Friday, October 18, 2013

Haute Couture for Books

The cover of a book bound in blue leather, pressed with star-like designs in other colors.
Bindings 69
In high fashion there's often a disconnect between the world of the practical and that of "just because I can." Over-the-top or outlandish designs, often for the sake of the splash of the design itself, also find their way into the world of bookbinding. Sometimes this is deliberate and sometimes it's an honest effort to reflect the nature of the text that just spiraled out of control.

Rauner holds numerous examples of bindings that clearly reflect this decorative dominance and one of our first blogs was about our jewel-bound Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Today's selections incorporate ivory, enamel, wallpaper, velvet, jewels, precious metals, hand-stitching and other materials and techniques intended to enhance the visual appeal of each book and make it stand out from the crowd. You be the judge of which designs qualify as high fashion for books. Do any of them actually reflect the nature of the text or enhance it?

A cloth book cover stitched with the image of a tulip.
Bindings 59
A cover of metal worked into a botanical pattern. On top of it are five portraits in the style of a medieval manuscript.
Bindings 52

A blue velvet cover with worked metal elements.
Bindings 49
An embroidered blue cover.
Bindings 47

An elaborately patterned leather binding with gold-stamped patterns.
Bindings 243
A binding with a floral pattern.
Bindings 104
An ivory cover with a bird decoration.
Bindings 96
Ask for the following items:
Bindings 47
Bindings 49
Bindings 52
Bindings 59
Bindings 69
Bindings 96
Bindings 104
Bindings 243
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