Fore-edge Painting · Edges of Books · Cary Graphic Arts Collection at RIT Libraries

The term “fore-edge painting” could mean any painting applied to the fore-edge of a book, but over the last century it has become more synonymous with a style of fore-edge painting in which a painting is hidden under a layer of gilt and revealed only when the pages of the book are fanned. The process of creating a fore-edge painting begins by placing a book into a clamp with its pages fanned. A painting is applied to the surface of the fanned pages. When the painting is dry, the book is shut and a layer of gold is applied onto the book’s edges, thus hiding the painting. When the book is shut, all that is visible is the gold. When the pages are fanned, the painting appears.