Altered used books are a completely new way to change a used book from its original state to create a new work of art that many individuals and artists alike have recently found to be an enjoyable form of expression. Normally, the artist or individual will take old, used books that no longer have any value left due to the fact that their pages have been worn in the purpose of creating a new form of value in it once again.

For individuals and artist to be able to create this altered book then these individuals or artists may want to cut or tear the pages, then they might use glue or paints to add collages, gold effects, or pop ups to their new creations. These altered books have been known to have pockets created within their pages to hold tags, rock, or other memorabilia while some other altered books have had their shape completely changed. Artists of this new form of art work seem to be very found of various types of Victorian art work, which adds a type of antique look to these newly devised used books. Altered books have become so popular that they are being offered at many famous art galleries and all over the Internet, which is due to their uniqueness.

Altering books takes creativity and patience along with any used books that could stand to be recycled. Bound used books are used to create this new form of art through what ever means the artist may decide, which can be used as a conversation piece or as even as a journal. Some individuals alter used books to help them to work through personal or emotional issues or for many other reasons that are unknown to the viewer. Some of these altered used books may create certain themes, while others strictly express the personality of the artist.

Altering books actually began back during the medieval era. During this period it was very common for individuals to reuse their parchment for economic reasons, which was done by either scraping, rubbing, or simply covering the original text. This early form of altering books was known as palimpsest. Now during modern times, artists may paint, type, draw, and create different types of collages on every single page as a way to create clusters within the original text to express new forms of poetry.

The different types of materials and equipment that individuals and artists will use to create these altered books include a variety of decorative scissors, paper punches, a variety of rubber stamps and inks, paints, fibers, brads, embellishments, eyelets, and buttons. Other material may include chalks of regular and pastel colors, pens, markers, ribbons, tissue paper, beads, charms, cording, feathers, lace, different types of fabric, napkins, rhinestones, and any other material that the individual feels comfortable with using. The terrific thing surrounding this new form of art is that ultimately any type of object can be used in a variety of ways to create some unique form of art.