At first sight: a young viola player, painted with oil on panel in 1637 by Gerri Dou. But take a closer look at the shadowy parts and you will see a lot of paper details and various book variations of the time. A hidden #bookhistory thread.
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The painter of this stunning art work, Gerrit Dou, is considered a master painter of the seventeenth century, so please enjoy the images of the thread. Dou painted this piece of art at age twenty-four, in 1637.
Enjoy and zoom the painting yourself: nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artist…
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Let's zoom into the bookish details. You see some big leather bound books, printed paper in large paper formats - maybe even “double elephant folio” paper, in 1637, these papers were among the largest paper sheets available on the market. And there is more ...
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What you see are books stored on a shelf. Some are shelved fore-edge (#backwardbooks) to avoid damage of the spine - and some are positioned in the modern way. But where is the book title if not on the spine? As you can see: written on a leather piece.
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Big bound books needed book clasps. Often these hardware elements of a book were of leather or metal. They literally kept the book in shape.
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Old big books are waiting paper to be used. This deranged copy of a book reminds us of past usages, the problem of storing your paper artifact correctly, and a waste paper economy. Old or used books are often the first to be being recycled.
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A globe and bound books, and a violin, were not objects you would find in every household of seventeenth-century Europe. In fact, this young gentleman is part of a rich elite.
Classy bonus with a book on another book: using a big book as your reading support.
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No books on the floor, please..!
And the thread ends here, thank you for your attention. 8/8
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