Bookplates by Aleksei Kravchenko – Книжные знаки А.И. Кравченко (1924)
Aleksei Kravchenko was a Russian painter, illustrator, draughtsman, and printmaker. Bookplates are a lesser-known part of his legacy. Still, some of them are quite impressive.
book history
Scientific Dating Solves a Manuscript Mystery
Identifying the origins of a manuscript is a notoriously subjective art, one that requires an impressive visual memory and an exceedingly trained eye that can quickly spot the telltale details which hint at certain artists, periods, and locations.
Digitized: December’1901 Issue of the Russian Magazine ‘Printing Art’ (“Печатное искусство”)
This vintage Russian magazine about printing was published for only two years, but it already gave me a lot of insights into the epoch. This time we share the second issue of the first year of publishing: December 1901.
“Hook Book”: Next Step After the Girdle Book?
This post is heavily influenced by an article by Christian Alschner published in 1984. He starts the article by recounting the reasons for the scarcity of the original girdle books as the overhanging leather was often removed by librarians.
Deceptive Printed “Marbled Paper” From the 19th and Early 20th Centuries
Just a couple of weeks ago I saw a post from Simon Beattie about an 18th-century Russian book with "marbled" endpapers that were in reality hand-printed. Imagine my surprise when I found something similar just a few days later!
Surprising Mixed Three-Section Stabbed Binding From Early Communist Russia
There was something that attracted my attention in this book besides the subject. So, let me tell you about my recent find: this pamphlet about the history of the book written by a Russian literary scientist and bibliognost Vladimir Bush.
The Great Book Scare and the Anxieties of Public Spaces
Those living at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century saw library books in a different light than us. For many, library books had the potential to transmit some of the most infectious diseases circulating in society at the time.
Peculiar Choice of Spider-Web Endpapers in an Antique Book
The book is another find at the book market in the Hague. The Life of Willem III (Het Leven van Willem III) by Frans Bührmann was published in Amsterdam in 1874. But I'm not sure whether the endpapers come from the same time.
Amazing Decorated Initials From a 1905 Competition Held by the Studio Magazine
Found this beautiful selection of decorated initials while browsing a volume of the Studio - an old magazine about fine and applied arts.
History of the Early Printed Book Fellowships for Foreigners in Antwerp, Belgium
We are pleased to draw your attention to an exciting fellowship programme that will provide grants for two eligible applicants to travel to Antwerp and conduct research there on the history of the early printed book (15th-18th century).
The Advertiser’s Handbook (1923)
While it isn't really a book about book arts, it gives some insights on printing and typography. And even while that's printing and typography of newspapers, it is still a quite fascinating object of book history.
This Soviet-Era Handmade Book is Literally a Photo Copy
I found this book in an old books department in the Russian city of Novorossiysk. This sample of Soviet samizdat was supposedly made in 1970s and is literally a photo copy of a 19th-century book.
One of the Twelve Remaining Gutenberg Vellum Bibles is Exhibited in Moscow
Last week an exhibition of incunables opened at the Russian State Library in Moscow. There are many notable objects shown there, but arguably the jewel of the show is one of the few remaining Gutenberg Bibles printed on vellum.
Georgian-Arabic Palimpsest Found During Digitization of Medieval Manuscripts in Dagestan
Updated on the 5th of April, 2019 with information from Alin Suciu’s Coptic Literature and Manuscripts
Het drukkers jaarboek 1907 (The Printer’s Yearbook, 1907)
We just digitized the second volume of Het drukkers jaarboek (The Printer's Yearbook). This series was published in Amsterdam in the early 20th century. Between 1906 and 1911 four yearbooks about were made.
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