This collection features nine books from the University of Sydney Library with hidden fore-edge paintings. Fore-edge paintings were created by fanning out the pages of the book and then clamping them to create an angled surface for the artist to paint on. Paintings were executed in watercolour and once completed the book was closed and the edges gilded to hide the painting.
Two of the books in this collection feature the work of English poet Henry Kirke White. One is adorned with a portrait of Henry Kirke White (Deane RB 1285.1 23) and the other a landscape of Nottingham (Deane RB 1285.1 14).
Another book of interest from the Deane Collection (Deane RB 4754.75) is a rare example of a double fore-edge painting. These required great skill to execute as after the completion of the first painting the pages would be fanned the other way to accommodate a second painting.
Our copy has two views of the Crystal Palace, as designed by Joseph Paxton, and as a venue for the Great Exhibition in 1851. Other highlights are the three-volume set of Samuel Butler’s Hudibras (RB4719.69), embellished with streetscapes of London and Izaak Walton’s Complete Angler (RB 513.5 35), with a suitably serene scene of a fishing boat on a lake.
Collection SummaryFore-edge paintings were created by fanning out the pages of the book and then clamping them to create an angled surface for the artist to paint on.
