G'day Malcolm Douglas,

"... I gather that the pages were individually glued, rather than sewn in signatures, and that most copies have simply fallen to pieces ..."

The trade name for this abominable affront to decent binding practice is "perfect binding" (because the signatures are "cut perfect" ... i.e. on all 4 sides ... and simply glued into a cardboard case). This is one of the most insidious examples of 'weasel language' that I have ever heard (and the reason for my running war with one of Sydney's local small publishers).

Please push for worthwhile publishing standards ... we are not dealing with rubbish of no intrinsic worth - this is our (or your ...) heritage!

Regards,

Bob Bolton