Attribution of Decorative Marble Papers in the Study of Russian Binding of the 18th — early 20th centuries: Problems and Solutions

An important stage in the study and attribution of the Russian binding of the 18th — early 20th century is the description of the flyleaf and other elements of decorative paper. First of all, this applies to paper with marble drawings (marble paper), found in the Russian book since the 18th century. Modern researchers of Russian binding of the 18th — early 20th centuries face a number of problems related to the lack of literature on the topic, including methodological and reference, the lack of specialized collections and exhibitions of decorative paper in Russia and the lack of development in the domestic book science of the terminology for describing the binding materials. This article substantiates the need to create the nomenclature of drawings and link them to a certain chronological period. The author analyses three main groups of problems: terminological, systematization of marble drawings and their chronological correlation, problems of describing paper as a material. The first group includes different interpretations of term and unclear definition of many terms; phenomena of synonymy and polysemy when using particular names of drawings (patterns). Not only historians of the book, but also librarians, restorers, masters of individual binding, second-hand booksellers and bibliophiles have their own independently formed professional dictionary, which gives place to decorative papers. This inconsistency is reinforced by borrowing French, German and English terms, which, in turn, can also be duplicated. The author notes that systematization of decorative papers with marble drawings can be based on the methods of its colouring, but such a technological approach is not sufficient to describe a specific sample of marble paper. The article shows that various patterns periodically gained and lost popularity, then returned to bookbinding practice, but with a number of characteristic changes and additions. Correct description of the paper in binding is impossible without determining its origin (Russian/foreign), the method of production and colouring (manual/machine) and the specific properties of the material itself. At the same time, there are no methods and schemes for describing decorative paper grades. The article highlights that the development of such method will help to significantly narrow the chronological framework when attributing the binding.