Fore-edge Painting
“A fore-edge painting is a scene painted on the edges of the pages of a book such that the painting is not visible when the book is closed. In order to view the painting, the leaves of the book must be fanned, exposing the edges of the pages and thereby the painting.” Via Wikipedia.
The first fore-edge painting dates back to the 10th century. Over the years, these paintings ranged from simple patterns to heraldic imagery, religious motifs, landscapes and even pornography. If you’re into this and living in Boston, you may be in luck! The Boston Public Library claims to have the largest fore-edge book collection in the world.
