30 Books with Unusual Bindings
Thirty Books with really cool, unusual bindings!
I love reading. I also love books, and I don’t think the two always go together. Some people are in it just for the story, and would read any old copy equally, others are collectors of visuals or value and don’t even read the books. I love both, and am fascinated and delighted equally by the insides and outsides of books. This bit’s dedicated to the outside, and all the creativity, different materials and thought that goes into them. It’s not all cloth, leather and paper – from goatskin to gold and eelskin to ivory, check out some of these bindings – 30 in all.
Left to right: Mother of Pearl, Rubber, Brass, Fur, Ivory.
What a wonderfully neat idea posting about these interesting and unusual book covers. It makes me want to peruse the amazing selection on AbeBooks rare and antiquarian sections to see what I can come across.
Good point about book bindings. A book can be a thing of beauty in both form and content – as only booklovers understand. I too will have a look at the rare books available on abe.com – I wasn’t aware that abe carries such an interesting collection. And wow, some of the bindings are amazing! Who would ever think of a fur-covered book, or a rubber binding? Fascinating.
Hi Rob,
Thanks for the link/mention. Yeah, the slithering/swimming section gave me the heebie-jeebies a bit too, but when you think about it, it’s just sort of….aquatic leather! And it does make for interesting perusal.
I was secretly hoping to find something really macabre, like a book bound in human skin or somesuch, but no such luck. But you know one exists somewhere!
Hi Elizabeth,
My pleasure – it’s an article worth mentioning. Thanks for authoring it!
As for a book bound in human skin – well I know there’s one in Edinburgh (only a few short miles from where I live). It’s housed at the Surgeons’ Hall Museum from a portion of skin from William Burke (of Burke and Hare ‘fame’). There’s a small pic of it here:
http://www.scotlandandmedicine.com/site/CMD=PICDETAIL/PICID=248/726/default.aspx
*Shivers*….grisly stuff! :o)
Take care
Rob