Album of hand-colored albumen prints. There are 35 layers of clear finishes, paint and gold leaf that create an optical effect of extraordinary depth. The photo above does not capture the subtle colors in the "black" areas, nor the illusionistic depth created by the light passing through many layers that refract it differently.
After completing this work, several other bindings were done using similar techniques. Click on the small images below to see two of them.
At the Richard Minsky 25-Year Retrospective Exhibition in 1992 sponsored by HarperCollinsPublishers, the exhibit case pictured below featured four lacquered bindings on blank books of handmade paper, three miniature books of studies for geometric binding designs, and a snakeskin binding. The bindings on the top left (blue and black) constitute a 3-volume set that creates a continuous design when the books are lined up with both covers open, in any order. The three on the top right are individual books in full leather bindings with inlaid recessed lacquer and gold leaf panels.
