Recycling in the Bolton: bookbinder’s waste
Hidden inside some titles in the Bolton Library is what’s known as ‘bookbinder’s waste’. These are the scraps, fragments, strips and squares of what were once whole items in their own right: printed books and manuscripts, charters and legal documents, correspondence and account books, recycled by the bookbinders of the collection to strengthen and support the stars of the show. Such recycling reflected the economy of an age when paper and parchment, even used, were just too precious a material to waste.
The below images show how some of the material in the Bolton Library which have stowed away in the titles which now grace the shelves of the collection. Ironically, by categorising this material as ‘waste’, these contemporary bookbinders have ensured their survival, from their origins as complete items, through centuries undercover, to their deserved position as objects of curiosity and study here in the 21st century.
(click image to zoom)
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