In September, Paper Trails Iceland participated in the Ligatus Summer School for European Bookbinding, taught in Austria by the eminent Nicholas Pickwoad.
Nicholas Pickwoad gave a detailed overview of the various bookbinding methods in Europe from the late Middle Ages until the industrial age. We learnt about how bookblocks were stitched, sewn or glued, how covers can be drawn-on, sewn or lace-attached and how boards can be covered in paper, parchment, leather or even fabrics. Bookbinding methods to save time and money were touched upon, as well as bindind decorations. Most important was, however, that we learnt to distinguish between regional habits and traditions. These tiny but telling signs of bookbinding, such as board lacing patters or the route of the thread through the support can yield valuable information on the place of bookbinding.
What I found most fascinating was that bookbinding is a treasure trove of information on book production and trade. In the monasterial libraries of Kremsmünster, Melk and Zwettl, where we spent one day in each monastery, we saw several examples where bookbinders used wastepaper to create boards. Often these wastepapers were from the same printshop. We also came across many books that had bookblocks sewn at the place of printing but had covers attached in a different place at a later date. That tells us that many books were not sold completely unbound but with a temporary binding of the bookblock.
It will be interesting to see what Paper Trails Iceland can find out about the trade with Icelandic books by judging their covers and bindings!
Further reading:
Ligatus Summer School https://www.ligatus.org.uk/summerschool/
Nicholas Pickwoad, „Onwards and Downwards: How Bookbinders Coped with the Printing Press 1500-1800,“ in A Millenium of the Book: Book Design and Production 900-1900, ed. Robin Myers and Michael Harris. Winchester: Oak Knoll Press, 1994.
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