A History of Bookbinding as a Mirror of Society
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In this well illustrated survey, Dr. Mirjam Foot, an international expert in the history of bookbinding, explores the use and purpose of bookbindings - over and above protecting the texts inside them - and, by implication, the purpose of the study of the book as a physical object. She shows how the techniques of binding and decorating books reflect developments in the book trade itself, and how the production of the binding links with questions of authorship, publishing, reading and collecting; how it relates to the spread of literacy and learning, to education, and to religion, but also to economic and political circumstances and social attitudes. For anyone with an interest in the art and history of the book, this is a fascinating and authoritative study which sheds new light on many aspects of bookbinding in a broad historical context.
AcknowledgementsPrefaceIntroduction1Lecture IFinding a pattern3Lecture IIUncovering a purpose51Lecture IIICraftsmen and Clients93
