# Book clasp

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Fastener for a book cover

Metal closure:
 volume with alchemical treatises (tied in [Strasbourg](/source/Strasbourg) around 1568, collection of the [Science History Institute](/source/Science_History_Institute), Philadelphia)

Leather closure:
[Sachsenspiegel](/source/Sachsenspiegel) (hand written in 1385, [Duisburg city library](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Duisburg_city_library&action=edit&redlink=1))

A **book clasp** is a leather or metal element attached to [book covers](/source/Book_cover).[1] Book clasps were used to tightly hold the covers of a book together, keeping the book closed and the pages flat.[2] The [parchment](/source/Parchment) and [vellum](/source/Vellum) that formed medieval and [Renaissance](/source/Renaissance) books tended to warp and curl with changes in [humidity](/source/Humidity) and temperature unless forced to remain flat by the pressure provided by the clasp.[3]

Originating in approximately the 11th century as simple hook-and-peg clasps,[2] book clasps made in the 16th and 17th centuries were often engraved or decorated.[3] Book clasps remained popular until the late 17th century, when they were obsoleted by the invention of superior paper and the introduction of modern [bookbinding](/source/Bookbinding) methods.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Princeton_1-0)** ["Hand Bookbindings: Clasps, Furniture, and Other Closures"](https://static-prod.lib.princeton.edu/visual_materials/hb/cases/closures/index.html). Princeton University Library. 2004. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Finds_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Finds_2-1) Geake, Helen (February 19, 2025). Robert Webley (ed.). ["Book Clasps"](https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/book-clasps/). The British Museum. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hug_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hug_3-1) Kwakkel, Erik (August 8, 2015). ["Clasps: hugging a medieval book"](https://smarthistory.org/clasps-hugging-a-medieval-book/). Smarthistory. Retrieved February 22, 2026.

## External links

- Media related to [Book clasps](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Book_clasps) at Wikimedia Commons

Authority control databases: National Czech Republic

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Book clasp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_clasp) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_clasp?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.