Stenciled Book Edges

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The tradition of fore-edge painting, or edge painting, describes all the activities related to embellishing the paper edges of a book. Dating back to tenth-century England, the pra ctice reached the peak of its popularity in the second half of the seventeenth century but continued throughout the eighteenth century. At the time, the art of aging book edges was done by specialists, as the ornamentation was seen as a central part of the book's appearance. A painted-edge book stood out. It made each book unique, and artists could push each one's brilliance as far as they desired.No longer confined to books found in antique shops, today's decorative collectors' editions come straight from the publisher, with marbling or patterned fore-edges that often mimic the look of the book's cover. Show more