Cowper, William. Poems, by William Cowper of the Inner Temple, Esq. A New edition with head and tail-pieces. London, 1808. A well executed rural scene appears on the fore edge of each volume. On the first volume (fanned to the left) is depicted a ruined church standing by a lake, on the second a lake with a farm building and church tower, visible at the right and a man fishing at left

Featured on PDR in the collection Fore-Edge Book Paintings from the Boston Public Library

A "fore-edge painting" is an illustration or design which appears on the "fore-edge" of a book (i.e. on the edge which is opened up, opposite to the spine). The history of such embellishments is thought to go back to the tenth century but it wasn't until the eighteenth century that the unusual practice really began to take off. The simplest form involved painting onto the fore-edge when the book was closed normally — hence the image appears by default — but a more advanced form involved a rather ingenious technique whereby the painting was applied to the page edges when the stack was fanned at a slight angle. This way the image is hidden from view when the book is closed normally. To hide any…