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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.

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.

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.

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.

An early owner of these 17th century editions of Ovid's works had them bound in vellum with overhanging edges that protect the fore-edges.

An early owner of these 17th century editions of Ovid's works had them bound in vellum with overhanging edges that protect the fore-edges.

An early owner of these 17th century editions of Ovid's works had them bound in vellum with overhanging edges that protect the fore-edges.

An early owner of these 17th century editions of Ovid's works had them bound in vellum with overhanging edges that protect the fore-edges.

The use of clasps on books dates back to the earliest codices. Affixed to the fore-edges, clasps stabilize a book, preventing the vellum or paper leaves from fanning out and the boards from warping.

This fore-edge painting appears to be contemporaneous with the book's mid-eighteenth century decorative binding featuring a wheel motif with the crucifixion at the center. Some of the fore-edge painting has been rubbed away over the years.