Bookbindings: An Illustrated History is full of beautiful images of bookbindings from the beginnings of the codex right up to the present day. The volume’s beauty is matched by David Pearson’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the subject. His book is a welcome addition to the field. Pearson draws on the extensive collections of the Bodleian Library to give an overview of the craft throughout European history, and to explore the various meanings behind the choice of cover. He also examines what was happening in other cultures, from China to Constantinople to the 17th-century Americas. His tone is friendly and amusing, intelligent but never condescending. 

Pearson concentrates on the book as a physical object and the idea that every cover tells a story: scratch the surface of the poorest bindings (maybe leave the sumptuous ones alone) and it will yield insights into their makers and owners. In the early modern period, bookbinders were labourers. Their work was back-breaking and repetitive, and it wasn’t a career that many aspired to (unless a wealthy book-collecting patron happened to be involved). Nevertheless, before the 19th century it was a necessary job. Manuscripts were written and books printed; they were then passed on to a bookbinder. We may be able to identify certain characteristics and motifs of individual bookbinders, but it is rare to know their names, even though their expertly fitted covers and exquisite gold tooling live on in our hands.

The book is divided into chronological and thematic chapters. Pearson begins with the early days, from the simple wrap-around Coptic bindings of the Nag Hammadi texts (c AD 200) to the gaudy treasure bindings of the medieval period. A fourth-century letter from St Jerome includes a sharp critique of wealthy