Finishing (bookbinding)

Finishing (bookbinding)

Gold-plated margins by Robert Hayman's Quodlibets (published during hand printing).

In binding, finishing refers to the process of decorating the outside of a book, including the letters on the spine and cover, any other tools, and any inlays and inlays. Finishing can also include gilding or other decorations on the edges of the pages.

Organizing early manuscripts, such as Cooptic binding, was relatively straightforward, including blind tools and leather strips woven from cover materials.

In traditional binding, finishing is done manually and is a highly skilled process. Until the second half of the 20th century, finishing was mainly done by men specializing in bronzing; they received the books after completing the process of sewing and covering them (called "forwarding").

In the broadest sense, any book with decoration, except for cover material (such as the title), can be considered completed, although the term usually applies only to books that are heavily decorated by hand.