Girdle Books

Girdle books are small books that have a flexible cover that extends beyond the bottom of the book, some with a knot at the end, intended to be tucked under the belt for ease of carrying.

There are currently 23 original girdle books in existence, but there are reported to be more than 800 images of girdle books in paintings, sculptures, and graphic arts. The timeframe for girdle books represented in art is from about 1400 to 1600, with a "slight predominance (c. 60 per cent)" during the 15th century. Most are from the Germanic countries, but France, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia and England are included.

The extant girdle books are mostly religious or devotional works on either parchment or paper. Four existing books are legal texts, but those may be special cases, as they are much larger than the rest and were apparently designed to be carried over the shoulder rather than hanging from a belt. Most of the owners or carriers depicted are biblical figures or clergymen, and about one third are Apostles, Saints, or monks and nuns. Some of the books have knots (about one quarter), about half have loose ends, and one apparently has a hook. Most are not depicted hanging from a belt, but are either held in the first by the pouch or lying on a table, etc.

The girdle books that we produce for sale have the following characteristics:

The pages are blank, made using 100% cotton rag art paper (50 lb) from Canson (a company that has been producing paper for nearly 450 years). This allows the owners to use the books as regular notebooks, or for sketching, calligraphy, or painting.
The text block is sewn as a Coptic binding (unsupported), rather than a Gothic binding (supported or "flexible"), including the endbands, to allow us to produce the books as "paste-free" bindings (in order to keep cost of production at reasonable levels). When the book is opened, the thread that is visible in the gatherings has the same appearance as if the books were bound in the Gothic style.
The covers are made of fabric of a variety of types, including cotton velveteen, linen, and wool, in shades of green, red, blue, brown, black, and beige, and are attached as slipcovers, allowing fresh text blocks to be changed in when the original is filled.
Rather than standard Gothic hinged clasps, the closures are simple buttons and loops (to reduce costs).
The type of knot that used to tie the end of the cover is a Turk’s-head stopper knot (as opposed to a Turk’s-head covering knot, or a Turk’s head button knot), with one end of the knot tucked in under the bights. This knot is intended to be tucked up under a belt, although much of the artwork depicts the girdle book being carried in the hand.
The books are intended to be opened with the knotted portion of the cover hanging down, and can be used this way while still hooked through the belt.

Click on the thumbnails below to see closeups of some of the girdle books that we have made.

Reference:

Szirmai, J. A. The archaeology of medieval bookbinding, Ashgate Publishing Company, Vermont, USA. pp 236-239

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