Marbled Papers

A new offering from Nedim Sönmez

A differently combed pattern on the endpapers and edges of a book published in London, 1860. © Victoria and Albert Museum

Marbling Papers

The technique of marbling paper has been viewed as somewhat mystical in the past, approaching alchemy. Marblers were careful to keep their methods secret, and there are tales of masters working in rooms where every crack and hole has been sealed to thwart spies. In short, it is created by floating paints on a liquid in a tray, and laying the paper on the resulting pattern. Marbling had been practiced in Turkey for centuries (and probably originated nearby in Persia)¹

The first marbled papers produced in Europe were probably made in early seventeenth century Germany, which already had a lively trade in decorated paper. However, it was the French who established the close connection between marbling and bookbinding which is still strong today – in the seventeenth century marbled paper was used to line boxes and decorate furniture and other items, but now it is almost exclusively associated with fine binding.²

Nedim Sönmez

Nedim Sönmez (b. 1957 in Havsa) is a German-Turkish artist, colored paper expert and museum founder. He is internationally known as a representative of the Turkish art of marbling (Ebru).

Now available: A COLLECTION OF HISTORICAL DECORATED PAPERS.(Marbling). Sönmez, Nedim. A Miniature Book with Forty Three Historical Decorated Paper Samples. Two Volumes. Oak Knoll Books.

Limited edition of only 30 numbered sets signed and bound by Nedim Sönmez. A wide variety of styles such as Suminagashi, Stormont, Nonpareil, Tiger marbled paper, and Moire, among others.

"The history of decorated paper is a special branch that is known only by experts. However, there are official institutions; such as, museums and private collectors, that are experts on the subject. Therefore, the works in this book are a very small part of an important collection of thousands of pieces, which were gathered as a result of hard auctions and long years of research. I am pleased this book is valued and loved in private and public libraries as a small, yet valuable collection of decorated paper. The book will have a very important function for recognizing and analysing historical papers as well as being used as a reference source." -Nedim Sönmez. Historical Decorated Papers (link)

The Art of Marbling

1. Samuel Revell, Divers oiled colours: Exploring the history of marbled paper in the National Art Library. Victoria & Albert Museum. November 16, 2016.

2. More books on Marbling:

Loring, Rosamond B, Philip Hofer, Philip Hofer, and Rosamond B Loring. Decorated Book Papers : Being an Account of Their Designs and Fashions. Edited by Philip Hofer. 2nd ed. Reprint 2014. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.

Wolfe, Richard J. Marbled Paper : Its History, Techniques, and Patterns : With Special Reference to the Relationship of Marbling to Bookbinding in Europe and the Western World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.

Woolnough, C. W. (Charles W.), C. W. (Charles W.) Woolnough, Chiswick Press, and George Bell & Sons. The Whole Art of Marbling as Applied to Paper, Bookedges, Etc. : Containing a Full Description of the Nature and Properties of the Materials Used, the Method of Preparing Them, and of Executing Every Kind of Marbling in Use at the Present Time, with Numerous Illustrations and Examples /. George Bell and Sons, 1881.