Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- I DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS
- II DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS
- III DEPARTMENTS OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED BOOKS
- IV DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- V DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- VI DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- VII DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- TABLE
- BOOKBINDING CONSIDERED AS A FINE ART, MECHANICAL ART, AND MANUFACTURE
- PREFACE
- CONTENTS
- HISTORY OF BOOKBINDING
- BINDING AS A FINE ART
- BINDING AS A MECHANICAL ART
- BINDING AS A MANUFACTURE
- PRACTICAL POINTS CONNECTED WITH BINDING
- APPENDIX
- DISCUSSION
- CATALOGUE OF SPECIMENS OF BINDING LENT FOR EXHIBITION
- LIST OF ENGRAVINGS
- Plate section
- Plate section
- Plate section
BINDING AS A MECHANICAL ART
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2012
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- I DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS
- II DEPARTMENT OF MANUSCRIPTS
- III DEPARTMENTS OF MANUSCRIPTS AND PRINTED BOOKS
- IV DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- V DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- VI DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- VII DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS
- TABLE
- BOOKBINDING CONSIDERED AS A FINE ART, MECHANICAL ART, AND MANUFACTURE
- PREFACE
- CONTENTS
- HISTORY OF BOOKBINDING
- BINDING AS A FINE ART
- BINDING AS A MECHANICAL ART
- BINDING AS A MANUFACTURE
- PRACTICAL POINTS CONNECTED WITH BINDING
- APPENDIX
- DISCUSSION
- CATALOGUE OF SPECIMENS OF BINDING LENT FOR EXHIBITION
- LIST OF ENGRAVINGS
- Plate section
- Plate section
- Plate section
Summary
In treating of bookbinding as a fine art, I have alluded to the comparative state of decadence inte which it has fallen at present; but, now that I come to consider binding as a mechanical art, it is necessary to state that never was that in a higher state of perfection than at present. Much of the old binding is a marvel of strength; but it is also clumsy. The wooden boards, with leather bands, or thongs, wedged into the holes made for them with wooden wedges, give the book they cover the appearance of pieces of furniture. Petrarch found out the dangerous massiveness of these books when he dropped his own transcription of Cicero's “Epistles” upon his leg, which he injured so much as to narrowly escape amputation. In some specimens of ornamental tooling, the lines are not always straight, and they often do not join as they ought. Moreover, many books, the covers of which are marvels of artistic treatment, exhibit a certain rigidity about the joints. None of these flaws are to be found in good work of the present day, which is usually perfect from a mechanical point of view. The aim of the binder for many years has been to unite strength and elegance; and there are morocco bindings which will probably outlast the books they cover. The binder, to be successful, must have an artistic eye, and nearly all his work must be done by hand.
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- Chapter
- Information
- Remarkable Bindings in the British MuseumSelected for their Beauty or Historic Interest, pp. 162 - 164Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010