A Very Rare Book Opens 6 Different Ways, Reveals 6 Different Books

Good morning, afternoon and evening ATS,

Take a gander at this beauty...




This book, housed in the Rogge Library in Strängnäs, Sweden, is from the late 16th century. It contains devotional texts including Martin Luther’s "Der kleine Catechismus". I find it amazing as well as perplexing the amount of work that probably went into this.

The pictures speak for themselves












It amazes me how something as simple as a book can be crafted into something so amazing. Have a great day everyone!

Source

nice bit of craftsmanship. very cool.

As a collector of old (and most times not so rare) books, I think this thing is amazing. The coolest part is that each way it opens reveals a new book!

reply to post by iamhobo


Great find! S&F for you. Such ingenuity in the craftsmanship. You won't find that devotion to a craft nowadays.

O.k. cool but WHY..

If this is a book to be used and like you say had devotional writings it seems it was created for more than just a novelty. Could there be some hidden code thats revieled depending oh How you open and read the book?

I'd like to know how the content is layed out for each opened side and what the differences are in the text for each side. I know in those medieval times they liked to hide stuff in writings to protect secrets.. I can easily see this as being a reason to create such a book.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


I thought the same thing. My thinking is there were three possibilities.

One may have been for pure experimentation with craftsmanship. The second may have been because book making materials were scarce at that particular time and place. Thirdly, maybe it did have some kind of mystery about it --- reminds me of those origami paper things we used to make in grade school haha.

reply to post by iamhobo


So beautiful and really well kept... Then it would have only belonged to 'very special' people

iamhobo - Do you happen to know which are the other 5 books, in addition to "Der kleine Catechismus"...?

iamhobo

Take a gander at this beauty...

Now I know what I want for Christmas.

I had to come out of hibernation for that, that is just amazing.

reply to post by f4andHALFtoads


I tried looking into it a bit, but to no avail. I can't find a title to the book (mainly because there are six) which has me at a roadblock.

There are, however, a few more pictures

National Library of Sweden's Flickr page

The book is based on a French version of binding called "dos-à-dos" -- but to my knowledge there aren't any that come close to the six-fold version.

That photo album also contains some normal versions of the dos-à-dos binding too, pretty neat.

How gorgeous is that?! I would be tickled pink if I ever stumbled across a multi-book....book like this. The deviation from the standard book design we all know is simply refreshing, 16th century or not. Why do the same thing over and over again when someone can come up with something very different? The purpose may be the same, but like taking the scenic route instead of the direct to a destination, a different route can be a fabulous change of pace. Even if it's just a book

A 16th Century kindle by the looks of it Fantastic design and craftsmanship something unfortunately lacking these days

That book must be worth a fortune. I have never even heard of such a book. The craftsmanship and design are superb and unlike anything you could find today. I would love to own this!

Beautiful book.
I only have a book that opens two ways. Looks normal though. Duh. Except it's very small. Wish I knew what I did with it.
Thsts gonna bug me all day now.

reply to post by iamhobo

Cool! It's like a really advanced choose your own adventure novel.
2nd line.

I'd like to bump this thread as it is so amazing. I think a lot of folks might have missed this and would love to see it!!

Wow! Has anyone ever seen a modern equivalent?

reply to post by Comex


Nope. I doubt that one exists, but you never know.

Some monk must have been very, very bored to have come up with that beauty.

VforVendettea
Some monk must have been very, very bored to have come up with that beauty.

LOL! Or just very very creative!

reply to post by iamhobo


The paper inside looks almost brand new, so I'm guessing, like with many old durable books, it's made from hemp stock. This is truly amazing and calling it a work of art doesn't feel like it says it all. It's a work of art, of craftsmanship, and of ingenuity. Thanks for sharing this, and I've uploaded the gif so I can use it elsewhere. Appreciated.