Book design and Bookbinding Books

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Book SynopsisIn Archaeology of Tibetan Books, Agnieszka Helman-Ważny explores the varieties of artistic expression, materials, and tools that have shaped Tibetan books over the millennia. Digging into the history of the bookmaking craft, the author approaches these ancient texts primarily through the lens of their artistry, while simultaneously showing them as physical objects embedded in pragmatic, economic, and social frameworks. She provides analyses of several significant Tibetan books—which usually carry Buddhist teachings—including a selection of manuscripts from Dunhuang from the 1st millennium C.E., examples of illuminated manuscripts from Western and Central Tibet dating from the 15th century, and fragments of printed Tibetan Kanjurs from as early as 1410. This detailed study of bookmaking sheds new light on the books' philosophical meanings.Trade Review'Helman-Ważny’s approach is exhaustive, and it is her ability to make engrossing even the most detailed and painstaking analysis of manuscripts as the physical manifestation of fibre and ink that renders her book essential to the study, not only of Tibetan material culture and textuality, but of Tibetan culture as a whole.' Simon Wickhamsmith, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Posted to New Asia Books, http://newbooks.asia/review/documents-artefacts

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Book SynopsisThe Technique of Islamic Bookbinding is the first monograph dedicated to the technical development of the bookbinding tradition in the Islamic world. Based on an assessment of the extensive oriental collections in the Leiden University Library, the various sewing techniques, constructions and the application of covering materials are described in great detail. A comparative analysis of the historic treatises on bookbinding provides further insight into the actual making of the Islamic book. In addition, it is demonstrated that variations in time and place can be established with the help of distinctive material characteristics. Karin Scheper’s work refutes the perception of Islamic bookbinding as a weak structure, which has generally but erroneously been typified as a case-binding. Instead, the author argues how diverse methods were used to create sound structures, thus fundamentally challenging our understanding of the Islamic bookbinding practice. Karin Scheper has been awarded the De La Court Award 2016 by The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for her study of the bookbinding tradition in the Islamic world.Table of ContentsPreface to the Second Edition Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Materiality Matters A Detailed Sketch of the Current State of Knowledge and Outline of the Research  The Information Value of Binding Structures  The Present Situation of the Book Archaeology of Islamic Manuscripts  Obstacles in the Study of Islamic Bookmaking  Linking Physical Analysis, Catalogue Data, and Literature  Selection and Justification of the Corpus 2 The Anatomy of the Islamic Manuscript A Detailed Overview of the Different Methods of Construction  Vocabulary and Images as Tools  Techniques Used to Construct the Textblock  Covering and Board Attachment  A Problematic Term: Case-binding  Other Characteristics  Meaning and Validity of the Diversity 3 A Comparative Study of the Historic Sources and Recent Literature on the Making of Islamic Manuscripts  Historic Sources  Secondary Sources: Related Studies and General Reference Works  Founders of our Knowledge on the Use of Structure and Materials in Islamic Bookmaking  Structure as a Starting Point  Structure as a Side Issue  Structure as a Conservation Issue  The Sum of the Parts 4 Multiplicity within the Tradition n Account of the Methodology and Quantitative Results of the Survey  Methodology  Survey Results—Quantitative Analysis 5 Mapping the Variations in Time and Place Datable and Localisable Features and a Further Interpretation of the Findings  Sewing  Spine-lining  Endbanding  Covering  Spine-endings  Interior Covering of the Boards  The Envelope and Fore-edge Flap  Miscellaneous Features  Southeast Asia as a Sub-category in the Islamic Tradition  Summary 6 Considerations and New Perspectives  Recapitulation  Development of the Tradition  Discussion  Conclusion Appendices 1 Glossary 2 Corpus 3 Example of a Record of the Database 4 List of Manuscripts Used in Illustrations Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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