This work provides a comprehensive account of book production, gathering insights from specialists across thirty-eight distinct departments of the publishing and printing industries. The text opens with foundational discussions on authorship and the vital intermediary roles of the literary agent and literary adviser, examining the delicate relationship between creators and publishing houses. Subsequent chapters explore the physical components of book-making, starting with the manufacturing department's oversight of typography, paper selection, and binding specifications. Detailed technical analyses explain the complex mechanics of type creation through the Benton process, hand composition, electrotyping, and the revolutionary automated casting of the Linotype and Monotype machines.
Further sections dissect the art and science of proof-reading, paper manufacturing from rags and wood fibres, and the intricacies of presswork on flat-bed and cylinder presses. The narrative delves into the chemistry of printing inks, the vital mechanics of the printer's roller, and the specialized graphic arts of illustration, half-tone and line engraving, wax-process map-making, and intaglio plate production. The volume concludes with extensive coverage of chromolithography, cover designing, stamping dies, book cloths, and binding leathers, culminating in the mechanical processes of modern bookbinding. Each chapter offers precise technical detail, tracing the evolution of craftsmanship from early wooden hand-presses to the sophisticated industrial machinery of the twentieth century.
