We all know the old adage, but never mind what they say. Sometimes it's okay to judge a book by its cover.
We love to read, but it's an extra pleasure when the book is an object of beauty, craft or art, as well. These editions have all been thoughtfully bound in atypical materials, some in direct correlation to the subject matter, some for the sake of beauty or functionality. They have become not only literature, but art.
Bookbinding has been a skilled and lovingly practiced craft for centuries. It's an astonishing treat to see the range of materials and methods that go into bookbinding. Ranging from absolutely affordable to extravagantly expensive, here are some of the most unusual bindings found on AbeBooks, from eelskin and ivory to copper and gold, to rubber and fur, and much more.
Go on. Judge.
30 Unusual Bookbindings
Pony Hide
Arizona Highways Magazine 1965
Gerald A. Bergin
$125
Ivory
Papier Mache
Sentiments and Similes of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare & Noel Humphreys
US$ 1800
Embroidered Silk
Etrennes Mignonnes
W.H. Hudson
$3825
Different inlaid woods
Odilon Redon
Andre Mellerio
$2750
Mother of Pearl
Key of Heaven: A Collection of Approved Prayers for Catholics
$100
Cloisonné
La Guirlande D'Aphrodite
Ferdinand Herold
US$ 2750
Ivory
Personal History of David CopperfieldCharles Dickens
US$ 7651
Snakeskin
Heads and Tales
Malvina Hoffman
US$ 1400
Mother of Pearl
The Sweet O' The Year
Emily Ridgway
US$ 2125
Latex
Enzo Cucchi Scultura 1982-1988
Martin Schwander & Enzo Cucchi
$750
Celluloid
Semi-Precious Gems
Blood Brother
Elliott Arnold
US$ 1800
Glass beads
Handmade paper
Paa Langfart Med Snarken
Jack London
$75
Silver Filigree
La Route D'Emeraude
Demolder, Eugene.
US$ 1800
Copper
1611 King James Bible
US$ 119000
Bark
Batak Bark Book
$2400
Silk Brocade
The Sermon on the Mount
Owen Jones
$1542
Perforated Rubber
Subversive Crafts
Katy Kline
$11
Plastic
Eelskin
The Flounder
Günter Grass
US$ 600
Varnished Wood
The Lay of the Last Minstrel
Walter Scott
$400
Velvet with Metal Crucifix
La Voie du Salut ou Prieres Journalieres
Baron de Zaiguelius
$150
Burlap
The American Coast Pilot
Edmund M. Blunt
US$ 450
Real Fur
Little Fur Family
Brown, Margaret Wise; Williams, Garth
$45 - $2200
Ivory
Olive Wood
The Holy Bible
King James Version
$88
Plastic
Andy Warhol's Index
Andy Warhol
US$ 1500
Inlaid Jewels
The Song of Hiawatha
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
$28,500
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