Exhibition – Gilded books treasures of the duke of Aumale

The Reading Room is currently restoring its extensive collection of gilt bindings, providing visitors with an opportunity to explore the unrivalled brilliance of the Duke of Aumale’s princely library.

Gold leaf became more widely used in bookmaking with the introduction of the codex – bound collections of folded sheets – and the rise of Christianity from the 4th century, which increased demand for ornate texts. This exhibition will feature a collection of extraordinary books, from medieval ecclesiastical treasures to royal and princely collections and prestigious 19th-century works, and reveal the remarkable quality of their decorations, the metals employed and the techniques used to bind, illuminate and write them.

Among the techniques used for gilt bindings are metal setting, embossing and filigree-work. From the 14th century, brocaded or embroidered fabric bindings began to feature gold and silver metallic threads, often embellished with silk thread. Leather was commonly employed for bindings from the 16th to the 19th centuries, and the Duke of Aumale’s collection contains examples of many different types of gilding techniques and designs, including gilt tracing for complex decorations and patterns.

Mosaic and gilt binding by Macé Ruette with the cypher of Henri II of Bourbon-Condé, Paris, 1633 (cover and edges), © Musée Condé

Gilt and gauffered edges, hidden from view, were tooled with decorative patterns well into the 19th century.

As visitors move through the exhibition, they delve deeper into the book. Gold was also used on board backs, which were often covered with decorative leather or gilt endpapers, a common 18^th-century practice. Gauffered papers, a speciality of Augsburg and Nuremberg, featured brass and alloys of zinc, copper, tin or even lead.

Gold was also used for illuminations to illustrate text and for letters. Among the rarest books in the exhibition are works printed with gold ink, including a 1482 edition of Euclid’s Elements by Erhard Ratdolt dedicated to the Doge of Venice, and an 1836 Gospel printed with gold letters on porcelain paper from the library of King Louis Philippe at Neuilly.