Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Take a minute to wonder at this example of fore-edge painting. The watercolour images painted on the fore-edge of this book are invisible until one fans the fore-edge of a book. This is a special example of a double fore-edge painting; fan the edge one way and there is a view of Quebec from the St Lawrence River. Fan it the other and the scene is the Montreal waterfront.
The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer, London, 1870. McGill Rare Books and Special Collections.
Narration: Christopher Lyons, Head Librarian, McGill Rare Books and Special Collections
Video: Greg Houston, McGill Library
Take a minute to wonder at this example of fore-edge painting. The watercolour images painted on the fore-edge of this book are invisible until one fans the fore-edge of a book. This is a special example of a double fore-edge painting; fan the edge one way and there is a view of Quebec from the St Lawrence River. Fan it the other and the scene is the Montreal waterfront.
The Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer, London, 1870. McGill Rare Books and Special Collections.
Narration: Christopher Lyons, Head Librarian, McGill Rare Books and Special Collections
Video: Greg Houston, McGill Library
