Sender: Rare book and manuscripts <EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU>
That binding on the Gospel is a knockout.
Here are some references which may be of use. I have included the
Bosch-Carswell-Petherbridge catalogue because of its value for
middle-eastern binding structure and book production.
Appleyard, David. Ethiopian Manuscripts. London: Jed Press, 1993. Based on
the private collection of Sam Fogg, it provides a general introduction to
Ethiopian painting and a detailed catalogue of the Fogg collection of
seventy manuscripts dating from possibly the fourteenth century to the late
twentieth century. ISBN 0 9520501. Reviewed by Richard Pankhurst in The
Book Collector 43/2(1994 Summer) 306-7. "Sam Fogg's collection does not
contain the very finest Ethiopian manuscripts ever produced, . . . The
collection ... is nevertheless a good and representative one, covering all
the principal periods of Ethiopian art." -- Pankhurst. Included are
photographs of a "tooled Ethiopian leather cover binding", and a "leather
case in which Ethiopian manuscripts are so often carried and stored." --
Pankhurst.
Bosch, Gulnar Kheirallah, 1909-, John Carswell, and Guy Petherbridge.
Islamic Bindings & Bookmaking..A Catalogue of an Exhibition..May 18 - August
18, 1981. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, The University of Chicago, 1981.
A collection of Islamic books and manuscripts belonging to Bernard Moritz
was acquired by the Oriental Institute of Chicago in the 1920's.
Ninety-five bindings and five manuscripts are the subject of this catalogue.
Included are valuable essays on the history, materials, and construction of
Islamic bindings. Oak Knoll 246 (2003)/121.
Juel-Jensen, Bent. "The Ground Hornbill Artist of 17th-Century Ethiopic
Manuscripts." The Book Collector 23, no. 1 (Spring 1977): 61-74.
???. "Three Illuminated Ethiopian Manuscripts." The Book Collector 36, no. 2
(Summer 1987): 207-24. This includes a useful account of the political
history of Ethiopia and survival of some of the early manuscripts.
"Manuscripts were still being written in the medieval manner on vellum
prepared from goat and horse skins ten years ago [i.e. in 1977]." -p. 207.
Ten plates, one of which illustrates a 15th-century binding of half-goatskin
over wooden boards.
Liban, Assefa. "Preparation of Ethiopian Manuscripts." University College of
Addis Ababa. Ethnological Society Bulletín VIII (1958): 5-21. Cited in The
Book Collector 48/1(Spring 1999) 101, note 1.
Pankhurst, Richard. "An Ethiopian Binding with Silver Plaques, Crosses, and
Pins." The Book Collector, English and Foreign Bookbinding 083 48, no. 1
(Spring 1999): 101-9. An 18th-century binding now in the Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Cod. aeth. 127.
???. "Ethiopian Manuscript Bindings and Their Decoration." Abbay. Etudes
Ethiopiennes 1983-4 (Paris) No. 12 (1984): 205-57. Cited in The Book
Collector 48/1(Spring 1999) 101, note 2.
???. "The Last Bookbinder of Harar and His Tools." The Book Collector 41,
no. 2 (Summer 1992): 214-9. Cited by Pankhurst in The Book Collector
43/3(Autumn 1994) 377-86.
???. "Review: David Appleyard, Ethiopian Manuscripts." The Book Collector
43, no. 2 (Summer 1994): 306-07.
Regemorter, Berthe van. "Ethiopian bookbindings." The Library 17, no. 1
(1962): 85-8. Fifth Series.
Szirmai, J. A. The Archeology of Medieval Bookbinding, xvi, 352 pp.
Illustrated. Aldershot and Brookfield (USA): Ashgate, 1999. ISBN
0-85967-904-7. "This book evolved from a series of lectures on the
archeology of bookbinding, that I gave . . , at the University of Amsterdam
during the winter term of 1987." -- Preface. Reveiwed by Gary Frost on his
web site at http://www.futureofthebook.com/stories/storyReader
John P. Chalmers
Chicago