Introduction

Tucked inside the covers of books, endpapers often escape our notice. But these papers have their own stories to tell. Endpapers are placed at the beginning and end of books, with one half pasted to the inside cover (the pastedown) and the other half remaining free (the flyleaf). They initially developed to serve a practical purpose: to protect texts from their bindings, which were often wooden boards covered in thick skins. To prevent the rough edges of the skins from rubbing against initial illuminated letters, binders began to paste vellum or manuscript fragments to the insides of the boards. Over time endpapers became an art form and mode of communication in themselves. Binders and publishers experimented with endpapers using marbling, printed decorations, and eventually advertisements and illustrations. Owners also frequently marked their endpapers, giving us a glimpse of the books’ provenance, or history of ownership. This exhibit uncovers endpapers from the 15^th through 20^th centuries, revealing the rich stories they tell.