Tag: spotlight
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Spotlight: Cat’s paw binding
Read more: Spotlight: Cat’s paw bindingYesterday I came across a multi-volume work with cat’s paw binding: ‘La bibliotheque des prédicateurs’, translated as ‘The Preachers’ Library’ by Rev. Father Vincent Houdry, of the Society of Jesus. Many of the pre-1801 books in Heythrop Library’s collection have beautiful and interesting bindings; cat’s paw is one of my favourites, so-called because it looks…
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Spotlight: 18th century book with watermark of a mythical creature
Read more: Spotlight: 18th century book with watermark of a mythical creatureLook closely at this photo. What do you see? Imprinted into the paper is the faint image of a striding mythical animal with its tongue sticking out. This is a watermark. When the paper for this book was made by hand, shreds of cloth would have been mashed up in water and a wire mesh…
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Spotlight: Intact metal book clasps
Read more: Spotlight: Intact metal book claspsCataloguing this 18th century book of proceedings against witchcraft, sorcery and evil, was an almost spell-binding experience for me (excuse the pun!) because it has intact metal clasps. Coming across unbroken metal clasps was exciting for me because often the metal clasps on rare books are damaged, not functional, or have been lost, sometimes leaving…