David Pearson

Richly illustrated throughout, this book provides a fascinating history of the development of bookbindings from Roman times to the present day. Bindings have been an essential and often beautiful component of books since the codex form was invented 2,000 years ago. They make books work, but they also provide an opportunity for binders to display their skills. Until book trade...

Every individual book has a history which can help us to understand what difference it may have made in the world. Within these pages you will find books damaged by bullets or graffiti, recovered from fire or water, or even disguised as completely different texts for protection in dangerous times. Marks of ownership—be it a rich treasure binding or a...

Since this handbook was first published in 1994, interest in the book as a material object, and in the ways in which books have been owned, read, and used, has burgeoned. Now established as a standard reference work, Provenance Research in Book History has been revised and expanded with a new set of over 200 colour illustrations, updated bibliographies, and...