Modest progress on the challenge

Further work on both the oak boards and the text block. Both boards are now cleaned off, showing how carefully they were shaped with a slanting angle at head and tail so that the deep bevel on the edges was reduced at the headbands position. Otherwise the headbands would have to be very tall.

The detached board, when cleaned off, showed that a piece had been scarfed in by the joiner who made it, probably to replace a fault in the oak. Also the method of attaching the boards to the cords on the spine is revealed – the cord goes through a single hole drilled straight through and is then secured with a little peg. This is a simplified (and less robust) method based on that used by medieval binders, where the cord goes through the board and is then returned through another hole and trimmed off, both holes being pegged.

The traditional method of re-attaching boards where the cords have broken is to use strong thread tied to the old cord and then passed through the old hole in the board (as described by Middleton and others)

Personally, I don’t use this method – it is time-consuming and actually not very strong. It involves forcing needles under or through the cords which stresses already weakened material and it adds bulk if several threads are used – and if you don’t use several threads you don’t have any strength.

So, as described in an earlier post, I cover the back of the text block with strong cotton fabric – ‘Fraynot’ as sold by suppliers, but a good piece of cotton bedsheet will do perfectly well – and then sew through it from the centre folds of the first section of the text. In this case as it is a large heavy book I will sew though the first two sections, and of course the last two sections as well.

Before gluing the fabric to the boards, place a fold of paper of the same weight as the intended endpaper in the joint to create the correct fit of the board against the shoulder.

I leave the broken cord ends in place. They will show under the new leather when the spine is covered and replicate the original surface profile.

The amount of work that went into preparing the oak boards is impressive. The slots for the attachment of the plaited clasps are very detailed and must have added a lot to the binding cost

I am fortunate to have located a copy of the book at the Court Barn Museum in Chipping Camden, about 20 miles from my home. It is currently being ‘conserved’ and I will be able to inspect it in a few weeks time. The Museum has sent an image showing that the plaited clasp strap is secured on the hook with a simple iron ring.

More soon!