Motion Study: A method for increasing the efficiency of the workman
Frank B. Gilbreth, 1911
three piece
full vellum binding
laminated over dyed printed papers
printed endpapers
Guild of Bookworkers
Marking Time Exhibition
2009
Dimensions (in): 8x5.5x.75
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Full vellum binding (three-piece structure); title stamped in gold on front board. Illustrations on rear board and spine stamped in gold; culled from the writings of Frank Gilbreth and Frederick Taylor, pioneers in the field of efficiency studies as applied to hand work. The papers used for the endpapers and lining underneath the vellum are composed of compiled images from the Gilbreth and Taylor studies, with the images varying across the book. The papers lining the vellum were dyed in shades of blue and green; the edges of the textblock are dyed dark green, with green leather endbands.
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The text itself is one of the seminal monographs in time management, as written by one of the earliest professionals in the field of management systems, Frank Gilbreth (whose son was the author of "Cheaper by the Dozen," a story about management applied to family systems).
The images used on the pastedowns and the covers were collaged from the various publications of both Frank Gilbreth and his colleague, Frederick Taylor. These images include the famous "hand with stopwatch;" the stop-motion photographs of repetitive tasks; the schematics for working efficiency when laying brick; and the spreadsheets for breaking down tasks into each composite step, and timing each element. Gilbreth's implementation of the "white card" system of a reference which can be taken between job sites for approved workers was incorporated into the colophon on the back pastedown.
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The front and back boards were lined with images collaged as for the pastedowns, and then dyed in a bath of blue and green, which coordinates with the edge decoration of the textblock. The vellum was sanded and then edge pared, and glued over the dyed collaged lining pages; it was then dried in the press. This takes advantage of the natural translucent nature of the vellum, and the images and colors are both revealed and concealed by the nature of the skin.
The binding itself uses a three part structure, where the spine is constructed separately from the boards; the boards (finished) are attached to the spine; and the turn-ins are formed over the entirety. The textblock is then attached to the spine using the hollow, and the pastedowns are adhered.
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The spine was stamped in gold using a die with the pictograms; likewise, the image of the hand holding a stopwatch was stamped onto the back board. The front cover was stamped using set type.
The spine stamping represents the pictograms developed by Frederick Taylor which represent every step in the process:
search / find / select / grasp / transport loaded / position / assemble / use / disassemble / inspect / pre-position / transport empty / rest for overcoming fatigue / unavoidable delay / avoidable delay / plan.
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sources for further reading |
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