This title by Bounhours demonstrates the reuse of the materials by bookbinders. In this particular case, a very refined and aesthetically pleasing handwriting adds to the charm of this “recycled” bookbinding. The hand is unknown; does it stem from an…
This shows us a variation in the rendering of roman numerals. Using a format scholar Paul Lewis calls “deep parenthesis”, an “I” flanked between by both a forward facing C and an upside down, backward facing C, would represent “1000”. And “I” before…
The use of marbling reaches its pinnacle with this example, with its swirling motif, which appear to be created in a “freestyle” manner. Of special note with this work is the fact that the edges of the book have been decorated using a similar…
This work displays the printer’s device of Simon de Colines. De Colines (ca. 1475-1546) was active in Paris from about 1520 until his death in 1546. De Colines had actually collaborated with printer Henri Estienne (1528-1598), continuing printing…
The pages that serve to form the inner boards of this work are actually composed of printer’s waste (printed sheets that could not be used by the printer or binder in a final copy). Boards of this nature were created by gluing several sheets of paper…
The endpapers of this accounting “textbook” by François Barrême, a very popular work in its time, was used by its owner to puzzle out practical exercises of calculation, including problems and answers.
This poster was designed by the International Women’s Day Committee of Toronto for the 1979 International Women’s Day. The main image is based on a Queen of Hearts playing card. The theme of the year was “Jobs and Rights for Women!”. Women’s were…