The Renaissance of Bookbinding
As a form of technology, the book has evolved in numerous ways since the conception of writing systems in estimated 6000 B.C.E. What we know now as physical books and ebooks, came from humble beginnings, including tablets, scrolls, and wooden boards. The creation of moveable type and the printing press led the way for the mass production of books. At the end of the nineteenth century into the start of the twentieth century, book production, specifically the development of the book cover, became of artistic interest. While cloth binding was common, the hand-binding of books became a form of art in itself, especially in countries such as England and France. This time period became known as “The Renaissance of bookbinding” (Thomson, 229).
Bookbinding as an Artwork
The interest of bookbinding as an artistry came about with the progression in technology related to the mass production of books. According to The Art Amateur from 1884, “The invention of printing caused an immediate fall in the rarity and value of books, which then became simply instruments of knowledge or of pleasure” (Child, 110). What was once a unique item, the book, as enjoyed by scholars and wealthier individuals, became more commonplace, thus changing its value and uniqueness. Referring to Georg Simmel, the German sociologist, “At the beginning of the nineteenth century, he wrote, people of all classes enjoyed a pleasurable and natural relationship with their possessions. By the end of the century, the sheer quantity of objects made the individual’s relationship to possessions problematic, more self-conscious. The multiplicity of things created a feeling of oppression” (Thomson, 230).
The mass production of books began in the 1820s when machinery with the capacity to do so was developed. Boards covered in cloth were the shell of these books, and when decorated, became a method of advertising. However, the artistically hand-bound book soon set the example of what commercially produced books should try to emulate. “Amidst this growth in quantity and search for quality, participants and critics sought to identify aesthetic principles that would describe the particular attributes of the well-bound book” (Thomson, 230). Commercially produced books consisted of those being cloth-bound, while individual artists produced hand-crafted books.
During this time, the book’s cover was thought of as being either two things, “An element in interior decorating, or as clothing” (Thomson, 231). In this school of thought, books were thought of as an artistic item to put on display, in one’s home or the like. Referring to the binder William Dana Orcutt’s comment regarding the famed decorated book Kelmscott Chaucer, “After all, a book is made to be read, and the Kelmscott Chaucer is made to be looked at” (Thomson, 233).
It was noted that the French‘s book design was more advanced than the Americans or the English, but only in terms of decoration. The books created by the French were not necessarily made for the purpose of being read, but rather as a decorative piece to put on display. As, “Every expert knows that the English and American binders are more forthright than the French, whose books are apt to be weak in the binding and so stiff in the back (to enable them to bear the overdose of gilding) that they open with difficulty and in time break” (The Lotus Magazine, 57).
This difference in belief regarding the purpose of the book spilled over into what the cover should be reflective of. Some argued the cover should reflect the knowledge the reader receives from the book. Others argued for the cover being either symbolic of the text or displaying a realistic representation of it. As noted by the author of Some Thoughts on Book Binding, “I saw a volume of Poe, “The Gold Bug,” bound by one of the masters of French binding. The gold bug was crawling over the cover. It was obvious realism — and ridiculous. Decoration that develops from the book itself should by symbolic, not realistic, otherwise the illustrations printed on the covers of our best sellers would be triumphs of bookbinding, whereas they reduce it to its lowest level.”
Bookbinding as a true form of artistic creation, is thought to have come about from many bookbinders, yet two were specifically notable. They were Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, who hailed from England and Henri Francois Marius Michel, from France. These men took the art of bookbinding to a new level, as they dismissed the traditional designs and opted to create their own instead.
In Artistic Book Binding, the author examines the bookbinder as a creative, saying that, “The modern book binder has become an artist like the painter, the architect, and the musician, and those who excel in their art have pupils, a studio, a manner of their own. They have their secrets, and their signature is paid for in gold like that of the painters a la mode, and like the painters they have their jealousies, their rivalries, their vogue and their decadence” (Child, 109). Handbound books of this decorative magnitude could not be mass-produced, and were expensive, being sold through booksellers rather than to the public forthright.
Materials
Books during this time were designed with a variety of material. This included different leathers (both polished and unpolished), gold gilding, metal, ivory, fabrics, and enamels. According to Thomson, “By using all manner of materials, including a large variety of fabrics, while retaining a certain lack of refinement, bookbinding could leave the realm of handicraft and enter the world of fine arts” (Thomson, 235).
Ongoing Impacts
The art of the hand-bound book continues into today’s modern world. Those interested in this craft can enroll in programs at various educational institutes and/or study under binding masters in an apprenticeship program. These modern-day binders do more than create new hand-bound books; they fix the bindings of the antique style books we’ve previously discussed. The Renaissance of Bookbinding, though a short time period and with debate, remains an important aspect of history when considering the book as a technology. This time period continues to provide the bibliophile with proof that there was a time when the creation of the book was much more than what it appeared to be. The book, regardless of the knowledge it held, was itself a piece of art. One to be displayed just as a painting curated by Picasso. To some, the book was an embodiment of man, and as such were to be treated as so. This included allowing the book to dress the part. “Books are our wisest counsellors, our safest guides, our truest friends; we surely ought to know how to dress them” (Child, 110).
Works Cited
“Some Notes on Book-Binding.” The Lotus Magazine, vol. 3, no. 2, 1911, pp. 57–60. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20543343.
