by Edward Nudelman
Member since:
January 17, 2006

Fore-Edge Paintings

May 23, 2006 10:48 PM EDT (Updated: May 23, 2006 10:50 PM EDT)
views: 96 | comments: 19
One of my passions is collecting rare books.   I'm especially interested in the "art of the book," which includes 18th and 19th century illustrated books and a lesser known genre called fore-edge painting.  This is a technique where an original painting is applied to the outermost edges of the pages.  It's a practice dating back as early as the 10th century, but most books with fore-edge paintings were done in the last two centuries.  The  technique has been practiced almost exclusively by the British, and began as a fanciful pastime.  Recently, fore-edge painting has developed into a very beautiful and interesting art form in its own right. 

There are two kinds of fore-edge painted books, one where the image is visible when the book is in its normal state, and the other where the paintings are hidden, and can only be seen by flanging out the edges of the pages such that the image is revealed.  It's rather an art to do this, but when done properly, and with a good fore-edge painting, the results are quite impressive.  I've included some fore-edge paintings from books in my collection below.

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Comments: 19

Kathryn E. May 24, 2006, 12:12am EDT
Impressive, very impressive, Ed. The Last Supper, even. I'd not heard of fore-edge paintings, before...
Peg (Mistress of the Obvious) S. May 24, 2006, 1:18am EDT
This is new to me. It took me a few scrolls and a re-read to figure it out but how fascinating. I'd have to see one of each type to *really* get it.
Edward Nudelman May 24, 2006, 5:06am EDT
I'm often asked exactly how the fore-edge painter does it, and the answer is that the pages are spread apart (flanged) then bracketed together with a clamp, the illustration is painted with a water-based paint and a very delicate brush, then allowed to dry. Sometimes, when I'm feeling evil, I will say that the painter has to take each page, one at a time, and paint that little part of the painting on the very outside edge of each page... I usually get an uproarious laughter, but once or twice the response has been, "wow, that must take a lot of time!"
Edward Nudelman May 24, 2006, 9:00am EDT
Kathleen, excellent...! It WAS by Edward Burne-Jones, but I think you're thinking of Aubrey Beardsley who illustrated the Arthur. And correct also about Mucha. Thanks for your comments.
Edward Nudelman May 24, 2006, 9:37am EDT
Exactly true about E-books. I also have a collection of 19th Century poetry and British Literature. Thanks Catherine.
Ludie Gee May 24, 2006, 9:57am EDT
http://www.foredgefrost.co.uk/gallery_foredgeNORM.htm
vERY INTERESTING!
Richard Frisbie May 24, 2006, 10:09am EDT
A well illustrated introduction to a beautiful art form. Nice collection Edward! (With kudos to Katherine for recognizing some of the artists)
jessie voigts May 24, 2006, 10:40am EDT
wow - that is so very cool! echo hannah - books used to be treasures...now, they aren't always that. it is sad. but how cool, that our world is so literate.
these are gorgeous, ed! how would one take care of them? climate controlled bookcase?
Kathryn E. May 24, 2006, 10:47am EDT
Wow, Edward Burne-Jones and Aubrey Beardsley. Been a while since I've hung out in that group...thanks for the info...
Edward Nudelman May 24, 2006, 11:17am EDT
Jessie.. thanks for the great questions. The main thing you need to worry about is humidity.. which can be a problem here in New England (and elsewhere). But I have the books back "home" in Seattle, which, even though it rains a good deal, is actually almost perfect for rare books. You want to avoid extremes, direct sunlight, and excessive handling (improper handling that is). Other than that, these books keep very well. For the really valuable ones, I have custom felt-lined "boxes" made with folding covers.
Now that is cool! thanks for posting to my group!
Carl Neeld May 24, 2006, 1:42pm EDT
Interesting. Something I've never seen.
Martha Jette, Author/Editor May 24, 2006, 1:54pm EDT
These are just beautiful, Ed. I have seen them before, but now you have educated me as to what the paintings are called. Thanks!
Edward Nudelman May 24, 2006, 11:17pm EDT
No, you really can't see the image well if you try that (which I have tried, of course). Amazingly, most of the fore-edges I have owned are very well put together, that is, the artist generally picks a book that has very fine, acid free pages and they blend together perfectly and are well bound.
Diana Raabe May 25, 2006, 10:23am EDT
I am so jealous! I prefer the hidden fore-edge paintings and am still on my quest to discover one that a bookseller has missed.

I would love to hear the backstory of how you came upon even one of these beauties. P.S. Care to sell one?
Edward Nudelman May 25, 2006, 10:31am EDT
Thanks Diana. I have quite a large list of contacts who sell these sorts of things, but, as you can imagine, they're not cheap (although that can be a relative term). Write me offline and we can talk.
Cheryl B. Mar 8, 2008, 9:00pm EST
What a unique idea. They are quite beautiful.

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