Georgios Boudalis, "On the Edge: Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean" (Legacy Press, 2022)

Georgios Boudalis, "On the Edge: Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean" (Legacy Press, 2022)

From New Books in Museum Studies by New Books Network

March 15, 2026 · 33 min

About this episode

Dr Giorgios Boudalis discusses his book on the endbands in bookbinding traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean.

On the Edge: Endbands in the Bookbinding Traditions of the Eastern Mediterranean by Dr Giorgios Boudalis (Legacy Press, 2022). The term endbands designates the two bands worked with thread(s) at the head and tail edges of the spine of a book. The techniques with which they are worked and the ways with which they are connected to a bound codex vary greatly over time and geography. The purpose of this book is to identify, classify and describe several of these different techniques used in manuscript books bound within different cultures in the Eastern Mediterranean from Late Antiquity until the 20th century. The book is richly illustrated with full-colour photographs and technical drawings explaining how these endbands were made and how they can be replicated. The guest on the podcast was Dr Giorgios Boudalis. Dr Boudalis studied conservation of art in Florence and Athens, and Fine Arts in Thessaloniki, Greece, where he lives. In 2005 he completed his Ph.D. at the University of the Arts, London, on the evolution of Byzantine and post-Byzantine bookbinding, and he has since been researching and publishing on the topics of bookbinding history and manuscript conservation. Since 1997…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr Giorgios Boudalis

Topics covered

  • bookbinding
  • Eastern Mediterranean
  • manuscript conservation
  • cultural techniques
  • art history

Keywords

  • endbands
  • bookbinding traditions
  • Eastern Mediterranean
  • manuscript books
  • cultural history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Legacy Press, University of the Arts, London

Places: Eastern Mediterranean, Florence, Athens, Thessaloniki

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