230+ Years of Holding It Together

To celebrate the United States Semiquincentennial, the Folger Shakespeare Library is exhibiting items from the collection that spotlight Shakespeare’s place in American history. Open through August 2, 2026, this exhibition invites you to dive deeper into Shakespeare and the American Story. Among the central objects on display is the first American edition of Shakespeare’s plays, which was published as an 8 volume edition in 1795 (PR2752 1795a copy 2 Sh.Col). This set was sold in what are sometimes called “boards bindings”, also referred to as “publishers’ boards bindings.” The modest bindings of these volumes tell an interesting story about the evolution of the American and British book trade in the decades surrounding the American Revolutionary period.

A typical boards binding consists of a sewn textblock with untrimmed edges, thin boards laced on, and a paper cover. The covering often resembles the quarter binding style: a plain paper spine piece extending onto the boards, paired with blue or gray paper sides. Emerging in mid‑18th‑century England, this style offered a relatively inexpensive retail binding at a moment when the book market was rapidly expanding.

Today, customers are accustomed to visiting bookstores and purchasing books already bound, yet historically, the book trade followed a very different model. The period from Gutenberg’s printing innovations in the 1450s to the industrialization of printing in the mid-19th century is called the “hand press period”. Books in America and Europe during this period were relief-printed using movable type and manual wooden or iron presses, in which the raised type was inked, paper was placed on top, and an impression was pulled by hand. Books were then sold in loose sheets so that the buyer could take the book to be bound in accordance with their tastes and budget. Each binding was a unique in‑boards binding, meaning the binding – what would later be called the “case” – was constructed directly on the book rather than being made separately and later attached to the textblock. As innovations in papermaking and printing made books cheaper to produce, demand grew for more affordable binding options. The boards binding represents a transitional moment in binding history between leather-bound-in-boards books and the later mass-produced publisher’s case bindings.

The copy of the first American edition of Shakespeare’s plays currently on display is likely still in its original boards bindings. The bindings may have been added by the seller for a modest additional charge to provide basic protection for the recently printed volumes, as opposed to selling them to the buyer as loose sheets in a paper wrapper. The effort required to sew the textblock and lace on boards suggests that sellers did not necessarily expect buyers to immediately rebind their books – these are functional bindings, as is attested to by their 230+ years of service. The term “temporary” reflects historical perceptions rather than actual performance. The paper covering would have been much cheaper than leather. Also, blue papers had the commercial connotation of being used as wrapping paper because it was common practice during the 18th century to sell sugar loaves wrapped in that same blue paper. The rustic appearance compared to leather-bound tomes and the lower cost of materials contributed to the assumption that these bindings were provisional.

The volumes do bear clear signs of use. The paper is especially abraded on the spines; in some areas, it has been completely worn away, and the paper labels are missing. I find it charming that a previous owner chose to handwrite the titles on the volumes where the labels were lost. These traces of handling are not flaws but material evidence, and the fact that they are still intact demonstrates that the boards binding structure was far more durable than its reputation suggests. My own introduction to boards bindings came through a model‑making workshop with conservator Jeff Peachey. When these volumes arrived at my bench for treatment in preparation for the exhibition, I immediately retrieved my model to compare its features with the originals.

Understanding the boards binding structure and its significance within the timeline of bookbinding history was essential for developing a minimally invasive treatment plan that preserved the physical evidence. Vol. 1, which was to be displayed open, had some serious condition issues. Its boards were detached, and the upper endpapers were tattered. I adopted an approach similar to my treatment of STC 1390, reattaching the boards using paper spine linings at the head and tail so that the handwriting on the spine remained visible. My treatment of the endsheet attachment was guided by insights gained from my binding model, which clarified how the endsheets were likely originally constructed.

While working on these volumes, I found myself reflecting on the idea of the “American experiment.” In the revolutionary era, many viewed the new nation as temporary. Yet here we are, nearly 250 years later. The same is true of these bindings: conceived as inexpensive and perhaps short‑lived, yet they have endured for more than two centuries. With thoughtful conservation, these so‑called temporary bindings, like the nation whose early decades they witnessed, can continue to be preserved. Learn more about the first American edition of Shakespeare’s plays by visiting the Folger and exploring Shakespeare and the American Story. Also, you can learn more about the so-called “President John Adams” copy of this imprint here.

Reference:

Townsend, John. “Boards Binding”, Peachey Conservation Blog, July 17, 2013. https://jeffpeachey.com/2013/07/17/boards-bindings/.