> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Iridescent Elegance of Victorian Mother-of-Pearl Book Bindings - URL: https://hyperallergic.com/the-iridescent-elegance-of-victorian-mother-of-pearl-book-bindings/ - Published: 2015-05-20T00:52:43.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-24T16:31:24.000Z - Description: For a few years in the 19th century, books bound in covers glistening with mother-of-pearl were a gift-giving sensation. - Author: Allison Meier - Tags: Books, book art, Photo Essays, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2) !["The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays" (New York: J.C. Riker, 1853) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook11.jpg) “The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays” (New York: J.C. Riker, 1853) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) For a few years in the 19th century, books bound in covers glistening with [mother-of-pearl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacre?ref=hyperallergic.com) were a gift-giving sensation. Victorians were enamored of papier-mâché, that easily shaped paper pulp medium, and used it for [snuff boxes](http://www.collectorsweekly.com/tobacciana/snuff-boxes?ref=hyperallergic.com), [furniture](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-07-03/news/9407030158%5F1%5Fpapier-metal-teapot?ref=hyperallergic.com), and even [pre-fabricated housing](http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/papiermache/papiermache.htm?ref=hyperallergic.com). Mostly made [in New York](http://www.librarycompany.org/visualculture/pdfs/RADPechaKuchaScriptonly.pdf?ref=hyperallergic.com), papier-mâché books adorned with mother-of-pearl were part of a [gift book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift%5Fbook?ref=hyperallergic.com) fad, wherein a decorative tome of sentimental or religious poetry was bestowed upon a loved one, often around the winter holidays. The text was usually secondary to the gaudy cover, which was decorated to the extreme. ![Undated portfolio cover (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook8.jpg) Undated portfolio cover (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) (click to enlarge) The [Library Company of Philadelphia](http://www.librarycompany.org/index.htm?ref=hyperallergic.com) has a thorough [online database](http://www.librarycompany.org/collections/conservation/bindings.htm?ref=hyperallergic.com) of 19th-century book bindings (which we heard about through a [blog post](http://alcuinsociety.com/online-archive-of-19th-century-bookcloth-bindings/?ref=hyperallergic.com) from the [Alcuin Society](http://alcuinsociety.com/?ref=hyperallergic.com), a Canadian nonprofit for the “appreciation of beautifully produced books”). With almost 50 papier-mâché examples and eight portfolio covers, it’s [one of the world’s best of such collections](http://lcpnews.blogspot.com/2013/02/lcp-conservator-publishes-landmark.html?ref=hyperallergic.com). Ornate bookbinding was hardly uncommon in the Victorian age, such as these [beautifully embossed natural history books](https://hyperallergic.com/the-romance-of-science-in-victorian-natural-history-bookbindings/), and papier-mâché isn’t even close to the strangest style — this was, after all, the same century that saw [books bound in human skin](https://hyperallergic.com/bookbinding-the-dead-harvard-human-skin/). But the mother-of-pearl embellishments, made from mollusk shells, represent an intriguing moment in decorative arts, a peak in bookbinding popularity, from which the practice would go on to slump like so much wet paper. The Library Company [notes that](https://www.flickr.com/photos/librarycompany/sets/72157605142031847/?ref=hyperallergic.com) the bindings “appeared on American books only briefly — around 1850-55 — a time of increasingly elaborate book cover decoration.” The use of inlaid shell on books wasn’t new; [tortoise-shell bookbinding](http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-50/conservation-of-a-tortoiseshell-book-cover/?ref=hyperallergic.com) existed in the 17th century, for example. However, the mother-of-pearl details on the papier-mâché bindings brought this shining, some may say garish, elegance to the consumer market. Many of these examples are embedded with iridescent flowers; others have mother-of-pearl accenting pastoral vistas, echoing the popular romance of nature at the time. Oddly, nautical scenes doesn’t seem to have been too common, perhaps to avoid reminding viewers of the slimy invertebrates that once resided in the beautiful shells. While there hasn’t been a significant amount of research on this moment in publishing, Jennifer W. Rosner, chief of conservation at the Library Company of Philadelphia, did publish a 2013 essay on these book bindings in [*Suave Mechanicals: Essays in the History of Bookbinding, Volume 1*](http://www.thelegacypress.com/suave-mechanicals-v1.html?ref=hyperallergic.com)*.* Below are some selections from the Library Company of Philadelphia’s collection of papier-mâché book bindings, many donated by rare book collector [Michael Zinman](http://www.readex.com/readex-report/supplementing-early-american-imprints-extraordinary-collection-michael-zinman?ref=hyperallergic.com). More can be found [on Flickr](https://www.flickr.com/photos/librarycompany/sets/72157605142031847/?ref=hyperallergic.com). !["The Keepsake" (New York: Riker, 1851) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook1.jpg) “The Keepsake” (New York: Riker, 1851) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["The Christian Keepsake: A gift book for all seasons" (New York, published by Leavitt & Allen, 1855) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook2.jpg) “The Christian Keepsake: A gift book for all seasons” (New York, published by Leavitt & Allen, 1855) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["Leaflets of Memory" (New York: Leavitt & Allen, 1856) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook3.jpg) “Leaflets of Memory” (New York: Leavitt & Allen, 1856) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) ![Cover of a book inlaid with mother of pearl (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook4.jpg) Cover of a book inlaid with mother-of-pearl (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["The Women of Early Christianity" (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook5.jpg) “The Women of Early Christianity” (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays" (New York: John Riker, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook6.jpg) “The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays” (New York: John Riker, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["Friendship's Token" (New York: Leavitt & Allen, [n.d.]) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook7.jpg) “Friendship’s Token” (New York: Leavitt & Allen, \[n.d.\]) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["The Emblem: A Gift for All Seasons" (New York: Leavitt & Allen, [n.d.]) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook9.jpg) “The Emblem: A Gift for All Seasons” (New York: Leavitt & Allen, \[n.d.\]) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.) !["The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays" (New York: John Riker, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2015/02/motherofpearlbook10.jpg) “The Keepsake: A Gift for the Holidays” (New York: John Riker, 1852) (via Library Company Conservation Dept.)