The Glue Book: How to Select, Prepare and Use Glue

A surprisingly compelling practical manual from 1913, written when glue was a precious industrial commodity and wasting it meant losing money. Taggart covers everything: how glue is manufactured from animal hides and bones, how to test its quality and grade, the precise temperatures at which it applies best, proper cleaning techniques for glue pots, and which adhesive works for wood versus paper versus leather. There's something deeply satisfying about early 20th-century practical knowledge - no formulas, just hard-won experience passed from craftsman to apprentice. For modern readers, whether woodworkers, bookbinders, or anyone curious about how things were made before pre-glued everything, Taggart's commonsense approach to adhesive chemistry is oddly hypnotic. It captures a world where understanding your materials mattered enormously - and reminds us how much specific, hands-on knowledge we've let slip away.