A Manual of the Art of Bookbinding: Containing Full Instructions in the Different Branches of Forwarding, Gilding, and Finishing. Also, the Art of Marbling Book-Edges and Paper

12mo (19.5 cm), 318, [2], 23 pp, 12 plates, 7 leaves of marbled paper. Publisher's blind-stamped cloth, gilt-lettered title on spine (cloth slightly chipped at the head of the spine, rubbed at the foot and corners, bookplate on front end-paper, internally fresh and bright). Stereotype edition of the first edition published in 1856. A classic American manual of practical bookbinding, providing one of the most comprehensive nineteenth-century English-language treatments of the binder's craft. The work offers detailed instruction in every major branch of the trade, from the preparation and sewing of sheets through forwarding, edge decoration, covering, finishing, and restoration. Based on the structure of John Andrews Arnett's Bibliopegia and drawing upon contemporary European and American sources including Cundall's Ornamental Art, Woolnough's Art of Marbling, Leighton's Suggestions in Design, and the London Friendly Finishers' Circulars, Nicholson adapted established European practice for the needs of American craftsmen. The volume is arranged in three principal parts: Sheet-Work; Forwarding, including edges, marbling, gilding, covering, half-binding, blank binding, boarding, and cloth-work; and Ornamental Art, covering design, finishing, gold tooling, illuminated bindings, blind tooling, antique styles, colouring, inlaid ornaments, harmony of colours, press-work, and the repair and restoration of old bindings. The concluding sections include practical advice for collectors and an extensive glossary of technical terms. Illustrated with twelve plates and seven examples of marbled paper, the manual is particularly valuable for its detailed discussions of marbling techniques, gilding, decorative tooling, and the preservation of historic bindings. Long regarded as a standard reference for American hand bookbinders and finishers, it remains an important source for the history of nineteenth-century book production, decorative binding, and the practical traditions of the craft.…