Fore-edge painting

thumb|upright=1.7|[[Torquato Tasso#La Gerusalemme Liberata|Jerusalem Delivered, a Heroic Poem, translated from the Italian of Torquato Tasso, by John Hoole. London 1797; with fore-edge painting: Trajan's Arch, (Ancona), Tasso in Prison, and the Bridge of Sighs]]

A fore-edge painting is an image painted on the unbound edges of a book visible when the pages of the book are fanned. It also can refer to an image that is visible on the closed edge of a book. References also refer to the paintings as disappearing or secret images, and they are often hidden beneath gilded edges.

Historically, fore-edge painting has had three purposes: identification, indication of ownership, or artistry. Possibly originating in the 10th century, the earliest known examples feature titles written on the closed edges of a book, symbolic imagery, or heraldic designs. The exact origins are debated among scholars. The technique of the hidden painting gained notable popularity in England during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Fore-edge painting is practiced today, however, it is still an uncommon art.

There are even examples of rare variations that require the book's pages to be pinched or tented in a certain way to see the image.

History

The earliest fore-edge markings or "letterings" date as far back as the 10th century when books were generally stored horizontally with the fore-edge facing out. Books today are generally stored with the spine facing out and upright. When books were stored horizontally with the fore-edge facing out, the title, author, or other indicator were written on the fore-edge. As book design was standardized, the fore-edge of the book was stored inwards and the spine of the book was utilized as an indicator for title and author.

Early examples of English fore-edge paintings are difficult to accurately date, but they presented heraldic designs in gold and other colors. The first known example of a disappearing fore-edge painting (a painting not visible when the book is closed) dates back to 1649, while the earliest signed and dated fore-edge painting dates to 1653: a family coat of arms painted on a 1651 Bible.

Research by Cyril Davenport (1848 - 1941), former Superintendent of Bookbinding at the British Museum names Samuel Mearne the creator of the art of fore-edge painting during his service as the bookbinder for King Charles II from 1660 to 1683. Davenport found instances of these early fore-edge paintings having been signed by "an artist of the name of Fletcher" (no first name given). Davenport reports a 1641 copy of Acts and Monuments bearing a fore-edge portrait of Charles II, signed by "Fletcher" as the earliest known example of the art.

Caroline Billin Curry, or Miss C.B. Currie, was a prominent fore-edge painter in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She began numbering her works using a flyleaf inserted into the book she painted, of which 172 of her fore-edge paintings are known to exist. Also of note is her compatriot, John T. Beer.

Fore-edge painting also made an imprint in China. Chinese painters were influenced by Western fore-edge paintings and began practicing the art overseas in the 20th century.

Martin Frost in Worthing, United Kingdom, is a professional full-time fore-edge artist in the UK. He has created over 3,500 fore-edge paintings since he started his career in the 1970s. Jeanne Bennett is another known fore-edge painter and has written a book after teaching the art of fore-edge painting for years.

Loyola-Notre Dame Library, the library shared by Loyola University Maryland and Notre Dame of Maryland University, have a collection of more than 300 fore-edge painted volumes.
Boston Public Library has a collection of 258 fore-edge paintings, one of the larger collections in the United States, and many examples are displayed online.
Brandeis University holds 22 fore-edge paintings in their Special Collections Library in a collection called Reuben M. and Regine Ginsberg Collection of Fore-edge Painted Books.
Estelle Doheny Collection housed in the Edward Laurence Doheny Memorial Library at St. John's Seminary, Camarillo, California, is described as "roughly twice as large" as the collection at the Boston Public Library.
Syracuse University's Special Collections Research Center has the Poushter Collection, with more than 90 volumes.
Louisiana State University Library holds at least 37 fore-edge paintings in its Rare Book Collection. Several are probably by the artist identified by Jeff Weber as the "American City View Painter".
Clark University holds the Robert H. Goddard Library's Rare Book Collection, which includes 17 books with fore-edge paintings.
Mudd Library at Lawrence University has a varied collection of books with fore-edge art that were donated by two alumnae, Dorothy Ross Pain Lawrence class of 1918, and Bernice Davis Fligman Milwaukee-Downer class of 1922.
Hofstra University has in their collection a few fore-edge books, some of which are Les Psaumes de David and Outlines from the Figures and Compositions upon the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Vases of the Late Sir William Hamilton.
George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland also contains a collection of books with fore-edge paintings within its Dorothy McIlvain Scott Collection.
The National Library of the Netherlands has a few fore-edge books, e.g. KW 1740 F 1 (a pendrawing and aquarelle in shades of blue, green, yellow and red, depicting a lake surrounded by mountains and on the righthand side a castle with docking place and boats) and KW 1740 F 2 (a pendrawing and aquarelle in shades of blue, green and red, depicting the Tower of London surrounded by houses and an meadow with walking people), 1786 B 24 or 1773 D 25.
The Library of Trinity College Dublin's digitized Elsbeth and Bettina Bollmann Collection contains books with fore-edge paintings.
The University of Wisconsin - Madison Special Collections Library has a collection of fore-edge paintings: Nancy Swan Collection of books with fore-edge paintings. Gift of Robert and Virginia Douglas. These books can be found through the library catalog.
Grand Valley State University fore-edge paintings digital collections
The Bentley Rare Book Gallery, Kennesaw State University includes video examples
George Peabody Library Collection of Fore-edge Paintings & Decorated Bindings

Gallery

File:Childe Harold's Pilreimage Fore-Edge Painting.jpg|Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (Lord Byron, 1812–1818)

File:The New Casket Fore-Edge Painting.jpg|The New Casket (1850) by Joseph Martin Kronheim

File:Sacred Poetry Fore-Edge Painting.jpg|Sacred Poetry (Jeremy Belknap, 1744)

File:Rogers' Poems Fore-Edge Painting.jpg|Rogers' Poems (Samuel Rogers, 1834)

File:The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England.jpg|Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (Joseph Strutt, 1801)

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History

Gallery

References

Further reading