Art and Criticism: Monographs and Studies.

Theodore Child.

Art and Criticism: Monographs and Studies.

New York:

Harper & Brothers,

1892, with its brass stamping die, ca. 1892.

Creating stamping dies was in itself a labor-intensive process. Stamping dies were cut in brass entirely by hand until first half of the 19th century. Even though powered cutting tools were introduced later in the century, intricate details still had to be cut by hand. As Todd Pattison points out in his RBS course on American publishers’ bookbindings, most covers were decorated with a combination of separate dies assembled for stamping. The cover for Art and Criticism was produced using two dies: one for the floral border, and one, shown here, that was used to stamp the cover title and illustration.

From the collection of Rare Book School