BPG Endbands

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Book and Paper Group Wiki > Book Conservation Wiki > Endbands

Endbands, or headbands, are functional and/or ornamental bands at the head and tail of a book between the sections and the spine covering, which project slightly beyond the head and tail (Roberts and Etherington 1982). Functions served by endbands may include supporting the sewing, controlling the shape of the spine, or reinforcing the text to cover attachment by extending across the joints. Even stuck-on endbands can serve a functional role of supporting the turned-in cap. This page includes resources, illustrations, and observations about endbands and their role in book conservation.

Wiki Compilers: Lyudmyla Bua
Wiki Contributors: Sherif Afifi, Rachel Bissonnette, Donia Conn, Emily Farek, Katherine Kelly, Peter Verheyen, please add your name here

Copyright 2024. The AIC Wiki is a publication of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC). It is published as a convenience for the members of AIC. Publication does not endorse nor recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein. Information on researching with and citing the wiki can be found on the Reference and Bibliography Protocols page.

Cite this page:

American Institute for Conservation (AIC). "BPG Endbands." AIC Wiki. December 21, 2024. https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/BPG_Endbands.

Descriptive Terminology

• compound endband

Endbands made from both a primary endband sewn though the gatherings of a book and a secondary endband sewing around the primary sewing (Boudalis 2014).

• conservation endband

An endband adapted for use in conservation rebinding. The features of this endband include the use of high quality materials (linen thread and a core of linen cord or alum tawed skin) and sound structural principals (tie downs in each gathering and a back bead that holds the thread against the back of the gathering. Christopher Clarkson introduced this style based on his observations of medieval endband structures (Clarkson 1982). Decorative secondary endbands of silk thread can be sewn over the primary conservation endband.

• endband tab

Szirmai uses this term for the spine lining or covering material extension on Carolingian, Gothic, and Romanesque bindings that the endband is sewn through. Are there sources that use this term for the leather tab covering some Islamic endbands or is there an alternative term?

• front and back bead vs. edge and spine bead

Greenfield and Hille use the terms edge and spine to refer to the placement of the bead. Szirmai uses the terms front and back bead.

• helical endband sewing

Primary endband sewing technique used in Islamic bindings where the thread passes through the gatherings, out to the spine, and over the endband core without forming a bead (Ligatus).

• integral endband

Endbands that are worked in the same operation as the text block sewing (Roberts and Etherington 1982; Szirmai 1999, 203; Middleton 2004). The term Kapitalbünde is preferred by Ligatus to distinguish these from "true" endbands.

• primary endband and secondary endband

A primary endband is sewn into the gatherings of a book. A secondary endband is sewn on top of a primary endband (Ligatus).

Stuck-on endband on a modern book

• stuck-on

Endbands that are attached to the spine of the textblock by means of adhesive only.

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• tie-down

The stitch that goes into a gathering and exits on the spine under the kettle stitch when working an endband. Its purpose is to secure the band to the textblock. When sewing functional endbands it is ideal to have the tie-downs at the center of every gathering.

• twined endbands

In the Boudalis reference below, the author proposes a new terminology for "twined endbands" (Boudalis 2014).

• sewn endband or worked endband

An endband that is sewn through the gatherings of a textblock.

Translations

• capitello (Italian)
• tranchefile (French)
• kapital (German)

Also see the endband entry in the Multilingual Bookbinding and Conservation Dictionary.

Some Notes on Terminology

The above definitions were drawn from a number of sources, not all of which agree about what is included in the definition of an endband (integral endband vs Kapitalbünde) or the words that should be used (front bead vs. spine bead, and back bead vs. spine bead). There is a trend towards functional description (the pattern of the thread) over historical assignments (Syriac or Gothic), but these cultural terms are still useful and still widely used.

The principal sources for understanding and describing endbands used in this wiki page have their own systems which are described below.

Szirmai: In The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding, Szirmai (1999, 203) breaks down endbands into seven types which are assigned Roman numerals. I. integral endband, II. primary wound endband, III. saddle-stitch endband over primary wound endband, IV. primary endband with secondary embroidery, V. primary wound endband with secondary braiding, VII. primary embroidered endband, and VIII. short-cut endband.

Ligatus: The Ligatus Language of Bindings Thesaurus (LOB) is a structured hierarchy of terms used to describe historical bookbindings. The definitions frequently include historical background and conservation information, but this information is spread across the hierarchy. Information about endbands is found primarily in the section on objects (endband components and endbands) and in the section on techniques (endband techniques). There are some other details to be found in the sections on features (e.g. endband slips, endband-lining extensions). LOB is a work in progress and there are many 2021-2023 endband entries that have not been fully defined.

European Endbands

Carolingian unsupported tab endband

Sewn without a core through the sections and through a tab spine lining. Described and illustrated in Szirmai (1999, figure 7.21 and 7.22, 121-122).

Carolingian supported tab endband on double cores

Sewn on double core supports through the sections and through a tab spine lining. Cores are usually thin cord and the sewing can be herringbone, straight unpacked, or straight packed, though the last two options appear to indicate rebindings rather than original carolingian bindings. Described and illustrated by Szirmai (1999, figure 7.23 and 7.24, 122-123).

Romanesque supported tab endband on double cores

Late 11th to 13th centuries. Sewn on double core supports through the sections and through a tab spine lining. Sewing can be herringbone or straight. The supports extend past the spine and are used to secure the boards. Similar to Carolingian examples, but with more decorative elements such as colored thread and textile tab linings. Described and illustrated by Szirmai (1999, Figure 8.16a-c, 8.17a 159-162). Sources differ on the thread path around the two supports - Guiffrida (1982) and Greenfield and Hille (1990) show the thread moving in a figure 8 pattern around the two supports and the endband anchored to the sections at the bottom of the lower support. Szirmai shows the thread moving either in a B-pattern (Figure 8.16a) or in a pretzel pattern (Figure 8.7e), with the endband anchored to the sections from center of the two supports.

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  Supported tab endband on a single core with chevron pattern

Romanesque supported tab endband on single core

Late 11th to 13th centuries. Sewn on a single core support. Thread passes through the sections and through a tab spine lining. Sewing can be straight or straight packed. The supports extend past the spine and are used to secure the boards. Can be plain or with a secondary endband of colored thread, usually in a chevron or "cross stitch" pattern. Described and illustrated by Szirmai (1999, Figure 8.16d-g, 159-162).

Integral endband

Text block sewing continues to the head and tail of the spine and is used to form the endband. Sewing can be straight or straight packed. Not found in Carolingian bindings and rarely found in Romanesque bindings. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type I, Figures 9.8, 9.19-9.21, 203-216).

Plain wound endband, single core

Thread passes through the sections, and the supports extend past the spine and are used to secure the boards. This structure, found on Gothic bindings, is the same as that for Romanesque bindings, except that the tab lining is usually omitted. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type II, Figure 9.21a, 203-216).

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  Model of a saddle stitch endband (front)

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  Model of a saddle stitch endband (back)

Saddle-stitch endband

Primary wound endband is first sewn on a single core support. Covering material at the spine is folded over a primary endband and held in place with a saddle stitch that passes underneath the primary endband. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type III, Figure 9.23, 203-216).

Primary wound endband with secondary embroidered endband

A primary wound endband is first sewn on a single core support. Secondary embroidery is sewn on top of the primary in a decorative pattern. In Gothic bindings, the sewing sometimes covered just the primary endband, with the covering leather turned over to form a cap behind it, or the covering leather was cut flush behind the primary endband, and then the secondary sewing included both the primary endband and the exposed leather edge. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type IV, 203-216).

Variations of the secondary sewing include:

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  Model of a Monastic endband (front)

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  Model of a Monastic endband (back)

Secondary endband, monastic

Described by Greenfield and Hille as a Monastic endband (1990).

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  Model of a Renaissance Chevron endband (front)

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  Model of a Renaissance Chevron endband (back)

Secondary endband, chevron or cross-stitch embroidery

Multiple strands of a colored thread are taken up with a single needle and crossed over a group of a different color to form a chevron. Szirmai calls this style "cross-stitch embroidery" and illustrates it in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type IV, Figure 9.24, 203-216) and his chapter on Romanesque bindings (Figure 8.16f-g, 160). Greenfield and Hille call this a Renaissance Chevron endband (2017, 77-79). Can be worked over the primary core, or the primary core and the edge of the covering leather.

Secondary endband, Renaissance type

Multiple colors of thread are wrapped straight around the primary endband with one or more auxiliary cores. Can be worked over the primary core, or the primary core and the edge of the covering leather. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type IV, Figure 9.25, 203-216). Greenfield and Hille's instructions for an "Italian Renaisssance Endband" describe making this with five cores (1990, 70-77).

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  Braided leather endband. The Pressbengel Project.

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  Plaited headband (Roberts and Etherington 1982)

Primary wound endband with secondary braiding

Primary wound endband is sewn on a single core support. Thread passes through the sections, and the supports extend past the spine and are used to secure the boards. A secondary endband is formed by braiding leather strips over the primary sewing and usually over the covering leather. Described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type V, Figure 9.27-29, 203-216).

Primary embroidered endband with a front bead

In this style of endband, the decorative thread passes through the sections and forms the endband over a core of leather, alum tawed skin, or parchment. The supports may extend past the spine and secure the boards or they may just cover the spine width. The endband may be sewn over a patch spine lining or directly on the spine. The origins of this type of endband are described and illustrated by Szirmai in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type VI, Figure 9.30, 203-216) and Middleton states that these became the norm very early in the 16th century (Middleton 1996, 104-105). Greenfield and Hille call this an endband with a bead on the edge (1990).

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  Back bead endband.

Wound endband with a back bead

This style of endband is commonly used as the primary endband in modern conservation rebinding. Greenfield and Hille (1990) describe a method of making this endband by using two active ends of the thread to form the windings and beads, resulting in two beads per tie-down. Lindsay (1991) describes a cleaner method where the tail of the endband thread is caught up with the core and does not form part of the windings or beads, resulting in one bead per tie down.

Hand-sewn stuck-on endband

Decorative endbands sewn on the edge of a piece of vellum (or cloth?) and adhered to the spine and sometimes extending to the outside of the boards or laced through the boards. Szirmai described these as "short-cut endbands" and describes them in his chapter on Gothic bindings (1999, Type VII, Figure 9.31, 203-216). Middleton states that these were in use in German bindings as early as the late 16th century, and used in English bindings in the early 18th century (1996, 108, 330).

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Rolled stuck-on endband

A piece of cloth, leather, or paper folded around a core and adhered to the spine. Popular in England starting in the early 1800s (Middleton 1996, 108).

Machine-made stuck-on endband

Introduced in England around 1850 (Middleton 1996, 108).

Armenian Endbands

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  Armenian endband

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  Model of Armenian endband

An Armenian endband is a compound raised endband formed with primary sewing over a single cord, and three cords attached with the decorative secondary sewing. The primary sewing is helical, and uses the same thread as used to sew the textblock. The secondary sewing commonly uses red, black, and white silk thread to form a chevron design (Khan and Ohanyan 2023).

Ohanyan, Tamara. 2021. "Armenian Traditional Endband." Library of Congress.

Islamic Endbands

For more information about Islamic Endbands, see Karen Scheper's article on "Endband varieties in the Islamic world" (2019).

Part 1 Video tutorial for making an Islamic endband, showing the weaving of the chevron pattern. Created by Sherif Afifi, Oct 5, 2017.	Part 2 Video tutorial for making an Islamic endband, showing how to create the chevron pattern on a book. Created by Sherif Afifi, Nov 4, 2017.

Marzo, Flavio and Rolf Killius. 2014. "Making an Islamic Style End Band." Produced for the Qatar Digital Library.

Conservation Treatment

Repairing Old Endbands

Middleton (2004) describes how to anchor and repair old endbands.

Social History of Endbands

In the 19th century, the labor of sewing of endbands in some Western European binderies was sometimes done by women. Zaehnsdorf (1890, 83) had this observation: “Few binders work their own head-bands in these times of competition and strikes for higher wages. It takes some time and pains to teach a female hand the perfection of head-band working, and but too often, since gratitude is not universal, the opportunity of earning a few more pence per week is seized without regard to those at whose expense the power of earning anything was gained, and the baffled employer is wearied by constant changes. Owing to this, most bookbinders use the machine-made head-band.”

Image Gallery

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  Headband (Roberts and Etherington 1982)

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  Tying down (Roberts and Etherington 1982)

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  Sewing a secondary front bead endband in two colors of silk thread over a primary endband of linen thread.

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  Stuck-on endbands. The Pressbengel Project.

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  Braided leather endband. The Pressbengel Project.

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  Plaited headband (Roberts and Etherington 1982)

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  Practice model of an Ethiopian endband, completed using instructions from Greenfield and Hille.

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  Practice model of an Ethiopian endband, spine view, completed using instructions from Greenfield and Hille.

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  Practice model of an Islamic-style endband, in green and yellow silk thread over leather.

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  Practice model of a French Double Endband, sewn in green, red and yellow silk thread over cord.

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  Practice model of a Byzantine-style endband, in linen thread over cord.

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  Practice model (in progress) of a Byzantine-style endband, in linen thread over cord. Side view.

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  Finished Armenian-style endband, view from fore edge, with thick cord and linen thread primary (tiedowns through the boards) and red, black, and white silk secondary (with two additional cores).

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  Finished Armenian-style endband, view from spine, with thick cord and linen thread primary (tiedowns through the boards) and red, black, and white silk secondary (with two additional cores).

Video Tutorials

Video tutorial for making a double cord Byzantine endband. Created by Sherif Afifi, July 12, 2015. The endband is a model, sewn on card. Thread is Maggie Moon waxed linen thread.	Video showing the creation of a new double cord Byzantine endband on an historical book. Created by Sherif Afifi, February 23, 2013.	Video tutorial for making a Coptic endband model, sewn on card. Created by Sherif Afifi, July 24, 2015.

Annotated Bibliography

Adam, C. 1984. Restauration des manuscrits et des livres anciens. Puteaux, France : Erec.

Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München. 1971. Buchrestaurierung Methoden und Ergebnisse. München: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

Bibliothéque Nationale. 1989. Les Tranchefiles Brodées: Etude Historique et Technique. Paris: Bibliothéque Nationale.

Historical endbands from the Bibliotheque National in Paris. Photograph of prototype shown with very clear and concise illustrations of technique.

Boudalis, Georgios. 2014? “Twined Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean .Published / Presented a few places, including on Academia.edu. Accessed October 2, 2017.

The author proposes a new technical terminology for Eastern Mediterranean endbands to replace terminology based on ethnic or religious ground (e.g. Armenian, Byzantine woven, Islamic, Syriac). The terms he suggests are "twined" rather than woven, with the variations of "plain twining", "wrapped twining", "partial wrapped twining", and "full wrapped twining". The tie downs of the primary endband sewing are the warps, and the wefts are the multiple strands of decorative thread that interlace the warps and each other.

Burdett, Eric. 1975. The Craft of Bookbinding. London: David and Charles.

Clarkson, Christoper. 1982. Limp Vellum Binding. Hitchin, Herts.

Describes the conservation endband as part of a model of conservation rebinding based on medieval bookbinding structures.

Clarkson, Christopher. 1996. Further Studies in Anglo-Saxon and Norman Bookbinding. in Roger Powell, The Complete Binder. Liber Amicorum, edited by John L. Sharpe, Bibliologia 14, Turnhout, Brepols. 154-214.

Clarkson, Christopher. 1996. A Hitherto Unrecorded English Romanesque Book Sewing Technique. in Roger Powell, The Complete Binder. Liber Amicorum, edited by John L. Sharpe, Bibliologia 14, Turnhout, Brepols. 215–239.

Cockerell, Douglas. 1991. Bookbinding and the Care of Books. New York: Lyons and Burford.

Crane, W. J. E. [1900?]. Bookbinding for Amateurs. London: L. Upcott Gill.

Darley, Lionel S. 1965. Bookbinding Basics. Toronto: Cole Publishing Company, Ltd.

Darley, Lionel S. 1965. Introduction to Book Binding. London: Faber and Faber.

Diehl, Edith. 1980. Bookbinding: Its Background and Technique. New York: Dover Publications.

Provides concise written instructions for making a silk front bead endband with multiple tie-downs and a French double core endband. A good description of early 20th century binding practice.

Federici, Carlo, and Kostantinos Houlis. 1988. Legature Bizantine Vaticane. Roma: Gratelli Palombi Editori.

Fischer, Barbara. 1986. Sewing and Endband in the Islamic Technique of Binding. Restaurator 7. 181-201.

Forsyth, K. Marjorie. 1932. Bookbinding for Teachers, Students and Amateurs. London: A & C Black.

Gast, Monica. 1983. A History of Endbands Based on a Study by Karl Jäckel. The New Bookbinder 3. 42-58.

Gast’s article is a revised version of her thesis, written as a requirement for her course at Camberwell School of Art & Craft and based on Karl Jäckel's article "The Headband" (Alte Techniken des Buchbinderhandwerks in der modernen Schriftgutrestaurierung, 2: Das Kapital) which appeared in Bibliotheksforum Bayern, 3 (1975). In it, she presents in English the history and description of historical endbands reinterpreting Jäckels diagrams and including photographs of these on historic bindings and book blocks. Styles included are: leather tabs, wound endbands (often used as primary endbands), plaited with leather thongs, plaiting with threads, modern endbands, Islamic (Oriental) endbands, Greek, and Ethiopian endbands. Also included at the beginning is a description of the materials used. While presented much more simply, the diagrams in Jäckel’s style can easily be followed, especially if traced in two colors for the different colors/ends. (Verheyen)

Giannini, Guido G. 1923. Il Dilettante Legatore di Libri. Milan: Ulrico Hoepli.

Green, Arthur. 2016. "A compensation endband: a structural endband for a book with uneven edges" (link to subscription journal). Journal of the Institute of Conservation 39 (2).

Abstract: "This paper describes a structural endband that was developed for use on MS. Laud Misc. 99; a late-medieval parchment manuscript recently rebound at the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Whilst the endbands were an important part of the new wooden board binding, it was challenging to work them on the tail edge of the book because of the uneven quires and the desire to use boards of equal height. The solution was to develop compensation which would support a straight endband that laced evenly onto both boards whilst maintaining its structural function."

Greenfield, Jane and Jenny Hille. 1990. Headbands: How to Work Them. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books. 2^nd revised edition.

Instructions for making endbands: bead on edge, bead on spine, bead on spine and edge, French double core, Coptic, Ethiopian, plain wound double core, German braided leather, Greek, Armenian, Islamic, Italian Renaissance, Monastic, and Renaissance chevron.

Greenfield, Jane and Jenny Hille. 2017. Endbands from East to West: How to Work Them.. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Books. 3^rd revised edition of Headbands: How to Work Them.

Updated and reorganized version of the above, containing instructions for making endbands: Coptic, Ethiopian, Islamic, Greek, Armenian (revised for this edition), bead on edge, bead on spine, bead on spine and edge (revised for this edition), French double core, plain wound double core, Monastic, Renaissance chevron, Italian Renaissance, and German braided leather. Most of the updates consist of additional background information on the endbands and references to recent sources, but there are some important updates to the sewing techniques as well. The Armenian endband was entirely rewritten, and the bead on spine and edge was changed and includes as a variant Christopher Clarkson's back bead (bead-on-spine) endband.

Guiffrida, Barbara. 1982. Book Conservation Workshop Manual Part Three: Endbands. The New Bookbinder 2. 29-39.

The article presents a brief overview of the history and function of endbands, as well as the materials used. In doing so, it “relates these early forms to the work at the Bibliotheca Nazionale Centrale Firenze (BNCF), showing the sound functional basis for the methods adopted there.” Illustrated with diagrams, the article describes and presents instructions for sewing the following endbands: “early”, stuck-on, coloured silk, BNCF with more detailed inscructions, laced-in, and decorative sewings. (Verheyen)

Henningsen, Thorwald. 1969. Handbuch für den Buchbinder. St. Gallen: Rudolf Hostettler Verlad.

Hewitt-Bates, J. S. 1954. Bookbinding. Leicester: The Dryad Press.

Jäckel, Karl. 1975. Alte Techniken des Buchbinderhandwerks in der modernen Schriftgutrestaurierung, 2: Das Kapital. Bibliotheksforum Bayern Vol. 3, pp. 207-219.

See Gast, Monica for endbands described. Jäckel provides prose instructions for completing these. Easier to follow are his diagrams that can easily be followed, especially if traced in two colors for the different colors/ends. (Verheyen)

Johnson, Arthur W. 1978. The Thames and Hudson Manual of Bookbinding. London: Thames and Hudson.

Johnson, Pauline. 1990. Creative Bookbinding. New York: Dover Publications.

Khan, Yasmeen and Tamara Ohanyan. 2023. "Armenian Bindings." Chapter 3.4 in Conservation of Books, edited by Abigail Bainbridge, 45-54. London: Routledge.

Kurzke, Hilke. 2009. Six Ways to Make Coptic Headbands. Büchertiger Press.

Instructions for six styles of Coptic endbands including: one-colored; simple two-colored; plain two-colored; true double; poor double; fake double / secondary.

Lauder, Alfred. 2000. A Textbook for Rebinding Rare Books Based on a New Technical Principle. Guild of Book Workers Journal 36 (1).

Ligatus Language of Bindings Thesaurus. Accessed October 2, 2017.

Lindsay, Jen. 1991. "A Limp Vellum Binding Sewn on Alum-tawed Thongs". New Bookbinder 11.

Describes a back bead conservation endband which differs from Greenfield's "headband with a bead on the spine". In Lindsay's description, the tail of the endband thread is caught up with the core and does not form part of the windings or beads. In Greenfield, there are two active ends of the thread which together form the windings and beads. The difference appears to be that Greenfield's version results in two beads per tie-down and Lindsay's results in one bead per tie down.

Matthews, William. [1929]. Bookbinding; a manual for those interested in the craft of bookbinding. New York: E. P. Dutton and Co. Available online through Hathi Trust.

Maywald-Pitellos, Claus and Friedrich Prenzlau. 2002. Die Kapitale: aas arabische, syrische, armenische, äthiopische, koptische und griechische Kapital. Books on Demand.

(in German) Instructions on Arabic, Syrian, Armenian, Ethiopian, Coptic, and Greek endbands.

Merker, Constance. 1985. "Endband sampler." Digital image from the University of Iowa Libraries Bookbinding Models website.

Digital image of a variety of endbands, with detailed views of each one.

Middleton, Bernard. 1996. A History of English Craft Bookbinding Technique. Fourth Revised Edition. New Castle, DE : Oak Knoll Press.

The section on headbands (102-108) and updates in later editions (329-330) describes the evolution in styles of English endbands from the Stonyhurst Gospel to 20th century techniques.

Middleton, Bernard. 2004. The Restoration of Leather Bindings. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll. 4^th edition.

Middleton describes the creation of a sewn on, single core, front bead endband, made of two colors of silk thread with tie-downs every third or fourth section. He also describes the history of various styles of endbands and suggests that rebinders and restorers should, when replacing old endbands, make them in imitation of the original or by following historical exemplars.

Mowery, J. Franklin. 1991. The Logic and Techniques of German Bookbinding. Guild of Book Workers Journal 29 (1). 38-55.

Petersen, Heinz. 1991. Bucheinbände. Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt Graz.

Priem-Nielsen, A. V., et. al. 1970. Den Håndindbundne Bog. København: Forening for Boghaandværk Ny Nordisk Forlag, Arnold Brusk.

Rigaut, Henriette. 1989. La Reliere Comme Un Professionnel. Paris: Flerus Id?es.

Roberts, Matt and Don Etherington. 1982. Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: A Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Available online through CoOL.

headband definition and illustration, tie down, bead

Karin Scheper. 2019. "Endband varieties in the Islamic world." In: Suave Mechanicals : Essays on the History of Bookbinding Vol. 5, ed. Julia Miller, 2019, Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Legacy Press, pp. 352-430.

Szirmai, J. A. 1995. Carolingian Bindings in the Abbey Library of St. Gall. Making the Medieval Book: Techniques of Production. The Red Gull Press.

Szirmai, J. A. 1999. The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Town, Laurence. 1963. Bookbinding by Hand for Students and Craftsmen. London: Faber and Faber.

Vaughan, Alex J. 1996. Modern Bookbinding. London: Robert Hale.

Watson, Aldren. 1963. Hand Bookbinding. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation.

Young, Laura S. 1995. Bookbinding and Conservation by Hand. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press.

Provides instructions and illustrations for making single- and double-core sewn-on front bead endbands. This book usefully incorporates conservation principles into the binding and repair techniques.

Zaehnsdorf, Joseph W. 1890. The Art of Bookbinding: A Practical Treatise. London: George Bell and Sons.

Zahn, Gerhard. 1990. Grundwissen für Buchbinder: Schewrpunkt Einzelfertigung. Itzehoe: Verlag Beruf + Schule.

History of This Page

Prior to the creation of the AIC Conservation Wiki, this page was created as "Section 3 - Chapter 3 - Endbands" of the Book Conservation Catalog by Donia Conn. For more see: History of the BPG Wiki.