Cloth binding for Good King Wenceslas
Arthur Gaskin
1895
Card binding
10½ x 7¾ inches
This extraordinary binding exemplifies the Birmingham School’s plainness and functionality. Rejecting the elaborate pattern making of the 90s, Gaskin’s cover is made of a light blue card, with a printed panel, struck from wood-engraving, in the top left hand corner. [Commentary continues below.]
Photograph and text by Simon Cooke. [Click on image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]