Victorian cloth bindings, week 7: conclusion
Over the last six weeks we’ve had a glimpse into the world of Victorian cloth bindings, from its humble beginnings in coloured cloths and paper… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 7: conclusion
cloth bindings
Victorian cloth bindings, week 6: designers
Book covers commissioned from a designer first made their appearance in the 1840s. It was during this period that the design of covers for a… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 6: designers
Victorian cloth bindings, week 5: titles
Titles on books are important, as they tell us what to find inside without opening the covers. Most often these are found on the spine;… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 5: titles
Victorian cloth bindings, week 4: the introduction of colour
Briony, our Assistant Rare Books Librarian, continues her wanders through the stacks. It wasn’t long before book binders demanded more than just black ink and… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 4: the introduction of colour
Victorian cloth bindings, week 3: blocking in gold, blind, black, and silver
Last week we considered grains as a form of decoration, whereby the natural grain of the cloth was disguised with a design. Almost simultaneously with… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 3: blocking in gold, blind, black, and silver
Victorian cloth bindings, week 2: grains
The idea of using cotton cloth as a covering for books probably originated with the London publisher William Pickering, whilst the binder Archibald Leighton solved… Read More »Victorian cloth bindings, week 2: grains