MERRY BOOKBINDER 

 
ch    I'm a Merry bookbinder I stitches & sews 
      Binding-up Ledgers & portfolios. Tra la l a  (tra la la).

I prods with me bod kin & gives it me awl 
& tools with me fil let on fronts big & small. Tra la la. (tra la la).

I crea ses French grooves in the best of me jo bs 'cos I like a deep
 joint for the rich -est of nobs.   tra la la. (tra la la).

I us es band nip pers on spines ex quisite, 
nipping-up rid ges to make a good fit.   tra la la. (tra la la).
 
I mitres the corners & pares back the skin
This fits on the cover I' m putting it in.   tra la la. (tra la la).

I knocks -up the pa ges & rounds-off the spine 
then at -tends to the fly wot is out of align.   tra la la. (tra la la).

I fash ions big cases with thick Bristol board 
& keeps ‘em together with dec’rative cord.   tra la la. (tra la la).


 tra la la. (tra la la).   [ audience response is (tra la la)  ]
 tra la la la la la 

http://cresby.com ©   Cresby Oct 16th 1984
Walsall became the centre of the saddlery industry by virtue of its proximity to the lorinry 
trades of the Black Country.  Indeed their football team is still called “the Saddlers”.  As a 
result associated leather trades came to Walsall like book binding. 
Lorinry covers the ironmongery used on horses,  eg  various rings and of course the “bit”.    
Vital seam sewing was always done with two needles and threads, the hole would be made with  a 
bodkin and the needle passed alongside its  spike, then the bodkin would be inserted in the 
same hole from the other side and the second needle passed using the bodkin spike as a guide.  
In decorative work this seam was preferred for its precision and strength. An awl is really a 
needle with a handle, or a bodkin with an eye, which can produce a seam like a sewing machine.  
The threads stay on the same side and when broken the seam bursts quickly.
Grooves  lie  between  the  cover and spine  forming  the  hinge  for  the  cover.   French 
grooves are characterised by  being quite pronounced hence an increased cost of production.  
Ridges are those horizontal bumps on the spine and are made with band nippers-- pliers with 
jaws that extend side-ways at the end, their width was used to nip-up more of the spine 
leather.  It also tightened the leather between ridges.  Leather is stretched over Bristol 
board used to stiffen the cover and in order to reduce the inside thickness and to prevent a 
step under the cover paper, the leather edges were pared (thinned).  Leather was not normally 
overlaid at the corners, rather it was butt jointed by cutting at 45 degrees first (mitred). 
Knocking-up is the term used for lining up the paper, rounding the spine was performed on the 
stitched pages, both done by basically hitting with a flat stick.  Decorative cord is most 
commonly seen, top & bottom, fixed on the paper edges nestling against the spine.