The Publishers' and Other Book Exhibits at the World's Columbian Exposition

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1893. Excerpt: ... A small collective exhibit, showing specimens of every variety of printing, is furnished by the color and ink manufacturers, Kast & Ehinger, of Stuttgart, who in their exhibit of fine inks show some exquisite specimens of printing. Bookbinding in Germany has reached almost perfection in technical detail, and fine specimens of this art are displayed, notably in fine leather bindings, of which the chief exhibitors are the Reichsdruckerei, of Berlin, which shows a white parchment bound edition de luxe of Nathan der Weise, privately printed by W. Drugulin, of Leipzig; Moritz Gohre, of Leipzig; and Hermann Giaf & Sohn, who display a jewel-casket which is a masterpiece of binding in fine white calf, elaborately inlaid and hand-tooled. But, although the Germans can do the finest work called for, the German public taste does not as yet seem to demand the finish of execution in book-production which is shown in France, England, and America. To the average German the intrinsic worth of the book appeals far more than the outward form, and often when small fortunes have been spent to get a perfect text and suitable print, there is a mistaken show of the German economical bias--and paper, margin, and binding do not make a fitting setting for such contents. In cloth bindings, especially, the German taste is heavy. They are over-ornamented and too heavily gilded. The flat holiday books still hold their own, and many publishers sink a great deal of money in manufacturing these pracht-exemplare. There is still a great field for the education of public taste, and the publishers are beginning to realize it, and will no doubt, in time, let fine editions of classics and standards perfect in every detail take the place of these clumsy illustrated flat holiday books, which...