Jekyll & Hyde
29.6cm x 22cm x 3cm
SOLD
On first glance, this sombre, almost austere volume could have come from the library of a Victorian gentleman. Its ruby-red goatskin half-binding is complimented by green marbled boards and gold on black spine label.
But things are not always what they seem; the most respectable cover may hide the darkest secret. The book is not a book but a box, with a smaller volume lurking inside it. The inner book, blood red, appears gripped by the black glove leather that makes up its cover. Is it being strangled, perhaps, or raising a hand in a vain appeal for help? Darkened page edges, black and red silk headbands and black endpapers add to the shadowed feel of the binding.
As an Edinburgh bindery, evilrooster is proud to produce this interpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson's darkest book. The binding does not simply illustrate the central theme of the story - it is that central theme embodied. The ruby-red goatskin of the outer volume is the sinister backdrop of the inner one, while the black spine label turns out to be cut from a murderer's glove. Even the relative sizes of the books are drawn from the text, where Edward Hyde is described as smaller than Henry Jekyll.
This volume was on display at the Interaction Art Show from August 4 - 8 2005. It has since been sold in a private sale.
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