Box

Box calf denotes a chrome-tanned calfskin, close-grained and fine-textured, which became established from the late 19th century among bookbinders for its suppleness and the regularity of its surface, well suited to both gilt decoration and simple burnishing. Bindings in box calf are thus distinguished by the crispness of their fillets, the durability of their colours and a resistance to wear superior to that of traditional calf. The collector will observe in it the binder's mastery as much as the quality of the skin chosen, two criteria that determine the value of the binding as much as that of the text it protects.