Leather and Vellum Bookbindings,
1500 to 1920

Fine and Utilitarian Binding, 1500-1740 -- In this early period, books were sold unbound and each customer would decide on the binding style he could afford.

18th Century -- Small bindery businesses operated separately from booksellers who acted also as publishers.

Pictured above are: 1491: A Latin Vulgate Bible, bound in pigskin;
1570: Palladio's work on architecture rebound in England, ca. 1730-1750, in gold-tooled, diced russia leather;
1717: A book of common prayer in gold-tooled morocco.

19th century -- Publishers gradually assumed responsibility for binding. Since leather was costly, cloth and paper-covered case bindings became popular. Publishers also had books that were suitable for New Year's gifts, such as literary annuals and prayer books, bound in gold-blocked and blind-blocked leather.

The Maple Leaf, or Canadian annual, 1846 is bound in gold-blocked leather.
The Imperial Shakespeare, 1876 is a fine example of a deluxe publisher's binding.

Two sections of the exhibit present examples of less expensive binding, 1795-1920, and rebinding and repair work of the early 20th century.

This German hymnal (1857) was published in Kitchener but probably bound in Pennsylvania.
Bibles, prayer-books and devotional literature were often in utilitarian bindings as organizations like the British & Foreign Bible Society were intent on cutting costs in order to make their publications widely available.

The Arts and Crafts Movement and the Aesthetic Movement, 1890-1910,
fostered an even more artistic approach to bookbinding.

The 1910 edition of Bliss Carman's Sappho lyrics is shown here in a gold-blocked skiver binding, attractive but not durable. The design shows the influence of Scottish art nouveau. Part of this British edition was imported by Musson, a Toronto Publisher.

Oliver Goldsmith's, She stoops to conquer, (a 1912 London edition) is bound in gold-blocked leather with an exuberant design of roses and leaves forming a frame around the title.

---

The Kelmscott Chaucer

This famous edition of The works of Geoffrey Chaucer
was designed by William Morris, printed on the Kelmscott Press and bound in 1896-1897 at the Doves Bindery, Hammersmith. This Bindery was operated by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson. Both of these men were active in the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain.
The hand-stamped design is based on medieval and early Renaissance pigskin bindings. The tooling was done by impressing hand tools which form the background, leaving the motifs in relief. The edition sold at the time for a mere 33 pounds.

Queen's has one of the 48 copies with this particular binding, a treasure acquired through the generosity of C.L. Burton in 1958. This copy has a distinguished provenance as well, having once belonged to Lawrence of Arabia.

---

The Glasgow University album for 1836, pictured below, has a interesting Scottish arabesque design on the cover but the inside is even more attractive, with silk doublures and flyleaves and gold-tooled turn-ins.

---

Exhibition curated, written and photographed by Margaret Lock, hand-press printer and artist --- Web Site created by Vivien Taylor

---

| Special Collections Mainpage   |   Jordan Library Exhibits |

Last revised: 13 March 2003
http://library.queensu.ca/webmus/sc/exhibitsarch3.html
Prepared by: Vivien Taylor
Queen's University Libraries, Kingston, Canada

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? Email: jordlib@post.queensu.ca