Make-do and mend: amateur repairs in nineteenth century

75 Pages·2016·6.95 MB·English

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
Summer 2014
Make-do and mend: amateur repairs in nineteenth
century schoolbooks
Elizabeth Ann Stone
University of Iowa
Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Stone
This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/1401
Recommended Citation
Stone, Elizabeth Ann. "Make-do and mend: amateur repairs in nineteenth century schoolbooks." MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis,
University of Iowa, 2014.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.h0d5on6p
Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of theBook and Paper Commons
MAKE-DO AND MEND:
AMATEUR REPAIRS IN NINETEENTH CENTURY SCHOOLBOOKS

by
Elizabeth Ann Stone
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Book Arts
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
1

August 2014
Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Timothy Barrett
Copyright by
ELIZABETH ANN STONE
2014
All Rights Reserved
2
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
_______________________
MASTER’S THESIS
_______________
This is to certify that the Master’s thesis of
Elizabeth Ann Stone
has been approved by the Examining Committee
for the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts
degree in Book Arts at the August 2014 graduation.
Thesis Committee: ___________________________________
Timothy Barrett, Thesis Supervisor
___________________________________
Giselle Simon
___________________________________
Julia Leonard
___________________________________
Gregory Prickman
To Margaret,
Who will soon be gathering her own schoolbooks

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the schoolbook, the pencil, and slate are about the first property that the child owns and
for the care of them he is personally responsible

M. Anderson
Letter to editor, Colman’s Rural World
September 19, 1900

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I acknowledge my debt of thanks to my advisors: Timothy Barrett, Julia Leonard,
Giselle Simon, and Gregory Prickman for their steady guidance. Additionally the support
of Brenna Campbell and Kathleen Tandy was vital to the completion of the project.
Thank you to Mary Bennett at the State Historical Society of Iowa and Kathryn Hodson
at the University of Iowa Special Collections, both of whom graciously allowed access to
the stacks. Finally, thank you to Margaret and John, who were patient throughout the
entire process.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
CHAPTER

I HISTORY OF SCHOOLBOOKS, 1785-1901 .................................................7

Genres of Schoolbooks .....................................................................................7
Materials, Structures, and Modes of Production ............................................11
Expanse of Education .....................................................................................17

II TWO IOWA SCHOOLBOOK COLLECTIONS ...........................................20

University of Iowa Libraries
Special Collections’Schoolbook Collection ...................................................20
State Historical Society of Iowa Schoolbook Collection ...............................24

III CLASSIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF REPAIRS ..................................27

Categories and Analysis of Amatuer Mends ..................................................28
Over-casting and Board Tacketing ......................................................31
The Overcover .....................................................................................34
Rebacking ............................................................................................40
Sewn Mends on the Original Covering Material .................................42
Resewing the Textblock ......................................................................44
Rehinging the Inner Joint .....................................................................45
Other Evidence of Use ....................................................................................47
American Craft Tradition as the Genesis of Book Mending ..........................48

CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................52
Importance of Folk Repairs in Research ........................................................52
Preservation of Bibliographic Information ..........................................52
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Enhancement of Provenance ................................................................52
Folk Mend Conservation Practice and Recommendation ..............................54
Need for Consistent Terminology .......................................................54
Alternatives to Intervention .................................................................54
Future Research ..............................................................................................55

APPENDIX: TABLES ......................................................................................................57

BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................62

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LIST OF TABLES
Table
A1. Tally of Schoolbooks with Folk Mends ....................................................................57
A2. Folk Mends Within the University of Iowa Schoolbooks ........................................58
A3. Folk Mends Within the State Historical Society of Iowa Schoolbooks ...................59
A4. Scaleboard Bindings Within the University Of Iowa Schoolbook Collection .........60

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1. A plaid cloth homemade dust jacket or overcover. Richard Snowden, The
History of North and South America. ........................................................................1
2. Laced boards were the standard construction through the middle of the
nineteenth century. ...................................................................................................11
3. Scaleboard refers to the thin wooden board that defines the structure. ...................12
4. A trade binding where the original covers were loose, original spine lost, and
a new spine was attached to the textblock and onto the boards. ...............................16
5. Overcasting along both joints. The cord used is coarser than other examples.
Note how the cord loops into the spine, then just barely into the sides; it does
not enter the signatures and so does not interfere with the opening. Lindley
Murray, English Grammar. .....................................................................................31
6. Overcasting on the front board. Stitches are much closer together and
penetrate less of the structure than the previous example. Nicolas
Wanostrocht, A Grammar of the French Language. ...............................................32
7. Two simple tackets attach the board to the spine. John Gummere, A Treatise
on Surveying. ............................................................................................................33
8. An example of board tacketing, where thread is wrapping around the edge of
the two boards and enters into the textblock. William Holmes McGuffey,
McGuffey’s New Eclectic Spelling Book. . ...............................................................33
9. An overcover with decorative stitching. Charles H. Stowell, M.D., A Healthy
Body. ........................................................................................................................34
10. Bright patterned overcover, with one long strip of material stitched on to
make a tie for closing. There are two overcovers of this material in the SHSI
collection. Sander’s Fifth Reader .............................................................................35
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11. An overcover with a distinctive cloth choice. Calvin Patterson, Common
School Speller. .........................................................................................................36
12. A rough woven cloth overcover, with note of its provenance. Caleb Bingham,
The American Preceptor.. .........................................................................................36
13. Leather overcover stitched through boards. William Wilkinson, The American
Ready Reckoner. ......................................................................................................37
14. A commericial flexible sized wrapper.. ...................................................................39
15. Decorative cloth reback, matching the color of the paper on the face of the
book. D.M. Warren, Warren’s Brief Course in Geography. ...................................40
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