Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from a stack of paper sheets. These are folded into sections called signatures. The stack is then bound together along one edge by sewing or adhesive and creates a textblock. For protection the textblock is covered, creating a book.
Around 100BC the first books were being bound in India for religious Sutras that were copied to palm leaves.
A finished book requires dozens of operations to complete depending on the specific process and materials.
Bookbinding is an artistic craft of great antiquity.
Coptic binding is an ancient method of bookbinding employed by early Christians, the Copts, in Egypt beginning in the 2nd Century. These codices were made of sections of material, typically papyrus or parchment, sewn through folds and attached to each other with chain stitch linkings across spine.
This format exhibits a beautifully exposed spine.
The codex style book we know today was invented in the Early Roman Empire during the 1st Century. It was originally made with papyrus and vellum before paper making was invented by the Chinese. The codex replaced earlier book mediums such as wax tablets and scrolls.
Circa 500AD : codices are bound between hardcovers. Covers were typically made out of wood and sometimes covered with leather, metal or cloth.