Inspired by rising literacy rates and advancing technologies, the nineteenth century saw the book transform from a largely hand-made object to amass-produced product. In this new environment the book cover took on added importance: it was no longer merely a functional protection for the pages butinstead became a key platform through which to communicate and sell the book.

Prior to this covers had - bar a smattering of highly bespoke one-off creations (e.g. embroidered covers for personal libraries) - mostly been plainleather bound affairs. From the 1820s, with the rise of mechanical bookbinding, these leather covers of old gave way to new cloth coverings which, in additionto being inexpensive, were now also printable.

A wide variety of cover printing techniques were employed over the decades: from embossing to gilt to multi-colour lithography. A totally new artistic spacewas opened up. As you can see in our highlights below it was one in which illustrators and designers flourished, producing a range of covers as eclectic inaesthetic approach as the myriad contents they fronted.

To read the complete article, see:
The Art of Book Covers (1820-1914)(https://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-art-of-book-covers-1820-1914/)

Founded in 2011, the PDR is an online journal and not-for-profit project dedicated to the exploration of curious and compelling works from the history ofart, literature, and ideas.

As our name suggests, the focus is on works which have now fallen into the public domain, that vast commons of out-of-copyright material that everyone isfree to enjoy, share, and build upon without restriction.

To read the complete article, see:
https://publicdomainreview.org/