View source for Limp binding

[[File:Bucheinband.15.Jh.Koperte.Inkunabel.jpg|thumb|Limp binding of an [[incunable]], made of [[vellum]] with broken book clasp of the 15th century]]
'''Limp binding''' is a [[bookbinding]] method in which the book has flexible cloth, [[leather]], [[vellum]], or (rarely) paper sides.<ref name="robether">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bookbindingconse0000robe|title=Limp binding|work=Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books|author1=Roberts, Matt T.|author2=Etherington, Don|year=1982|publisher=Conservation OnLine/Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation|isbn=0-8444-0366-0|access-date=2010-11-18|url-access=registration}}</ref> When the sides of the book are made of vellum, the bookbinding method is also known as '''limp vellum'''.<ref name="ualgloss">{{cite web| url= http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/glossary2.html | title= Publishers' Bindings Online: Glossary | work= H-O | publisher= [[University of Alabama]] Libraries | access-date= 2010-11-18}}</ref>

The cover is made with a single piece of vellum or alternative material, folded around the textblock, the [[Book cover|front and back covers]] being folded double. The [[Units of paper quantity#Quire|quires]] are sewn onto sewing supports such as cords or [[Tanning (leather)#Tawing|alum-tawed]] thongs and the tips of the sewing supports would be laced into the cover. The thongs could also be used at the fore edge of the covers to create a closure or tie.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barrios |first=Pamela |year=2006 |title=Notes on the Limp Vellum Binding |journal=The Bonefolder |volume=2 |issue=2 |page= 24 | issn =1555-6565 |url=http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm | format =pdf}}</ref>

In limp binding the covering material is not stiffened by thick boards, although paste-downs, if used, provide some stiffness; some limp bindings are only adhered to the back of the book.<ref name="ualgloss"/> Some limp vellum bindings had yapp edges that flop over to protect the textblock.<ref name="ualgloss"/>

==Usage==
[[File:Standing on a limp vellum bound book with fore-edge ties (Rome, 1578-1616). (8065274351).jpg|thumb|[[Orazio Borgianni]], detail of ''The Vision of St Jerome'', standing on a limp vellum bound book with fore-edge ties.]]

Limp vellum bindings for [[commonplace book]]s were being produced at least as early as the 14th century and probably earlier, but it was not usually common until the 16th and 17th centuries.<ref name="robether"/> Its usage subsequently declined until "revived by the [[private presses]] near the end of the 19th century".<ref name="robether"/>  From about 1775 to 1825, '''limp leather''' was commonly used for [[Paperback|pocket books]], but by the 1880s limp bindings came to be largely restricted to [[Christian devotional literature|devotional books]], diaries, and sentimental verse, sometimes with yapp edges.<ref name="robether"/>  Yapp edges are bent edges on a limp binding projecting beyond the textblock to reduce damage. They are often found in [[editions of the Bible]].

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last= Langwe|first= Monica|date= 2006|title= Limp bindings from Tallinn|location= Sollerön|publisher= Langwe form|isbn= 978-91-631-8858-9}}

== External links ==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131125115846/http://www.limpvellum.com/ |date=25 November 2013 |title=limpvellum.com }} an online exhibit of the form with an essay on its history
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811225438/http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~fdurant/Historical_Models.html |date=11 August 2007 |title=Fletcher Durant's historical bookbinding models }} from the [[University of Texas at Austin School of Information]]
* {{cite journal |last=Barrios |first=Pamela |year=2006 |title=Notes on the Limp Vellum Binding |journal=The Bonefolder |volume=2 |issue=2 | issn =1555-6565 |url=http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm | format =pdf}}

[[Category:Bookbinding]]
[[Category:Book design]]
[[Category:Hides (skin)]]