Coptic Bookbindings in the Pierpont Morgan Library

Theodore C. Petersen wrote Coptic Bookbindings in the Pierpont Morgan Library between 1929 and 1950, but it remained unpublished until now. This seminal work describes the binding techniques and materials of a collection of early manuscripts at the Morgan Library and Museum.

This long-awaited publication of Petersen’s work includes an introductory essay by the Morgan Library and Museum’s book conservator, Francisco H. Trujillo, that details the circuitous history of the collection from Egypt to New York to Rome and back to New York, as well as the equally baroque story of the efforts to get the work published. Augmenting the text are Petersen’s original line drawings and recent color photographs of the Morgan Library’s bindings.