The rebinding of incunabula: five centuries of recontextualizing early-printed books

In the present day, books and their bindings are regarded as a singular unit, but prior to the nineteenth century, books were typically sold without permanent bindings. After moveable type was invented in the 1450s, books were sold in sheets so they could be bound according to customer preference. Books printed prior to the year 1501 are known as incunabula, and due to their age and prestige, they have been rebound very frequently over the last five hundred years. Sometimes they were rebound in the interest of preserving structural integrity, other times because the owner desired a more opulent and personalized binding. During the twentieth century incunabula were often rebound to conform to modern conservation standards.

Different styles and trends in rebinding were influenced by major historical events. This thesis aims to identify those significant events and discuss how they impacted the movement, value, and appearance of incunabula. Rebinding is an underrepresented topic in the field of book history, largely because most bibliographic historians regard original bindings as inherently more useful. This paper seeks to challenge that view by demonstrating how rebindings provide insight into the views and values people placed on books printed before their own time.