Foot 1998

Foot, Mirjam. The History of Bookbinding as a Mirror of Society. London: The British Library, 1998.

"What follows seeks to show how bookbindings, in all their variety, reflect the societies in -- and the social classes for -- which they are made, so that the study of bookbinding history is no mean tributary, but part of the mainstream of social history." (1)

"I would like to approach the history of bookbinding a slightly different way, to show how the techniques of binding and decorating books reflect the way books were produced and the way the booktrade developed, and, widening out from there, how the production of the binding links with questions of authorship, publishing, reading and collection; how it relates to the spread of literacy and learning, to education, to religion, to certain professions, but also to economic and political circumstances, and to social attitudes." (2)

earliest decorative bindings are of Coptic origin (3)

engraved wheels (rolls) for decorating borders or whole covers (9)

interlace (12)

designs filling a whole cover with a regular pattern; remain in use until late 19c (16)

inlays/onlays first used during reign of Elizabeth; "Jean de Planche employed it very effectively on presentation bindings for the Queen" (18)

material strips of contrasting color laced through slots, or leather shown through the cut outs (19)

"A very delicate, lace-like pattern of cut-out vellum over pink and blue satin contains the letters and petitions of Lady Arabella Stuart, written while she was imprisoned in the Tower, but transcribed ina blank book of an earlier date." (20)

"External economic, politico-religious, or cultural movements were not the only factors to influence bookbinding design. The purpose that a book would serve, the occasion for which it was produced, its anticipated audience, the use for which it was intended and to a lesser degree its content, could all influence the way in which it was bound and decorated." (53)

Elkanah Settle, self-styled City Poet of London, "tried to obtain a living by writing verses commemorating the births, deaths, and marraiges in the families of the nobly-born or newly wealthy. He had these printed and put into turkey leather embellished with rather crude bold tooling including the coat of arms of a suitable recipient. Sometimes the title-page and fly-leaves were also decorated in gold with impressions of the same tools that were used on the binding. These copies were then offered by the humble author in the hope of a commensurate reward. If spurned, Settle cancelled the leaf that mentioned the particular event and substituted one referring to some new occasion, or carrying the name of a more promising recipient. Another coat of arms on a new piece of leather was pasted over that already tooled on the covers, and Settle would call hopefully at the next great house. On at least one occasion he was only successful at the third attempt." (55)