You might have seen some fancy books in your time. Maybe they had shiny gilt edging on their pages.
But from the 1600s through the 1800s, books were not only fancy, they were secretly fancy!
Where most books have their illustrations right on the surface of their pages, artists in these times liked to push themselves to create works of art in places you might not suspect.
In fact, these tiny pieces of art were designed so that to the common observer, they were totally invisible. So how did they do it?
The images were painted on the edges of the pages, but created while the pages were fanned in a process called "fore-edge painting." That means that the image can only be viewed when the pages are fanned in the exact same way.
Most of the fore-edge paintings illustrated the general contents of the book, and they're a beautiful little detail that makes these old books all the more precious, just like the personal details in the "friend books" of the 16th century.
While electronic books might be the wave of the future, the beautiful, historical craft of physical books is something we can always appreciate.
Check out the fore-edge paintings below, and see how incredible they really are.
(H/T: Twisted Sifter 1, 2)
When closed, the books look pretty normal. They're still lovely, but you'd never suspect they're hiding a painting right in front of your eyes.
When the book is open, something begins to happen. Look along the edges of the pages, and you'll see an image starting to form.
Since this book is on the subject of playing chess, its fore-edge design shows a chess match, and it's even bordered by a chess board design.
When the pages are fanned out, the image appears — and they're amazingly detailed!
This means that the artists had to hold the pages in position while working, which was probably no small feat — hopefully, they had some kind of device to assist them.
Today, many libraries and universities house collections of books with fore-edge paintings.
Typically, the images reflect the contents of the book. Many show landscapes and natural settings, especially nature and science books about specific regions.
Others show faraway lands.
Historical figures show up, too!
Unfortunately, most of the artists are today unknown. They mainly worked for publishing houses, and rarely signed their work.
Still, you can see their unique styles in different paintings. Some opted for simpler designs, and some preferred to get incredibly detailed.
And because the images are covered and protected from the elements when the book is closed, the colors have largely been preserved over the centuries.
To see how fore-edge painting works, be sure to watch the video below!
All books hide secrets you won't know without opening them, but these incredible, stealthy illustrations make these books all the more magical, and add a little color where you'd never expect!
See even more on Johns Hopkins University's Flickr account, and on the Boston Public Library's website.
SHARE this charming art form with your bookworm friends!
