Bindings image collection

Browse Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Image Collection

This database provides access to high resolution images and descriptions of bindings from the rare book and manuscript collections of the Folger Shakespeare Library. Bindings are chosen from the collection for photography and description not only because of their decorative tooled elements but also for their physical features as functional objects and cultural artifacts.

Recording information about binding structure and decoration can reveal items where the same or similar tools may have been used at different times by different binders or binding workshops. Uncovering such similarities can also help link multiple bindings to individual owners, collectors, binders, or workshops --even in cases where a binder may be as yet unidentified --as well as to specific geographical regions or to specific time periods.

Users can show multiple images side-by-side, zoom in and out, view cataloging information when available, export thumbnails, and construct persistent URLs linking back to items or searches.