Browse Items (91 total)

English This book offers a typical example of the classic formula of “promise” and “reward” that one regularly finds in books of the 15th and 16th centuries. The phrasing varies as per the personality and humour of the owner and how much value he…

EnglishThis religious work was published in Québec City by Samuel Neilson (1800-1837) and William Cohen. Samuel Neilson inherited his printing studio from his father, printer John Neilson (1776-1848), who was the printer for the Gazette de Québec,…

EnglishAldus Manutius (1449-1515), active in Venice, was an Italian printer, credited for the invention of Italic type, as well as “pocket” format books (chiefly the octavo, which was easily portable, in contrast to the very large formats popular at…

EnglishThis title, dating the end of the 19th century, offers the viewer a fine example of “combed” marble. The colours chosen in this example, however, are unusual and demonstrate the limitless creativity that surrounded the manufacturing of marbled…

EnglishAnother example of parchment on cardboard, this binding is on exhibit to show the leather ties that were used to keep the book closed when not in use. Due to the fragility of the leather used to make ties, it is rare that they survive the…

EnglishThis exquisite binding in red morocco is a modern binding, probably dating to 350-400 years after the book was initially printed. Tooled and stamped in gilt, with elaborately gilded edges, this was a binding executed for someone with a love of…

EnglishThis book has lost its binding over time, but its current state allows for a wonderful illustration of the elaborate and painstaking process that went into sewing of a text block before an external cover was ap-plied. Interestingly, this…

EnglishHere we have yet another example of hand printblock paper. However, in contrast to the previous example, this is a relatively recent paper, a product of a highly mechanized process. We can see the regularity of the design and the uniformity of…

English This binding in blonde calf, with hand-tooled motifs generated by many decorative finishing tools, is an example of “fanfare” binding. A “frame” is generated by a series of straight lines tooled into the leather, while the covers are…

English This is a typical example of the decoration of binding using the technique of gilding. While generally ornamental decorations were applied by means of gilding irons and rolls onto the spine, here we have a something of a portrait, a…