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Although featured in the recent exhibition, ‘The Art of Bookbinding’, the distinctive bookbinding that adorns the Whipple Library’s 1584 edition of Peter Apian’s Cosmographia undoubtedly deserves its own blog post.

This copy has a very distinctive dual binding. The right-hand side of the front panel is painted manuscript waste. The spine covering (i.e., the left-hand side of the front panel) is an entirely distinct binding, which slightly covers the painted manuscript waste where they join. The spine covering is a highly-decorated alum-tawed skin binding. Alum-tawed skin is named for the solution of double salt of aluminium and potassium sulphates in which the skin is prepared. This process produces a distinctive off-white coloured skin, as can be seen on this spine covering. Alum-tawing has an incredibly long history, with recipes for the process surviving from ancient Egypt.[1] Alum-tawed skins are particularly durable, in comparison to tanned leather, making them an excellent choice for bookbindings.[2]

Decoration

A closer look at the manuscript waste on the front cover. (STORE 95:50)

The manuscript waste was very simply decorated. It was painted in dark green, which may have been intended to disguise the fact that it is reused manuscript waste and not leather. It was also blind-tooled with double fillets to produce a triangular design. The paint has worn away in places and some of the original writing is now visible, although the majority is still indecipherable with the naked eye. The use of specialist digitisation technologies, such as multispectral imaging (MSI), could help to reveal the writing and identify the origin of this manuscript waste. However, this technology is not yet widely available and is not something that the Whipple Library has been able to undertake.

A closer look at the rolls on the front cover. (STORE 95:50) The back cover. (STORE 95:50)

In contrast, the spine covering was extensively decorated with a number of blind-tooled rolls. Three different rolls were used in the creation of our Cosmographia’s ‘all-over’ design: a wave vine, small cherubic figures (known as putti), and square chain links. Each of these rolls were also separated by fillets. The rear spine covering features the same three rolls, but the designs are much less clear as this cover is more worn.

Identifying a Binder

The spine covering is visually extremely similar to the style of bookbinding that was prevalent in late-fifteenth and sixteenth-century Germany.[3] Our binding does not feature a binder’s mark or initials, which are rare in the medieval and early modern periods but can sometimes be found; these can help enormously when seeking to identify the individuals involved in the production of a particular copy of a work. Nonetheless, I have been able to identify the binder, or, at the very least, their workshop, from the rolls used.

Diogenes Laertius, De vita et moribus philosophorum libri X (Photo from Chiswick Auctions (Books & Works on Paper, 29th Nov, 2023).

When I first selected this book for inclusion in ‘The Art of Bookbinding’, I was drawn to the unusual roll with the quartet of putti. While researching the roll further, I found that it also featured on the binding of a philosophical work present in two online auction catalogues – from 2023 (Chiswick Auctions) and 2024 (Addison & Sarova Auctioneers). This book has a complete binding, which has been dated 1574, and features the blind-stamped arms of Augustus I, Elector of Saxony (1526-1586) as the centrepiece.

A closer look at the initials in the roll on De vita.

This suggests that the book may have been bound for Augustus’ personal library or presented as a gift from him to a friend or acquaintance. The binder of this book added his initials to the roll, ‘V. K.’ which may stand for Urban Köblitz (d. 1610), a binder who was active in Saxony in the late sixteenth century.

While conducting more research into Augustus’ relationship with bookbinders, I discovered that the Cosmographia’s spine covering, and the 1574 binding, are reminiscent of the style of bookbindings associated with Wittenberg, within the Electorate of Saxony.[4] Wittenberg became a centre of book production during the sixteenth century, and Vicky Rothe identified eighty-five bookbinders that were active in Wittenberg during the sixteenth century.[5]

I was also able to find a resource (used by Dr Ben Pope to suggest a binder for a book held in the John Rylands Library and bound for Augustus) that allowed me to propose the binder’s workshop responsible for our spine covering. Using the German Database of Historical Bookbindings (EBDB), I have identified that all of the rolls used in the Cosmographia’s spine covering are associated with Caspar Genseler (fl. 1539-1588, EBDB w007729), who was based in Wittenberg. The wave vine is r005131, the putti roll is r005107, and the square chain links roll is r005132.

How the work of Caspar Genseler’s workshop came to adorn only the spine of our copy of Cosmographia is uncertain. Perhaps one of its former owners wanted their book to appear to have a contemporary binding when it was shelved. Perhaps the binding was originally complete and was irreparably damaged over time or during early conservation efforts. Perhaps it was purely an aesthetic choice. Any and all theories are welcome and encouraged.

Blog post written by Laura Burgazzi.

References

[1] Roy Thomson, ‘Leather’, in Eric May and Mark Jones (eds), Conservation Science: Heritage Materials (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2006), p. 99.

[2] Cheryl Porter, ‘The Use of Alum in the Preparation of Tawed Skin for Book Covers in the 11th – 15th Centuries: Advantages and Disadvantages for the Book Structure’ in Philippe Borgard and Jean-Pierre Brun (eds), L’alun de Méditerranée (Publications du Centre Jean Bérard, 2005), pp. 293–98.

[3] David Pearson, English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800: A Handbook (London: The British Library & Oak Knoll Press, 2015), p. 20.

[4] Ben Pope, ‘The Empress, the Elector and the Painter: The Armorial of Bianca Maria Sforza, Copied for August of Saxony by Lucas Cranach the Younger (Manchester, John Rylands Library, German MS. 2)’, Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 94:2 (2018), p. 5.

[5] Vicky Rothe, ‘Wittenberger Buchgewerbe und -handel im 16. Jahrhundert’ in Heiner Lück, Enno Bünz, Leonhard Helten, Armin Kohnle, Dorothée Sack, und Hans-Georg Stephan (eds), Das ernestinische Wittenberg: Stadt und Bewohner, Petersberg: Imhof, 2013), p. 81.