When the book has dried and the cover is ready for printing, gold leaf is applied to the areas on which its name, author, and date are to appear. Metal stamps bearing the necessary wording are then heated and pressed into the cover. When the superfluous gold is rubbed off, the printing stands out in sharp contrast to the color of the binding, and the job is done.
At the present time the average cost of binding each volume is about $1.50; only one-tenth of this cost is accounted for by materials, however, the rest going for labor, overhead, etc. Because poor materials save only a few cents per volume and are more difficult to work with, the Bindery invariably uses top-notch goods.
Bindery Has 21-year History
Before becoming one of the most useful adjuncts of the Library, the Bindery went through a long and checkered career. Two decades ago, in 1920, the Bindery had its humble beginnings with a department set up in the Widener basement for repairing damaged books. Farsighted officials realized its potentialities, and it was not long before both the University and the College sent almost all of their binding there. By 1929 the great increase in business forced the Bindery to move to the old Annex of Boylston Hall, which was located where Wigglesworth Hall now sprawls along the south side of the Yard. When the Annex was torn down in the following year, the Bindery had to pack up and move once again, this time to its present location on Memorial Drive.
Meanwhile, relations between the Library and the Bindery were by no means pacific. Although the amount of work which the Bindery did was considerably enlarged, the price per volume did not decrease proportionately, and the Bindery was charging more than its competitors.
Production Increased 26%
To the rescue in 1932 came Robert F. Fiske, an industrial engineer, who made a survey of possible remedies. Apparently insignificant changes, such as the rearrangement of the shop layout, resulted in an increase in the average shop production from 78 to 90 per cent of standard requirements. The most striking alteration, however, was the introduction of the "group bonus payment system," which caused production to jump once more, from 90 to 104 per cent. While the wage scale at the Bindery at the present time is higher than those of outside firms, the prices are 15 to 40 per cent lower.
But the Bindery's work is not limited to bookbinding alone. Under the direction of Fiske, who became manager, the Bindery has made extensive tests in such fields as the acid content of paper, flexible vs. hard glue, and particularly the tanning of book leathers. Some of these tests have doubtless been of great value to the bookbinding industry in general.
As long as Harvard remains in existence, books will be read, and as long as they are read, some will become tattered and torn. As an agency for the preservation of such books, therefore, the Bindery will continue to be an important cog in Harvard's educational machine.