Publishers' Bindings

Publishers’ bindings are decorated bindings issued in quantity—as opposed to the bespoke work of a member of the Guild of Women Binders, for example, or a firm known for fine binding, such as Sangorski & Sutcliffe. The designs of publishers’ bindings are commissioned, paid for and brought to market by the publisher, rather than by an artist, bookseller or purchaser. The quality of the materials, workmanship and aesthetics found in publishers’ bindings run the range from plain and simple to beautiful and profound, as evidenced by the examples chosen for this case. In some cases, the person or persons responsible for the design of a binding or book jacket are not the same as the person who, or machine that, crafts the binding. Even more common is for neither the binder nor its designer to be identified. Bookbinding, unlike writing, printing, or publishing, remains largely an anonymous art.