26-09-2020, 05:43 AM
I don't know if anyone ever counted the number of trimmed pages before, so the extent of the trimming has always been unknown.I would look forward to some more quantitative estimate.
It may have had several reasons, not just to fit a new cover. It could be that the page heights were simply too irregular, or that there was considerable damage to the edges.
If it was to make the page heights more regular, this would more likely have been done at an earlier binding, not the last one at the Collegio Romano. The verdict is still out whether that rebinding only replaced the cover or also redid the stitching. Experts at Yale consider that only the cover was replaced.
I also would not equate it with particular carelessness. Nowadays it is a valuable old book. At the time it was just another book.
It may have had several reasons, not just to fit a new cover. It could be that the page heights were simply too irregular, or that there was considerable damage to the edges.
If it was to make the page heights more regular, this would more likely have been done at an earlier binding, not the last one at the Collegio Romano. The verdict is still out whether that rebinding only replaced the cover or also redid the stitching. Experts at Yale consider that only the cover was replaced.
I also would not equate it with particular carelessness. Nowadays it is a valuable old book. At the time it was just another book.