Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Bookbindings: An Illustrated History

Bookbindings: An Illustrated History

Pearson, David

Hardcover

General European HistoryGeneral World History

ISBN10: 1851246452
ISBN13: 9781851246458
Publisher: Bodleian Library
Published: Jun 2 2026
Pages: 240
Weight: 3.45
Height: 1.10 Width: 9.70 Depth: 10.20
Language: English

An extravagantly illustrated history of the development of bookbindings, from antiquity to modern day.

Bindings have been an essential--and often beautiful--component of books since the codex form was invented 2,000 years ago. They make books work, but they also provide an opportunity for binders to display their skills. Until book trade processes were industrialized in the nineteenth century, every binding was a unique handcrafted object, no matter how simple or elaborate. Bindings have been made of all kinds of materials--calfskin, parchment, vellum, ivory, even silver--and embellished using many different techniques to satisfy the wishes of owners, ranging from students to kings. How they were produced and decorated has evolved, and many countries have their own distinctive traditions. Bindings may testify to the taste and social status of wealthy connoisseurs, or to the economic necessities of ordinary households. Because they can often be dated and localized, they also give us information about the histories of individual volumes.

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General European History

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