wide-in-the-middle (support spacing) (Q990)

A feature of a structure sewn on four supports which are arranged in pairs towards the head and tail of the spine, leaving a wide space in the middle of the spine. It was developed as a structure which would allow three-on and even five-on sewing to remain viable by concentrating the structural elements of the sewing towards the head and tail of the spine, where the strength was most needed. The arrangement of the supports on the spine often resembles the spacing found on books sewn on five supports with the central support omitted, but the proportions can vary widely on different examples. Sewing 'wide in the middle' was introduced in Britain in the last quarter of the eighteenth century for publishers' or edition bindings covered in paper with uncut edges, also known as boarded bindings. It survived as a cheap structure for such bindings into the first quarter of the nineteenth century, but is occasionally encountered in leather-covered books in the early nineteenth century in both France and Britain. A similar phenomenon can be found in some late seventeenth century French bindings with the sewing supports spaced as for five raised sewing supports with the central support left out and replaced on the rounded and backed spines by a false bands. This appears to have been a simple economy measure, and was certainly used in Lyon if not elsewhere.