Russian Bindings of the 1780s—1790s with Endpapers Made of Decorative Block-Printed Paper

Abstract

One of the most difficult tasks in the study of bindings of old printed books is to determine the time of their manufacture in the absence of a date affixed by the bookbinder or the customer and other documented information. The study attempts to identify the characteristic features of Russian bindings of the last two decades of the 18th century, based on a group of bindings united by one material — decorative flyleaf paper with block-printed pattern. The article tells about the history of the manufacture of such decorative papers in Europe and Russia in the 18th century, about the types of printed drawings of Russian papers and the peculiarities of their use in bookbinding. Endpapers made of block-printed paper became one of the characteristic features of Russian bindings of the 1780s—1790s. The research is based on books printed in Moscow printing houses from the collection of publications of the civil press of the 18th century in the Department of Rare Books of the Russian State Library (Book Museum). There were 1080 books in-octavo format of the 1780s—1790s were selected in solid-leather bindings only with block-printed endpapers, their design and decorative features were identified and described. The analysis showed that such endpaper was almost always combined in the binding with marbled calfskin of a special pattern as a cover material, which can be considered as a sign of a special genre of binding. His other features: the method of fastening the endpapers, the absence of a headband and ribbon or cord bookmarks, characteristic stamping stamps — are non-specific, but also quite regular, so they can be used for more accurate dating and other domestic bindings of the late 18th century.