London publisher and bookseller William Pickering introduced the first cloth edition bindings with printed paper spine labels in his Diamond Classic Series, set in very small Diamond type, equal to 4.5 point. The first volume in the series was Cicero's De Officiis, de senectute et de amicitia, issued in 48mo, bound in reddish brown calico cloth. In addition to the title the paper labels indicated the price (5s, in the case of the Cicero).
Filed under: Bookbinding, Printing / Typography, Publishing
