Papierforschung im Dienste der Buchgeschichte: Einbände des 18. Jahrhunderts in der Handschriftensammlung Árni Magnússons

Abstract

Many different bindings are preserved in the manuscript collection once owned by the Icelander Árni Magnússon (1663-1730). Especially with regard to the eighteenth-century bindings, only a few types have hitherto been described and dated. The present contribution shows that watermark research – in particular the analysis of the paper used in the bindings’ endleaves – can help distinguish more styles and provide descriptions and at least rough datings for four additional ones. A single bookbinder could produce several different types of bindings, but it is clear that the book binder Bertel Wolck used various old paper for his bindings, possibly leftover sheets that still circulated in Copenhagen in the 1720s.