelising the edges of the pages, putting a new cover on and lettering the spine with gold leaf.

We then look at the modern bookbinding process, including folding, collating the sections, sewing, a mashing machine and trimming machine.

Then on to making the covers for the book, including the stripping machine, the casing-in machine and the press the books are put in until they are dry.

There is a quick look at making pamphlets, with wire stitching, a paper ruling machine using discs and pens, and making a spiral-bound stenographer's pad.