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Coptic binding

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77:, with leather stays along the inside fold as reinforcement. These tackets also secured the textblock to the covers; on some of the Nag Hammadi bindings, the tackets extended to the outside of the covering leather, while on others the tackets were attached to a strip of leather which served as a spine liner, and which was in turn pasted to the covers. A flap, either triangular or rectangular, extended from the front cover of the book, and was wrapped around the fore edge of the book when closed. Attached to the flap was a long leather thong which was wrapped around the book two or three times, and which served as a clasp to keep the book securely shut. 86: 17: 50:
of parchment, papyrus, or paper sewn through their folds, and (if more than one section) attached to each other with chain stitch linkings across the spine, rather than to the thongs or cords running across the spine that characterise European bindings from the 8th century onwards. In practice, the
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It is sometimes claimed that the Coptic binding, and thus the western codex, originated in the 4th century AD. While codex binding did flourish in the 4th century, several extant codex fragments are dated to the 2nd century, and more than 250 exist from before the year 300. (See Turner, chapter 7,
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Multi-section Coptic bindings had cover boards that were initially composed of layers of papyrus, though by the 4th century, wooden boards were also frequent. Leather covering was also common by the 4th century, and all subsequent Western decorated leather bindings descend from Coptic bindings.
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sheets, assembled into a single section and trimmed along the fore edge after folding to prevent the inner sheets from extending outward beyond the outer sheets. Because the inner sheets were narrower than the outer sheets after trimming, the width of text varied through the textblock, and it is
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it was bound; this, in turn, would have made it a necessity to calculate the number of sheets needed for a manuscript before it was written and bound. Covers of Nag Hammadi bindings were limp leather, stiffened with waste sheets of papyrus. The textblocks were sewn with
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Modern Coptic bindings can be made with or without covering leather; if left uncovered, a Coptic binding is able to open 360°. If the leather is omitted, a Coptic binding is non-adhesive, and does not require any glue in its construction.
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Glaister does not give the methodology of his figure, and given its low count, it probably refers only to intact bindings; Szirmai's count includes fragments or sheets which show evidence of being bound, such as sewing holes or codex
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Approximately 120 original and complete Coptic bindings survive in the collections of museums and libraries, though the remnants of as many as 500 Coptic bindings survive.
184:, however, insert a single leaf either in the middle of the book or at the end; some evidence points to this having been done in two of the Nag Hammadi codices. 39:, and used from as early as the 2nd century AD to the 11th century. The term is also used to describe modern bindings sewn in the same style. 252: 404: 379: 339: 304: 227: 51:
phrase "Coptic binding" usually refers to multi-section bindings, while single-section Coptic codices are often referred to as "
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Artisans and crafters often use coptic binding when creating hand made art journals or other books.
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ABC of bookbinding: a unique glossary with over 700 illustrations for collectors and librarians
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The few very early European bindings to survive use the Coptic sewing technique, notably the
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bindings", after the 13 codices found in 1945 which exemplify the form.
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Nag Hammadi bindings were constructed with a textblock of
299:. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press. pp. 80–81. 359: 68:likely that the papyrus was not written on until 442:Build a sturdy notebook with Coptic bookbinding 8: 437:optimize a printed codex for Coptic binding 35:employed by early Christians in Egypt, the 423:Making an Altered Book with Coptic Binding 323:Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books 397:The Archaeology of Medieval Bookbinding 206: 163: 89:Detail of Coptic-style sewing (model) 7: 46:, are characterized by one or more 14: 220:University of Pennsylvania Press 180:Turner points out that a scribe 42:Coptic bindings, the first true 216:The Typology of the Early Codex 1: 429: (archived June 29, 2019) 124: 109: 81:Multi-section Coptic bindings 20:Simple Coptic binding (model) 320:Etherington, Donald (1982). 399:. Brookfield, VT: Ashgate. 479: 435:, a JavaScript program to 356:Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall 295:Greenfield, Jane (2002). 243:Greenfield, Jane (2002). 366:. Oak Knoll Press & 362:Encyclopedia of the Book 214:Turner, Eric G. (1977). 171:and Szirmai, chapter 2.) 433:The Signature Optimizer 395:Szirmai, J. A. (1999). 134:Modern Coptic bindings 90: 21: 88: 31:comprises methods of 19: 59:Nag Hammadi bindings 368:The British Library 328:Library of Congress 297:ABC of Bookbinding 222:. pp. 89–94. 102:St Cuthbert Gospel 91: 22: 254:978-1-884718-41-0 152:Ethiopian binding 470: 411: 410: 392: 386: 385: 365: 352: 346: 345: 317: 311: 310: 292: 286: 283: 277: 274: 268: 265: 259: 258: 240: 234: 233: 211: 195: 191: 185: 178: 172: 168: 129: 126: 114: 111: 478: 477: 473: 472: 471: 469: 468: 467: 448: 447: 427:Wayback Machine 419: 414: 407: 394: 393: 389: 382: 354: 353: 349: 342: 319: 318: 314: 307: 294: 293: 289: 284: 280: 275: 271: 267:Szirmai, 12-13. 266: 262: 255: 242: 241: 237: 230: 213: 212: 208: 204: 199: 198: 192: 188: 179: 175: 169: 165: 160: 148: 136: 127: 112: 106:British Library 83: 61: 12: 11: 5: 476: 474: 466: 465: 463:Coptic culture 460: 450: 449: 446: 445: 444:, Makezine.com 439: 430: 418: 417:External links 415: 413: 412: 405: 387: 380: 347: 340: 312: 305: 287: 278: 276:Szirmai, 9-10. 269: 260: 253: 235: 228: 205: 203: 200: 197: 196: 186: 183: 173: 162: 161: 159: 156: 155: 154: 147: 144: 135: 132: 117:Cadmug Gospels 82: 79: 71: 60: 57: 25:Coptic binding 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 475: 464: 461: 459: 456: 455: 453: 443: 440: 438: 434: 431: 428: 424: 421: 420: 416: 408: 406:0-85967-904-7 402: 398: 391: 388: 383: 381:1-884718-14-0 377: 373: 369: 364: 363: 357: 351: 348: 343: 341:0-8444-0366-0 337: 333: 329: 325: 324: 316: 313: 308: 306:1-884718-41-8 302: 298: 291: 288: 282: 279: 273: 270: 264: 261: 256: 250: 246: 239: 236: 231: 229:0-8122-7696-5 225: 221: 217: 210: 207: 201: 190: 187: 181: 177: 174: 167: 164: 157: 153: 150: 149: 145: 143: 140: 133: 131: 122: 118: 107: 103: 98: 95: 87: 80: 78: 76: 69: 66: 58: 56: 54: 49: 45: 40: 38: 34: 30: 29:Coptic sewing 26: 18: 396: 390: 361: 350: 322: 315: 296: 290: 281: 272: 263: 244: 238: 215: 209: 189: 176: 166: 141: 137: 99: 96: 92: 62: 41: 28: 24: 23: 458:Bookbinding 370:. pp.  330:. pp.  285:Szirmai, 9. 194:pagination. 53:Nag Hammadi 33:bookbinding 452:Categories 202:References 128: 750 115:) and the 113: 698 358:(1996). 146:See also 48:sections 425:at the 372:113–114 104:in the 75:tackets 65:papyrus 44:codices 403:  378:  338:  303:  251:  226:  182:could 158:Notes 121:Fulda 70:after 37:Copts 401:ISBN 376:ISBN 336:ISBN 301:ISBN 249:ISBN 224:ISBN 130:). 119:at 27:or 454:: 374:. 334:. 332:65 326:. 218:. 125:c. 110:c. 409:. 384:. 344:. 309:. 257:. 232:. 123:( 108:(

Index


bookbinding
Copts
codices
sections
Nag Hammadi
papyrus
tackets

St Cuthbert Gospel
British Library
Cadmug Gospels
Fulda
Ethiopian binding
University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN
0-8122-7696-5
ISBN
978-1-884718-41-0
ISBN
1-884718-41-8
Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books
Library of Congress
65
ISBN
0-8444-0366-0
Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall
Encyclopedia of the Book
The British Library
113–114

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