, detail of
The Vision of St Jerome, standing on a limp vellum bound book with fore-edge ties. Limp vellum bindings for
commonplace books were being produced at least as early as the 14th century and probably earlier, but it was not usually common until the 16th and 17th centuries. Its usage subsequently declined until "revived by the
private presses near the end of the 19th century". From about 1775 to 1825,
limp leather was commonly used for
pocket books, but by the 1880s limp bindings came to be largely restricted to
devotional books, diaries, and sentimental verse, sometimes with yapp edges. Yapp edges are bent edges on a limp binding projecting beyond the textblock to reduce damage. They are often found in
editions of the Bible. == References ==