A Book by Its Cover: Decorative Book Bindings from the Medieval Codex to Contemporary Artists' Books

A first encounter with any text is shaped by its outward appearance. A book’s spine, covers, edges, even its size and shape, all say something about where that book comes from, who it may be speaking to, and how it may be regarded by the people who made it, and those who owned it. Bindings frame a text physically and, with innovations in structure and design, metaphorically, too.

The transition from the papyrus and parchment roll to the codex during the fourth century C.E. made bindings a practical necessity, and early bindings were chiefly utilitarian. Made of stiffened vellum or hardwood boards covered in leather, codex bindings were designed to protect the works they enveloped and make them more convenient to store and to read. Decorations were few and generally limited to tooling and stamping, though medieval treasure bindings used gem and precious-metal ornament to reflect the preciousness of the book at hand. Coats of arms and other markings were occasionally applied to a binding to indicate ownership and give some clue to the work contained within. The visual cues were subtle, however, and the relationship between a text and its binding was never as explicit as seen in today’s hardbound and paperback books.

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