It is widely known a book can offer the pleasure of a good
reading together with the enjoyment of exploring its author’s deepest thoughts.
But let me tell you, there is a hidden, a secret delight, not visible to the beholder,
that can give pure artistic fruition. They are called fore-edge paintings. They
are concealed on the edge, or edges, of books and have been available for our
enjoyment the last couple of centuries. They are only visible when pages are
fanned and the fortunate perceiver can discover a variety of themes, including historical
landscapes, heraldry, portraits, religious scenes, private life, with the list
not being limited to these subjects.
The Jackson Library holds in its special collection some of
these unique books. Below we share some of their hidden charms for your own
appreciation.
Want to learn more
and read about fore-edge painting?
- Fore-edge painting; a historical survey of a curious art in
book decoration.
- Hidden treasures: the history and technique of fore-edge
painting
Watch a video!
Fore-edge Painting 1947 - Unusual Occupations Series
Visit an English
fore-edge artist!
Foredgefrost.co.uk
Are you ready for painting your own
fore-edge?
Books with painted fore-edge
from
Hodges Special Collection and University Archives
UNC Greensboro
The lighted valley; or, The closing scenes of the life of Abby Bolton
- The dramatic and poetical works of Joanna Baillie.
- The poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed
- The border antiquities of England and Scotland : comprising specimens of architecture and sculpture, and other vestiges of former ages, accompanied by descriptions
- The works of James Thomson : with his last corrections and improvements : to which is prefixed the life of the author
Last, but not the least, a Wikipedia resource on fore-edge painting and its history