Paperblanks Turquoise Chronicles Mini Hardback Address Book – 128 Pages

Keep the people who matter close at hand with this Turquoise Chronicles mini hardback address book from Paperblanks, complete with alphabetised thumb-cut tabs.

This cover is based on the binding for a book titled Chroniques, published by Salel Binder in Paris in 1514. The exuberance of the design reflects the splendour of the Renaissance approach to decoration. In this green-blue cover you may see the intricacies of your own stories.

The Story Behind the Design

Whenever we introduce a new antique cover design, we touch upon the thread of bookbinding traditions that weaves its way through time and space. Our Turquoise Chronicles design was inspired by one such decorative book cover representing a key point in the evolution of the European branch of the craft.

The design reproduced on our Turquoise Chronicles cover originally hails from the Salel Binder in Paris. The book was published in the early 16th century, when Paris was a flourishing centre of the publishing trade. The city’s reputation was second only to that of Venice, which was spearheading the Renaissance movement and looked to by the rest of Europe for artistic ideas and influences. It was at this time that the gold tooling technique arrived in France from the Islamic realm, where it had originally developed. Combined with the French king’s generous patronage of the arts, this ushered in an age of superb French book binding.

Turquoise Chronicles features an especially fine example of early 16th-century French gold tooling. Formed in a graceful, flowing ornament of interlaced arabesques and delicate dots, it shows hints of its Eastern influences and of the decorative styles that would soon emerge in the ateliers of other French binders.

To bring out the details of the original pattern on our cover design, we contrasted the gold with a jewel-like turquoise background. The many hues of the cover surface have a mesmerising look of a never-still ocean, an ancient witness of all things past that invites you to contemplation. Echoing this idea of a record keeper is the title given to the series, Turquoise Chronicles, named so after the original contents of the binding, a book entitled Chroniques.

• Original artwork: Chroniques, crafted by Salel Binder
• Era: 16th century
• Region: Paris

Product Details

• Size: Mini – 95 × 140 × 18 mm
• Pages: 128 (64 sheets)
• Paper: 120 gsm acid-free cream laid paper
• Cover: Hardback
• Closure: Elastic band
• Binding: Smyth sewn – lies flat and stays durable
• Corners: Rounded
• Pouch: Memento pouch
• Design: Turquoise Chronicles
• Collection: Chroniques
• Thumb cut page edges
• 100% recycled binder boards
• Decorative printed cover paper
• Printed on acid-free paper
• Threaded stitching and glue, as needed
• Memento pouch
• Weight: 170 g
• Product code: PB7220-1 | ISBN: 9781439772201

About Paperblanks

Paperblanks works with museums, libraries, galleries and artists around the world to faithfully reproduce remarkable artwork, historic bindings and treasured manuscripts. Every book is made to last, with binder boards crafted from 100% recycled materials, and the back endpaper tells the fascinating story behind the cover design and credits its creators.