Journal of Australian Craft Bookbinders - Callan Park · or practice of bookbinding are most...

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JUNE 2017 EDITOR: JOHN TURNER

MOROCCO BOUND is published twice yearly by the NSW Guild ofCraft Bookbinders Inc. Contributions covering the history, theoryor practice of bookbinding are most welcome. Articles should besubmitted on disk or by email to the undersigned, if possible,on MS Word. Typed articles are also acceptable. If submittingmaterial from another source, permission must be sought fromthat source prior to submission.

The Editor reserves the right to sub edit material and articlesare published at the Editor’s discretion. Articles should be sentto:

The Editor, Morocco Bound, NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders,PO Box 1110, Rozelle NSW 2039, Australia.

Email: [email protected]: www.nswbookbinders.org.au

Editorial Committee:Adrienne Allen, John Newland, Jean Riley, John Turner

This issue ...Sydney Royal Easter Show 2017

Bookbinding CompetitionJudging 1

The 2017 Australian NationalConference of Bookbinders inCanberra 5

Some Paper Repair Practices 7

A History of Rozelle Hospital 10

The Simplified Binding 13

Leather Paring—Some Tips forSuccess 15

Bob, the Bookbinder 16

Journal of Australian Craft BookbindersISSN 0159 7191

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2017Bookbinding Competition Judging

THE Arts and Craft Competition at the Sydney RoyalEaster Show is an historic one, having started in1869. The Bookbinding Competition began in ***,

largely as a result of Guild representations.The competition comprise three Classes. Prize winners

this year were as follows:

CLASS: 268—Cased-in-Binding. Bookblock may be multisections or single sheets. May be pre-sewn. Case may beleather, cloth or paper.

• First Mr Edward CHAPMAN, Mulgoa NSW• Second Mr John TURNER, Potts Poing NSW• Third Ms Avril MAKULA, Leichhardt NSW

CLASS: 269—Letterpress style leather binding: Boardsmust be laced on, using tapes or cords. Binding may bequarter, half or full style.

• First Mr Edward CHAPMAN, Mulgoa NSW• Second Mr John TURNER, Potts Point NSW• Third Ms Monica OPPEN, Stanmore NSW• Highly Commended

Mrs Rosemarie JEFFERS-PALMER, St Peters NSW

CLASS: 270—Any other style of bound book e.g. non-adhesive structure, single section, stub binding, limpbinding, cross-structure binding, accordion binding,coptic binding, exposed sewing. Must function as a book.

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Morocco Bound June 2017

• First Mr Edward CHAPMAN, Mulgoa NSW• Second Mrs Aleta GROVES, Jam Jerrup VIC• Third Ms Monica OPPEN, Stanmore NSW• Highly Commended

Ms Avril MAKULA, Leichhardt NSW

We congratulate the above prize winner and encouragebinders of all levels to take part in 2018. Numbers ofentries were down from last year. Hopefully this is not atrend, as numbers in 2016 were very encouraging.

The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW keeps a list ofprospective judges for the competition from qualifiedpersons nominated by the NSW Guild. This year theSociety invited Gary Reid, the former tutor of bookbindingat Sydney TAFE (in fact, the last tutor from that nowdefunct course) to judge. Gary has kindly providedcomments on the books that he examined, which we trustwill be helpful to future competitors and members ingeneral.

We thank Gary for his efforts.

Firstly, I would like to thank the Guild for allowing me to bea Judge at the RAS. It was a great experience and an honour.

I was disappointed by the number of entries and thoughtthat members of the NSW Guild would have entered a lotmore of the great work that I know they are capable ofcompleting. I am sure a lot of people do not realise that thisis the biggest show of its type in the Southern Hemisphereand this is your chance to show family, friends, and peopleyou do not know the skills that you have acquired.

Some may not realise that there are plenty of categoriesavailable for you to enter your work. Many of my ownfriends love going to the Arts and Crafts Pavilion and in theyears that I have not been able to go to the Show, they alltell me about the fantastic bindings that they saw there.They realise the great work that can be done from theknowledge and skill that people have who are involved inBookbinding and Book Restoration.

The work that was entered was great but some of theentries had rather silly little mistakes. For instance, cornerswere not always even, or were lifting or even damaged.Endpapers sometimes either had too much paste or werenot cleaned after pressing. In some cases, wax paper hadnot been used while pressing or too much pressure hadbeen applied when pressing. A common problem withendpapers can occur when backing the book without boardin the backing press which makes it easy to cut throughthe endpaper. I also found that some books would not standup on the foredge. The reason for this can be that the sewingis loose. A book may have been pressed and cleaned, butit is still not completed until it has been properly opened.We must open the book a few pages at a time, starting atthe front and working our way to the back and then fromthe back to the front.

There are knowledgeable people monitoring at the Guildbindery, so I urge members to ask questions, if you are notsure about something. Also, you have the great chance toadvance your skills with the workshops which the Guildruns, such as Case Binding, Marbling, Extra Letterpressetc.

The 2017 Sydney Royal Easter Show Bookbinding Competition. All photos for this article: Nicholas Beckett.

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Class 268—Cased-in binding: (Left) Edward Chapman; (Right) John Turner.

Class 270—Any style of bound book: (Left) Edward Chapman; (Right) Mrs Aleta Groves.

So, to sum up, I would like to thank the Guild and thepeople who entered their work in the Show so that nextyear, please enter your best work. There is prize money tobe won, but I know that would not be the reason for entering.Rather, it would be the pride of showing off your great workand your skills. Maybe, the winning of a ribbon will last alot longer than a few dollars of prize money.

Gary Reid

Right: Another view of the 2017 Sydney Royal EasterShow Bookbinding Competition.

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Class 269—Letterpress style leather binding:Mrs Rosemarie Jeffers-Palmer.

Class 270—Any style of bound book:Ms Avril Makula.

Class 270—Any style of bound book:Mrs Aleta Groves.

Class 268—Cased-in binding:Ms Brigitta Summers.

Another view of the 2017 Sydney Royal Easter ShowBookbinding Competition.

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ALONG with about 100 others (98 delegates wereregistered) I was delighted to attend thisConference, held at the University of Canberra

from 25–27 March. Delegates and presenters came toCanberra from all over Australia. A good number fromoverseas also attended.

I found the event an inspiring and quite wonderfulexperience. I believe, from my many conversations duringand after the event, that this enthusiasm was shared bymost attendees. One of the most enjoyable aspects forme was meeting with people with whom I had onlycorresponded via email or telephone, in some cases overmany years.

When I saw the program, I was impressed by itsdiversity, covering a good range of bookbinding topics. Atfirst glance there was little that really ‘hit the spot’ frommy point of view, but I do admit that although I ampassionate about bookbinding, my interests within thatsubject are perhaps rather narrow. With that in mind, itis a compliment to the organisers and presenters that Icame away from the conference having enjoyed every

The 2017 Australian National Conference ofBookbinders in Canberra

John Turnersingle one of the presentations I saw. I do admire all thepresenters for standing in front of an audience andexpressing and imparting their passion so ably.

As a spectator, the whole conference ran very smoothlyand if there were hiccups, they were very well hidden.The catering, with morning and afternoon tea and lunchprovided, was excellent. A popular part of the conferencewas the Trade Room, situated next to the main conferencehall. This was filled with a great variety of bookbindingitems, on stalls staffed by representatives of bookbindingmaterial and equipment suppliers. I noticed that many,even the majority, of delegates spent much of their breaktime in that room.

A silent auction, comprising items donated by stallholders, was held on the last day. I was unable to see theresults of this, but I regret not bidding for a lot thatincluded a sheet of paper reproducing a William Morrispattern. I wonder who ended up with it?

I congratulate the organisers of the 2017 CanberraConference for their efforts in bringing such a memorableand inspiring event to fruition.

Suzanne Schmollgruber demonsrating her artistry at the Canberra National Bookbinders Conference.All photos on this and the next page: Courtesy Canberra Craft Bookbinders Guild.

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Suzanne Schmollgruber (Swiitzerland), her husbandSabino and John Tonkin (Canberra) in conversation.

The Trade Room.

The Monday, the 27th of March Tour Group looking atthe exhibition of Miniature Bindings.

A group of delegates in the refreshments area at theCanberra conference.

Stephen Byrne (Scotland)—Miniature Books Presenter.

Hopefully, such events will become a regular featureof the Australian Craft Bookbinding community. At theofficial closing of Canberra 2017, Monica Oppen, NSWGuild Committee member, announced that a BookbindersConference will be held in Sydney in 2019. That yearrepresents the 40th Anniversary of the NSW Guild.Planning for the event is already underway.

Right:Michael Burke demonstrating the Cambridge Panel Binding.

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1. Removal of Sellotape, etc.If adhesive tapes are sufficiently old they can usually justbe lifted or peeled off. If they are more recent, then theyare usually not so easily removed but to varying extents,the gum residues can be removed once the tape is lifted.But I am not aware of any method to get rid of theremaining gum stains.

I am aware of three suitable solvents: the most effective,and the most toxic, is Toluene, but I understand that it isno longer readily available; less toxic is ‘Shellite’ and lesstoxic again, is eucalyptus oil—but less toxicity alas meansless effectiveness. With all of these you need ventilation,cotton buds, a knife, a pair of tweezers and patience.

Whichever solvent you are using wet the edge area atone end and gently lift a small portion of the tape withyour knife. Then hold that lifted portion with the tweezersand stroke the joint edge whilst gently pulling on thetweezers. You should be able to slowly peel the tape away.When this is done you can swab the area with the solventto remove any gum residue. The tape may snap and youmay have to restart the process several times. There arecases where the release is simple and the sheet can bewet from the reverse side and the tape will almost floatoff. But more often it is a slow and tedious task.

Which ever way one removes the tape, there isinevitably some residue remaining—from specks of gumhere and there for more recently applied tapes to a 10mmstrip of old rusty residue in the case of old tapes. My viewis that the areas to which tape has been adhered shouldbe encapsulated with lightweight tissue. Since the tapewas usually there to effect a repair, that encapsulationmay be achieved by slightly widening the repair piece oftissue so that it covers the offending area. In other casesit may be that you have to just cut a piece of light tissueand paste it over the residue.

2. Repairing tears in pagesIn my experience there are three major categories of tears:

(1) The easiest is where the tear, usually from the edgeof the page inwards, is feathered (tapered), that is eachside of it has a taper and the two papers sit on top of eachother. See Figure 1. The solution for this is to paste eachtaper using a fine brush and then bring them together,

put barrier paper (or preferably Reemay) either side ofthe sheet and set it aside under a weight until the pastedries. The repair is usually as strong as the original paper.

(2) The second class of tear is when the taper is almostnon-existent or it is in fact a knife (or scissor) cut. I amnot aware of any adhesive that will secure such a tearand so it must be covered with a piece of tissue. The verylight Japanese tissues are highly transparent (80–95%)such that printing can still be read through them, butobviously if there is no printing on one side of a sheetthen the repair ought to go on that side.

I prepare a strip of such tissue, basically 10–15mmwide to cover the tear. If the tear is straight then I cut thetissue with a dressmakers rolling cutter (the tissue alwaysseems to tear even with the sharpest knife) but if I needto shape it then I shape it with my fingernails. I makesure I leave a little tissue (5mm) to protrude over the edgeof the page. The resulting tissue repair strip is then placedtop down on a piece of waste and is pasted. I carefully liftthe tissue, usually with my knife, turn it so that the pastedface is downwards and position it over the tear. It isimperative to use paste as such tears have a tendency toopen out and one needs to be able to slip the tissue a

Some Paper Repair PracticesMichael Mathew

THIS article is basically the notes issued by life member Michael Mathew at a Guild workshop conducted byMichael Mathew at the NSW Guild’s Ralph Lewis Bindery on 21 May 2017. Michael is a long retired engineer/manager whose interest in books led him to the one year evening course Bookbinding for Tablehands at the

Sydney Technical College in 1984. He promptly joined the Guild, was Secretary for several years and attended almostevery workshop course conducted at the Guild until he retired and moved to Adelaide in 2000. Michael has visitedseveral binderies in the USA and Canada and has held discussions with many others. He stresses these practices arefor repair, rather than for restoration or conservation.

He does not pretend to be an expert in this field—restorers and conservators would no doubt, do a better job butthe principles of repair are the same. It may also be that there are commercial materials equally suited to someaspects (and easier to use) but these are his methods learnt from others and adapted as required.

Figure 1: Feathering a paper tear.All photos for this article: Michael Mathew.

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fraction to ensure the tear is closed. Once again set itaside to dry under weights. When dry the protrudingsection can be removed by placing a cutting mat (I have anarrow cutting mat specifically for such use) under thepage concerned and using a ruler and knife to cut alongthe page alignment. I have very rarely found it necessaryto do both sides of such a tear.

(3) The third class occurs mainly with folded maps.They are worn through at the folds and unfortunatelytiny fragments may be missing. Some tears are in thiscategory (viz. a bit missing). My procedure here is to firstlysmooth the item as much as I can and then prepare myrepair piece, either cut regularly or nibbled. The differencebetween this sort of repair and that of a clean cut is thatI do not want any adhesive where there is nothing for it toadhere to (as later something else could stick to thatsection). So, when applying the paste to the repair piece,I do so all around the edges and on the object, I pastearound the voids and the tear. These pastings will overlapbut they can’t go beyond the boundaries of the repairpiece. I then place the repair piece in place, smooth itdown and set it aside under a weight. I sometimes alsorepair the second side, in which case one can fully pastethe repair piece as there is now a full surface to which itcan adhere.

3. Repairing mangled edges of pagesOften on old bibles, the first few sections have come adriftand mainly the foredges of the sheets have become a littlemangled. My process is effective but not particularlyelegant.

I cut a strip of light tissue the width of the mangling,plus 3mm for overlap and 5mm for edge trim. Usuallythis is about 25mm. In length, make it 10mm longer thanthe height of the page. I then paste one side of this allover and lift it onto a new sheet of waste which I slideunder the edge I am repairing (obviously holding the sheetto be repaired up) and lower the sheet onto the pastestrip, using my knife to straighten out any folds. I mayuse some matching paper (torn to shape) to fill any majorvoids. I then remove the waste and set the sheet aside todry under barrier paper and weights.

When the paste is dry I prepare a second sheet to thesame dimensions, paste it all over on one side again andlift it with my knife. When turned over (viz. pasted sidedown) I lay it on the upper side of the mangled edge,preferably 1 or 2mm closer to the spine than the firstpiece. Again I smooth this down and place it under weightsto dry.

When dry the edges can be trimmed by placing acutting mat under the sheet and putting a ruler on top ofsufficient sheets to get the correct alignment. Alternatively,the book can be turned over and what would normallyhave been the next sheet used, as the guide for the edges.

The resulting repairs mean that each repaired sheethas two extra thicknesses of tissue on it which leads toswell at the foredge. But such swell is far less seriousthan swell at the spine which has the effect of stretchingthe spine.

The same procedure can be used to repair just sectionsof an edge.

4. Replacing missing corners of pagesThe nastiest situation is where an owner has cut a nameoff the top right-hand corner of the flyleaf or first pagewith two scissor snips leaving a more or less rectangularpiece missing. If they cut it diagonally or even tear it moreor less diagonally, it is an easier repair, but I would neveralter a rectangular cut to a diagonal one to make it easierto repair.

My aim is to make a feathered joint and to usecomparable material to fill the void. Generally, this canbe from old books and over the years, I have kept all theflyleaves removed from books and from amongst them, Ican generally find a piece that is a good match. Basicallythe process is to feather the edge of the sheet beingrepaired for about 5mm, prepare a suitable in fill piece,feather its edge over about 5mm and then join them as ifthey were a feathered tear. For doing the feathering I usea paring stone (a sheet of glass will do) and my leatherparing knife. I always pare the sheet I am repairing onthe underside (routine).

Creating an edge to match the existing raw edge ismore complex. Actually for the rectangular and diagonalcuts, it is simple. For a rectangular infill, all I need is apiece of infill material 10mm wider and taller than myvoid and for a diagonal infill, I only need a piece of infillthat will allow 5mm overlap at the join and 5mm overhangat the edges. The joint edges can be easily pared, but youneed to be careful that you do it on the upper side.

For erratic edges, one can either use a needle toperforate the infill piece along the line of the join, with theperforations sufficiently close so that you can tear alongthat perforated line, or one can use a pencil to lightlysketch the joint line on the infill piece and then tear it5mm wider and erase the pencil line before paring theedge.

From here on it is a simple page repair: paste bothpared edges and join them together, smooth and set asideunder weights. When the paste is dry, trim the page edge.Figure 2.

Exactly the same procedure can be used to repair adamaged or missing corner of a cover board: pare the

Figure 2: Replacement of corner.

SHAVE UNDERSIDE

SHAVE TOPSIDE

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board and pare another piece of same thickness board tomatch, use EVA to join together and then trim the attachedportion to match the edge lines. I usually use a piece ofboard slightly thicker and sand it down once adhered.

5. Tipping in pagesThere are two situations here: loose plates or maps (viz.pages that were originally tipped in) and loose sheets (tornat the fold). The loose sheets often come in matching pairs.Tipping these in ought to be a simple task, but the bookswere almost invariably guillotined after the plates weretipped in and getting perfect alignment is not always easy(or possible). Trimming after insertion is possible, but ishas the issues of being a very fine amount to be taken off(which often leads to tears) and mismatch with gilding orcoloured edges.

For loose plates I usually find it necessary to ease awayany adhesive left on the area where they were previouslyglued (both on the plate and the page to which it wasattached). Very rarely, there may be a stub for mountingthe plate. I then check the fit of the plate and sometimesfind it necessary to cut a tiny strip off the spine edge. Itmay even be necessary to use tissue to widen the plate.Once satisfied with the fit, I place the book so that theopen portion is supported (I have several wall-papercovered house-bricks for just such tasks) and I place apiece of waste about 3mm from the spine fold on the sheetto which I will attach the plate. I then apply paste to thisarea—viz. a bead 3mm wide—and remove the waste sheet.Figure 3. Next, with the plate bent so that it does nottouch the pasted bead, I align the plate with the textblock

edges and if I have space, I put a weight on it. I then lowerthe spine edge on to the paste bead and smooth it down,insert a piece of barrier paper, close the book and set itaside under weights.

Loose sheets and as I mentioned, it is often pairs ofsheets, I do similarly. But I almost invariably have to trima little off the spine edge and occasionally, I have to repairthat edge to extend it. In effect you are tipping the page tothe one behind it (or in front of it). I try to tip the first pageof a section to the second and the last to the second lastto maintain the section.

Please do not try to apply paste to the edge of the plateand then fit it into the book. I know professionals may,but they do it far more often than I and hence, they havedifferent skills.

Outside the scope of this paper is the possibility ofrepairing sections in situ if the spine of the book hasbeen stripped. My preferred solution is to join the pagesin situ, because they will then lay flat (tipped in pagesnever quite lay flat). I attach a strip of tissue to the mostforward sheet concerned (usually it is the first sheet ofthe section), with my tissue on the underside. I then cutnotches in the stub of the tissue (the bit that will join tothe second sheet)—one notch for each thread or cord ortape I need to straddle. Figure 4. I then pull that page

into place and place some tiny daubs of PVA in the fold tohold it in place. I then paste the stubs on the side facingthe back of the book, slide the second sheet into placeunder them and smooth them down on to it. The purposeis this arrangement is that when the spine is re-glued,the adhesive will catch both the tissue and the raw edgesof these sheets. Let me assure you it takes a bit of practiceto do this satisfactorily.

6. Filling holes in boardsBoards, which are really thick paper, start their life as aslurry of pulp which is strained and pressed until you getthe finished product. Older boards sometimes containedstraw or other water ‘soluble’ materials. It is thereforealmost self-evident that something which was once aslurry can be turned back into such slurry and that slurryused to fill any holes.My method is to take some comparable piece of board andcrumble enough material to fill the hole(s) a couple oftimes (viz. have excess material). I then mix it with pasterather than water, partly because it gives a stiffer mixtureand certainly because I need the adhesion to hold iteventually in place. When I have it well mixed, I use aknife to work it into the hole. Ideally, I allow some materialto bulge out each side of the board being repaired, but if Ihave chosen to retain the cover material or pastedown thenclearly, I can only have excess on the one side. When it hasdried (hours later), I sand off any swell.

(Continued in the next edition of Morocco Bound.)

Figure 3: Applying a bead of adhesive.

Figure 4: Notched tissue on loose sheet.

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A History of Rozelle HospitalJohn R Newland

ROZELLE HOSPITAL comprises several splendid heritage-listed buildings, among them Callan Parkand Broughton Hall Psychiatric Hospitals and Garry Owen House, erected in a setting of 61 hectares (150acres) of public parkland on the foreshore of Iron Cove. At the times of their erection, psychiatric hospitals

were referred to as Hospitals for the Insane or Lunatic Asylums. Other buildings and wards of later origin wereerected to cater for special needs.

The NSW Guild has been in residence in Room 14 of Garry Owen House since 1991, it is located in an area whichis rich in history of the former institutions that may not be so well known.

Garry Owen HouseThis building is located in one of the first land grants (50acres) made in the area to Luke Ralph in 1821. After anumber of property ownership changes, it was eventuallypurchased by John Ryan Brenan in 1839. Brenanemigrated from Ireland and arrived in Sydney with hiswife Maria (nee Price) in June 1834 on board the Jessie.He held a number of positions in the colony: CrownSolicitor, solicitor to the Bank of Australia, Coroner,Principal Superintendent of Convicts and third PoliceMagistrate for Sydney.

It is not precisely known when Garry Owen Housewas built; some sources cite 1839, some 1831 and othersabout 1840. It seems that Brenan gave the name of GarryOwen after his Irish ancestry, so the last date would seemthe most likely.

The house was originally erected as Brenan’s place ofresidence. The architect is unknown. It is suggested thatthe Colonial Architect at the time, Mortimer Lewis, mayhave been its designer, the building being consistent withLewis’ other works.

Entry to the house was via a southern two-chain(40.23m) width street known as ‘The Bouldvarde’, whichat the time, was lined with mature trees and luxuriantgrowth and ‘stately wrought iron gates’.

Brenan was forced to sell the property in about 1876when it purchased by John Gordon for £700. He renamedthe Garry Owen property as the Callan Park Estate andthe house as Callan Park House.

In 1876 Garry Owen House, sometimes called CallanPark House, was transformed by James Barnet, ColonialArchitect, into a branch of the overcrowded GladesvilleHospital under the Medical Superintendent, Dr NortonManning. In making way for its 44 male patients, some ofthe original architecture was unfortunately destroyed.

Some time in the early 20th century, Garry OwenHouse was converted to the Psychiatric Nurses’ TrainingSchool where further building alterations took place,including removal of the eastern verandah. During theearly 1980s, teaching activities were phased out and thebuilding stood empty for some years until the late 1980swhen the building was refurbished by the NSW Ministryof the Arts for use as the NSW Writers’ Centre. The Ministerfor the Arts, Peter Collins, opened NSW Writers’ Centrein November 1990.

The NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinders took up residencein Garry Owen House during January 1991.

The Ground Floor plan of Garry Owen House showingthe NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinder’s workshop by the

shaded area.

The eastern side of Garry Owen House showing theentrance to the NSW Guild of Craft Bookbinder’s workshopat the left. All photos for this article: John R Newland.

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Broughton Hall Psychiatric ClinicNext in order of chronology, was the establishment ofBroughton House, situated in the north-western part ofthe Callan Park Estate at the head of Long Cove at IronCove. Built in 1840 as a gentleman’s residence, it wasoriginally known as Springcove, the estate of CaptainSamuel Augustus Perry, the Deputy Surveyor General.The architect of the original building is unknown. Theestate underwent several changes of ownership withadditions to the building by William Munro, Hilly andMansfield, Architects.

The Army utilised the building as a convalescent homeand hospital for ex-servicemen suffering psychologicalneuroses and nervous disorders caused by the First WorldWar.

By 1921 additional wards were built and it became apsychiatric hospital for the general public known asBroughton Hall, which was also open to those seekingvoluntary admission who were not certified under the

Mental Health Act. The hospital was operated inconjunction with the Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital butin later years, reverted to its own independent operation.

A large outpatient clinic operated, as well as beds for100 patients. The first Medical Superintendent was facultygraduate Dr Sydney Evan-Jones (MB BS 1910) whoembarked on his career there and was appointed as ateacher at the University. He became Medical Super-intendent in 1925, a position he was to hold until hisdeath in 1948. Patient welfare was of great importance toJones, who designed the grounds around the lawns andold trees of the original estate. He claimed that the gardensof Broughton Hall should be utilised “as machinerywhereby a patient’s mind could be directed from neurosisto normality”.

The name Broughton Hall may have been derived fromWilliam Grant Broughton (22 May 1788–20 February1853) who was the first (and only) Church of EnglandBishop of Australia. Broughton was born in West-minsterand educated at The King's School, Canterbury where hewas a King's scholar. Broughton set sail for NSW on 26May 1829 and arrived in Sydney Harbour on 13September. Broughton became bishop of Sydney in 1847.

Although Broughton was active in church affairs, theredoes not appear to be any record of his interest in mentalhealth matters or whether he ever lived at the Callan ParkEstate.

Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic was amalgamatedwith the adjoining Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in1976 to become the Rozelle Hospital and building workon the original hospital almost ceased.

The Richmond Report issued in March 1983 madeseveral recommendations which would assimilate manypatients in the community for treatment and parts of thehospital grounds to be sold. Many buildings were thusplaced in jeopardy with building neglect and vandalismtaking place.

The remnants of the original main house of theBroughton Hall Estate known as Rivendell dating from1842 with additions in 1880 is one of the very few largeearly 1840s residences surviving in the area.

Many functions of mental health continue to operate,primarily from the buildings of the Broughton HallPsychiatric Clinic. Together with support functions, itoccupies over 100 buildings at the site. Some servicescomprise the WHOS (We Help Our Selves) for drug andalcohol-affected patients together with accommodationfor war veterans.

Callan Park Hospital for the InsaneCallan Park is a large parkland of 61 hectares, equivalentto the size of the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Callan Park isone of the largest and most regionally significant publicfacilities in Sydney’s Inner West. Callan Park Hospital forthe Insane was the first purpose-built hospital for therapytreatment in Australia. It was erected between 1880 and1884, and received its first patients in 1885. Built as anenlightened hospital, it has a number of exceptionalheritage buildings.

The western facade of the Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinicshowing some of the old buildings.

The Chinese style of bridge over the watercourse atBroughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic, now in a decrepidcondition and closed to public access.

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The first stone was laid in April 1880 for the largestAustralian public works project of the nineteenth centuryand continued until January 1885. The laying of amemorial stone took place on 23 April 1883.

Frederic Norton Manning (1839–1903) was the medicaldoctor responsible for the establishment of the newasylum. He had experience at St George's Hospital,London, in 1860 and the University of St Andrews,Scotland, in 1862. On a visit to Sydney in 1867, NortonManning was invited to become the medicalsuperintendent at the Tarban Creek Lunatic Asylum atGladesville. Norton Manning accepted the post on thecondition that he toured in1868 a number of institutionsin England, Europe and the USA to study a variety ofinternational methods of patient care and the design andconstruction of hospitals for the insane. On his return toSydney, he submitted a report which was to revolutionisethe care of the mentally ill in NSW.

Norton Manning was appointed to Tarban CreekLunatic Asylum on 15 October 1868. In January 1869he had it renamed the Gladesville Hospital for the Insane.On 1 July 1876, Norton Manning was appointed Inspectorof the Insane for all mental institutions in New SouthWales, with the exception of the Parramatta criminalasylum. One of his greatest struggles was to try to breakdown indifference and deep-rooted prejudice, byencouraging visitors to the hospitals under his care, andorganising public discussions on the causes and treatmentof insanity.

The colonial architect James Johnstone Barnet (1827–1904) chose the Callan Park site for the new hospital,being exposed to winter sun and summer breezes, closeto the city and having a long north-facing frontage to IronCove. Barnet therefore recommended that the governmentpurchase the property in 1873 for £12,500.

The design for the permanent hospital was a collab-orative effort between Norton Manning and Barnet. NortonManning had toured overseas a second time and in 1876brought back the drawings of Chartham Down Hospitalfor the Insane, near Canterbury, Kent, upon which thedesign of Callan Park was to be based. Together theydesigned five male and five female wards, to accommodateapproximately 600 patients. Their aims included plansfor well designed and pleasant surroundings. Constructionbegan in 1880 and the first male patients occupied thewards in October 1884. The design also incorporatedrooms for specialist activities and a chapel.

The main building of Callan Park, the Kirkbridecomplex, is a series of individual single, two and threestorey sandstone buildings in the Victorian free classicalstyle set in parkland on the shores of Iron Cove at Rozelle.The Scottish born colonial architect James JohnstoneBarnet (1827-1904) designed Kirkbride in 1877, inconsultation with the then Director of Mental Health DrFrederick Norton Manning. Norton Manning based hisdesigns on a study of overseas methods of asylumadministration and patient care, and was inspired byplans for an institution designed by architects Giles and

The eastern facade of the Kirkbride complex of buildings of the former Callan Park Psychiatric Hospital, now theSydney College of the Arts, in its parkland setting.

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Gough, built in Chartham Downs in Kent in 1875. Thecomplex was named after Dr William Kirkbride, anAmerican who preached the curative powers of pleasantsurroundings. Scottish born Charles Moore (1820–1905),curator of the Australian National Botanic Gardens,designed the gardens between the buildings and BalmainRoad.

Over the following years, the Kirkbride building becameovercrowded. To deal with the overcrowding and thepossibility of the downgrading of patient care, alterationswere made and new buildings erected. In the period 1894–1922 the main gates were relocated and a high brickboundary wall erected, which was made necessary bythe widening of Balmain Road.

In 1923 an official enquiry began into overcrowdingbut little eventuated. The problem remained and emergedagain in 1930 when patient numbers reached 1500. TheDepression and World War II saw only basic repairs andadditions to the Norton Manning/Barnet buildings.

In 1976 Callan Park was amalgamated with theadjoining Broughton Hall Psychiatric Clinic to becomethe Rozelle Hospital.

The Richmond Report of 1983 made several recom-mendations: many patients were to be assimilated in thecommunity for treatment. Parts of the hospital groundswere to be sold thus placing the Norton Manning/Barnetbuildings in jeopardy. A period of vandalism and buildingneglect ensued. The high brick wall along Balmain Roadwas also subsequently reduced in height.

A program of urgent maintenance works wereundertaken during 1991 and the main block, known asKirkbride, was adapted as the new home of the Sydney

The main entrance to the Kirkbride Building of the CallanPark Psychiatric Hospital.

The water supply tower to the Kirkbride building complexof the Callan Park Psychiatric Hospital.

College of the Arts, a division of the University of Sydney,which opened in 1996. The College is still there.

On 30 April 2008 the hospital was closed. Staff andpatients were transferred to a mental facility at ConcordHospital. The former Admissions Centre of the Callan ParkPsychiatric Hospital at the corner of Balmain and WharfRoads likewise closed and became the Headquarters ofthe NSW Ambulance Service. To date the AmbulanceService is still there.

A legacy bequeathed by Frederick Norton Manning wasthe award of a gold medal (showing the obverse and reversesides) for nurses who topped the Sate in their psychiatricexaminations. This gold medal shown here as full size wasawarded to Sister Rae Gottliebsen in December 1964.

The Simplified BindingJean Riley

THE Simplified Binding falls into the fine bindingcategory and was developed by French binder, SunEvrard, in 1984. It differs slightly from a traditionally

rounded and backed case binding and the bookbinderwill find that it is a versatile binding that lends itself tothe use of a variety of covering materials. If you accessthe website of the National Library in Canberra:

www.nla.gov.au/behind-the-scenes/2012/5/28/simplified-binding-in-eduardo-tarricos-studio

you will find several photos of the process.

MATERIALS: 10 sections approx. 4-5 sheets of A4 paperper section.

End papers: 2 A4 sheets of decorated paper.

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Boards: Approx H. 21.8cm x W. 14.6cm and coverpaper.

Headbands (2); plus heavy weight paper and fabricfor spine.

DIRECTIONS: Prepare the text sections as for a casebinding (but with the addition of guarded end sectionson the first and last sections.

Fold the sections. Reinforce the first and last sectionswith rice paper or equivalent (height of the text andapproximately 5cm in width—approximately 4.5cm of thewidth will be on the front of the first section and the backof the last section). Use flour paste to secure the 5mmsection of rice paper to the inside of Section 1 and thelast section. Mark the sewing stations for head and tailand two tapes. Sew the sections to the tapes in the usualway. Lightly glue the spine with PVA then gently roundthe spine. This can be done with a bone folder for a slimbook or use a hammer for a large book. Affix theheadbands and fill in the spine between the tapes withpaper. Then finally affix mull and a final strip of paperover the mull. N.B. The tapes and mull should not extendpast the rice paper that was added to section 1 and thelast section.

Assemble the hollow back spine and covering.• Cut a piece of card stock the width of the spine and

slightly longer than the height.• Sand the long edges slightly.• Lay the text block on the spine card and mark the

card just above the headbands at the head and tail.Cut the card square.

• Prepare the covering for the spine card and paste thecovering to the card. Line the card with paper.

• Roll the covered spine around a dowel to create arounded spine.

• Trim and turn in the excess covering at head and tail.• Ensure the hollow back spine sits down well on the

spine and will not protrude above the covers.• Apply PVA to the inside of the spine covering material

that will glue to the front and back of the text block.DO NOT ADD GLUE TO ROUNDED SPINE SECTION.

Boards:• Choose board thickness to suit the size of the book.• Cut boards to the height of the spine covering and the

width of the text + 1–2mm.• Bevel and sand the spine edge of covers so they fit

neatly into the shoulder joint.• Cover the boards and affix them to the text block onto

the cloth joint/spine hollow combination.Ensure the second cover lines up with the first.Press in the nipping press.

Endpapers:• Cut endpapers and tip-in onto the text block. Paste

out the side of the endpaper that is to be affixed to thefront cover and rub down. Repeat for back cover.

• Ensure that the squares at head, tail and foredge arethe same size, otherwise when dry, trim.

• Press in the nipping press briefly and then leave undera weight till dry.

Simplified binding and case. Simplified binding with slip case.

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BEING able to thin leather is one of the essentialskills for fine binding. I am of course referringhere to leather binding. There are many skilled

binders, practicing modern and innovative styles andtechniques, who never touch leather. Those individualsmay choose to skip this article!

Why Pare?Thinning the leather neatly, even if it is very thin to startwith, is necessary for proper turn-ins and is particularlyimportant when the completed turn-ins are trimmedbefore laying in a paper or a card spacer on the inside ofthe board.

Reducing leather thickness at the hinge is somewhatout of fashion these days and it does weaken that area ofthe book, but it certainly helps the boards to open easilyand endpaper joint strain is reduced. We should alwaysbear in mind that the main strength of the leather is inthe inner, flesh side and some of this is removed in paring.The remaining leather can be brittle and unstable whenthinned.

Paring is also used for creating labels, leather jointedendpapers and onlays, where a ‘feathered’ edge can beachieved through taking the edge down to minisculethickness.

An excellent overview of the different tools used topare and their respective advantages and disadvantages,can be found at Jeff Peachey’s bookbinding blog:https://jeffpeachey.com/2017/02/28/an-overview-of-leather-paring-tools/

I won’t repeat Mr Peachey’s excellent points here. Myaim is this article is to give some tips based on myexperience and the trials I endured until I had reachedsome level of paring expertise.

What knife?Jeff Peachey provides an excellent overview of the choicesavailable. After trying various knives for over than 20years, my paring knife of choice is a converted hacksawblade. It is about 19cm long and 2.8cm wide. The bladeangle is cut across the knife at about 45º, though manyprefer a reduced angle. I certainly have no issues withthis, but I don’t like using a paring knife with a sharperangle, say 30º.

I don’t wish to be prescriptive in terms of what type ofknife to use. The range of traditional knife styles available,all used successfully over hundreds of years, proves thepoint that any knife can be used, providing it is sharp! Iurge binders to find the tool that suits and then stickwith it.

I prefer the flexibility of hacksaw metal, as I pareholding the knife almost flat to the paring stone surface,with a slight lifting at the hand end when required.Hacksaw metal keeps its edge well, with regular stroppingto keep it sharp.

The Paring StoneAny hard, flat and smooth surface can be used for paring.I find glass to be a little slippery though and my preferencefor a slab of marble or granite, an old lithographic stone,or even a compound material. The surface should be keptclean of grit and leather shavings at all times while paring.Even a small piece of detritus can cause the knife to slicea hole in the leather. I keep the stone right at the edge ofmy workbench and pare on that side, as this give myhands more room to move.

How to pareA sharp edge is essential. If your knife isn’t extremelysharp, paring can be a nightmarish operation, with theleather stretching along the edge and outwards and givean uneven surface showing on the outside face of thebook.

I am right-handed and so I hold the paring knife inthat hand. My left hand forefinger is braced against theblunt side of the knife, a few cm above the point.

To start, I dig the knife in, a few mm in from the leatheredge, holding the knife at a slight angle to the stonesurface. The edge of the blade is angled at about 45º tothe leather edge. This means that I am not pushing theblade against the leather, but rather using the angle toslice through all the way to the other end. I aim to do thisin one sweep, resulting in a detached piece of leather afew mm in width. The next cut starts a little further in butat a flatter angle, so that, after probably three or four ofthese sweeps, a bevelled edge about the width of the turn-in is achieved.

I notice than when teaching binders how to pare, theimmediate tendency of many is to push out, at about a45º, resulting in channels being cut at this angle all theway along the edge being pared. This is not the way toachieve a smooth finish. Again, aim to remove a singlestrip from the flesh side after each sweep along the edgeof the leather.

It is worth repeating here that paring does reduce thestrength of the leather. This doesn’t matter too much withthe leather on the turn in side, as it is stable after pasting,but we must be careful to not to thin the material toomuch at the board edge.

Leather Paring—Some Tips for SuccessJohn Turner

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Bob—The BookbinderReproduced courtesy of Designer Bookbinders

The Eagle comic was a must for schoolboys of the 1950s.Among the brilliantly drawn all-action adventures of DanDare—Pilot of the Future and Harris Tweed—Secret Agent,were articles on state of the art technology with wonderfulcutaway drawings of, for example, locomotives and ships;factual stories and historical epics etc, but also the “Hewants to be a ......” series offering career advice.

The usual doctors, pilots and policemen were oftenfeatured, but occasionally examples like this one

(appearing overleaf) appeared, as published on 4 May1956. It really is of its time and I think, very amusing toread now. It is worth noting that The Guild ofContemporary Bookbinders (now Designer Bookbinders)was just getting into its stride at this time. Then as now,awareness of all possibilities in the arts and crafts waslimited in popular writing—thankfully some excellentcraftspeople have made it through despite this ignorance.

Journal of Australian Craft Bookbinders - Callan Park · or practice of bookbinding are most...

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