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This article examines the intersecting forces of gender, class, and education in early twentieth-century Britain through a feminist reading of Pip Williams’ historical novel The Bookbinder of Jericho. Centering on the fictional character Peggy Jones—a working-class young woman employed in the Oxford University Press bindery—the study explores how women’s intellectual ambitions were constrained by economic hardship, institutional gatekeeping, and patriarchal social norms. By integrating close literary analysis with historical research on women bookbinders, educational reform, and the impact of World War I, the paper reveals how the novel functions as both a narrative of personal development and a broader critique of systemic exclusion. Drawing on the genre of the female Bildungsroman, the article argues that Peggy’s journey—from bindery worker to aspiring scholar—mirrors the real struggles of working-class women who sought education and recognition in a male-dominated society. It also highlights the significance of female solidarity, especially among those who served as volunteers, caregivers, and community organizers during wartime. Through the symbolic geography of Oxford and its working-class district of Jericho, the novel foregrounds the spatial and social divides that shaped women’s lives and labor. Ultimately, this study shows how The Bookbinder of Jericho offers not only a fictional portrait of one woman’s aspirations but also a feminist intervention that recovers and reinterprets the overlooked histories of British women workers. The novel becomes a literary space for reclaiming agency, articulating resistance, and criticizing the gendered boundaries of knowledge, work, and belonging.

The transition from buying books unbound or temporarily bound to buying them already bound represents a fundamental turning point in literary history, yet bookbinding's influence on the novel remains underexplored. This essay challenges two \"truths\" about the novel's material forms: first, that most Romantic-era readers would have purchased novels in unbound sheets or temporary board bindings, and second, that most historical readers would have viewed board bindings as \"temporary.\" Using quantitative analysis of available datasets and bibliographic research on hundreds of volumes in their original bindings, the essay argues that novels were marketed to readers as ready-bound objects much earlier than is commonly understood.

Bookbinding is a covering, usually made of leather-encased cardboard, for holding book pages or various magazines together, and the person who performs this art is called a bookbinder. The subject of this article involves the bindings bearing the signature of the Seljuk bookbinder Mehmet al-Sharīf and the decorative features of these bindings. As a result of the research made in the manuscript libraries and the literature on this field, a total of eight bindings have been found bearing the signature of Mehmed al-Sharīf (TPML A.465 and 2334, Yusuf Aga ML 191, Sulaymaniyah ML Mahmud Pasha 237 and Turhan Valide Sultan 253, Vahit Pasha ML 1169 and 1175, V&A Museum). Signature seals can be found on the corners of the bindings, in the middle of the covers, on the fore-edge flap, or on the envelope flap. The seals are circular with diameters of 5 mm, and bearing the name of Mehmed (Mohammad) within the seal; they are placed at the top of the text line due to respect for the name of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). The lower part of the seal has the phrase “al-Sharīf.” When examining the bindings, Mehmed al-Sharīf is seen to have continued the construction and decorative style of the Anatolian Seljuk binding. When considering the two examples TPML A.2334 (dated 654/1256) and TPML A.465 (dated 699/1299), Mehmed al-Sharīf is identified as having been a Seljuk-period bookbinder who produced works in the second half of the 13th century at the latest.

Among the many books in original bindings in Marsh's Library, Dublin, a surprisingly large number are in decorated blind- or gold-tooled, calf, pigskin or goatskin bindings, which date from the 15th to the 19th centuries. The bindings come from all over Europe, ranging from Ireland to eastern Europe. While most were made in England, some fine and interesting examples from Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Holland are also included. In this volume, leading scholar Mirjam Foot first gives an overview of how books were bound by hand and then describes the bindings by country of origin, within each section treating them chronologically and by type of decoration. The detailed descriptions of the bindings are illustrated with 52 black and white photos and 8 colour plates. Contents: Introduction; Great Britain; Ireland; France; Spain, Italy and Russia; The Netherlands and Germany; Afterword; Selected literature; Index.

Monetization of fan-made crafts and texts remains a contentious issue in fandom. The existing literature documents fans’ rejections of explicitly for-profit, authorized spaces for fanfiction publication, such as Kindle Worlds and FanLib, but tenuous acceptance of crafts and practitioners who demonstrate adherence to gift culture principles. Fanbinding—the practice of binding fanworks into codex form—brings to the fore concerns of author permission, intellectual copyright, and compensation for artistic labor prevalent in arguments regarding fanfiction monetization. Our research draws from survey data collected from thirty-one fanbinders and examines how they justify their decision-making on taking commissions through perceptions of acceptable fannish behavior and definitions of gift culture. We found that binders who do take commissions overall reject an explicitly for-profit enterprise and instead reinvest funds back into their craft, strengthening binders and commissioners’ ability alike to contribute to the fandom gift economy. Here, binders offer a concentrated model for how to navigate competing concerns about fannish self-preservation, gift economy, and sustaining a costly craft, offering insights into how practitioners of other fancrafts might similarly navigate a third-space hybrid economy to justify compensation.

: Decoration techniques have changed over time in bookbinding art, as in every branch of art. The 18th century is a period in which the classic style bindings were continued to be made, but at the same time new decoration techniques were tried. Yekşah, one of these techniques, is a decoration technique applied in the form of inlaying/pressing a flat or oval metal iron tool on the motifs embroidered with gold on the binding. This decoration technique takes its name from the metal tool used in the application. This tool, called yekşah iron, is an average of 15-16 cm long and is a flat or oval hand tool. Yekşah decoration technique is applied on bindings applied with brush. ‘Applied with brush binding’ means to embroider the pattern on the leather using gold-ink with a brush. After the pattern is embroidered on the leather with the applied with brush technique, it is started to be processed with yekşah iron tool. Lines are drawn on the motifs with a yekşah iron tool based on the direction of the pattern. The leather is partially pitted during this striping. Yekşah decoration technique joined Turkish bookbinding art at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century. Examples continued to be seen in the 19th century. However, the period in which the technique was most frequently used is the 18th century. It is known that yekşah decoration technique is mostly applied by the palace bookbinders and especially on the bindings of the manuscript of high value. As a result of the examinations of the yekşah bindings samples published in the literature of Turkish binding art and found in museums and libraries, it was determined that the yekşah decoration technique was applied on 3 different patterns in Turkish bindings. These; rūmī, lattice (zerbahar/zilbahar) and baroque-rococo patterns. It is seen that the yekşah technique was applied in all parts of the rūmī patterned yekşah binding cover. However, it is most common and most diverse in medallions. The reason for this may be that, as of the 18th century, when yekşah decorations began to be seen, corner pieces were not frequently used on the covers of the binding and the intensity of the decoration was seen on the center-medallions. Three types of medallions were identified in the rūmī patterned yekşah bindings. These are the classical sliced oval form medallion, the rectangular medallion, and the sliced circular form medallion. On the rūmī patterned yekşah bindings, the center-medallion and pendant backgrounds are often painted in burgundy color in order to see the gold of the pattern more clearly. Another type of pattern in which the yekşah decoration technique is applied is the lattice (zerbahar) pattern. Zerbahar pattern is a type of binding decoration seen at the end of the 18th century and especially in the 19th century and was applied to cover the entire surface of the binding. It has been determined that as of the 18th century, yekşah application has been made on realist-style flower or Western-influenced baroque-rococo motifs seen in Turkish bindings. Turkish Rococo is an attractive decoration style in which the surface is completely filled and decorated with C and S curved motifs. Along with curved and round shapes, leaf, flower motifs and flower bouquets are also included in this decoration style. Although yekşah technique is weak in terms of durability, there is an effort to increase the artistic value of the binding, which is often preferred in 18th century bindings. Thanks to this technique, the pattern applied with brush has been made more attractive. This has increased the artistic value of the binding.

Agnieszka Helman-Ważny's Archaeology of Tibetan Books provides a comprehensive guide to the making of Tibetan books. Concerned with the relation of papers, inks, and layout to questions of provenance and dating, this work is a must-have companion to any textual analysis.

This paper contributes to eco-efficient and sustainable book binding production. Higher book binding manufacturing efficiency—with less waste and reduce energy consumption—has been achieved with higher inputs of natural biodegradable sources into graphic arts materials through the eco-labeled paper grades and the use of eco-advanced adhesive system solutions. Nowadays, scientific sources on non-toxic polymers and resins, combined with current scientific knowledge and production development, are closely related to sustainability. Hence, advanced and improved adhesive system solution technologies should fulfill the needs of suppliers and customers who are involved in the International Framework for ISO/TC130 workflows. These strategic partnerships provide possibilities in the context of “closed-loop recycling models”, which spark and advance the discussions of stakeholders. It is very important that the novel engineered biodegradable adhesive system solutions provide productivity-increasing and cost-effective solution performances by saving money and improving the performed binding activities. Without doubt, the task of the scientific community is to continue to provide responsive and comprehensive approaches to fulfilling stakeholders’ specific needs through standardized quality assurance, with the emphasis on book-binders.

En este trabajo se ponen de manifiesto las posibilidades de una fuente heráldica muy específica, las encuademaciones de libros, que fueron especialmente importantes entre los siglos XVI y XIX, y que nos pueden mostrar numerosas variantes en los escudos de armas. De forma específica, se trata la representación en ellas de algunas de las reinas de España durante la primera mitad del siglo XVIII, así como el estudio, identificación y datación de una encuademación heráldica con los escudos de dos de ellas, María Amalia de Sajonia e Isabel de Farnesio.

Almost all of the major fine presses active during this time produced editions of writings by Twain, including the Allen Press, the Arion Press, the Black Cat Press, the Cheloniidae Press, the Colt Press, die Derrydale Press, the Foliot Press, the Golden Hind Press, the Grabhorn Press, Lawton Kennedy, the Overbrook Press, the Pennyroyal Press, the Poltroon Press, Ward Ritchie, and the Windover Press, as well as groups renowned for their fine press editions like the Book Club of California and the Limited Editions Club. Hawleys work reflects a blend ofboth approaches, sometimes restrained and objective; at other times more atmospheric and intentional, but most of the time a subtle combination of both, always displaying impeccable presswork, elegant typography, and carefully chosen papers and binding materials, but at the same time executing designs whose visual appeal and texture subconsciously enhance the reader's experience of the text itself. Producing an evenly printed page ofhandset type on handmade paper requires steady, even inking and skillful adjustments, sometimes letter by letter, using tissue paper, as Hawley describes. A perfect kiss of lead type on handmade paper (which can be of uneven thickness within a single sheet) leaves a rich, even impression breaking the surface of the paper (called the \"bite\") that cannot be matched by modern photo-offset printing that leaves a flat lifeless printed text floating on the surface of the paper.