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Posted

As a leatherworker,  I found this extremely interesting. The cover of the book features some very fine Celtic knotwork and the raised pattern in the center has been done using a claylike substance to emboss the leather!  The book is approximately 1,300 years old. It has been digitized and is available online, if you want to see anything other than the cover.

“The left board is decorated with a rectangular frame with interlace patterns in the upper and lower fields and a larger central field containing a chalice from which stems project, terminating in a leaf or bud and four fruits. This raised motif was apparently made using a matrix, with a clay-like substance beneath the leather.”

 

europes-oldest-bound-book-1.jpg

https://mymodernmet.com/st-cuthbert-gospel-oldest-book/?fbclid=IwAR1OZf7PjNAGOtOs9uokoQMiIULPq0nzISaoFigI4y47bAKhYD54gMDTMss

  • CFM
Posted

beautiful book!

Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms.

“I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!

  • Members
Posted

And the bit of the calligraphy I could see there is exquisite! Very well preserved. What a treasure.

"People are more violently opposed to fur than to leather because it's safer to harass people in coats than to try being nasty to motorcycle gangs." ~Anonymous

  • 2 months later...
  • Members
Posted

I became obsessed with this book a few years back trying to learn about historic tooling on leather. It’s a fabulous thing to look at and examine, and reveals so much about the methods used in that time period.

Also, it’s encouraging to see that they made mistakes back in the 8th century and just ran with it, look at the lower left corner in the border and you’ll see the pattern goes wrong. And the upper section of knotwork they didn’t do evenly at all!

Posted (edited)

Wished the hand holding the book was gloved....  Wonderful  condition for its age.

Edited by stelmackr

Bob Stelmack
Desert Leathercraft LLC
Former Editor of the, RawHide Gazette, for the Puget Sound Leather Artisans Co-Op,  25 years of doing it was enough...

  • Members
Posted
On 4/25/2020 at 1:52 PM, Prusty said:

I became obsessed with this book a few years back trying to learn about historic tooling on leather. It’s a fabulous thing to look at and examine, and reveals so much about the methods used in that time period.

Also, it’s encouraging to see that they made mistakes back in the 8th century and just ran with it, look at the lower left corner in the border and you’ll see the pattern goes wrong. And the upper section of knotwork they didn’t do evenly at all!

Love old books, and there is no such thing as perfection.   

 

at least that’s what I keep telling myself.:rolleyes:

 

“Equality?   Political correctness gone mad, I tell you, gone mad!!!!    Next they'll be wanting the vote!!!!! :crazy:“.

Anger and intolerance are the enemy of correct understanding

  • Members
Posted

Even the finest Persian carpets will have flaw in them, they believe only God is perfect maybe the same  thinking there.

 

JCUK 

  • Members
Posted
5 minutes ago, jcuk said:

Even the finest Persian carpets will have flaw in them, they believe only God is perfect maybe the same  thinking there.

 

JCUK 

I’ve wondered whether it was just that mistakes like that were more acceptable to whoever it was made for.  There again, only god being perfect is so much nicer sounding than “begger me, I’ve mucked up, shush.......don’t tell the customer, they’ll think it’s meant”.

 

“Equality?   Political correctness gone mad, I tell you, gone mad!!!!    Next they'll be wanting the vote!!!!! :crazy:“.

Anger and intolerance are the enemy of correct understanding

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