Cover of the memorial volume for John David Wolfe, 1872. MS 3146, John David Wolfe Memorial Book and Case, New-York Historical Society Mixed up in the notorious Gilded Age dichotomy of incredible displays of wealth and extreme poverty, were extraordinary achievements in design and art, many of which reveal exceptional artisanship. This is especially evidenced…

Sometimes when catalogers examine a book, we find that parts of its structure use recycled materials from other books. These materials are often invisible, hidden away under outer coverings of paper or leather, and revealed only when an item is damaged or taken apart for conservation. But sometimes, the entire outer cover itself is made from…

What are fore-edge paintings? Grab the nearest book and fan the pages on the outer edge, opposite the book spine. This is the fore-edge of a book. Chances are you will see fanned-out pages and nothing more. When a book with a fore-edge painting is fanned, just as the name implies, a painting will appear….

As part of the Enhanced Conservation Work Experience (ECWE), the New-York Historical Society Library Conservation Lab is hosting Katarzyna Bator as a third-year conservation fellow funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Ms. Bator is completing her conservation studies at the Patricia H. and Richard E. Garman Art Conservation Department at Buffalo State College. Prior…

This post is by Rebecca Grabie, Reference Librarian for Printed Collections. The art of bookbinding is the art of creating in the reader, by the composition of the covers of a book, the state of mind desired by the author of the book. It is an art of the book-lover, not of the printer, publisher, bookbinder,…