The Technique of Islamic Bookbinding: Methods, Materials and Regional Varieties. Second Revised Edition(8 Islamic Manuscripts and Books)

The Technique of Islamic Bookbinding is the first monograph dedicated to the technical development of the bookbinding tradition in the Islamic world. Based on an assessment of the extensive oriental collections in the Leiden University Library, the various sewing techniques, constructions and the application of covering materials are described in great detail. A comparative analysis of the historic treatises on bookbinding provides further insight into the actual making of the Islamic book. In addition, it is demonstrated that variations in time and place can be established with the help of distinctive material characteristics. Karin Scheper’s work refutes the perception of Islamic bookbinding as a weak structure, which has generally but erroneously been typified as a case-binding. Instead, the author argues how diverse methods were used to create sound structures, thus fundamentally challenging our understanding of the Islamic bookbinding practice. Karin Scheper has been awarded the De La Court Award 2016 by The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for her study of the bookbinding tradition in the Islamic world.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgements Introduction 1 Materiality Matters A Detailed Sketch of the Current State of Knowledge and Outline of the Research  The Information Value of Binding Structures  The Present Situation of the Book Archaeology of Islamic Manuscripts  Obstacles in the Study of Islamic Bookmaking  Linking Physical Analysis, Catalogue Data, and Literature  Selection and Justification of the Corpus 2 The Anatomy of the Islamic Manuscript A Detailed Overview of the Different Methods of Construction  Vocabulary and Images as Tools  Techniques Used to Construct the Textblock  Covering and Board Attachment  A Problematic Term: Case-binding  Other Characteristics  Meaning and Validity of the Diversity 3 A Comparative Study of the Historic Sources and Recent Literature on the Making of Islamic Manuscripts  Historic Sources  Secondary Sources: Related Studies and General Reference Works  Founders of our Knowledge on the Use of Structure and Materials in Islamic Bookmaking  Structure as a Starting Point  Structure as a Side Issue  Structure as a Conservation Issue  The Sum of the Parts 4 Multiplicity within the Tradition n Account of the Methodology and Quantitative Results of the Survey  Methodology  Survey Results—Quantitative Analysis 5 Mapping the Variations in Time and Place Datable and Localisable Features and a Further Interpretation of the Findings  Sewing  Spine-lining  Endbanding  Covering  Spine-endings  Interior Covering of the Boards  The Envelope and Fore-edge Flap  Miscellaneous Features  Southeast Asia as a Sub-category in the Islamic Tradition  Summary 6 Considerations and New Perspectives  Recapitulation  Development of the Tradition  Discussion  Conclusion Appendices 1 Glossary 2 Corpus 3 Example of a Record of the Database 4 List of Manuscripts Used in Illustrations Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Karin Scheper, Ph.D. (Leiden, 2014), is conservation specialist at the Leiden University Library. She has published on various conservation topics, but concentrates on her conservation practice and study of Islamic manuscripts.