Bagperm 1845 - 1846

Johan Thomas Lundbye created this ‘Bagperm’ or ‘back cover’ during the first half of the 19th century. The binding’s spine is punctuated with small black tacks that pierce the paper, a functional yet subtly evocative detail. These small metal points, securing the pages, remind us of similar fixations in reliquaries and sacred texts across cultures. From medieval illuminated manuscripts to Renaissance bookbinding, these elements served to physically and symbolically bind knowledge and faith. Consider the act of binding: it echoes the psychological act of connecting disparate ideas, memories, and experiences. Each tack, in its humble way, is like a node in the vast network of cultural memory, linking us to countless other objects where similar acts of preservation and connection have taken place. It's a subtle detail, yet it engages us on a deep, subconscious level, reminding us of our shared human impulse to find order and meaning. These tacks, like the act of creating an atlas of images, reflect a non-linear progression, resurfacing and evolving across historical contexts.