Enfilade

Distributed by The University of Chicago Press:

David Pearson, Bookbindings: An Illustrated History (Oxford: Bodleian Library Publishing, 2026), 240 pages, ISBN: 978-1851246458, £50 / $75.

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. This lavishly illustrated book provides a fascinating history of the development of bookbindings from Roman times to the present day. Almost all the examples are chosen from the shelves of the Bodleian Library, showcasing the outstanding collection of historic bindings to be found there.

David Pearson is a leading authority on the history of books. His previous books include Provenance Research in Book History and Speaking Volumes: Books with Histories also published by Bodleian Library Publishing.

c o n t e n t s

Birth of the Codex to Medieval Traditions
New Ideas in a World of Print
Craftsmanship & Innovation
Nineteenth-Century Transformations
The Rebirth of Craft Binding
Bindings with a Purpose
Materials & Techniques
Decorative Themes