A Bradel binding (also called a bonnet or bristol board binding) is a style of
book binding
Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book of codex format from an ordered stack of ''signatures'', sheets of paper folded together into sections that are bound, along one edge, with a thick needle and strong thread. Cheaper, b ...
with a hollow back. It most resembles a
case binding in that it has a hollow back and visible joint, but unlike a case binding, it is built up on the book. Characteristic of the binding is that the material covering the outside boards is separate from that covering the spine. Many bookbinders consider the Bradel binding to be stronger than the Case binding.
History
The binding may be traced to 18th-century
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The originator is uncertain, but the name comes from a French binder working in Germany, Alexis-Pierre Bradel (also known as ''Bradel l'ainé'' or ''Bradel-Derome''). The binding originally appeared as a temporary binding, but the results were durable, and the binding had great success in the nineteenth century.
Today, it is most likely to be encountered in
photo album
A photographic album or photo album, is a series of photographic prints collected by an individual person or family in the form of a book. Some book-form photo albums have compartments which the photos may be slipped into; other albums have heavy ...
s and
scrapbooks.
The binding has the advantage of allowing the book to open fully, where traditional
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hog ...
bindings are too rigid. It is sometimes modified to provide a rounded spine. This lends the appearance of a book where the paper is not suited to spine rounding; this is also to provide a rounded spine to a book too thin for a spine rounding to hold. The binding may also provide an impressive-looking leather spine to a book without incurring the full expense of binding a book in full or partial leather.
See also
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Book design
Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components and elements of a book into a coherent unit. In the words of renowned typographer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974), book design, "though ...
*
History of books
References
External links
Bradel binding instructions with full bibliography
Bookbinding
History of books
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