{"id":2438,"date":"2015-09-01T14:03:31","date_gmt":"2015-09-01T13:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/?p=2438"},"modified":"2015-09-01T14:05:47","modified_gmt":"2015-09-01T13:05:47","slug":"rochester-cathedral-rare-books-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/specialcollections\/2015\/09\/01\/rochester-cathedral-rare-books-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Rochester Cathedral Rare Books: All that glitters – gold tooling, gilding and engraved illustrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I waited \u00a0to begin working on the Rochester Cathedral collection, I found myself excited with the anticipation of getting to work with so many beautiful handcrafted bindings and ornate illustrations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Including information about the bindings of a book in the catalogue records I create is relatively new practice for me. \u00a0I was lucky enough to visit Canterbury Cathedral Library before the start of this project, where I received some expert guidance in recognising different elements of book bindings. \u00a0I was struck by the beauty of even the most ‘basic’ historical book bindings, and couldn’t wait to start seeing what the Rochester Cathedral collection had in store for me.<\/p>\n

‘Sancti Bonaventurae ex Ordine Minorum S.R.E. Episcopi Card. Albanen. eximii Eccles. doctoris Operai’\u00a0<\/em>is one such book that offers both beautiful bindings as well as artwork.<\/p>\n

\"Full

Full gilt edges from the book ‘Sancti Bonaventurae ex Ordine Minorum S.R.E. Episcopi Card. Albanen. eximii Eccles. doctoris Opera’<\/p><\/div>\n

I was initially struck by the full gilt edges that seem to glow in the picture above. \u00a0This is the finest example of gilt edges that I have as yet come across in this collection. However, I have learned to not be fooled by this type of decoration, as all that glitters is not gold. \u00a0It was common for cheaper editions of books\u00a0to be decorated with gold coloured paint, but this can quickly dull in appearance.<\/p>\n

Gilt edges were not always applied to all sides of a book, and there are many examples of others within the collection that are gilt along only the top edge. This is because gilding book edges is as equally practical as it is beautiful, and when the gold leaf is applied with glue, it can help to protect the pages from the damage that can be caused by dust and moisture. \u00a0By gilding the top edges of the pages, the books are protected from dust when shelved upright.<\/p>\n

Gilding was not only applied to the edges of this particular book, as it has also been applied to this crest, which adorns the front cover. \u00a0I recently discovered a very interesting blog which shows how gold tooling and gilding is applied to a bookbinding. Take a look here to find out more: https:\/\/lilbookbinder.wordpress.com\/bookbinding-portfolio-2\/gold-tooling-and-gilding\/<\/p>\n

\"Gold

Gold tooled coat of arms on the front cover of ‘Sancti Bonaventurae ex Ordine Minorum S.R.E. Episcopi Card. Albanen. eximii Eccles. doctoris Opera’<\/p><\/div>\n

The engraved title page and frontispiece (the image facing a books title page) are both as interesting to me as the binding itself, and I was initially struck by the extent of decoration across these two pages, which have been created by printers\u00a0Anton (Antonius) Hierat (active 1597-1627) and Balthasar\u00a0Lipp (active -1623).<\/p>\n

\"Title<\/a>

Title page and frontispiece from ‘Sancti Bonaventurae ex Ordine Minorum S.R.E. Episcopi Card. Albanen. eximii Eccles. doctoris Opera’<\/p><\/div>\n

The images across the title pages appear to have been created using an intaglio printing technique. \u00a0Armed with only a very basic knowledge about this method of printing,\u00a0I decided to go on a journey to find out more, and\u00a0have made some fascinating discoveries along the way:<\/p>\n