# Limp binding

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**Limp binding** is a [bookbinding](/source/Bookbinding) method in which the book has flexible cloth, [leather](/source/Leather), [vellum](/source/Vellum), or (rarely) paper sides.[1] When the sides of the book are made of vellum, the bookbinding method is also known as **limp vellum**.[2]

The cover is made with a single piece of vellum or alternative material, folded around the textblock, the [front and back covers](/source/Book_cover) being folded double. The [quires](/source/Units_of_paper_quantity#Quire) are sewn onto sewing supports such as cords or [alum-tawed](/source/Tanning_(leather)#Tawing) thongs and the tips of the sewing supports would be laced into the cover. The thongs could also be used at the fore edge of the covers to create a closure or tie.[3]

In limp binding the covering material is not stiffened by thick boards, although paste-downs, if used, provide some stiffness; some limp bindings are only adhered to the back of the book.[2] Some limp vellum bindings had yapp edges that flop over to protect the textblock.[2]

## Usage

Limp vellum bindings for [commonplace books](/source/Commonplace_book) were being produced at least as early as the 14th century and probably earlier, but it was not usually common until the 16th and 17th centuries.[1] Its usage subsequently declined until "revived by the [private presses](/source/Private_presses) near the end of the 19th century".[1] From about 1775 to 1825, **limp leather** was commonly used for [pocket books](/source/Paperback), but by the 1880s limp bindings came to be largely restricted to [devotional books](/source/Christian_devotional_literature), diaries, and sentimental verse, sometimes with yapp edges.[1] Yapp edges are bent edges on a limp binding projecting beyond the textblock to reduce damage. They are often found in [editions of the Bible](/source/Editions_of_the_Bible).

## References

1. Roberts, Matt T. & Etherington, Don (1982). ["Limp binding"](https://archive.org/details/bookbindingconse0000robe). *Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books*. Conservation OnLine/Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation. ISBN 0-8444-0366-0. Retrieved 2010-11-18.

1. ["Publishers' Bindings Online: Glossary"](http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/glossary2.html). *H-O*. [University of Alabama](/source/University_of_Alabama) Libraries. Retrieved 2010-11-18.

1. Barrios, Pamela (2006). ["Notes on the Limp Vellum Binding"](http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm) (pdf). *The Bonefolder*. **2** (2): 24. [ISSN 1555-6565](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1555-6565)

## Bibliography

- Langwe, Monica (2006). *Limp bindings from Tallinn*. Sollerön: Langwe form. ISBN 978-91-631-8858-9.

## External links

- [limpvellum.com](https://web.archive.org/web/20131125115846/http://www.limpvellum.com/) 25 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine an online exhibit of the form with an essay on its history
- [Fletcher Durant's historical bookbinding models](https://web.archive.org/web/20070811225438/http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~fdurant/Historical_Models.html) 11 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine from the [University of Texas at Austin School of Information](/source/University_of_Texas_at_Austin_School_of_Information)
- Barrios, Pamela (2006). ["Notes on the Limp Vellum Binding"](http://www.philobiblon.com/bonefolder/vol2no2contents.htm) (pdf). *The Bonefolder*. **2** (2). [ISSN 1555-6565](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1555-6565)

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