Started at Princeton and continued by a professor, the Bookbindings on Incunables is a census project to identify Gothic bindings on early printed books that are housed in libraries across the United States. While not a very slick website, the author/curator acknowledges his shortcomings and makes up for it with detailed information.
Collection Principles:
Scott Husby started this online collection as a resource for librarians, conservators, and scholars. Because the project is trying to collect information about all incunabula at 14 participating libraries, any appraisal portion of collection principles is out the window. Mr Husby states that "every incunable binding—regardless of period—has been included in the census." This does, however, create a specific focus of the collection which is beneficial for researchers. The site is very basic and easy to use, with clear links and navigation tools. Users can browse bindings by country or by structure (flat covers or exposed bindings). By clicking on the link of the participating libraries, the user can find out how many items that particular institution contributed to the census, although there is just a detailed total, not a list of books.
Mr Husby notes that not all of the items in the census are exhibited online, and there are several categories/countries in the "Selected Bindings" section that are not live. It is unclear if there are no examples from France, or if he just hasn't taken digital images of them. The shortcomings of this collection can either be seen as a chance to grow or as an incomplete digital collection.
Object Characteristics:
The items of the collection are digital photographs of books and bindings, shown in html. Larger images and extensive metadata are available when the user clicks on the thumbnails, and then a larger full-screen image may be viewed when that image is clicked on. There is no zoom feature, which would be helpful to provide details to scholars or researchers, although the object information is quite detailed. The images are not professional but not horrible, and Mr Husby admits to taking the photos himself. I am not sure of the advantages of presenting the images only as html versus a jpeg, but it seems to go against the prevailing trend.
Metadata:
The amount of information included with the items in this collection is very detailed and extremely helpful. With each binding, the provided information includes a Goff number, bibliographic details, originating library numbers, provenance, and original location/workshop information. Especially helpful is the inclusion of specific physical attributes of interest to a scholar or conservator:
Covering: calf
Endbands: saddle-stitched
Boards: oak
Supports: thongs
Edges: yellow
Binding waste: ms parchment endleaves
Text finish: rubricated-red & blue
added penwork
Some items have a Notes section with more random yet pertinent details. The information included about the participating libraries is also specific to this project, with item totals and contact information.
Intended Audience:
The people who will likely be using this digital collection are librarians interested in incunabula holdings, conservators and bookbinders interested in the state of the contemporary Gothic bindings, and researchers gathering information about the history of the book or other related topics. Because the entire census is not available online, the researchers are at a disadvantage. Mr Husby is possibly hoping other institutions will become aware of the project through this site and want to participate.
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