Remarkable Bindings in the British Museum

A beautifully illustrated work on the history of bookbinding, chiefly in the British Museum library, first published in 1889.

Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917) was a prolific writer on bibliography, literature and the arts. These two works, published in the 1880s, provide an illustrated history of fine English and continental bookbindings, and discuss them from both an artistic and practical viewpoint. He includes examples notable for beauty or historic significance.Henry Benjamin Wheatley (1838–1917) was a prolific writer on bibliography, literature and the arts. As founder of the Index Society, and editor of The Bibliographer, he was also involved in the foundation of the Library Association. In that context he wrote several works on library topics, and this volume contains two works on bookbinding, Remarkable Bindings in the British Museum (1889) and Bookbinding Considered as a Fine Art, Mechanical Art and Manufacture (1882). The former contains descriptions and illustrations of 62 examples of bookbinding then in the British Museum library, notable as beautiful examples from different countries and periods, or different materials, or for their historic interest. The second piece was a paper read to the Society of Arts in 1880. It outlines the history of bookbinding styles in different countries, and then discusses it both as an art form and from a practical point of view, with illustrations.