Cary Bogue, age 10,. of Sarasota, Florida, for his question:

When did the binding of books begin?

Binding printed pages together into a book is not an easy job, even with the help of modern machinery. Our ancestors did the job by hand, using threads and glue to fix the pages together in the proper order. The idea of binding pages of writing to¬gether began sometime during the third century A.D. In those days, the pages were papyrus, made from pressed plant fibers, or vellum, made from specially treated animal hides. The pages were tied together with string and fixed between covers of wood. These first books were called codices.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the majority of people could not read. So books were made only for a few scholars. Then in 1440, a new and faster printing press was invented. More material was printed and bookbinding was improved. But the job was done by hand for another 400 years. Bookbinding machines were invented in the early 1800's, and the old style covers of wood and leather were replaced by cloth and stiff cardboard.