The most unusual books
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The most unusual books of all time in one place - a medieval belt book, a book powered by electricity and compressed air, a sensory book and much more. The book is the subject most stimulating creative inventiveness. Books are the main component of book-art. But our article is not about that. In this overview, you will find books designed to serve the purpose that all other books serve - to be read. You will see how the creators have combined the main purpose of the book and the special needs of readers from different times. A medieval book that can be read in six ways; a book powered by a pneumatic mechanism; the book that allows you to filter water is the most amazing examples of this. Most of the books presented here are medieval books. They are medieval masterpieces. Here are 5 of them.
Belt book (1589)
The belt book was a small volume that could be tucked into a belt or belt. The book had a knot, which was part of the leather cover, which allowed the book to be held at the waist. Why was the knot done at the bottom of the leather cover continuation? The answer is simple. Thus, the book was hung upside down so that the owner could pick it up and read it at any time, without having to take the book out from his belt. Belt books were common in Germany and Holland in 1400-1550. This particular book is from 1508. And in 1589 an outer leather cover with a knot was attached to it, thus turning it into a belt cover.
Round miniature book (1480)
Any miniature book is a work of art, and a miniature round book is a real masterpiece. This exceptional example of the Codex Rotundus was expertly handcrafted around 1480. It was the Breviary, a Christian liturgical book popular in the Middle Ages, in Latin and French. The book contains 266 pages, despite the fact that it does not exceed 9 cm in diameter. The spine is only 3 cm long, so it is held together by three monogrammed latches using the letters of the Gothic alphabet. The creator of Codex Rotundus - an unknown illustrator from Bruges (Belgium) - not only beautifully designed the text of the book on round pages, but also drew 30 extraordinary capital letters.
Double-sided book (16th century)
In the 16th and 17th centuries, books were produced using a special dos-à-dos binding method. Eric Kwakkel calls them "Siamese twins." This is the most appropriate definition. Books have different front covers and one adjacent back. Dozado binding was used to combine two complementary books into one. For example, the Old Testament on the one hand and the New Testament on the other.
A book that can be read in six ways (16th century)
This unique book is a variation of the dozado binding. The peculiarity of this volume is that it can be opened (and read) in six different ways. In other words, the tome contains six different books, each with a separate binding and its own latch cleverly hidden within the general binding. The book was printed in Germany. It is a collection of religious texts and short Bible reflections, including Martin Luther's A Brief Catechism. The book is part of the collection of the Rogge Library in Strangnes (Sweden)
Children's book on one leg (XVII century)
The presented rare and original copy of the book was made in the 17th century. This is a children's book. Typically, these books contained the alphabet and a series of simple short texts to develop reading skills. In those days, books weighed much more than today, so the leg fulfilled a certain function - the child could easily take the alphabet with one hand and raise it to eye level. Why "book on one leg"? Such books were made with the expectation of intensive use, like modern rugged tablet cases. Books were printed on paper, which was then covered with a thin stratum corneum. Such a book could be dropped without causing much harm to it.
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