Holocaust Memorial Day and the Collins

January 27^th is recognized as Holocaust Memorial Day, the day of the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz in 1945. With the increasing and ongoing spread of totalitarian movements, rhetoric, and imagery across the globe, it is important to remember the past and where it can lead if we are not vigilant and push back at all times.

Ernst and Else Collin from the catalog to the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung of 1929, an image of a painting by Walter Kampmann. Ernst is sitting in a chair with a book [paper], and holding a writing instrument, his head seemingly lost in thought resting in his palm. A woman, presumably his wife Else (nee Cronheim) almost has him in embrace, one hand on his right arm, with her left almost on his shoulder. More here.

Ernst and Else Collin were deported to Auschwitz on December 9^th, 1942 and murdered there. But, their horrors started much earlier, officially with the rise to power of the Nazis in 1933, and their systematic exclusion from public places, education, their places of work, their ability to live their lives freely, and so much more.

III) Transportliste: 24. Osttransport mit 1061 gelisteten Namen in das KL Auschwitz, 09.12.1942.
Note the Israel or Sara in the name. These were added by the Nazis to all Jewish individuals.
Page from the Transportliste for the 24th deportation from Berlin to Auschwitz, 12.9.1942.
The address for the Collins is from the Judenhaus at Aschaffenburgerstr. 6 in Berlin where they
were picked up, most likely the now yellow building.

Image of the Transportliste from the Arolsen Archives.

From there they were taken to the freight station in Moabit where a memorial was dedicated to those deported to their deaths. Other information links their deportation train to "Gleis 17" of the Bahnhof Grunewald and to their deaths. That platform is now a memorial with the dates of the transport in steel as part of the platform. More here. The Deutsche Reichsbahn (German railways) was very complicit in these transports, and created this as a "central memorial" to those deported and the role of the railway. 

Detail from the memorial by Axel Mauruszat.

On April 1, 2014, almost 10 years ago, two Stolpersteine (Stumbling Blocks) were laid to memorialize Ernst Collin and his wife Else (nee Cronheim) in front of the entrance to their home at Cicerostr 61 in Berlin. Stolpersteine are "monuments" created by Gunter Demnig that commemorate victims of the Holocaust. They are small, cobblestone-sized memorials for an individual victim of Nazism – both those who died and survivors – who were consigned by the Nazis to prisons, euthanasia facilities, sterilization clinics, concentration camps, and extermination camps, as well as those who responded to persecution by emigrating or committing suicide". The "stones" record the name of the individual, their birthday, and their fate. In Berlin the Koordinierungsstelle Stolpersteine works together with Stolperstein Initiatives in the various city districts, in this case Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf.

Photo Gerhard Schumm, 4.1.2014

Google Maps recently updated its Streetview images for Berlin, and the Stolpersteine can finally be seen, sort of.

Detail from Google Streetview of Cicerostr 61 in Berlin.

NIE WIEDER!

NEVER AGAIN!

Picturing Ernst Collin

I've always wanted to put a face to the name. In the case of Ernst Collin that was, sadly, not possible. I got excited recently when I decided to look for Ernst Collin on Ancestry.com and found someone whose profile indicated that they had two images. As we say in German, Fehlanzeige... The images were those of the marriage certificate between Ernst Heinrich Collin and Else Cronheim that I had also found there. This was very important because for the first time I had an official, documented connection to his parents Georg Collin and Regina Collin (nee Josef) who were also listed on the certificate. Otherwise, all connections were embedded in his often-self-referential articles. In contrast, there are images of his doppelgänger Heinrich Ernst Collin-Schönfeld in the latter's papers at the Leo Baeck in New York. His marriage certificate to Margarete Weisgerber-Collin was also available in Ancestry confirming those details.

But a confirmed photo of the Ernst Collin of the Pressbengel ... has still not been found.

There was a photograph that appeared in both of Ernst's two articles about binding in fish skin (both 1934) showing the customer sizing up a fish that might be used on his binding. In that image, the customer is shown from behind and slightly to the side, but not identifiable. For me, that was Ernst, I wanted it to be him.

Is the customer at right Ernst Collin?
Holding the fish at left is Franz Martini, the binder.
Ernst took the images for the article, so was there.

A year or two after finding that image, I found a wonderfully expressionist ex-libris for an Ernst Collin that was created by Walter Kampmann in 1920. Featured in the ex-libris was a face. In circumstances like that it is easy to jump to conclusions, and I did. The ex-libris was found in a bound volume of Die Heftlade, the "modest" bookbinding journal published 1922-24 by Ernst Collin for the Jakob-Krause-Bund. The reason for trading-up was that this copy had all inserts and the remaining two issues from 1924. The Heftlade did not appear in 1923. Among the inserts was one to accompany an article on collecting ex-libris by Ernst. 

Ernst Collin ex-libris by Walter Kampmann, 1920.

It's been a while since I was actively searching for articles by, and mentions of Ernst Collin, but I recently came across the journal Exlibris Buchkunst und angewandte Grafik, volume 31, 1921. In it, an article by Ernst about Walter Kampman that also included the ex-libris above among many others. In the article Ernst also described his ex-libris, providing the confirmation that this was his, and not the "other Ernst's".  

Passage in which Ernst interprets his ex-libris.
Below, the transcribed text.

Das nächste Exlibris Ernst Collin [Beil. zw. S. 52/53] hat der Künstler dem Verfasser dieses Aufsatzes gewidmet. Es gilt dem Kunstkritiker. Dessen Kopf nimmt, ruhend auf einer Feder, die von Fingern geführt wird, die Diagonale des Bildes ein. Es soll der Kopf des Kunstkritikers sein; die Augen hinter der Brille sind geradeaus gerichtet, ein Symbol der kunstkritischen Arbeit, die, vorurteilslos und unbeeinflußt, nur geradeaus schauen darf. Es ist nicht uninteressant, hier zu erwähnen, daß der Künstler nicht beabsichtigt hat, in den Kopf eine Bildnisähnlichkeit hineinzulegen, daß mir aber von Freunden versichert worden ist, sie hätten mich sofort erkannt. Von dem Finger geht eine Treppe aus, die zu einem Hause führt; vor diesem steht der Künstler, an der Staffelei malend. Er steht auf einer Rahmenleiste, die ein nur zum Teil sichtbares Bild mit einer tanzenderscheinenden Figur umrahmt. Der Aufbau des Bildes ist sehr konzentriert, Licht und Schatten sind dem Charakter der Darstellung gemäß streng und rhythmisch verteilt. Hier kommt Kampmann, wie er es bereits bei einigen vorhergehenden, hier nicht ab gebildeten Exlibris getan hat, zu einer freieren und doch der Zeichnung sich an- und eingliedernden Anordnung der Schrift. Die aufsteigende Anordnung bei dem Eigennamen meines Exlibris scheint mir die aufbauende Arbeit des Kritikers andeuten zu sollen.

And in English with a little help from Deepl for expedience:

The artist dedicated the next bookplate to Ernst Collin [insert between p. 52/53], the author of this essay. It is dedicated to the art critic. His head, resting on a feather guided by fingers, occupies the diagonal of the picture. It is supposed to be the head of the art critic; the eyes behind the glasses are directed straight ahead, a symbol of the work of art criticism, which, unprejudiced and uninfluenced, may only look straight ahead. It is not uninteresting to mention here that the artist did not intend the head to resemble a portrait, but that I have been assured by friends that they recognized me immediately. A staircase leads from the finger to a house; the artist is standing in front of it, painting at an easel. He is standing on a frame that surrounds a picture of a dancing figure that is only partially visible. The composition of the picture is very concentrated with light and shadow distributed strictly and rhythmically in accordance with the character of the depiction. Here, as he has already done in some previous ex-libris not depicted here, Kampmann has arrived at a freer arrangement of the lettering, which nevertheless adapts and integrates itself into the drawing. The ascending arrangement of the proper name of my bookplate seems to me to indicate the critic's constructive work.

Recently, eight years later, I found yet another work by Walter Kampmann depicting Ernst Collin in the catalog to the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung of 1929. While the first was very expressionist, this one is a little less so, and depicts him in a chair with a [notebook] and holding a writing instrument, his head seemingly lost in thought resting in his palm. A woman, presumably his wife Else (nee Cronheim) almost has him in embrace, one hand on his right arm, with her left almost on his shoulder. As item 73 in the catalog, it is described as a painting (Gemälde), with the "N[G]" possibly indicating that Kampmann was a member of the "Novembergruppe", a group of expressionist artists. 

Image from the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg's 
digital collections.

The search for a photograph will continue, but given that so much of Ernst's writings were focused on the arts and art criticism these are quite lovely to view.

Disbinding Bradel, Part 3: Binding your Pappband, aka ur-Bradel

In this [final] installment I will walk through the steps of constructing the ur-Bradel, in German "Pappband" as it would have been bound at the turn of the 18^th, very early 19^th century. Binding. With a little planning you can make your binding as a cut-away as I did during the workshop these images were for. The images were taken from the multiple models I prepared for the workshop. I mention this in case anyone notices differences between images.

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To Disbinding Bradel, Part 1: Who was Bradel? Does it Matter?

To Disbinding Bradel, Part 2: A walk through the German bookbinding literature, in which I will focus on the evolution of that which defines this structure – the spine piece and board attachment. 

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Make endpapers:

Endpapers at this time were most often plain and very similar to the text paper. The most common construction was one of the "hooked" variants that were sewn along with the first and last signatures. 

Fritz Otto inspecting the hooked end sheet in this 1825 imprint.

Below, two endpaper constructions to choose from for this binding model. These were some of the more common at the time. I chose one of each.

These endpapers would have been "hooked" around the first and last signatures, then sewn.
From "Vorsätze im Buch", Archiv für Buchbinderei,
Vol 13, 1913. Pp 66-71. English translation at HathiTrust.

From Blaser, Linda, "Development of Endpapers",
the Guild of Book Workers Journal, Vol 32, Nr. 1.
Also in AIC’s Wiki.

The end leaves can be left longer at the fore-edge, and trimmed back later. Common to these are the guards and/or waste sheets to the outside. After sewing and backing, the cover would be built up on these guards.

Sewing:

These books would have been sewn on sawed-in or untwisted cords. Later, tapes would also have been used. For our binding, we will untwist 3 sets of 4 or 6 "cord", one for each sewing station. The untwisted cords will be laid next to each other flat, the width used for punching holes as if sewing on 3 tapes. 

Make a template and pre-punch the sewing holes from the inside out using a sewing needle. A “sewing gauge” for spacing buttons makes this easy.

Using the "sewing gauge".

Alternatively, take a piece of paper the height of the text block, mark kettle stitches at ca 1 cm from ends, taking into consideration the final trim size, fold in half, then half agains. This evenly divides the spine into 3 sewing stations plus kettles without math. For our template, make marks to either side of the three "folds" in the middle (not the kettle stitches). 

Template for punching sewing holes.

We sewed on the untwisted cords rather than regular twisted cords due to a lack of sewing frames at the workshop venue. Sewing on untwisted cords allowed all to easily compact the signatures as with tapes. Transfer the marks from measuring to a folded piece of scrap paper or thin card like from file folders to make your template for pre-punching, or sawing-in as would have been done in the past.

After punching all your holes, make sure they all align and using a pencil, make some marks across the width of the spine at one end to serve as a visual guide, especially if alignment of the sewing holes is slightly off-center.

Sewing

Begin sewing the first signature, leaving out the cords. When you get to the end, insert the cords under the threads, and tape the ends to the edge of your bench. This is in lieu of a sewing frame, and how I sew on tapes or vellum slips.

While sewing, ensure that this is even and taut. Use your folder to rub down sections as you go. This will help create a more solid text block.

Apply narrow bead of adhesive at fold of 2^nd and 2^nd to last (the “text” sections), but make sure not to go beyond that hooked guard. Then make sure all is aligned and the folds line up, and rub down. Trim end leaves at foredge using adjacent text section as guide.

Holding on to one end of the cords, pull on the other to ensure that there is no bunching up under the sewing.

Glue up spine between cords and at ends. Make sure text block is square and signatures line up. Let dry.

Sewn and glued up text block.
Note marks across spine at right side
to ensure signature orientation.

Round and back text block:

Round and back to ca 45 degrees, with the base of the shoulder ca. two board thicknesses from top of the shoulder. The thread should provide enough swell for this to happen organically, but gentle backing helps define the shoulder.

Rounding.

Shaping the spine with the Kashiereisen, also known as a grattoir/frottoir
For more, go to this post. The one used was made by Jeff Peachey..

Smoothing the spine with the other end. 

Height of shoulder relative to board thickness.

Fraying out the cords:

Next, we will fray out the cords and adhere to the guards. Tease apart the individual fibers of the cords using a needle. Then use an Aufschabeblech (fray shield) and a flat blade to thin the cords and work out knots… To view this tool being used go to. IF you don’t have a fray shield, lay a piece of smooth/hard cardstock or board under the cords to be frayed instead. Jeff Peachey sells a very nice fray shield. If sewn on tapes, adhere the tapes to the guards at this time.

The cords after fraying out with the fray shield.
After teasing the fibers of the cord apart, they are slipped into
the notch, and a bookbinders' knife is used to finish and make
them silky smooth.

Apply glue to guard, paste to cords, and fan out cords on guards, smoothing with folder as Fritz Otto demonstrates.

Fanning out the frayed-out cords on the guard.

The finished result. He Fritz Otto could have done a better job
on the one at left, but still better than not fraying at all...

This part very typical of German bindings. The same process can be used with Ramieband, and German-style sewing tapes, resulting in the sewing support being far less visible, if at all under the endpapers.

Endbands and spine lining:

Hand-sewn endbands would have been rare on bindings using this structure, so in lieu of weaving them, we will make very simple stuck-on ones out of cotton muslin. Glue/paste out the cord, twist tighter, and roll back and forth on wastepaper until smooth and round. Taking a piece of scrap board, make a cut on each side and stretch cord across, using the tight fit of the cuts to hold cord taut. Glue out fabric slip underneath, fold over, and pull taut around cord with folder.

The cord stretched and held taut with the fabric before and after.

Finally, line spine with robust paper.

The gebrochener Rücken:

The gebrochener Rücken is the essence of this binding style.

During the time of our model, this was constructed from a single piece of heavier card as above. Sixty+ years later, it began to be made from strong paper and a piece of card just the width of the spine as shown in the images below from Adam, Paul. Die praktischen Arbeiten des Buchbinders (1898) and Practical Bookbinding (1903).

"Gebrochener Pappbandrücken" (1898) at left,
translated as "spring back" (1903) at right.

To make our spine piece, cut a strip of heavy paper (e.g. Cave Paper heavy weight or Iowa PC4 if you can find some) that is taller than the text block and wider than the spine by 3 - 4 cm on each side. Measure the spine at the widest point (over cords) using a strip of paper. Transfer the marking for the width of the spine, centered to the top and bottom of the strip. 

Measuring the spine.

Next, Using a rule and sharp bone folder (or metal folder) crease from top to bottom, and fold. Next flip strip over and using same method crease two lines ca 4mm to outside of the first line and fold. Finally, round gently (to match round of text block) on edge of your bench or with a folder. 

Creased, folded and rounded to fit.

Then, edge pare the long sides so that the step under the pastedown will be less pronounced.

Paring the edge of the long sides.

Finally, round and attach the spine piece, aka the "gebrochener Rücken" to the text block. 

"Gebrochener Rücken" attached to the text block.

There are two methods of doing this.

1. Adhesive is applied from the innermost crease outward so that the spine piece is connected to the text block from the fold at the top of the shoulder on.
2. Adhesive is applied from the outermost crease outward so that the spine piece is connected to the text block from the base of the shoulder outwards.

Both methods are described in the literature, but the first is more common, especially in later manuals. 

As the structure evolved from a single piece to the modern version with a spine stiffener cut to the width of the spine that is adhered to a strong piece of paper the first became the rule.

On the left, the "ur-Bradel" one-piece spine, on the right the later
2-piece. The image at right is from the first book structure I learned,
and was bound during my 1984 internship in Nuremberg.

Adhering from the top of the should onwards provides for a better text block to cover connection and reduces what I would describe as premature shaken/loose hinges in the context of book repair. With the heavier paper used for this one-piece spine piece, openability will be a little stiffer, but when joints are set with modern bindings this is not an issue.

Boards:

First, let's make the boards so that they have a chance to dry. Laminate 3 or more plys (to equal height of shoulder) each of a heavy water color paper like Khadi, Cave Paper, or similar to make the boards. For this model I used 640gsm "rough" Khadi. [Note: I usually make these as one of the first steps so they are dry, flat, and ready for use at this stage]

The board layers on the completed cut-away model.

Rough cut the sheets you'll be making the boards from so that they are oversized all around. We'll trim later. Glue out the outer layers and adhere to the inner layer to make sure the pull is even. Put in press, crank, take out after 1 minute, put between binders’ board/blotter, and under weight to dry. 

Next, attach the boards (still oversized) to the spine piece, aligning just to the outside of the crease at the base of the shoulder. Put in press and give good nip. Note, in addition to paper, this structure was also used for bindings in cloth, leather, and parchment. Depending on the thickness of the covering material adjust the placement of the board outwards. For leather, the material was generally not worked into the groove as it would be for paper, cloth, or parchment.

 

View of board attachment from inside with layers.

Both boards are attached.

Trimming boards and spine:

Next, trim the boards to the final size. To do this traditionally, the German binder would have used an edge-trimming rule that was made with raised “lips” (Kantenlineal) that came in various widths that represented the typical squares that would have been used.

Cutting the squares using a Kantenlineal.

An alternative is to tape/glue together strips of board so the thickness of the 2 layers equals the desired square. Place this flat against the edge of the text block to mark your squares, then use a regular straight-edge to trim.

Alternatively, mark the squares slightly taller than the endbands all around, and using a rule and sharp knife (box cutter recommended) trim the boards all around. Finally, use scissors to cut spine stiffener to height. A board shear would be cheating...

Covering:

Open the book, spine down, on the bench and carefully slit the guard where it is attached to the spine at top and bottom (like a hollow) so that the turn-ins can be made. Also tear away any excess from the guard or waste sheet.

Slit for turn-ins on completed model.

Cut the covering paper to size so that there is 2 cm turn-in all around.

Glue/paste out the entire covering paper. Next, position the text block on the paper so that the turn-ins are even at top, bottom, and foredge.

Flip over at edge of table, smooth out and carefully work into groove (A clean piece of paper between covering paper and folder will help protect covering. Next rub down on spine, flip over again, work into groove and then smooth across other board.

Next, turn-in starting with top/bottom edges, then foredge. When dry, trim out so that the squares are even.

Turned-in and trimmed out.

Glue/paste out the doublure and put down. Insert thin cards between board and fly leaves and give nip in press, allow to dry under weight.

The completed model.
Note the cutaway in the center and the untrimmed board sections,
including at the tail of the book.

All the models bound during the workshop.
The day was filled with lots of "do as I say, not as I do" moments...
Fritz Otto for scale.

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To Disbinding Bradel, Part 1: Who was Bradel? Does it Matter?

To Disbinding Bradel, Part 2: A walk through the German bookbinding literature, in which I will focus on the evolution of that which defines this structure – the spine piece and board attachment. 

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Hands-on instructions for modern variants:

• Embree, Anna, Deborah Howe, and Consuela Metzger. "This Is What I Call It/This Is How I Do It: Three approaches to a common case binding technique". The Guild of Book Workers Journal, Vol 52, 2023. (pp. 38-56)
• Hebert, Henry. "German Paper Bindings: The Lapped Component". Work of the Hand blog, 11/16/2011.
• La reliure autrement… Manuel pour la reliure et la réparation des livres destinés à la conservation à long terme, 2004. See section 2. Reliure bradel.
• Mesmer, Renate. "Edelpappband". The Guild of Book Workers Journal, Vol. 41, Nr. 2, 2004. (pp. 13-17) Describes the in-boards, built up on text block variant. See also the handout from GBW Standards, 2004.
• Rebsamen, Werner - Gebrochener Rücken,Shaped Spine Case-Binding Techniques, Abby Newsletter, 1987.
• Verheyen, Peter. Tutorials on the German case binding, "millimeter"/Edelpappband, "gebrochener Rücken" ("three piece case binding"), and vellum binding.

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As always, I welcome questions, references to additional sources, and other thoughts via the comments. Just remember to cite those sources. Thank you 

Disbinding Bradel, Part 2: A walk through the German bookbinding literature

Before we dive into the review of the literature, below the key attributes of the Pappband structure, what we in the English speaking world refer to as the "German case binding" or "Bradel".

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To Disbinding Bradel, Part 1: Who was Bradel? Does it Matter?

To Disbinding Bradel, Part 3: Binding your Pappband, aka ur-Bradel

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Before we dive into the literature, below some of the key attributes of the structure as when it would have first appeared:

• Simple, often hooked endpapers that include guards/stubs/waste sheet for gluing down frayed out cords or other sewing support such as vellum or leather.
  
  
  
  
  
• Rounded and backed to around 45 degrees
• A spine piece of heavy card, later of separate strip for spine adhered to heavy paper
  
  
  
  
  
• large enough to act as wrapper for brochures
• Spine structure/formation was also used for parchment bindings.
• "Gebrochener Rücken", "gebrochen" from “brechen”, to brake (bend/fold as in sheet metal) 
  
  
• Spine piece shaped, rounded, and adhered to guards/stub
  
  
  
  
  
• Boards adhered to spine piece at base of shoulder
  
  
  
  
  
• Boards and spine piece trimmed to final dimensions
• Cover
• Put down ends/case in.
• Later, would also be worked as case binding using same components.

To find the documented origins of this structure, we will now travel back in time to the earliest German manuals, and work our way forward into the early 20th century when modern, comprehensive manuals codified many structures and processes. With one exception, I will not trace other traditions, e.g. the French, but welcome others with the language skills and training to do so.

Like many early bookbinding manuals, the German manuals are minimally illustrated and written for a trade that would have learned the techniques starting as apprentices working at the bench under the guidance of journeymen and masters. Those manuals would have served as references. If illustrations were included, they were generalized depictions of binderies with various processes shown, such as frontispieces, some diagrams for e.g. folding signatures or of tools, and fold-out plates that showed a variety of tools. That changed in the mid-/late 19th century when in addition to diagrams, they were illustrated with the latest in bookbinding and related machines, sometimes including the hands of the maker and operators. Readers would have been familiar with what was being described. They are far removed from many of today’s manuals with step-by-step, fully illustrated instructions.

The manuals would begin by describing foundational steps such as beating, folding, and sewing in general terms, followed by specific binding types, referencing the steps, especially where they differ. The appropriate endpaper construction for these “Pappband” bindings would be selected from the simpler ones, often plain, but also colored. These could be hooked around the first and last sections, be a plain double folio sections, and later, a tipped-on folio. There could also be a combination of hooked paper guards and/or waste sheets, and later sewn cloth hinges that might be selected. Spines would be lined after rounding/backing and endbanding with strong paper, or in the case of heavier books parchment or cloth under the paper that might extend onto the guards. 

The survey of the binding literature that follows focuses on the core element of what we refer to as the "Bradel" structure, the “gebrochene Rücken”, also referred to in English as spine stiffener, lapped component, or bonnet. During our walk through the German binding literature, we will see how this structure evolved over time to become the one we are familiar with today.

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Zeidler in his Buchbinder Philosophie oder Einleitung… (1708) describes sewing the text on cord/vellum/leather slips, rounding and backing and lining the spine with parchment or linen strips between sewing supports and extending beyond spine. The sewing supports (cords frayed out) would then be adhered to a guard/waste sheet that was part of the endpapers. A wrapper for the book would be made out of one piece of card fit to the shape of the text block at top and bottom of the shoulder. This would be attached to the text via the guard or waste sheet (Ansetzfalz). Finally, it was trimmed tight to the text, like what would later be called a brochure. The same process of shaping the spine was also applied to lined parchment when that was used as a covering material. (pp. 100-03)

Oevres du Comte Alagrotti, Berlin, 1772.
A simple wrapper. Just one small step from a Steifbroschure.
Note folds at shoulder, sewing supports under hooked pastedown.
From the collection of Jeff Peachey.

Title page to Zeidler, 1708.

Prediger in his Der in aller heut zu Tag üblichen Arbeit wohl anweisende accurate Buchbinder und Futteralmacher (1772), while discussing paper board bindings, describes fraying out the cords using a fray shield (Aufschabeblech), and adhering them to the waste sheet/guard after sewing and gluing up the spine. (pp. 91-93). These steps were also described in his section on parchment covered bindings where we begin to encounter the spine piece. Here, a piece of card would be cut taller and wider than the spine. Various units were used to describe this extra width in the literature, from 2-3 fingers wide, to 1-3 “Zoll” (similar to inches), to centimeters. The spine would then be measured, and the marks transferred to the card denoting the top of the shoulder. A second set of marks equivalent to the distance from the top to the base of the shoulder would then be made to the outside of the first marks. The card would then be folded (Rückenbrechen; first use of term “brechen”) at the marks so that when rounded it fit tight to the spine. 

"Rückenbrechen" in Prediger, p. 113.

This spine piece would then be adhered to the guards and then the boards adhered on top, lining up with the fold at the bottom of the shoulder. Then trim to size and cover. While described in the context of a parchment binding, the structure and steps are like those of what would be called a “Pappband” (paper binding). (pp. 106-8, 113-)

Title page to Prediger, 1772.

Bücking’s Die Kunst des Buchbindens (1785) in discussing the “Pappband” describes a similar treatment of the spine, but rather than fraying out the cords and adhering to the guard, he first makes the spine piece, laces the cords through before adhering the spine piece to the guards, and finally gluing the cords on top of that. Finally, the boards are attached. (pp 266-67) 

Title page to Bücking, 1785.

In contemporary binding, Jen Lindsay’s “fundamental” or “simplified-simplified” binding structure, also used to good effect by Karen Hanmer who refers to it as the “even more simplified binding”, adapt Bückings idea in creative ways.

[s.n.] Anweisung zur Buchbinderkunst, (1802) writes that after backing…, fray out the cords and paste/glue down on stubs (Flügel/Falz) (pp. 128-9). Next, create the wrapper from one piece of board. To measure width of spine, flatten the spine of the text block, mark, and break/crease (brechet, gebrochene) at shoulder and to the outside of the first creases to create the wrapper. 

"Brechet" and "gebrochene" from Anweisung, p. 138.

Then. apply glue to stubs, fit the wrapper, and place in the press. Next, tear away the excess paper from stubs, make cuts in stub for turn-ins at head and tail, and trim to final size. Finally, cut the covering paper to size including turn-ins, paste out and apply, also turning in. Afterwards, put down board sheets. If thicker boards are desired cut thinner board to the needed height with stubs to either side. Then. break per earlier example, edge-pare the long sides, apply to stubs of endpapers, and put in press. Next, cut thicker boards to size, apply to spine piece and press; Covering steps would be the same as with the one-piece wrapper. (pp. 138-40) The text also provides general tips regarding the kinds of papers used for covering, the use paste as adhesive, waiting until dry before pressing so that the covering (e.g. paste paper) doesn’t stick to the press boards, working the covering across boards and spine, turning-in, and putting down the board sheet (anpappen). (pp.148-50)

Title page to Anweisung, 1802.

Greve’s Hand- und Lehrbuch der Buchbindekunst (1823) is written in an epistolary style that does not differ substantively from the preceding texts, but is the first to mention of the term “gebrochenen Rücken” (p. 327) in this way. 

"Gebrochen", "gebrochener Rücken" in Greve, p. 327.

It is also the first to mention (later with H. Bauer (1899), C. Bauer & A. Franke (1903), and A. Franke (1922)) that when adhering the spine piece, the adhesive should only be applied from the outer shoulder folds outwards, leaving the shoulder NOT adhered to the cover. Further, it is also the first to explicitly connect this structure to coverings other than paper, mentioning to leave more space in the groove dependent on thickness of covering material, as well as the sequence for covering if a quarter binding. (pp. 325-334)

Discussing tools for backing and shaping the spine, Greve mentions the use of a Kaschiereisen and Kaschierholz (Frottoirs) (pg. 214-15) in addition to the hammer. He is also the first to mention edge trimming rules (Kantenlineal) (p. 329) that facilitate cutting even board squares. The springback, an English invention is also mentioned. (p. 336)

Title page to Greve, 1823.

Le Normand’s Die Buchbinderkunst in allen ihren Verrichtungen, oder Handbuch für Buchbinder und Liebhaber dieser Kunst (1832) is a translation from the first French edition titled Manuel du relieur dans toutes ses parties (1827). In the original French, the bindings is described as “Cartonnage allemand, dit à la Bradel”, “paper binding in the German style, called Bradel”. In this German translation it is introduced as “Von dem Cartonniren nach Bradel’scher oder teutscher Manier” (pg. 139), invented by a “German binder who achieved some note for it”. 

Bradel in Le Normand, pg. 139.

It is the only text that references a “Bradel”. After sewing and backing, the binder is directed to make an “Einlag-Papier”, the term used instead of “gebrochene Rücken”. This spine piece is made by measuring the width of the spine, then folding at the shoulders and in the opposite direction at the base of the shoulder. After rounding to the shape of the spine, adhesive is brushed onto the guard to the shoulder taking care not to get it onto the endpaper and then the piece is fit snuggly to the text block and placed in a press between boards. Next, the boards are attached to the spine piece, pressed, and then trimmed to size before the next steps of covering. (p. 141-2)

Title page to Le Normande, 1832.

Schäfer’s Vollständiges Handbuch der Buchbinderkunst (1845) describes the same general structure as those preceding. It also mentions the Kaschiereisen (Frottoir) for backing and shaping the spine. (pp. 91-95)

Title page to Schäfer, 1845.

Thon’s Die Kunst Bücher zu binden (1856) continues the use of the term “gebrochener Rücken” for the spine. (p. 208)

In a later edition (1865), he describes the original one-piece construction of this spine piece, but for the first time, the 2-piece construction we now use where the spine stiffener is glued to a piece of heavier paper. In this, the spine stiffener is cut from card to the width of the spine and glued onto a wider strip of heavy paper so that the width would be equivalent to that of the then traditional one-piece spine piece. Like the traditional, it would be edge pared and adhered to the guards. Like Greve it mentioned adjusting the board position for the thickness of the covering material. Thon was also the first to describe this structure for use as a case binding, suggesting that one attach the spine piece to the guards with two dabs of glue, then attach the boards, cover, and pop off to stamp the cover or spine. Before this, labels would have been used. The case is then reattached properly and the ends put down. Thon also described creating the case without the connecting strip, mentioning that this was suited to mass production and that a hollow could be used to secure it to the text block. (pp. 331-342)

So, the "gebrochene Rücken" evolved from example at left to that at right:

On the left, the "ur-Bradel one-piece spine, on the right the later
2-piece. The image is from the first book structure I learned
and bound during my 1984 internship in Nuremberg.

Title page to Thon, 1856.

L. Brade’s Illustrirtes Buchbinderbuch (1882), no connection any Bradel, repeats the two variants of spine piece described by Thon. In describing the newer construction using a spine stiffener of card with a heavy paper strip to connect it to the text block, he points out that it is easier to apply and better suited to thin books. While no reason is given, the paper folds better and is more flexible resulting in better openability. Brade also mentions the suitability of the structure for bindings covered in paper, cloth, some leathers, and parchment. (Pg. 202) Published in numerous editions, it remained largely unchanged on this topic, e.g. the 1892 edition.

Title page to Brade, 1882

Adam was one of the most prolific German bookbinding instructors and authors of the late 19th early 20th centuries, arguably responsible for much of the codification of techniques that resulted in Luers, Rhein, and Wiese.

Both versions of the spine piece (1-piece card, 2-piece paper and card) and the method of attachment were described in Systematisches Lehr- und Handbuch der Buchbinderei (1882) and Der Bucheinband, seine Technik und seine Geschichte (1890). 

In the 1882 text, Adam writes to "cut “gebrochener Rücken” from card slightly longer and 2 finger widths wider/ side than spine of book, then edge-pare the long edges so as to avoid step under paste down. To stiffen the spine further, e.g. a large, heavy book, cut a strip of heavy paper/thin card height of gebrochener Rücken, then measure and mark width of spine centered on strip at top and bottom, score and fold. Finally make the parallel folds for the groove, also accounting for thickness of covering material. (pg. 279)

The more modern alternative described a few pages later is made of a.spine stiffener (Einlage) cut to width of spine and glued centered on heavier paper that is wider to allow for attachment to text block and of boards. (pg. 281) For both styles, apply paste/glue to stub of waste sheet (Flügelfalz) with frayed out cords pasted on top or bottom of “Flügel” of the Rücken (Einlage to inside), rub down, apply boards and press. Trim fore-edge, cover...

Other things mentioned include that for this structure, the shoulder created by the swell from sewing was usually sufficient (pg. 155), and that the cover was “eingehangen“ (cased-in) a departure from the traditional in-boards/built up method. Due to the flexibility of the “gebrochener Rücken”, it could easily be applied to both.

Title page from Adam, 1882.

In the 1890 text, Der Bucheinband... these descriptions are largely unchanged from the 1882 text.

Title page to Adam, 1890.

Adam’s Die praktischen Arbeiten des Buchbinders (1898), is the first German manual that was translated into English as Practical Bookbinding (1903). It is also the first to illustrate the “gebrochener Rücken” spine piece in the more modern version with a card strip adhered to a wider strip of paper describing it as a “Pappbandrücken” (paper binding spine). In the English edition. This was referred to as the “springback” because it was not adhered to the spine itself and formed a hollow. It extended over the spine and underneath the cover (4-5 cm wider on each side) with “backing”, a "spine stiffener" of same material, exact width of spine. It is not to be confused with the “Sprungrücken” (springback ledger-style).

"Gebrochener Pappbandrücken" (1898) at left,
translated as "spring back" (1903) at right.

Note that the "spine stiffener" is to the inside of the connecting paper strip.

Title pages from Adam, 1898 & 1903.

H. Bauer’s Katechismus der Buchbinderei (1899) written in the form of a dialog describes the spine piece as being made from 2 pieces of card, one the width of the spine, the other wider. As with this structure, the narrower piece was adhered centered to the wider piece. Unlike most other descriptions (excepting Greve (1823), C. Bauer (1903), and A. Franke (1922), it was only adhered to the guards from the outer folds at the base of the shoulder only. (pp. 137-39)

Title page from H. Bauer, 1899.

C. Bauer’s Handbuch der Buchbinderei: eine leichtfassliche Anleitung zur Herstellung (1903), edited by A. Franke is like H. Bauer, but also mentions that the weight of the card used for the wider strip of card that is adhered to the guards should be determined by the size and other properties of the text block. It also described the narrower strip that is the width of the spine as an “Einlegerücken”, today referred to as the “Rückeneinlage”. The structure can also be the basis for the cloth covered binding, with simplifications for use in large scale trade binding. (pg. 107)

Title page from C. Bauer, A. Franke ed., 1903.

C. Bauer’s Die Buchbinderei: eine leichtfassliche Anleitung zur Herstellung (1922), edited by A. Franke, and the 9th edition, described the same structure for the “gebrochene Rücken“ as in the previous item (1903) with both parts being made from card. The long edges were edge pared, much like in the 19th century. While the main application seemed to be on cloth bindings, C. Bauer wrote that the original paper covered “Pappband” held up quite well, but the ones produced during [WW I] tended to go back to a bookbinder for replacement. He attributed this to their being mass-produced industrial products. (pg. 142)

Title page from C. Bauer, A. Franke ed., 1922.

Moving forward in the 20^th century, the structure itself has remained essentially unchanged. Endpapers went towards bi-folios, with a hooked waste sheet to fan the frayed cords or tapes out on. Cloth hinges were also used on these endsheets, sewn in or tipped on with a decorative on over the stub. In short, there were lots of possibilities, but the uses of this structure were increasingly as case bindings. In terms of whether to apply adhesive all the way to the edge of the shoulder or not, most mid-20th century and newer manuals describe the former. Manuals describing this include Luers, Fröde, Moessner, Rhein, Wiese, Moessner, … An exception appears to be Morf who described applying the adhesive from the base of the shoulder outwards. The “bible” to the Pappband structure as currently used is Siegfried Büge’s Der Pappband (1973) that references the historical origins, and describes it for fine paper bindings and what we call the “millimeter” binding (Edelpappband). The term “Bradel” was not mentioned. However, the term “Bradel” is not unknown in Germany, due in part to translations and learners traveling to take advantage of workshops and other training. Reviewing contemporary manuals (1960s onward) reveals that there are differences from the German, but that these are in the details and nuances. 

As an example, the German case binding structure I describe can be used for covering in paper, cloth, leather, vellum, and combinations thereof. It can be built up on the text block in-boards) or constructed as a case. The Edelpappband (noble paper-covered binding) has leather trim along some combination of board edges and spine, the Danes call it "Rubow" after the binder who made it popular there, and the Anglo-Americans call "millimeter" binding because of the amount of cloth/leather/vellum trim showing after covering. This is distinct from the Danish "millimeter" that is like the modern French "Bradel
 and “simplified” built up on the text block. There is also the explanation I was given by Suzanne Schmollgruber, formerly of the Centro del bel Libro in Ascona, CH, is that in modern usage, the "Bradel" is now used to describe bindings using the "gebrochener Rücken" that are built up on the text block, whereas "mit aufgesetzten Deckeln" is used to describe the "three piece case binding" variety. 

Finally, if one were to do a dissection of a full paper or cloth (not separate spine covering), one should not be able to tell the cased apart from the in-boards. I use both methods, preferring the in-boards on smaller, more delicate books as I find it easier to work precisely. Sometimes, I'll work in-boards, attaching what will be the cover to a waste sheet, then removing to stamp... as a case, and then reattach.

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To Disbinding Bradel, Part 1: Who was Bradel? Does it Matter?

To Disbinding Bradel, Part 3: Binding your Pappband, aka ur-Bradel

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Below are some good readings on the historical structure in English:

• Caswell, Bexx and Patrick Olson. "Germany and the Modernization of Bookbinding: Evidence from Michigan State University's Criminology Collection." Found in: Miller, Julia (ed.). Suave Mechanicals: Essays on the History of Bookbinding. Volume 5. Ann Arbor: The Legacy Press, 2019.
• Cloonan, M. V. Early Bindings in Paper: A Brief History of European Hand-made Paper-covered Books with a Multilingual Glossary. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1991.
• Frost, Gary. (1982). "Historical paper case binding and conservation rebinding". The New Bookbinder, 2, 64-67, 1982.
• Pattison, Todd and Graham Patten. "Confusing the Case: Books Bound with Adhered Boards, 1760 –1860". Found in: Miller, Julia (ed.). Suave Mechanicals: Essays on the History of Bookbinding. Volume 5. Ann Arbor: The Legacy Press, 2019.
• Rhodes, B. "18th and 19th century European and American paper binding structures: a case study of paper bindings in the American Museum of Natural History Library". Book and Paper Group Annual, 14, 51–62, 1995.

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As always, I welcome questions, references to additional sources, and other thoughts via the comments. Just remember to cite those sources. Thank you.