Talk:BPG Endbands

A great addition to this page would be illustrations of various commonly encountered types of endband--Kkelly (talk) 10:08, 15 June 2015 (CDT)

I have heard that the steps offered by Greenfield and Hille (1990) are incorrect for the Renaissance chevron and Armenian headband. If this is true, what is a better source? Have the instructions been corrected in the 3rd edition (2017)?--Kkelly (talk) 16:28, 12 October 2017 (CDT)

A more detailed description of Szirmai's system would be helpful.--Kkelly (talk) 16:28, 12 October 2017 (CDT)

Thoughts on Ligatus

I removed a lot of this text from the main page and added some additional thoughts. --Kkelly (talk) 18:32, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

There are a lot of new (2021-2023) entries to LOB, but many are lacking definitions and all are lacking photos. This makes it difficult to adopt that plan for this page. They do seem to include front and back bead terminology, which is great.--Kkelly (talk) 18:35, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

endband techniques are a subset of forwarding techniques. The varieties are further broken down into primary sewing techniques distinguished by the pattern of the thread (helical and whipped-cord, and secondary sewings distinguished by the pattern of the thread or the thongs (braided, helical, or whipped-cord).

• primary sewing (endband techniques)

The process of sewing an endband down into the gatherings of the bookblock with or without a core. Primary endband sewing must by definition be entirely separate from the sewing of the bookblock. [...] Alternative label: foundational sewing

• helical endband sewing

A form of primary sewing of an endband in which the thread having been taken down the centre of one gathering is brought up on the spine to go over an endband core and down into the next gathering without linking with the previous tiedown or making any form of bead. It is the type of primary sewing that is typically found on Islamic endbands.

• whipped-cord primary sewing

The sewing used to tack an endband core to the head or tail of a spine of a bookblock. Whipped sewing was not used as a structural sewing but simply as a means of holding the usually decorated core in place, and results in external tiedowns which appear at an angle on the spine. This is because the thread as it emerges from the spine-fold of one gathering is taken across the spine to the point on the core where the next internal tiedown is to be made.

• saddle sewing

A form of sewing which employs a repeated figure-of-eight sewing. [...] Saddle sewing is most often found on books as the secondary sewing used with covered endbands. Alternative label: saddle stitch

• secondary sewing (endband techniques)

The sewing, often purely decorative, which wraps around a sewn endband core but which is not tied down into the bookblock. [...]

• braided secondary endband sewing

A type of secondary endband sewing in which threads or thongs are braided around the core of a sewn endband. The braiding may be done before or after the book is covered and if after, will go through the covering material at head and tail of the spine. [...] Alternative label: plaited endbands

• helical secondary endband sewing

A secondary sewing executed by winding thread, or threads, usually coloured around the primary-sewn endband in a helix from one side to the other.

• whipped-cord secondary sewing

Lengths of coloured twisted cords whipped with thread to the exposed edge of the stuck-on endband lining. Typically found on some Germanic stuck-on endbands of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, this technique will not be found on sewn endbands.

European Endbands

work in progress--Kkelly (talk) 14:32, 9 November 2023 (UTC)

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 [is this the correct terminology?--Kkelly (talk) 16:08, 9 November 2023 (UTC)].

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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 of core 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 Endband

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  Armenian endband

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  Model of Armenian endband

"The Armenian endband was a compound raised endband consisting of a primary sewing over one support cord to which three cords were attached one at a time with silk thread to create the secondary endband. The primary sewing was done with the same thread used for sewing the textblock. Red, black, and white were the most commonly used colours for silk threads and were worked to create a chevron design ([#redKhanOhanyan|Khan and Ohanyan 2023)."

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

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

Islamic Endbands

Karin Scheper. "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.

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.

Original BCC content

The following is draft content from the Book Conservation Catalog, from approximately 2003. It may be useful in the development of this page. ENDBANDS The following categories are found in this section:

MATERIALS used to support the endband and thread used to sew the endband

TECHNIQUE/PROCESS will describe the major structural types

STYLE will identify technique by name

SUPPORT MATERIALS

animal skin

tanned leather

tawed

parchment and vellum

cane (wood)

cat gut

cord

flax

jute

hemp

paper rolled

paper board

THREAD MATERIALS

linen

cotton

silk

TECHNIQUE/PROCESS

sewn on

stuck on

STYLE

Armenian

Coptic

chevron end bands

Ethiopian

French double headband

German braided headband

Greek

hand sewn

headband with a bead at the edge

headband with bead at the spine

headband w/ a bead at the spine and edge

Italian

Islamic

laced into cover

machine-made

primary endband

plaited endbands

stuck on