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Bound to be Modern : Publishers' Cloth Bindings and the Material Culture of the Book, 1840–1914

Lundblad, Kristina LU (2015)
Abstract
Bound to Be Modern is the most comprehensive study to date on the emergence and function of publishers' cloth bindings. It brings together issues of aesthetics, technique, economy, and social change in order to explain why publishers in the 19th century began to have their books bound, and why decorated clothbindings were so successful as the Western world transitioned into modernity.



This study traces the history of publishers' bindings in a Swedish context--giving the first English-language account of the history of the Swedish 19th century book market--but also makes clear that edition binding was an international affair, with machines, designs, and ideas crossing borders as much as the literary works themselves did.... (More)
Bound to Be Modern is the most comprehensive study to date on the emergence and function of publishers' cloth bindings. It brings together issues of aesthetics, technique, economy, and social change in order to explain why publishers in the 19th century began to have their books bound, and why decorated clothbindings were so successful as the Western world transitioned into modernity.



This study traces the history of publishers' bindings in a Swedish context--giving the first English-language account of the history of the Swedish 19th century book market--but also makes clear that edition binding was an international affair, with machines, designs, and ideas crossing borders as much as the literary works themselves did. Lundblad takes an interdisciplinary approach, referencing art and design theorists as well as social scientists and philosophers to analyze the complex interactions between books, the book market, and society at large, and to show that bindings not only mirror their historical context but also contribute to the making of culture. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
@book{221c7768-a275-4a41-9b6d-b8ab6b8e3d71,
  abstract     = {{Bound to Be Modern is the most comprehensive study to date on the emergence and function of publishers' cloth bindings. It brings together issues of aesthetics, technique, economy, and social change in order to explain why publishers in the 19th century began to have their books bound, and why decorated clothbindings were so successful as the Western world transitioned into modernity.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
This study traces the history of publishers' bindings in a Swedish context--giving the first English-language account of the history of the Swedish 19th century book market--but also makes clear that edition binding was an international affair, with machines, designs, and ideas crossing borders as much as the literary works themselves did. Lundblad takes an interdisciplinary approach, referencing art and design theorists as well as social scientists and philosophers to analyze the complex interactions between books, the book market, and society at large, and to show that bindings not only mirror their historical context but also contribute to the making of culture.}},
  author       = {{Lundblad, Kristina}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-58456-313-6}},
  keywords     = {{the Physical Aspects of Books and Reading; Bookbindings of Bonnier; Reading and the Book; Book Market; Cultural History; Cloth; Book Trade; The History of the Book; Mechanization; Production of Meaning; Peder Herzog; Blocking Press; Book Case; Book Porduction; Book Production History; Consumer Society; History of Consumer Society; History of Book Design; Ornament; 19th Century Interior Decoration; Tactility; Haptic Vision; Simmel; Aesthetics and Economy; Aesthetics and Tecnique; Interaction; Binding Practise; Title Specific Binding; Industrialization; Book Binding Machines; 19th Century; Mass Individualism; Edition Binding; Materiality; Modernity; Form; Material Culture; Publishers’ Cloth; Publishers’ bindings; Book History; Bookbinding; Book Design}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Oak Knoll Press}},
  title        = {{Bound to be Modern : Publishers' Cloth Bindings and the Material Culture of the Book, 1840–1914}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}