https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/judging-book-its-cover
"As early as the sixth century European monks would bind their most
prized illuminated manuscripts in wooden boards decorated with jewels
and precious metals. Many of these bindings were later looted for their
valuable gold and stones. Treasure bindings saw a small renaissance in
the early twentieth century. The British bindery Sangorski & Sutcliffe,
known for ornate and expensive work, bound a copy of Edward FitzGerald’s
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám in tooled leather covered in three peacocks
made of over one thousand jewels set in gold. Known as the “Great Omar,”
the book is at the bottom of the ocean—it went down on the
Titanic.
The bookbinders created two other versions, one of which was destroyed
in World War II; the other is housed in the British Library."
Via Esther Schindler.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
