Decorative edges
[1][page is still being edited] Decorative edges refers to book page edges that have been painted, cut, engraved, or otherwise embellished, usually for purely aesthetic purposes.
History of decorative edges
Decorative book edges are very popular today, but they are not a modern invention. In the Middle Ages, books were considered luxury items, and were very expensive. The books were bound and decorated elaborately with expensive materials like gold and silver, and were filled with colorful illustrations and calligraphy.[3] However, some of these decorations were also practical. Originally, sprayed edges (also known as "spredges"), were used to identify books. Instead of the title being on the spine of the book like it is today, it was painted onto the page side and books were stored on shelves with the page side out. Later in the 1500s, book titles began to be put on the spine instead. However, this did not stop scribes from adding embellishments onto the pages. Gilded pages, or edges painted with gold leaf, were popular for Bibles. Besides looking nice, gilded edges made books easier to wipe dust from.[4]
In the sixteenth century, Cesare Vecellio, a Venetian painter, began to paint detailed scenes on book pages. These were watercolor paintings[5] that usually depicted pastoral scenes, mythological figures, or decorative patterns.[4] These were called "fore-edge paintings," and could only be seen when the book was completely closed. These were not especially popular at the time.
A royal bookbinder named Samuel Mearne invented another kind of fore-edge painting in the 1660s. Rather than painting on the outer edge of the pages, Mearne painted on the inner edge.[4] These paintings were not able to be seen when the book was closed, but only when the pages were fanned out.[5]
Fore-edge paintings served a functional purpose as well as an aesthetic one. Book pages were prone to yellowing and crumbling before the invention of acid-free paper. However, gilding and fore-edge paintings helped protect books from disintegrating.[4] Decorated page edges no longer have a functional purpose, but they have still risen in popularity over the past few years. Many special editions of books have sprayed or gilded edges, and the standard paperback editions of some books automatically come with sprayed edges.
- ↑ Gustavson, Denise. "New Digital Print Paradigm." Printing Impressions, vol. 59, no. 7, 2016, pp. 24-24,26. ProQuest, http://libgateway.susqu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/new-digital-print-paradigm/docview/1917636710/se-2.
- ↑ Virginia Museum of History & Culture. “Fore-Edge Painting.” Virginia Museum of History & Culture, 2024, virginiahistory.org/learn/fore-edge-painting.
- ↑ Minneapolis Institute of Art. “Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts.” Artsmia, 2021, new.artsmia.org/programs/teachers-and-students/teaching-the-arts/art-in-context/medieval-illuminated-manuscripts.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Whiteley, Imogen. “Essay: A History of the Sprayed Edge.” Faber, 23 June 2025, www.faber.co.uk/journal/essay-a-history-of-the-sprayed-edge/?srsltid=AfmBOoqv1lSJnpyu0OPGziMXHNkyFPBk7xR2N1nczDl-3Uy2eY7Mue76. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Rogiest, Peter. "Annotated Dictionary of Fore-Edge Painting Artists and Binders; the Fore-Edge Paintings of Miss C. B. Curie with a Catalogue Raisonné." Art Libraries Journal, vol. 39, no. 2, 2014, pp. 49-51. ProQuest, http://libgateway.susqu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/annotated-dictionary-fore-edge-painting-artists/docview/1518507408/se-2.
