Ranger, Edmund ( d 1705 )
A bookbinder of Colonial New England, and a
contemporary of JOHN
RATCLIFF . Ranger was admitted as a freeman of
Boston and established his business in 1671 as a
publisher, bookbinder, and bookseller. The
earliest known gold-tooled bindings of his date
from 1682. Ranger was one of the first American
bookbinders to use silk headbands in lieu of linen
threads and, like Ratcliff, he sewed his books on
both raised and sunken cords (thongs). Ranger
covered his books in leather and employed marbled
endpapers, gilt edges, and gold tooling, all in
addition to his work in so-called PLAIN BINDING .
(171 , 200 , 301 )