On the Edge

Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions

of the Eastern Mediterranean

Georgios Boudalis

The term endbands designates the two bands worked with thread(s) at the head and tail edges of the spine of a book. The techniques with which they are worked and the ways with which they are connected to a bound codex vary greatly over time and geography. The purpose of this book is to identify, classify and describe several of these different techniques used in manuscript books bound within different cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean from Late Antiquity until the 20th century. On the Edge is richly illustrated with full-color photographs and technical drawings explaining how these endbands were made and how they can be replicated; see an example below.

352 pages   •   424 illustrations   •   full color    •   10 x 7 in.

cloth, sewn   •   9781953421111   •   $80.00   •   2023