Russian Bindings of the First Quarter of the 19th Century Made of Calfskin with Morocco Spines

In the era of customized hand-printed bookbinding, the type and grade of materials used were directly related to the number of operations involved in processing the various elements of the binding and the quality of the decoration. More valuable leathers and fabrics were chosen for expensive and artistically decorated bindings. One way to create a luxury effect was to applique a strip of saffiano on the spine over less expensive calfskin. When on the bookshelf, such bindings looked as if they were made entirely of morocco.

This article studies Russian bindings of the first quarter of the 19th century with smooth morocco spines. More than 130 such specimens have been found in the collection of the Research Department of Rare Books (Book Museum) of the Russian State Library (RSL). On the basis of the analysis of gold tooling stamps and their arrangement, two main types of spine decoration are identified: with a single vertically oriented composition of stamps and with a traditional bandage composition, i.e. with the division of the whole area of the spine into separate quadrangular sections with the help of horizontally arranged bands of ornament.

The types of stamps and decorative techniques characteristic of certain chronological intervals within the period under study are described. The identified characteristics can be used to describe both full-leather and Russian quorter leather bindings, as well as to clarify dating.

1. Gerchuk Y.Ya. Ehpokha politipazhei: russkoe tipografskoe iskusstvo pervoi treti XIX v. [The Age of Polytypage. Russian Typographical Art of the First Third of the 19th Century]. Moscow, Kniga Publ., 1982, 150 p., ill., facs.

2. Malavielle S. Reliures et Cartonnages d’Editeur en France au XIXe Siécle (1815—1865). Paris, Promodis Publ., 1985, 253 p.

3. Fouché P., Péchoin D., Schuwer Ph. (eds.) Dictionnaire Encyclopédique du Livre. Paris, Éditions du Cercle de la Librairie, 2011, vol.: N—Z, 1088 p.

4. Encyclopedie des Enfans, ou Nouvel Abrégé de Toutes les Sciences. Moscow, v Tipografii Kryazheva, Got’e i Meya Publ., 1802, 2, 1—208, 219—424, 8 p.

5. Steblevsky V.I., Nikolaeva N.K. (eds.) Konservatsiya i restavratsiya knig: metodicheskie rekomendatsii [Conservation and Restoration of Books: Methodological Guidelines]. Moscow, Biblioteka Inostrannoi Literatury Publ., Polimedia Publ., 2021, 262 p.

6. Vlasov V.G. Bol’shoi ehntsiklopedicheskii slovar’ izobrazitel’nogo iskusstva [The Great Encyclopedic Dictionary of Fine Arts]. St. Petersburg, LITA Publ., 2000, vol. 3, 848 p.

7. Druzhinin P.A. Muzei knigi Petra Druzhinina i Aleksandra Soboleva: annotirovannyi nauchnyi katalog vydayushchikhsya pamyatnikov pis’mennosti XV — nachala XX veka: v 3 t. [Peter Druzhinin and Alexander Sobolev Book Museum: An Annotated Scientific Catalogue of Outstanding Monuments of Writing of the 15th — Early 20th Century: in 3 volumes]. Moscow, Slovo/Slovo Publ., 2021, vol. 3, 526 p.

8. Devauchelle R. La Reliure en France, de Ses Origines à Nos Jours. Vol. II (de 1700 à 1850), Paris, chez Jean Rousseau-Girard Publ., 1960, 260 p.

9. Alivon P. Styles et Modèles: Guide des Styles de Dorure et de Décoration des Reliures. Paris, Artnoville Editeur Publ., 1990, 175 p.

10. Panchenko E.Z. Decorative Compositions on the Spines of Russian Books: The End of the 18th — the Beginning of the 19th Centuries, Kniga kak predmet iskusstva [Book as a Piece of Art]. Moscow, Art. Sobranie Publ., 2023, pp. 118—149 (in Russ.).

11. Fleury C. Nravy izrail’tyan, ili Ob”yasnenie na nekotoryya vazhneishiya mesta Vetkhago Zaveta [Manners of the Ancient Israelites, or Explanation of Some of the Most Important Passages in the Old Testament]. Moscow, v Universitetskoi Tipografii, u Lyubi, Gariya i Popova Publ., 1802, 324 p.

12. Zolotova M.B. Bindings with Superexlibris of Prince A.I. Vyazemsky, Bibliografiya i knigovedenie [Bibliography and Bibliology], 2024, no. 3, pp. 78—90. DOI: 25281/2411-2305-2024-3-78-90 (in Russ.).

13. Rollin Ch. Rollen’ dlya yunoshestva, ili Nachertanie drevnei istorii, soderzhashchee v sebe istoriyu egiptyan, persov, grekov, rimlyan i mnogikh drugikh narodov... [Rollin for the Youth, or Ancient History of the Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans and Many Other Peoples...]. Moscow, v Tipografii Avgusta Semena Publ., 1822, 230 p., inv. no. XIX-19438.

14. Derzhavin G.R. Sochineniya Derzhavina [Derzhavin’s Works]. St. Petersburg, v Tipografii Shnora Publ., vol. 5, 1816, 239 p.

15. Sumarokov P.P. Istinnoi sposob byt’ zdorovym, dolgovechnym i bogatym, Ili otkrytie osoblivykh, redkikh, udoboispolnitel’nykh, ispytannykh i ves’ma deshevykh sekretov, posredstvom kotorykh vsyakoi mozhet dostavit’ sebe prochnoe zdorov’e i obogatit’sya chestnym obrazom v kratchaishee vremya: v 3 ch. [A Practical Way to Be Healthy, Durable and Rich, Or Discovering the Special, Unique, Easy to Do, Proven and Extremely Low-Cost Secrets of How Anyone Can Gain Good Health and Get Rich in the Shortest Possible Time: in 3 parts]. Moscow, v Universitetskoi Tipografii Publ., 1809, part. 2. XIV, 376 p.

16. Voennaya tipografiya Glavnogo shtaba e. i. v. (Peterburg): Obraztsovye shrifty, ukrasheniya i vin’ety Voennoi tipografii. S kratkim izvestiem ot vremeni uchrezhdeniya eya do nyneshnyago polozheniya [Military Printing House of the General Staff (St. Petersburg): Model Fonts, Decorations and Vignettes of the Military Printing House. With Brief Information from the Time of Its Foundation to the Present]. St. Petersburg, Voennaya Tipografiya Publ., 1821, X, 2 p., 25, 1 p.

17. Bolshakov M.V. Dekor i ornament v knige [Decor and Ornament in a Book]. Moscow, Kniga Publ., 1990, 155 p.

18. Glinka S.N. Russkaya istoriya [The History of Russia]. Moscow, v Universitetskoi Tipografii Publ., 1818, part 1, 2, XXXIV, 3—162 p.

19. Genlis S.F. de. Povesti gospozhi Zhanlis [The Novels by Madame de Genlis]. Moscow, v Tip. S. Selivanovskago Publ., 1816, 6, 275 p.

20. Millot C.F.X. Osnovaniya vseobshchei istorii. Novoe, ispravlennoe i umnozhennoe izdanie [Elements of General History. New, Corrected and Multiplied Edition]. Moscow, v Tipografii Khristof. Klaudiya Publ., 1804, vol. 3, 494 p.

21. Markova A.I. Knizhnye pereplety generala A.P. Ermolova [Bookbindings of General A.P. Ermolov]. Moscow, Izdatel’skii Dom Rudentsovykh Publ., 2020, 236 p.

22. Kulmatova T.V. Marble Paper in Bookbinding of the First Half of the 19th Century: “Chemical” Patterns, Nauka i biblioteka: sbornik nauchnykh trudov [Science and Library: collected articles]. St. Petersburg, BAN Publ., 2023, issue 8, pp. 110—126 (in Russ.).

23. Gerchuk Y.Ya. Iskusstvo pechatnoi knigi v Rossii XVI—XXI vekov [The Art of Printed Book in Russia of the 16th—21st Centuries]. St. Petersburg, Kolo Publ., 2014, 511 p.