Uncut signatures normal or no?

I have several "Complete works of..." sets with uncut signatures. For
instance all of my "Complete Works of Dickens" printed in 1902 have to
have the front edges cut every 4 pages or so. At the end, the top
edges need to be cut. The same is true of my fancy bound
"...Thackeray".

At first I thought it just bad binding processes, but after seeing
"Lily Bart" clearly cutting signatures in the movie version of "House
of Mirth" (while on the train trying to catch Percy Grice's eye) I am
wondering if it is simply something that was expected in turn of the
century printings.

Kris

"Whiteleather" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have several "Complete works of..." sets with uncut signatures. For
instance all of my "Complete Works of Dickens" printed in 1902 have to
have the front edges cut every 4 pages or so. At the end, the top
edges need to be cut. The same is true of my fancy bound
"...Thackeray".

At first I thought it just bad binding processes, but after seeing
"Lily Bart" clearly cutting signatures in the movie version of "House
of Mirth" (while on the train trying to catch Percy Grice's eye) I am
wondering if it is simply something that was expected in turn of the
century printings.

Kris


Perfectly normal and known as "unopened".

quote

Unopened: a book with signatures which have never been cut as
opposed to untrimmed and uneven (see "Uncut"); unopened books
retain the folds of the original gathering and contain many pages
which cannot be read without first opening the pages with a knife.

Some collectors prefer an unopened book because it indicates that
the book has never been read; other collectors who read their books
would rather not have the task of cutting open pages and risking
tears and jagged leaf edges.


http://www.abaa.org/cgi-bin/abaa/abaapages/glossary

/quote

michael adams

I have several "Complete works of..." sets with uncut signatures. For
instance all of my "Complete Works of Dickens" printed in 1902 have to
have the front edges cut every 4 pages or so. At the end, the top
edges need to be cut. The same is true of my fancy bound
"...Thackeray".

At first I thought it just bad binding processes, but after seeing
"Lily Bart" clearly cutting signatures in the movie version of "House
of Mirth" (while on the train trying to catch Percy Grice's eye) I am
wondering if it is simply something that was expected in turn of the
century printings.

Kris

Quite common. Over the years I've bought a couple of dozen books
and sets that needed to be cut open at the top. It was a popular
Victorian bookbinding practice. Apparently readers cut the pages
open as they read the book, with their trusty letter opener at
their side. Some used their fingers -- nasty work, that. Some used
knives recently coated with butter and jam -- sticky business. You
run across books in which only a few dozen pages are cut open,
indicating a lack of application on the part of the original owner.

Whiteleather wrote:
I have several "Complete works of..." sets with uncut signatures. For
instance all of my "Complete Works of Dickens" printed in 1902 have to
have the front edges cut every 4 pages or so. At the end, the top
edges need to be cut. The same is true of my fancy bound
"...Thackeray".

At first I thought it just bad binding processes, but after seeing
"Lily Bart" clearly cutting signatures in the movie version of "House
of Mirth" (while on the train trying to catch Percy Grice's eye) I am
wondering if it is simply something that was expected in turn of the
century printings.

Kris

My girlfriend says the best way is to use a credit card. While she is
seldom wrong (as I have learned through bitter experience), I would
check with a conservator, I am so ham fisted, my Christmas presents all
look as though they were opened with a powered lawnmower.

I have several "Complete works of..." sets with uncut signatures. For
instance all of my "Complete Works of Dickens" printed in 1902 have to
have the front edges cut every 4 pages or so. At the end, the top
edges need to be cut. The same is true of my fancy bound
"...Thackeray".

At first I thought it just bad binding processes, but after seeing
"Lily Bart" clearly cutting signatures in the movie version of "House
of Mirth" (while on the train trying to catch Percy Grice's eye) I am
wondering if it is simply something that was expected in turn of the
century printings.

Kris

My girlfriend says the best way is to use a credit card. While she is seldom wrong (as I have learned through bitter experience), I would check with a conservator, I am so ham fisted, my Christmas presents all look as though they were opened with a powered lawnmower.

Let me guess. She also uses a credit card to chop carrots and till
the garden. Probably can't bear to put it down.

Page knives were fairly common in earlier times (many of decorated ivory and
sterling silver), but people often misidentify them as letter openers. The
difference is that the blade is generally the same width throughout its
length and has a rounded tip (sort of like a large butterknife or spatula)
rather than the pointed one used for slipping into an envelope. The whole
thing, including handle, is often 10-14" long. Lacking one of these
antiques, I just use a small thin knife with a deliberately dulled blade.

Chris

postscript: I think they're also called page turners or paper knives.

Thanks folks. I am a reader, so I cut the pages free. I use a thin
bladed fish knife (for slicing gravlax) and do a whole volume at one
sitting so I can start reading it that night. The credit card sounds
ok, but the paper in these volumes will break if bent or tugged to
hard.

And here I thought a "page turner" was an especially engrossing story.
After the description above, I think I have a couple of these actual
turners in a box around here somewhere. I think they are ivory with
either dragons or birds on them.

Kris in NY