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At Wigan Lane Books we love interesting and unique books of character.
There are types of books that may look normal to the naked eye, but can actually have a hidden secret.
A secret that was only recently rediscovered and popularised by Colleen Theisen at the Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa in the USA.
The secret in question is that a select few books actually contain hidden artworks along the fore-edge of the book.
These fore-edge paintings can only be revealed once the pages of the book have been fully fanned out.
The sides of the book page edges have been painted in gilt, what is unnoticed by the reader is that each separate page has been uniquely painted that forms a picture when fanned. A clamp was used to create the fore-edge paintings.
The clamp holds together the book into the fanned position to make it easier for the artist to paint the picture. When the pages have been released from the clamp, the painting disappears. The for-edge paintings often depict countryside landscapes with characters in the background in various situations.
Here are some examples of fore-edge paintings from the University of Iowa Special Collections and Archives. The first four books are all by Robert Mudie. Each book has a different seasonal theme: autumn, winter, spring and summer.
Autumn
The above image is from a book that was published in 1837, by Robert Mudie, taken from Colleen Theisen’s original tumblr blog post.
Animated version of the same book, also from Colleen Theisen’s blog post.
Winter
Winter by Robert Mudie / University of Iowa.
Animated version of the book above.
Spring
Spring by Robert Mudie / Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa.
Fore-edge Painting from Zach Stroh on Vimeo
Animated version of the book above.
Summer
Summer by Robert Mudie / Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Iowa.
Animated version of the book above.
John T. Beer – Cardiff Rare Books Collection
“John preaching in the Wilderness”: John T. Beer’s illustration on an early 16th century Latin Bible.
John T. Beer – Open scene on the Fox’s journal.
Boston Public Library Fore-Edge Collection
The People of Orleans Greet Joan of Arc.
The Modern History of Hindustan, by Thomas Maurice, 1802.
Stonehenge – The royal kalendar, and court and city register, 1849.
Fore-Edge Frankenstein.
About Wigan Lane Books
Wigan Lane Books is an online book store based in the Chorley, UK, specialising in rare books and books of interest.
Tags: Antiquarian, blog post presentations, blogging, Books, Boston Public Library, Fore-edge, Fore-Edge Paintings, John T. Beer, Rare books, Robert Mudie, Secret Special Collections & University Archives, social media, University of Iowa, University of Salford
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