Oeuvres completes d'Alexandre Pope

Oeuvres completes d'Alexandre Pope

The binding seen here is characteristic of the style of leather bindings where the calf leather is manipulated to give it texture. In this example, the leather is stained with drops of diluted acid to give the binding a mottled look. There are a number of designs that are produced with this technique. The acid burns through the leather, and depending on the level of acidity in the solution, the type of leather used and the mastery of the craftsmen executing, and perhaps more importantly, halting the process, the designs embed themselves into the leather. Upon closer observation, we see the slight recesses in the leather where the acidic solution was applied, with it being quite easy to distinguish where the acid has been allowed to penetrate the longest.

Pope, Alexander (1688-1744)

Archives and Special Collections, University of Ottawa [PR 3624 F7 P67 1780]

Paris : Durand Neveu

1780

Archives and Special Collections, University of Ottawa

Book

French

Text

ARSC_RB_PR 3624 F7 P67