Search results for ""author paperblanks""

Showcasing silk dyed with beni (the pigment extracted from safflower petals) and lacquered in gold, this kimono design dates to the Edo period (1615–1868). It was originally used as a costume for the theatrical style known as Noh. Karaori refers specifically to the exquisitely embroidered woman’s kimono that traditional Noh theatre was known for. Both the material itself and the pattern depicted would have helped tell the story of the character. In this case, the stiff brocade creates a thick, glossed fabric that would not drape easily – this created an angular effect evoking the spirit of a noblewoman. The pattern of flowering grasses emphasized the character’s femininity. By the Meiji period (1868–1912) Noh had reached such heights that it was widely introduced overseas, and today there are still more than 70 Noh theatres throughout Japan. This beautiful example of karaori costuming can now be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is our great pleasu

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Azulejos (meaning small polished stone) are painted, glazed ceramic tiles that date back to 13th-century Portugal where they were used inside buildings during the Gothic period. Today, we see these decorative tiles across a wide range of buildings, from monasteries, palaces and restaurants to bars, railway stations and family homes. The design on the tiles commonly related to the building's unique history, and the individual pieces often end up forming an elaborate mosaic.There are countless wonderful examples of these beautiful tiles all across Portugal. The design seen here is pulled from the traditional tiles gracing the facades of a variety of old houses in Porto. Ornate in detail, these tiles do not just serve as decoration but represent an important part of Portuguese culture and tradition. Held within are stories of their country and its past.

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Showcasing silk dyed with beni (the pigment extracted from safflower petals) and lacquered in gold, this kimono design dates to the Edo period (1615–1868). It was originally used as a costume for the theatrical style known as Noh. Karaori refers specifically to the exquisitely embroidered woman’s kimono that traditional Noh theatre was known for. Both the material itself and the pattern depicted would have helped tell the story of the character. In this case, the stiff brocade creates a thick, glossed fabric that would not drape easily – this created an angular effect evoking the spirit of a noblewoman. The pattern of flowering grasses emphasized the character’s femininity. By the Meiji period (1868–1912) Noh had reached such heights that it was widely introduced overseas, and today there are still more than 70 Noh theatres throughout Japan. This beautiful example of karaori costuming can now be found at the Art Institute of Chicago. It is our great pleasu

Read more less

Vincent van Gogh was one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionist painters, though he experienced much turmoil in his personal life. After admitting himself to the Saint-Paul Asylum following a severe mental health crisis, Van Gogh began his recuperation by painting the asylum garden, notably its irises. We are honoured to feature this seminal painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum in our collection.  

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a Spanish architect from Catalonia, was one of the greatest pioneers of 19th-century architecture. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized style, defined by his unique compositions, organic shapes and kaleidoscopic designs. They transcend not only mainstream Modernism, but traditional art forms. Perhaps Gaudí’s most-loved contribution to his city of Barcelona is Park Güell, a vibrant garden filled with his art. Reproduced here is a section of a mosaic sun on the ceiling of the park’s Hypostyle Room, alongside the abstract lines from his chimney pots at the Casa Milà building. Gaudí’s last work of civic architecture, Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) represented a break with the conventions of his day, designed as a totally undulating building with a beating heart like a living being. Gaudí’s fascination with the geometry of nature stemmed from his deep religious dev

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a Spanish architect from Catalonia, was one of the greatest pioneers of 19th-century architecture. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized style, defined by his unique compositions, organic shapes and kaleidoscopic designs. They transcend not only mainstream Modernism, but traditional art forms. Perhaps Gaudí’s most-loved contribution to his city of Barcelona is Park Güell, a vibrant garden filled with his art. Reproduced here is a section of a mosaic sun on the ceiling of the park’s Hypostyle Room, alongside the abstract lines from his chimney pots at the Casa Milà building. Gaudí’s last work of civic architecture, Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) represented a break with the conventions of his day, designed as a totally undulating building with a beating heart like a living being. Gaudí’s fascination with the geometry of nature stemmed from his deep religious dev

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), a Spanish architect from Catalonia, was one of the greatest pioneers of 19th-century architecture. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized style, defined by his unique compositions, organic shapes and kaleidoscopic designs. They transcend not only mainstream Modernism, but traditional art forms. Perhaps Gaudí’s most-loved contribution to his city of Barcelona is Park Güell, a vibrant garden filled with his art. Reproduced here is a section of a mosaic sun on the ceiling of the park’s Hypostyle Room, alongside the abstract lines from his chimney pots at the Casa Milà building. Gaudí’s last work of civic architecture, Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera) represented a break with the conventions of his day, designed as a totally undulating building with a beating heart like a living being. Gaudí’s fascination with the geometry of nature stemmed from his deep religious dev

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Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French painter who is regarded as one of the greatest of the post-Impressionists. Often called the “Father of Modern Art,” his works and ideas were influential in the aesthetic development of many 20th-century artists and art movements. Reproduced here is a work from his later years, Terracotta Pots and Flowers (1891–1892), which saw Cézanne enter a new world of still life painting. This change in pace exemplified his desire for a new form of personal expression as he sought to slow down and draw focus back to the everyday. Terracotta Pots and Flowers showcases Cézanne’s intense study of still life compositions. His works such as this one explored the connections and harmonies between everyday objects. Here he arranges a red cloth, a rum bottle with straw binding and a light blue pitcher with potted geraniums inside the greenhouse at his father’s estate near Aix-en-Provence. We are honoured to featu

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Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926) was a Spanish architect who was known as a leading figure in Modernism and the pioneer of Catalan Art Nouveau. Gaudí’s work was greatly influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature and religion. His exceptional style is characterized by the depiction of organic forms, abstract lines and extraordinary mosaics. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. As such he left very few written documents, and many of those he did leave were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War riots. Reproduced here is the Manuscrito de Reus (Manuscript of Reus), the only remaining written document of Gaudí’s. The notebook, which is a collection of his diverse impressions of architecture, is now kept at Reus Museum in his native Catalonia. Further embellishing our cover are Gaudí’s incredible mosaics

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Get ready to follow your creative train of thought with Pacifica! Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. The copy reproduced here is now held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Library in New York City. As an artist, Morse maintained the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned. Travel is said to broaden the mind, so it is our hope that our Iron Horse design will inspire your creativity and exp

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Reproducing a gold stamped, dark brown leather binding designed by Alice Cordelia Morse, Pacifica represents a spirit of grand adventure. The original binding was crafted to hold William Seward Webb’s California and Alaska and Over the Canadian Pacific Railway, a well-regarded travelogue first published in 1890. This exquisite edition was produced as a deluxe gift book and was limited to only 500 copies. Morse held the belief that the book designer must take the central idea of the book and creatively depict it on the cover. For this binding, one can imagine her creating train tracks crisscrossing a map, or perhaps even the spokes of a compass, in the gold stamping she patterned.  

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This captivating image comes from Andrew Lang’s The Olive Fairy Book. Compiled in 1907 by the Scottish poet and anthropologist Andrew Lang, illustrated by Henry Justice Ford and published under the editorial direction of Lang’s wife, Leonora Alleyne, the book was one in a twelve-part series known as Lang’s Fairy Books (or Andrew Lang’s Fairy Books of Many Colours). Each book in the series was named for the colour of its fairy, and this Olive Fairy notebook reproduces the front cover of that book’s first edition. Upon publication, the books were a sensation among British schoolchildren and were sold all around the world. May the Olive Fairy bring a hint of vintage whimsy to your writings.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutfcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam s Rubaiyat. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling s 1897 Recessional poem written for Queen Victoria s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.

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Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionist painters. Though much of his work, like this Irises study, is filled with brightness and light, Van Gogh’s own life was filled with personal turmoil. A severe mental health crisis, in which he now-famously cut off his own ear, prompted Van Gogh to admit himself to the Saint-Paul Asylum at Saint-Rémy in the south of France. His recuperation began with painting of the asylum garden, Irises chief among the resulting output.We are honoured to feature this seminal painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum in our collection.

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We have captured some of the splendid daybreak palette of ancient Venice with this Paperblanks softcover Flexi notebook. Our Aureo design is inspired by a 1600s Italian cover for a book called The Treatise on Colours. Our book cover embraces the Renaissance value of cultural rebirth by representing an ancient binding with contemporary bookmaking techniques.

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Our Kikka soft cover notebook reproduces Michiko Kamee’s “full of chrysanthemum” design originally hand-painted with gold overglaze and colour on china by employing Kyo-Satsuma. In this Paperblanks Flexi cover design the viewer can see hints of the kaleidoscope of flowers in bloom, as well as fine boned artistry in every brush stroke and hue.

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Legend has it that hanging a Bird of Happiness in one s home will bring good health and fortune to all who live under its warm embrace. Artist Nadezhda Sokolova, also known as Nadya Sokolova, has taken inspiration from this classic tale of Russian folklore with this Skybird design. Using her unique style of batik painting on silk, Sokolova captures the warmth and optimism of these wood chip birds.

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Legend has it that hanging a Bird of Happiness in one s home will bring good health and fortune to all who live under its warm embrace. Artist Nadezhda Sokolova, also known as Nadya Sokolova, has taken inspiration from this classic tale of Russian folklore with this Skybird design. Using her unique style of batik painting on silk, Sokolova captures the warmth and optimism of these wood chip birds.

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William Morris (1834 1896) was one of the most celebrated practitioners of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century. In creating woven and printed textile designs Morris worked with the ancient technique of hand woodblock printing, finding inspiration in the natural world around him. His evocations of antique florals and plants have become classics in the world of decorative arts.

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William Morris (1834 1896) was one of the most celebrated practitioners of the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century. Created using woodblock printing done by hand, his evocations of antique florals and plants in all their magical gradation of tints have become design classics gracing the decorative arts.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam s Rubaiyat. Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century s most important bookbinders. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling s 1897 Recessional poem written for Queen Victoria s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.

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This stately gold-tooled design comes from a unique binding attributed to Christian Samuel Kalthoeber, a German bookbinder working in London. He created the beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare s First Folio around 1800. Originally published in 1623 in London and containing 36 of Shakespeare s plays, Mr. William Shakespeare s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (known as the First Folio) is one of the most influential books ever published. It is recognized as the only reliable text for the 18 Shakespeare plays that had previously never been printed, including Macbeth, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.

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Azulejos are painted, glazed ceramic tiles that date back to 13th-century Portugal. Today, we see these decorative tiles across a wide range of buildings, from monasteries and palaces to railway stations, restaurants and family homes. The design on the tiles commonly related to the building s unique history, and the individual pieces often end up forming an elaborate mosaic. The design seen here is pulled from the traditional tiles gracing the fa ades of a variety of old houses in Porto, Portugal.

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Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475 1564) is considered one of the masters of the Italian Renaissance. The handwritten letter reproduced here demonstrates the passion of one of humanity s greatest artists. And with the Sistine Chapel s The Creation of Adam featured on the back cover, the point of creation beautifully bookends this Embellished Manuscript.

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Lifelong artist Gary Grayson s affinity for both antique prints and modern graphic design is on display in the digital artworks behind this cover. His distinctive style is an eclectic mix of vintage vector, impressionism and pop art all combined to create a layered and vibrant world.

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The Cockerell and Son Bindery is celebrated for their unique style of paper marbling, developed by the late Sydney (Sandy) M. Cockerell. He took the tradition of handmade marbled papers and found a way to produce the strikingly complex designs at high speeds and volumes. We have reproduced one of these iconic marbled papers here.

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Inspired by an Italian book binding dating to 1620, this cover showcases a floral pattern and rosette motif. The original book contained a series of illustrations in the circular “tondo” form. Book bindings from the 17th century are characterized by the ornamental richness of the cover’s central area. Featuring sweeping tendrils in a centralized diamond shape, this cover is a classic example of the era’s bookbinding style.

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The eternal appeal of a classic floral design is captured in the work of Irish illustrator William Kilburn (1745–1818). The artist behind William Curtis’ Flora Londinensis, a comprehensive book on 18th-century English botany, Kilburn was also a leading designer and printer of calico. With winding twigs, colourful petals and undulating seaweed, Kilburn’s unique ability to blend local flora with exotic plants is on full display in this design.

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This red and gold Paperblanks Equinoxe Carmine journal reproduces a 1688 binding protecting L’office de la Semaine Sainte. The original binding was adorned “à la fanfare,” a handtooled pattern edged in gilt. “Fanfare,” which was a style popular in the seventeenth century, required tremendous skill on the part of the bookbinder and was reserved for books of great importance.

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Laurel Burch was a self-taught artist and “flower child” whose work spoke from her heart with an unmistakable style that was the manifestation of her love of life and strong imaginative nature. Paperblanks Soul & Tears journal is based on one of Burch’s famous images, inspired by the verse, “The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.”

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The Adventures of Asterix, our series in partnership with Les Éditions Albert René, channels the spirit of Asterix the Gaul from the celebrated comic book series. In these stories, Asterix, along with his friend Obelix and canine companion Dogmatix, ventures to lands near and far with unwavering ingenuity and just a little bit of magic potion.

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Reproducing an expensive goatskin leather book binding crafted in Amsterdam in 1835 by Friedrich W.J.C. Kolb, our Onyx journal celebrates the harmony between art and science. The binding was originally designed to contain a Latin oration on the physiology of plants by the renowned Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese. De Vriese, a member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts, named many species of plants in the Asterales order (Asterids).Today this significant binding can be found in the KB, National Library of the Netherlands, which was founded in 1798 with the intention to celebrate the written word and share Dutch creativity and innovation with the world.

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Connect with the ornate Dutch world of yesteryear with this stately gold on black geometric design.Reproducing an expensive goatskin leather book binding crafted in Amsterdam in 1835 by Friedrich W.J.C. Kolb, our Onyx journal celebrates the harmony between art and science. The binding was originally designed to contain a Latin oration on the physiology of plants by the renowned Dutch botanist Willem Hendrik de Vriese (1806–1862). De Vriese was a member of the Royal Dutch Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts and, in his studies, named many species of plants in the Asterales order (Asterids).Science and art have long found a common ground in Dutch history, with artists from the Netherlands pioneering the form of still life, so there is little wonder why this significant binding can be found in the KB, National Library of the Netherlands. Founded in 1798, the library holds the intention to celebrate the written word and share Dutch creativity and innovation with the world. We are honoured to partner with the KB, National Library to bring this beautiful binding to the Paperblanks collection.

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Azulejos (meaning “small polished stone”) are painted, glazed ceramic tiles that date back to 13th-century Portugal where they were used inside buildings during the Gothic period. Today, we see these decorative tiles across a wide range of buildings, from monasteries, palaces and restaurants to bars, railway stations and family homes. The design on the tiles commonly related to the building’s unique history, and the individual pieces often end up forming an elaborate mosaic.The design seen here is pulled from the traditional tiles gracing the façades of a variety of old houses in Porto, Portugal. Ornate in detail, these tiles do not just serve as decoration but represent an important part of Portuguese culture and tradition.

Read more less

The eternal appeal of a classic floral design is captured in the work of Irish illustrator William Kilburn (1745–1818). The artist behind William Curtis’ Flora Londinensis, a comprehensive book on 18th-century English botany, Kilburn was also a leading designer and printer of calico. With winding twigs, colourful petals and undulating seaweed, Kilburn’s unique ability to blend local flora with exotic plants is on full display in this design.

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This gold-tooled design comes from a 1990s binding crafted by Scott Husby, who used fragments from the early 1800s to create a beautiful new cover for this copy of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Originally published in 1623, Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies (or, First Folio) is the only reliable text for nearly 20 of Shakespeare’s plays, including The Tempest and Twelfth Night.Today, the First Folio is one of the most valuable books in the world, with one being sold in 2001 for over $6 million. There are only 235 surviving copies, from approximately 750 printed, and the Folger holds nearly one third of them, including the binding reproduced here.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat. Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were especially celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Originally crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, it incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.

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This striking Art Deco design comes from the British bookbinder Sybil Pye (1879–1959), heralded as one of the top female artisans of her time.Self-taught, Pye began producing her first works in the early 1900s using naturally coloured leather, before graduating to multi-coloured panels. By 1934 she was creating complex covers of up to six different inlays, and her work was regularly exhibited throughout England and around the world.This particular design was crafted to hold a collection of William Wordsworth’s poems illustrated by Pye’s lifelong friend Thomas Sturge Moore. Though we can’t be sure that Pye intended to evoke the image of a lion’s majestic head with this cover, the possibility offers an interesting connection between the binding and its original contents, as one of Wordsworth’s poems is titled “Picture of Daniel in the Lions’ Den, at Hamilton Place.”One of the youngest pre–First World War women binders, Pye was the only binder in England who specialized in inlaid leather bindings. With this series, we pay tribute to a pioneering woman in the art of book design.

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This glorious design comes from Sangorski & Sutcliffe, a world-renowned British bindery best known for their bejewelled cover of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat.Established in London in 1901, Sangorski & Sutcliffe quickly rose to become one of the 20th century’s most important bookbinders. They were celebrated for their jewelled bindings, like the one reproduced here. Crafted in 1922 to house Rudyard Kipling’s 1897 “Recessional” poem, written for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, the original binding incorporated real turquoise, aquamarine and ruby gemstones, alongside medieval-style illumination by Alberto Sangorski and gold tooling by George Sutcliffe.In the late 1980s, Sangorski & Sutcliffe was acquired by Asprey, joining forces with Zaehnsdorf under the SSZ umbrella. But the family name was restored in 1998 when Shepherds Bookbinders bought the company. It is an honour to work with such a luxurious bookbinding and to share the legacy of Sangorski & Sutcliffe with 21st-century stationery lovers and bibliophiles.

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For over a century, the Cockerell family name represented the highest quality bookmaking. Though no longer in business, the Cockerell and Son Bindery remains celebrated for their unique style of paper marbling, developed by the late Sydney (Sandy) M. Cockerell.Described as a “latter-day Leonardo,” Sandy Cockerell possessed not only an artist’s talents, but a scientist’s mind and engineer’s skill as well. He took the painstaking tradition of handmade marbled papers and found a way to produce the strikingly complex designs at high speeds and volumes. By improving existing equipment and creating his own gadgets and tools when that which he needed did not already exist, Cockerell embraced new mass production techniques.For his contributions to the paper arts, Sandy Cockerell was awarded an OBE and an honourary doctorate from Cambridge. When we launched Paperblanks journals in the early 1990s, a selection of his designs graced some of our first covers. We are honoured to return these iconic marbled papers to our collection with this black, white and red Rubedo design.

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Artistic, religious and cultural traditions unite in the handwoven fabric of this Sacred Tibetan Textiles design. For centuries, Muslim families in Varanasi, India, have practiced the art of handweaving silks to create cloths and vestments for sacred rituals. The city lies just 12 kilometres from the Buddhist pilgrimage site Sarnath, where the Buddha first gave his sermon upon becoming enlightened, and so Islamic, Buddhist and even Hindu practices have become woven together in the area.The fabric reproduced on this cover comes straight from the Kasim Silk Emporium in Varanasi and is an authentic expression of the weaver’s cultural heritage. In this design, created for a Buddhist monastery, the weavers have portrayed the path to enlightenment, both in the symbolic pattern and in the brightness of the colours chosen.With this Sacred Tibetan Textiles journal, we pay tribute to the rich heritage of Indian handweaving and to the craftspeople who continue this devotional practice today.

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The art of still life painting is a celebrated part of Dutch culture, but this time-honoured artistic style didn’t develop from thin air. Before still life emerged, there were illustrators who delicately illuminated handwritten manuscripts with images of flora and fauna to add emotional power to a written work.One of the most celebrated practitioners of this style was Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1601). Hoefnagel, a pivotal artistic figure from the Netherlands, is remembered as being the last important Flemish manuscript illuminator and one of the first artists to work on the new genre of still life. In the 1590s the Emperor Rudolf II commissioned Hoefnagel to add his illuminations to the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a mid-16th-century manuscript on the art of calligraphy by Georg Bocskay. The page reproduced here is known as Martagon Lily and Tomato. Today, the book can be found in the Getty Museum.

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The art of still life painting is a celebrated part of Dutch culture, but before still life emerged, there were illustrators who delicately illuminated handwritten manuscripts with images of flora and fauna to add emotional power to a written work.One of the most celebrated practitioners of this style was Joris Hoefnagel (1542–1601). In the 1590s the Emperor Rudolf II commissioned Hoefnagel to add his illuminations to the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a mid-16th-century manuscript on the art of calligraphy by Georg Bocskay. The page reproduced here is known as Martagon Lily and Tomato.

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Behold the majesty of the ancient cathedral of Ely! This striking notebook design comes from the 1830 cover of James Bentham’s The History and Antiquities of the Conventual and Cathedral Church of Ely, an exactingly crafted ode to the magnificence of the cathedral and the ancient curiosities held within its walls.Ely’s rich history begins with the Anglo-Saxon princess Saint Ethelreda, who founded a monastic community in the Cambridgeshire Fens in 673 ad. Over the centuries, the original abbey was built, destroyed and rebuilt in various forms, with today’s cathedral beginning construction in 1083. With architect George Gilbert Scott at the helm, the Ely Cathedral underwent restorations between 1845 and 1870, rebuilding the galilee porch, lady chapel and choir in an exuberant Decorated Gothic style.With such a rich artistic and spiritual history, it is no wonder that the cathedral would inspire James Bentham to dedicate his life’s work to documenting its artifacts. We are honoured to work with the Bodleian Library to celebrate Bentham’s passion project.

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Our cover reproduces a 1688 binding protecting L’office de la Semaine Sainte, which explained the many rites and observances to be followed during the most important period in the Christian calendar, the Holy Week.The original cover was adorned à la fanfare, a handtooled pattern edged in gilt. Fanfare, which was a style popular in the 17th century, required tremendous skill on the part of the bookbinder and was reserved for books of great importance.Poetry in BloomThis cover design, originally crafted by Riviere and Son, centres around a sensitive plant (mimosa pudica) surrounded by chambers containing snowdrops and other richly hued and contrasting flowers, foliage and butterflies. The original binding was used for The Sensitive Plant and Early Poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley and is a celebration of the many moods of the creative spirit.

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Reproducing an original work by designer Pierre Legrain (1889–1929), this cover brings a sense of movement to the heavy geometric elements of its Art Deco influence.Legrain was a key figure in early 20th-century French bookbinding but began his career in illustration, theatre design and cabinetmaking. After leaving the French Army in 1916, Legrain became recognized for his eye for design and was commissioned by Jacques Doucet, a French bibliophile and collector, to create unique bindings for Doucet’s impressive library. Adopting an attitude of experimentation, Doucet encouraged Legrain to be “freely inspired by contemporary artists’ vibrantly coloured mosaics, bold play with geometric forms and straight-lined bands.”Legrain’s works, often using exotic materials, have revolutionized the relatively staid world of bookbinding, finding their way into the collections of art and architecture enthusiasts around the world. This modern mosaic design is now proudly a part of the Spencer Collection at The New York Public Library.

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Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionist painters. Though much of his work, like this Irises study, is filled with brightness and light, Van Gogh’s own life was filled with personal turmoil.A severe mental health crisis, in which he now-famously cut off his own ear, prompted Van Gogh to admit himself to the Saint-Paul Asylum at Saint-Rémy in the south of France. His recuperation began with painting of the asylum garden, Irises chief among the resulting output. The close study of nature was the foundation of Van Gogh’s art, as his precise delineation of individual flowers suggests, but he also brought to that study an astonishing degree of subjective intensity. One can emotionally feel the painting’s strong colours, thickly applied paint and powerful decorative rhythms, all of which convey the artist’s sense of nature’s surging vitality.We are honoured to feature this seminal painting from the J. Paul Getty Museum in our collection.

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