Hayday had long seen that it was desirable to make printed books open freely and lie flat; his attention is believed to have been drawn to this matter by seeing Bagster's polyglot bibles, which were bound by Joseph Welsh of 10 Queen Street, Golden Square, in what was known as ‘Bagster's Renowned Binding.’ These books were made flexible, and covered with purple pin-headed sealskin with a blind tool ornament. In his own binding he sewed the books all along every sheet, and to remedy the extra thickness that would be caused by sewing with thread, used silk, and to equalise the thickness rounded the fore edges more than was customary. To make the back tight he dispensed with the ordinary backing of paper, and fastened the leather cover down to the back. Still the constant opening of the book disfigured the grain of the leather, and to obviate this he introduced the cross or pin-headed grain, or what is now termed Turkey Morocco.
