Cathedral Binding
The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Oxford; Oxford University Press. 1831.

32mo. bound in 8s (85 x 50mm); publisher’s fine Cathedral Binding in sombre black calf decoratively blocked in blind with an ecclesiastical design to both covers and spine, flat spine lettered gilt, all edges gilt, gilt-beaded edges to boards, for a long while housed in a protective custom-made burgundy leather jacket, pinked to the edges, with internal sewn leather corners; unpaginated; externally fine, excellently protected by the fitted jacket, internally very good though lacking the blank front free endpaper, inner covers dusted and marked, with offsetting from the leather wrapper shadowing the corners of the pastedowns, title-page slightly worn at bottom forecorner, and lightly foxed, otherwise generally clean and sound, with occasional light marking and tiny corner creasing.

A wonderful example of a small-scale Cathedral Binding on an early nineteenth-century New Testament Bible, with tiny bookseller’s label to inner cover, “Bannaford, Bookseller, Exeter”.

In the 1810s to ‘40s a pictorial leather-blocking technique led to the proliferation of Cathedral Bindings in both England and France. The ornamentation reflected Gothic architectural motifs such as pointed arches, rose windows and intricate tracery.  The trend was a 19th century revival of 16th century architectural aesthetics made popular by the French binder Joseph Thouvenin.