Half french

In the bookbinding trade, half-French refers to a binding that is connected to the book block in a special way (cf. Franzband ), which is considered a half-volume . Publishers and booksellers mostly use the term half-French ribbon as synonymous with half-leather ribbon . They refer to a book whose spine (sometimes also the corners of the book) is made of leather, but the book covers are covered with paper or textile.
The term half-French is reminiscent of King Francis I (France) , whose books were bound entirely in leather. Later, only the back and corners were covered with leather and these volumes were called semi- French to distinguish them from the Franz band .