Exterior Binding of the Complutensian Polyglot

This volume is bound in brown leather over heavy boards, a style typical of the high-quality bookbinding produced in the early 16th century. The covers are decorated with "blind-tooling," where patterns are pressed into the leather without the use of gold leaf. In the center of both the front and back covers is the coat of arms of Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, the powerful Spanish prelate who funded and oversaw this massive undertaking.

Spine

5887 This number was likely added by a library or collector in later centuries to catalog the book.

The spine features later gold-stamped lettering to identify the volume on a shelf. Traces of the original metal clasps, used to keep the heavy parchment or paper leaves flat and protected from moisture, are still visible on the edges of the leather boards.