"Ein Haus ohne Bücher ist arm, auch wenn schöne Teppiche seinen Boden und kostbare Tapeten und Bilder die Wände bedecken". -Hermann Hesse

Be attentive- Be curious. This technique is what we have mentioned during the last lecture. Fore-edge painting, technique of painting the edges of the leaves, or folios, of a book, employed in the European Middle Ages. Manuscript books with gold-tooled bindings often had the edges of their pages gilded with burnished gold. They were also frequently goffered with heated tools and were occasionally coloured. From 1650 onward a number of London binders practiced a new decorative method of fore-edge painting: floral scrolls or scenes were painted upon the fanned-out fore-edge of the leaves and concealed by a normal gilt edge when the book was closed; they became visible only when it was opened. This decorative device was continued in the 18th century, but by the late 19th century fore-edge painting began to wane in popularity.

definition via: https://www.britannica.com/art/fore-edge-painting

For more Fore-edge painting please check: 40 Hidden Artworks Painted on the Edges of Books- https://twistedsifter.com/2013/09/hidden-artworks-on-the-edges-of-books/