Stained Edges

A tradition of fore-edge decoration that predates gilt edges and still survives today is colored edges. If you only look at the spines of centuries-old books, you’ll see traditional vellum and tanned leather. If you look at their edges, however, they sometimes take on technocolor personalities more reminiscent of Apple’s first iMacs than of early books. Dating back as far as the fourth century, books were colored by brushing dyes and pigments onto their edges.

Tuckerman, Henry T. Leaves from the diary of a dreamer. Found among his papers. London: W. Pickering, 1853. 

Burke, Edmund. A philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful. London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1767. 

Arte de escribir por reglas y con muestras, segun la doctrina de los mejores autores antiguos y modernos, extrangeros y nacionales. Madrid, Impr. de la viuda de don Joaquin Ibarra, 1798. 

Virgil. Virgilii Maronis, poetae mantvani, vniversvm poema. Venetiis: apud loannem Gryphium, 1584. 

This selection of books shows the variety of colors used to stain edges. Books found in the Cary Collection have fore-edges colored in yellow, green, and shades of blue, and even an orangey-pink.

Bodoni, Giambattista. Manuale tipografico del calaliere Giambattista Bodoni. Parma, Presso la vedova, 1818. 

Marbled edges adorn the Cary Collection's copy of the enlarged edition of Giambattista Bodoni's Manuale tipografico (1818). Published after his death this type specimen remains a testament to one of history's most influential type designers.