Book lovers who appreciate the glory of a beautifully-decorated binding will rejoice in Swem Library's new exhibit, featuring publishers' bindings. This exhibit features bindings designed by Margaret Armstrong, George Edwards, John Feely, Theodore Hapgood, Alice Morse, and Sarah Whitman. All the volumes on display are from either the collections of Swem Library or Merle Kimball, Serials and Preservation Librarian, the curator for the exhibit.
The advance of technology in the nineteenth century enabled publishers to advertise the books they published by adding designs to the front covers. The design had to be drawn and engraved on a plate to be stamped on the binding which was usually cloth or leather. The English and American publishers discovered that gold would adhere to the cloth so they began using it on covers in the 1830s. By the 1880s, they began to use other colors and the covers were becoming more decorative. As the cost of producing books declined, publishers hired designers and artists to decorate the covers.
The most active period of designed covers was between 1890 to the 1920s. The American publishers were prolific in using decorated trade bindings, along with the British. The large majority of designed covers were done for fiction. A number of women artists designed covers and other items. It was an acceptable employment for women. Other countries did not use cover designs as much as the British and American publishers.
Some of the more prolific artists put their initials on the covers to identify it as their work. Many more designed bindings were done but they were not signed. Even the artists who signed a design did not always do it for all the covers they designed. Publishers’ bindings were superseded by illustrated paper book jackets. It was more economical for the publisher to use book jackets rather than having designs printed on the volume.
Curator: Merle Kimball, Serials Librarian; Exhibit design and installation: Merle Kimball, Serials Librarian.