Book Binding and The Cambridge binding
Of all of the different styles of bookbinding throughout the centuries (I practice more than 70 styles) the "panelled" calf is the one I always find aesthetically pleasing.
Supposedly started in Cambridge University in the early 17th Century it soon became their trademark style with simple line tooling around a middle and darkened centre panel and a lightly speckled middle panel this style is timeless if executed in the proper manner.
Creative book binders combine various ornamental tools to achieve numerous variations in book decoration. Bindings can be dated by the type of ornamentation used, with rococo ornaments common in the seventeenth century and classical Greek key borders popular for eighteenth century bindings. In some cases, individual binders ( like myself ) or workshops are recognizable by their distinctive tools and craftsmanship.
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