For Fore Edge Painting we have a term and definition in Book Collecting.

Fore Edge Painting (Book Collecting)

Exactly as the name implies, a decorative painting on the fore edge of a book. The page edges are fanned slightly so that the paint is actually applied not to the actual fore edge, but to the edge of the page near the fore edge. The result is that the painting is hidden or mostly hidden when the book is closed, but is revealed when the pages are fanned just so. The artist may apply a second painting by fanning the pages in the other direction, in which case we say that the book bears "double fore edge painting."
Fore edge painting was common in the nineteenth century, and the works of popular poets, such as Walter Scott, were frequently the canvas. The demand is strong for such books, and as is difficult to distinguish an old book with an old fore edge painting from an old book with a not-so-old fore edge painting the buyer should be beware.
At the risk of being labled a rumor monger, I will say that I have heard that modern painting on the fore edge of old books is the major industry in more than one small town in Italy, but I have been unable to verify this.

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