Paintings & Prints

Fore Edge Paintings

Beginning around the 900s A.D., the art of fore-edge paintings has continued throughout the years and is still valued by collectors today for its beauty, novelty, and authenticity. Fore-edge paintings are also called "invisible paintings" because they can usually only be seen when a book is opened and the pages are spread out. When the book is closed, the painting becomes invisible.

Fore-edge paintings are created by using a finely-tipped paintbrush to paint a design or picture on the very edges of a book's pages, starting from the beginning of the book. Some fore-edge painted books also have a second painting, coming from the opposite direction, when the book is opened from the back. These are called double fore-edges. Most books with fore-edge paintings also have gilding or marbling on the page edges, which covers the painting when the book is closed. Those which have a third picture, instead of gilding, on the page edges are called triple fore-edges. Some have two paintings, but each painting is only on half of the pages and they are both visible at once when the book is opened to exactly the middle page. These are called split fore-edges. Finally, books with panorama fore-edges have paintings not only on the page edges, but on the page tops and bottoms as well. These have a beautiful effect and are extremely rare. Fore-edge paintings gained popularity in America beginning in the mid-1800s, during which time they began to be painted individually and uniquely on treasured volumes.

Click here to view the Fore Edge Paintings Gallery.