The Latest Special Collections Exhibit

A new exhibit called The Book, Aesthetically Speaking showcases rare books from the library's special collections. The exhibit explores book printing, binding, and decoration techniques from the 16th to 21st century and can be found on the lower level of the library. It was curated by Beck Schaefer, the Law Library Cataloguing Assistant.

We usually think of books in terms of their content: useful information, thought-provoking opinions, thrilling stories and so on, but the physical aspects of a book are also worth our attention. The widespread use of eBooks and other digital content means we don't encounter physical books as much and print books are usually mass-produced and have limited variation and aesthetic appeal. However, this hasn't always been the case.

In the mid-15th century, the development of movable type revolutionized print culture and increased book production in Europe. Initially, printers would set the type by hand, placing metal letters in a frame one at a time. They'd then apply ink and press paper onto the frame to create a printed sheet. The printed sheets making up a book were bundled in wrappers and sold to the public, sometimes through booksellers. The person who bought the sheets would take them to a bookbinder to have them bound. Bookbinders were artisans with skills ranging from paper-stitching to leather work. Depending on the tastes and resources of bookbinders' clients, binding ranged from a simple covering to highly ornate works of art.

In the early 19th century, advances in technology made it easier to mass produce books. At this time, printing and binding were increasingly consolidated into a single operation: publishing. Some publishers used the new technology to continue to create artistic bindings, while others preferred to use it to reduce their costs (sometimes passing the savings onto readers).

The exhibit includes examples of various bookbinding and decorating techniques such as tooling (stamping) and paper marbling. It includes hand-crafted specimens from the early days of movable type through to mass produced 21st century books with illustrated covers. A unique item on display is Johann Oldendorp's legal treatise Opera from 1559. Its binding combines leather stamped with images and re-used pages from a Catholic liturgical text.