In the endless eBook vs. print debate, one aspect is rarely mentioned: the art of endbooks. And yet, as Sarah Laskow—my favorite Atlas Obscura blogger—points out, these can deliver a small jolt of wonder that perfectly complements a lovely book. An over-eager reader can breeze by even the most striking endbooks, yet they’re an art form with a history all their own.
An ENDuring Hostory
For centuries, designers have taken the formal necessity of joining a book’s pages to its cover and turned it into an opportunity for creativity. When a book is made, one side of an endpaper (sometimes also called an endpage or endleaf) is pasted into the inside of the book’s cover; the other side is the first page of the book. Originally, they were made of white paper, sometimes scrap leftover from other uses, or of more sturdy vellum, a thin parchment made of animal skin. But in the 18th century, after techniques of marbling had come to Europe from Turkey and Iran, European bookmakers started decorating them with French curls, Dutch combed patterns, classic Turkish stone motifs, and a swirling varieties of other patterns.
When block printing became possible in the 19th century and bookbinding was mechanized in the 1830s, the style of decorative endpapers changed. Now these pages were covered in wallpaper-like, repetitive patterns, often made from printers’ ornaments. Those images developed into softer, more ornate patterns of flowers, ferns, and other natural themes.
A Creative Approach
It was only toward the end of the 19th century that endpapers started to be illustrated with images that teased at or complemented a book’s subject. Around the early 20th century, children’s books started carrying illustrated endpapers as well, and today they contain some of the most vivid and creative endpaper examples.
Tucked inside, endpapers can also be bolder than a book’s outside. They aren’t thrust into the limelight like the cover and spine, and therefore can push the boundaries more.
Sometimes limited run editions of a book will have hand-painted endpapers; some rare books are snapped up primarily because of endpapers that illustrate a book’s theme.
Among the more creative uses of endpaper space might be used the printing of a map of the place where a book takes place.
Endpapers can contribute to telling a story even if they’re not illustrated: a red endpaper at the front of a book might communicate the heat of the sun, and a blue endpaper at the back, the cooling rain that ended the drought. And if the endpaper can include an image, the creative possibilities are as varied as books themselves, as this collection shows.
You can see more creative examples of endpapers in Sarah’s original post on Atlas Obscura.
Sarah Laskow is a writer, reporter, and editor, based in New York City. On Twitter and Instagram, she’s @slaskow.
Lucy Brazier said:
These are stunning!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Aren’t they just? My favorite was the lion one.
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Lucy Brazier said:
I like that one, too. And I love the idea of having a map, as well.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I should probably do that with Pearseus. Hmm…
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Lucy Brazier said:
Brilliant idea!
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Giovannoni Claudine said:
Thank you for giving us the link to Sarah… precious! Have a lovely day, Nicholas.
:-)c
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Welcome back! How was the trip?
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Giovannoni Claudine said:
I had a great and very deep experience… yoga and meditation help me to balance my life, pamper my Mind/Soul and gives me input for new stories. I can only recommend this practice, even if you aren’t going to the Himalayas 😉 hugs :-)c
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The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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V.M.Sang said:
What beautiful designs. thank you for re-blogging this, Nicholas.
I think endpapers should make a comeback. What a glorious beginning to a book. Difficult to see how it would work in an ebook, though, although I suppose someone will tell me it can be done.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I don’t know. My Pearseus map is such a disappointment on Kindle 😦
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rijanjks said:
Love these, but I agree, Nicholas, I think my favorite is the lion.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
🙂
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patriciaruthsusan said:
Lovely artwork, Nicholas. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you, Suzanne 😀
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hilarycustancegreen said:
Lovely post. Thanks.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
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Michelle Morrison said:
Beautiful illlustrations. It’s interesting to learn about how books were made back in the day. The people who did this put a lot of work into it. 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
It does speak of love for what they did. Many people complain about that missing today.
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gibsonauthor said:
Reblogged this on s a gibson.
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Sarah Brentyn said:
“Charm” is a perfect word. I adore these. I’m always so excited when I open a book and it has endpapers. Great post.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yay! A fellow endbook lover 😀
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Angela said:
Love these!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thanks! They *are* rather lovely 🙂
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