When buying books for the University’s rare books collection, our curators are not only interested in the textual contents, but in the material object. We recently made a purchase of an 1874 collection of poetry (A Casquet of Gems) that textually is perfectly commonplace, and we have a number of similar examples within our collection; however, the reason we purchased the book is not due to its content, but its binding. Unlike the cloth or leather bindings that we’re most often used to seeing within this period, A Casquet of Gems is bound in Mauchline Ware which is a heavily varnished wood, usually scottish planewood or sycamore, featuring a decorative stenciled design. The Mauchline Ware industry began in Mauchline, Scotland, (hence the name) in the late 18th century, and was originally used for decorative snuff boxes. However, with the rise of the English middle class and the growing accessibility of tourism, Mauchlin Ware was often made use of in souvenirs, with images of coastal towns and landmarks found on Mauchline Ware boxes, ashtrays, cups, plates, and book bindings.
In purchasing the book, we felt it would help us show students how a book is also embedded within the economic, social, and aesthetic history of its time period. Our copy, with its stenciled ferns and Greek allegorical figures, showcases the Victorian interest in Nature and Greek myth, and the use of objects as totems of self expression and authenticity, all key themes of the era of Romanticism. The book also tells the story of the commodification of those same interests, made possible and accessible through industrialization and mass production. Books like these allow us to tell the stories found not only within the covers but beyond them.
Written by Adrian Vaagenes - Woodstock Librarian
