Yes. It is called "deckled edges" and it is very fancy. https://t.co/p9o9ap8gYX— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 23, 2019
I own three books with edges like this, how did I not know this phenomenon has a name? Or why has it never occurred to me to check why a book would have such edges??
When I googled it I learned that until the beginning of the 1800s (and in many cases after that too) they made sheets of paper individually on a deckle, which was used to limit the size of each sheet, but it couldn't cut the edges clean off, therefore they stayed rough. So in most cases old books have uneven pages like these.
It makes sense, since all the books with deckled edges that I own were published in the beginning of the 20th century (and these are some of my most treasured possessions).
L'Aiglon by Edmond Rostand
Poems by Oscar Wilde
Did you guys know about this phenomenon, why some books have feathered edges? Do you own any such copies?
