Limp, laced-case binding in parchment on sixteenth-century Mexican printed books

With the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World, the way of living of the indigenous population who habited Mesoamerica was blended with the traditions and customs of the European settlers who arrived as conquerors, and the emigrants from Europe that arrivedlater searching for fortune or a better kind of life from the one they had left behind in their land of origin. This encounter of cultures gave rise also to a technical and cultural exchange, and in the case of Mexico, this clash of cultures and techniques is well represented by the printing press, which was established in 1539 with the specific aim of accelerating the evangelisation and education of the Indians. As a consequence of this development, Mexico was turned into a centre of innovation, with the first printing press using movable metal type to be set up outside Europe, and other trades that support printing, such as bookbinding, were also developed.

This thesis investigates the influence of the Spanish and other European bookbinding practices on sixteenth-century Mexican limp, laced-case parchment bindings by the analysis of the features of the bindings of Mexican printed books from that period. In addition, by the analysis of the materials and techniques used to bind these books, as well as the specific structural characteristics of the bindings, the patterns of work that could be described as typically Mexican in the sixteenth-century, are also identified.

The research is divided into two parts: the first, theoretical, explains the historical context of Mexico during the sixteenth century when the printing press and bookbinding were developed. The second part concerns the archaeological study of the books as artefacts. For this purpose, thirty-nine sixteenth-century Mexican printed books bound in limp, laced caseparchment covers were analysed. The analysis of the features of these bindings, which form the majority of the whole sample, made possible the identification of Mexican patterns of work in the sixteenth century.

Given the lack of information and of complete studies of the craft of bookbinding in Mexico in the sixteenth century, this thesis aims to enhance our current knowledge of the historyof bookbinding as well as of the booktrade and the market for books in Mexico.

Thesis contains two volumes.