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English Embroidered Bookbindings by Cyril James Humphries Davenport
page 30 of 119 (25%)
hole with a piece of hemp or leather lying transversely across it, under
which the thread passes (Fig. 12).

[Illustration: FIG. 12.
Typical appearance of the sewing of a book with 'sawn in' bands, as seen
from the inside of each section. The bands just visible.]

In the case of a properly sewn book, the bands themselves cannot be seen
at all from the inside of the sections, unless, indeed, the book is
damaged (Fig. 13). If the covering of the back is off, or even loose,
the method of sewing that has been used can very easily be seen; and if
it appears that the bands are sunk in a small trench, that is the form
of sewing that is called 'sawn in,' or analogous to it.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.
Typical appearance of the sewing of a book on raised bands, as seen from
the inside of each section. The bands invisible. Known as 'flexible.']

Although in the embroidered books the bands of the backs do not show on
the surface, it is common enough to find the lines they probably follow
indicated in the work on the back, which is divided into panels by as
many transverse lines, braid or cord, as there are bands underneath
them. But in some cases the designer has used the back as one long
panel, and decorated it accordingly as one space. The headbands in some
of the earlier books were sewn at the same time as the other bands on
the sewing-press and drawn in to the boards, but in most early bindings
the ravaging repairer has been at work and made it impossible to know
for certain what was the state of the headbands before the book came
into his hands. Most of the existing headbands are made by hand in the
usual way, with the ends simply cut off, not indeed a very satisfactory
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