Double Fore-Edge on New Fin-de-Siècle Book
Fore-edge collectors out there, take note: Japanese publisher PIE International recently released an art book celebrating the Fin-de-Siècle movement complete with a double fore-edge. While the fore-edge is printed, rather than painted, it may perhaps be the first widely distributed title with a double fore-edge of any kind. Entitled The Art of Decadence: European Fantasy Art of the Fin-de-Siècle, the book includes 370 art works from the 19th century through to Surrealism, all in a compelling book design by Reiko Harajo.
Each chapter of The Art of Decadence groups together stylistically similar movements: the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in England, Symbolism in France, Germany, and Belgium; Wiener Secession in Austria; Art Nouveau and Art Deco, etc. The theme of the femme fatale is also explored in the book, tracing related artworks through representations of Sirens, mermaids, witches, and so on.
Of course some collectors may be interested in The Art of Decadence exclusively because of the beauty of its double fore-edge, which is indeed quite striking, displaying a floral theme when the pages are fanned in one direction and a skeleton theme when fanned the other way.
Check out this video to see the double fore-edge, as well as an overview of the book itself:
