Türkiye · Bookbinding; Leather craft; Ottoman heritage
Türk Cilt Sanatı — Mermer Kaplı Deri Kitap Cildçiliği
The Turkish cilt sanatı (bookbinding art) tradition — the production of the classic Ottoman leather-bound book with the specific combination of stamped and gold-tooled leather cover and the ebru marbled paper endpapers that represents the apex of Ottoman book arts. The Turkish ciltçi reads the correct leather cover preparation quality through a fold-and-flex assessment — bending the prepared leather cover over the book block and reading the specific flex character that indicates the correct combination of stiffness (to protect the book) and flexibility (to open without cracking).
Risk level: Vulnerable · Not listed; Turkish cilt sanatı on the national heritage inventory
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