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18th-Century French Trade Binding
 

This binding type was not a luxury binding but rather a trade or vernacular binding and was priced as such. The making process involved beating at seven separate stages. As such, the books are known for their soft, organic feel, with the boards cupping inwards to hold in the textblock. This binding marks the transition from smaller batch trade binding to mass-produced, mechanized bindings. It is the last era of full leather bindings prior to a significant decline in tanning quality. Though the binding involves very particular steps in its making, there is a flexible, handmade quality in trade bindings that is not seen in mass-produced bindings. Additionally, it is the first era of bookbinding containing extensive written concurrent documentation of the techniques and tools used in the making of the bindings.

This model features handmade textblock paper, silk endbands, decorative marbled endpapers, trimmed textblock edges colored with vermilion, and calf leather that was brushed with wheat starch paste wash and was marbled with ferrous sulfate, potash, and oxalic acid. Glaire was brushed on and a thin layer of beeswax was also burnished on the vegetable-tanned, calf leather. It was sewn two-on onto 5 raised cords and laced onto laminated paper boards.

 

This model was made during the Historical Book Structures Practicum, a month-long summer 2022 LACE workshop taught by Jeff Peachey.

Key Features (exceptions apply)

  • Rounding and backing

  • Tight joint

  • Visible thread on marbled “snail” or “comb” pastedown/flyleaf

  • Five or more raised bands

  • Blind tooling

  • Gold tooling along spine

  • Full leather (often marbled calf)

  • Colored edges (often red)

  • Blue and white endbands

© 2024 by Katarina Stiller

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Photo Credit:

Nat Caccamo, Amy Crist, Chloe Houseman, Benjamin Iluzada, Evan Krape, Andrew Pinkham, Johanna Pinney, Zoë Webb

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