school prize binding
A style of fine binding employed in northern
France and the Netherlands as early as the 17th
century, in Ireland (Trinity College, Dublin) from
the 18th century, and in England from the last
quarter of the 19th century until the First World
War. In England, the bindings were produced in a
common pattern consisting of a full calfskin cover
(usually of a dark color), worked headbands, run
up gilt backs and colored title labels, two-line
fillets on the covers ending with a rosette, and
with the arms of the particular school blocked on
the upper cover. The endpapers and edges were
marbled, often matching in both color and pattern,
while the turn-ins and edges of the boards were
decorated with a roll in blind. The books often
included, inserted before the title page, a
printed or manuscript form giving the subject in
which the prize was awarded, the name of the
recipient, the date, etc. (236 )
![[CoOL]](/icons/sm_cool.gif){kind=icon}