A museum in Boston made me question my whole approach to spine rounding

I was at the Boston Athenaeum last month, just looking at some 18th century bindings they had on display. The guide pointed out how the spines were almost perfectly flat, not rounded at all like we usually do. He said the original binder used a specific sewing technique on thick cords that kept it square. Now I'm torn between sticking with the classic rounded spine for durability or trying this historical method for authenticity on period pieces. Has anyone else tried a flat spine on a thicker text block and had it hold up?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole36224d ago

Yeah, saw something similar in a book on early American binding. Those flat spines rely on really tight sewing. The whole structure is different. Tried it once on a dummy text block with linen tape instead of cord. It felt solid but opening it was stiff, like it fought you. Makes you wonder if the durability comes from never really being read much back then.

victor_hall18d ago

Actually, colonial almanacs were read to pieces despite their stiff bindings.

mark73124d ago

Doubt it's that deep, cole362. Some old books were just built like bricks.