What makes the publication of this book timely and necessary is the apparent need by historians, academics and collectors of antique books for a standardized terminology to describe book fastenings (clasps) and book furnishings. The introduction of this terminology will enable researchers and academics to communicate topic-related matters effectively and precisely even on an international level. Through intensive research and the compilation of an extensive database, the author's terminology, as introduced in the first part of this book, distinguishes book furnishings and clasps according to their different types of construction as well as their different purposes and functionality.
The author introduces and logically develops an alphanumeric description of clasps and book furnishings in the opening chapters of his book. In this way he gives readers a brief overview of the topic, his new terminology and how it can potentially improve communication between researchers. The practical use of the handbook is further aided by an index that includes 33 technical illustrations of the main types clasps. A further 140 illustrations are included in the first part of this book that make finer distinctions between the various kinds of clasps and book furnishings.
In the second part of his book, the author catalogues book fastenings and furnishings of German, Italian and Dutch backgrounds of periods ranging from the 8th to the 20th century. The extensive study is aided and illustrated by more than 750 photographs that show up typical characteristics as well as regional trends and even idiosyncrasies of particular, one-off items.
The utility of "Handbuch Buchverschluss und Buchbeschlag" is further assisted by the addition of numerous appendices. These may be prove to be a further practical aid to researchers in that they not only contain overviews and tables that summarize the author's terminology and make a quick and easy determination of a clasp or book furnishing possible, they also compare the newly-introduced terms to terms currently used in traditional Dutch, English, French and Italian literature.
Though the main purpose of this handbook is clearly to be a practical aid for researchers, librarians and others whose work or passion brings them in regular contact with antique books, "Handbuch Buchverschluss und Buchbeschlag" also provides the reader with a deep insight into the importance of clasps and book furnishings when it comes to determining the age, origin and cultural background of historically valuable books. In this way, the book has filled a considerable lacuna in the area of book cover research.