Case 2

Endband Sampler 

The endbands in this sampler were created working from instructions in Jane Greenfield and Jenny Hille’s manual Endbands: How to work them. Greenfield and Hille are themselves conservators and their guide is detailed and practical, a useful resource for understanding endband construction.   

Ethiopian “Braided” Endbands

Another distinct endband style is the Coptic braided endbands shown on the top of this model. Two strips of leather, often in different colors, are punched with slits at regular intervals and alternately laced through one another to create a braided effect. The endbands are laced first, then attached to the covered text block. Long ends of the strips are tucked down inside the boards to complete the process.

Islamic Style Binding

This binding style was common in the historically Islamic area that stretched from Southern Spain and Northern Africa through the Middle East to India.

Typical attributes of the Islamic style binding include sewing at only two stations without sewing supports, “zig-zag” woven endbands, a flat spine, boards cut flush with the text block, and a leather case with a protective fore-edge flap. In some cultures the flap was designed to be placed inside the front cover, as in this example. The Islamic-style book is designed to be used on a wooden book cradle called a rahl that holds the book open for reading at approximately 100 degrees.         

Islamic Style Endbands

Books from the Islamic world feature a variety of different endbands. Sturdy pieces of leather are placed flush on top of the ends of a book and sewn to the pages with plain threads, over which colored silk is woven in various patterns. Conservator Karin Scheper published a lengthy essay on the topic in volume 5 of Suave Mechanicals: Essays on the History of Bookbinding. During the pandemic, a KU conservator made this exemplar featuring the patterns Scheper discovered in her research.

Long Stitch with Slotted Paper Wrapper

A variation on the longstitch/linkstitch bookbinding, this binding style is popular with book artists. The sewing thread is visible on the spine and serves both functional and decorative purposes. This binding structure dates from the 16th-18th centuries in northern Europe.

Longstitch/Linkstitch Binding

In this binding structure, also called a mechanical tight back, the sewing may be viewed on the spine of the book—it serves both a functional and decorative purpose. These books usually have paper covers and a leather piece adhered to the spine.

This binding was often used for account books and was common in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands in the 16th-18th centuries.