The History of the False Raised Band

The use of material evidence found in the structures and materials of bookbindings has only recently begun to be recognised as a resource in the field of book history studies. This article exemplifies the possibilities inherent in a detailed examination of individual bookbindings and how their construction can inform our understanding of how the books were perceived by their original owners and where they fit into the general culture of book at different historical periodsIt is based on first-hand observations made by the author in many libraries in Europe and North America over 25 years and uses material not otherwise available. The paper on which this article is based was given at the 2004 Annual Book Trade History Conference in London. I have been invited to lecture on related book-binding research at many international forums including Rare Books Schools in London, Melbourne and Virginia; at the Annual Meeting of the Arbeitskreiseinbandforschung, (19-21 October 2006,) Bayerisch Staatsbibliothek, Munchen; in 'Research Projects on Historic Bookbindings', in Atti della Conferanza Internazionale: Scelte e Strategie per la Conservazione della Memoria, Dobbiaco 25-29 June 2002. The body of research also relates to two other publications 'Bookbinding', in: The Cambridge History of the Book Volume V, 1695-1830, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, and 'How Greek is Greek? Western European imitations of Greek-style bindings', published in the post-prints of the international symposium: The Book in Byzantium: Byzantine and post-Byzantine Bookbinding, Athens