Book Binding Tool
Book Binding Tool
OBJ.000382.1
Object
ca. 1600
Belgium
N/A
Metal and Wood
Length: 14 × 1.7 × 1.2 in. (30.5 × 4.5 × 3 cm), circ: 4 in. (10.2 cm)
On View in The History of the Bible, Translating the Bible
A blind tool used for decorating the cover and spine of leather books. This tool, similar in shape to a chisel, features a wooden handle with two decorative lines engraved in the wood. The metal end would be heated on a stove and then placed onto the leather to create a bind emboss in various decorative patterns, or it could be used with gold leaf to give the book a decorative gold finish.
Created around 1600, Belgium. Acquired before 2011 by Dirk Obbink, Oxford, England;[1] Privately purchased in 2011 by Green Collection, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Donated in 2017 to National Christian Foundation (later The Signatry) under the curatorial care of Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.
Notes: [1] Museum of the Bible ascertained in a private meeting with Dr. Dirk Obbink in December 2017 that this object was previously with The Romantic Agony Auctions in Brussels prior to Obbink’s acquisition.
Questions about our Collections?
To acquire permission to use this image, please visit our Rights and Reproduction page .
More From The Collections
