A fore-edge painting is a technique of painting on the edges of the pages of a book. The artwork can only be seen when the pages are fanned, as seen in the animation below. When the book is closed, you don’t see the image because it is hidden by the gilding (i.e., the gold leaf applied to the edges of the page).

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, fore-edge paintings first arose during the European Middle Ages but came to prominence during the mid-17th century to the late 19th century. Anne C. Bromer for the Boston Public Library writes, “Most fore-edge painters working for binding firms did not sign their work, which explains why it is difficult to pinpoint and date the hidden paintings.”

Thanks to the generous gifts from Anne and David Bromer and Albert H. Wiggin, the Boston Public Library holds one of the finest collections of fore-edge paintings in the United States. Most of the collection has been put online for the world to enjoy and features more than 200 high-resolution images; complete with additional videos, articles and information.

The University of Iowa and Colossal recently featured a few fore-edge paintings with animated gifs that can also be seen below.

For more visit foreedge.bpl.org

1. The causes, appearances, and effects of the

seasonal decay and decomposition of nature, 1837 by Robert Mudie

2. The Holy Bible

Split fore-edge painting

3. Letters of Lady Rachel Russell, 1801

by J. Mawman

4. Analysis of the Game of Chess, 1790

by François-André Danican Philidor

5. Characteristics of women, moral, political, and historical, v.2 1833

by Anna Jameson

Painting of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

6. Speeches of Henry Lord Brougham, v.1 1838

by Henry Lord Brougham

A view of Philadelphia showing the Delaware

7. Jeanne d’Arc

Author Unknown

The People Of Orleans Greet Joan Of Arc

8. The rod and the gun, 1841

by James Wilson

9. Poems by the late William Cowper, Esq., v.2 1820

by William Cowper

10. The speeches of the right honorable William Pitt, v.2 1808

by William Pitt

George Washington and Benjamin Franklin

11. The causes, appearances, and effects of the

seasonal decay and decomposition of nature, 1837 by Robert Mudie

12. The poetical works of Thomas Moore, 1865

by Thomas Moore

View Of Enniscorthy, England

13. The lord of the isles, 1815

by Walter Scott

Carrick Castle In Argyll, Scotland

14. The world before the flood, 1819

by James Montgomery

15. The rambler, v.1 1825

by Samuel Johnson

Old Wych Street, London

16. The complete angler of Isaak Walton and Charles Cotton, 1835

by Izaak Walton

17. The Education of Henry Adams, 1918

by Henry Adams

18. Jerusalem delivered (Torquato Tasso), v.1 1797

by John Hoole

19. Oberon, 1798

by William Sotheby

20. The Holy Bible, 1811

St Paul’s Cathedral

21. The lay of the last minstrel, 1823

by Sir Walter Bart Scott

View of Kelso, Scotland

22. Paradise Lost, 1876

by John Milton

Milton Triptych

23. Latin and Italian poems of Milton, 1808

by John Milton

The Inn at Edmonton

24. Marmion, 1811

by Sir Walter Scott

Lindesfarne Abbey

25. The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, 1863

by Alexander Pope

26. Poems by William Cowper, Esq., v.1 1808

by William Cowper

27. Select British poets, v.3 1824

Various Authors

Wimborne Minster

28. Rokeby, 1813

by Walter Scott

View of Barnard Castle

29. The causes, appearances, and effects of the

seasonal decay and decomposition of nature, 1837 by Robert Mudie

30. The curse of Kehama, 1812

by Robert Southey

Indian River Scene with Hindu Temple

31. Lalla Rookh, 1818

by Thomas Moore

Tyburn Turnpike, London

32. The lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, [etc.] 1824

by Izaak Walton

33. Poems by the late William Cowper, Esq., v.1 1820

by William Cowper

A View of Olney

34. The red true story book

by Andrew Lang and H. J. Ford

The Capture Of Joan Of Arc

35. The causes, appearances, and effects of the

seasonal decay and decomposition of nature, 1837 by Robert Mudie

36. Poems by the late William Cowper, Esq., v.2 1820

by William Cowper

37. Poems on several occasions, 1813

by Lord Edward Thurlow

A View of Dublin

38. The Holy Bible, v.2 1803

‘The Last Supper’

39. The Holy Bible, v.2 1795

The Mount Of Olives From The Slopes Of Zion

40. The anthologies, an extensive collection

of all compositions subsequent to the Liang dynasty