Bold studies

Who rebound books and removed parts?

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Who rebound books and removed parts?

A few historical bibliophiles selectively rebound or edited books, including Jefferson and Beckford.

I vaguely remember about a person who would rebind his library in white leather and cutting out parts of the books he didn’t like. Have not been able to find any sources. Du Perron is what I have in my mind, but probably not. Chatgpt found the following items:

Some historical figures did selectively rebind or edit books, often for aesthetic or ideological reasons. Here are notable examples:

🧤 Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)

Jefferson created the Jefferson Bible by cutting out portions of the New Testament he disagreed with—removing miracles and supernatural elements—and pasting the remainder into a new volume. This was driven by Enlightenment rationalism.

  • Motive: Philosophical and religious.
  • Method: Physical cutting and reassembly of texts.

🏛️ Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792–1872)

Phillipps, a legendary manuscript hoarder, often rebound parts of books or took them apart to extract sections he found valuable. He sometimes reassembled fragments into custom-bound volumes.

  • Motive: Obsessive archival collection.
  • Method: Disbinding and reassembling texts.

📚 William Beckford (1760–1844)

Known for his luxurious private library, Beckford often rebound books in ornate bindings to suit the visual aesthetic of his mansion (Fonthill Abbey). Though less focused on content alteration, he curated his library according to his tastes.

  • Motive: Aesthetic and personal expression.
  • Method: Ornate rebinding.

🎩 Charles Lamb (1775–1834) and the “commonplace” tradition

Although Lamb himself may not have done it, he expressed a preference for books that contained “only the good bits.” This inspired some bibliophiles to make commonplace books—hand-bound anthologies of favorite excerpts, poems, or chapters.

  • Motive: Literary curation.
  • Method: Selective copying or cutting into new books.

🖼️ Grangerizing

A widespread 18th–19th century hobby where readers added, removed, or rearranged materials in books—often biographies or historical texts—adding portraits or extra material.

  • Motive: Personalization and expansion.
  • Method: Physically altering printed books.

Counter-point

These practices were eccentric and not widely respected in scholarly circles, especially when they involved destroying or fragmenting original works. Most literary figures did not engage in such editing.

Sources

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