i \ 1 ^ •' /' i BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF 1891 .A.j:j..^.z9 4^^z<^i Z269 .PsSTaga"""'"'"'' """^ olin 3 1924 031 038 551 ULIIH LIBKAKy^UKLULAIIUIH ' DATE DUE • m^.==jz =nzqPH ^3cr \ H W' J!^Mt>M *" GAYLORO PRINTEDIN U.S.A. The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031038551 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. lf?3 AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING BY S. T. PRIDEAUX WITH A CHAPTER ON EARLY STAMPED BINDINGS By E. GORDON DUFF. LONDON LAWRENCE & BULLEN l6 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN 1893 <9 cr A. 5-zLf|q RiCHAKD Clay and Sons, Limited, LONDON AND BUNGAY. PREFACE The chiet part of the present book was written as an Introduction to the Catalogue of the Exhibition of Bind- ings, held at the Burhngton Fine Arts Club in the Summer of 189 1. In consequence of the growing interest in Binding it has been thought that an enlarged reprint of the Intro- duction might be useful to students, since information on the subject is only to be found scattered up and down expensive illustrated works, most of which are no longer obtainable. In the Appendix will be found a detailed account of embroidered covers, metal ornaments and book-edge decoration which Messrs. Cassell have kindly allowed vi PREFACE. me to reprint from their Magazine of Art, as well as such early English documents relating to the craft as I have been able to find. I hope it will be borne in mind that this does not pretend to be an exhaustive historical treatise, but is intended solely to help those interested in Binding to take the first steps towards its study. Having always in view this one object I have added a chronological table of the French and English sovereigns, the ex- planation of a few technical terms, and a Bibliography of works relating to the subject. The " end-paper " used for the present volume is a reproduction of one made at Nuremberg in the eighteenth century. I am glad to take this opportunity of acknowledg- ing the constant kindness of Mr. W. Y. Fletcher, who has at all times given me every facility for the examination of Bindings at the British Museum. S. T. Prideaux. CONTENTS. Binding of St. Cuthbert's Gospel . Frontispiece PAGE I. Historical Sketch of Bookbinding i 2. Table of Contemporaneous Sovereigns in France AND England 3. Technical Terms in Ordinary Use 4. Embroidered Book-covers 5. The Use of Metal in Bound Books 6. Book-edge Decoration 7. Early Documents Relating TO the Craft ... 211 8. Bibliography OF Works Relating to Binding ... 251 Index 295 138 139 140 169 200 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. The Art of Bookbinding has existed from the time EariUst , . , , , . bookbinding. when books were first made, but m the earhest times was little more than a special department of gold- smiths' work. Valuable books, and the majority of books were then valuable, were covered with gold or silver and ornamented with ivory and jewels. But since some manuscripts could not have been of such notable value, or their owners rich enough to ornament them in so costly a manner, a humbler style of binding grew up, which, employing leather as a suitable and inexpensive material, laid the foundation of bookbinding proper as we now understand it. Few jewelled bindings have come down to our time, jewelled bindings. for they were too valuable to escape the cupidity of rulers C^. .X 2 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. and the fury of reformers. In England, the spoliation of the monasteries under Henry VIII., and the wholesale destruction under Edward VI. of all vestiges of the old learning, wrought irremediable havoc amongst the fine libraries, and such rich bindings as might have till then escaped were swept away under the act " to strip off and pay into the king's treasury all gold and silver found on Popish books of devotion." Abroad this destruction was not quite so wholesale ; in all the more important libraries and in a few private collections examples are to be found. Much of the ornamentation was formed of enamel, and the centre was frequently an ivory plaque, while the corners were studded with crystals or precious stones. In very few cases, however, were these ivories carved for the bindings on which they are found, but were used like the precious stones as being in themselves very beautiful and suitable for the purpose of ornamenta- tion. In many cases, too, we find that the MS. on which the binding is now placed is not the one for which it was originally made ; so that although a fair number of these early bindings are in existence, there are not many which have come down to our times in an unaltered condition. Perhaps almost the finest examples in England of the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 3 work of two different periods are the covers of the MS. Ashbumham Gospels. of the Four Gospels, which belonged from time imme- morial to the Abbey of Noble Canonesses at Lindau on the Lake of Constance. In 1803 the convent was dis- solved, and the MS. shortly afterwards sold, finding its way into the collection of the Earl of Ashbumham. The lower cover is the earlier, being of the 8th century. Though strongly Celtic in design it was made in South Germany. In the centre is a cross patee with four figures representing the Saviour, the spaces between the arms of the cross containing figures of animals. The corners which have lost their original ornaments are filled with figures of the four evangelists. The material is gold or silver gilt ornamented with jewels. The upper cover was made about 896 in South Germany. In the centre is a crucifixion ; in the upper divisions made by the cross two angels, in the lower, figures of the Virgin and St. John,, St. Mary Magdalene, and Mary the wife of Cleopas. The whole is surrounded by a border profusely decorated with jewels, which are also used in profusion over the whole surface and edges. From a very early time deer-skin and cheveril were used in the monasteries both for binding the books 4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. themselves and for making cases for the costlier bindings. These cases were soon discarded and are rarely to be found, though some early Irish " polaires " are still ex- tant, as for instance the beautiful specimen in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, which formed the cover of The Book of Armagh. St. Cuth- Of actual leather bindings, the most interesting and bert'sGospel. noticeable is that on the little volume containing the Gospel of St. John, taken from the tomb of St. Cuthbert, which after many wanderings is now in the library at Stonyhurst. The boards of thin wood are covered with red leather, and in the centre of the obverse cover is a raised ornament of Celtic design ; above and below are small oblong panels filled with interlaced work execuj;ed with a style and coloured with yellow paint. The reverse cover is worked with a geometrical design picked out in yellow. As to the date of this binding there are different opinions, some assigning it to as early as the loth century, others to the 12th, while a mis- guided few have gone so far as to call it Elizabethan. The style of the binding undoubtedly points to the earliest date, and its excellent preservation and freshness are no disproof of its antiquity, since such volumes were HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. S usually carried in a decorated metal or leather case. The vellum flyleaves of the book, however, are of MS, much later than the loth century, and though these may very well have been added later to prevent the first and last leaf of the Gospel from being rubbed, they have caused some doubts as to the very early date of the binding. We may safely conclude that if the book was bound as late as the 12th or 13th century the binding upon it was copied from an earlier one. By the 1 2th century England was at the head of all English XII. Cent. foreign nations as regards binding, and, thanks to the bindings. researches of Mr. Weale, can fully substantiate its claim to that position. London, Winchester, Durham, and a few other important towns and monasteries had each their schools of binding, and from the few examples which have been preserved we can judge of the excellence of the work. The covers of the books were tooled with numbers of small dies, and the beauty of the binding depended as much upon the individual delicacy and beauty of the stamps as upon their arrangement, which, though infinitely varied, was very formal. Durham was especially noteworthy for its style of binding, and there are still preserved in its Cathedral 6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. library a series of books bound for Bishop Pudsey towards the end of the 12th century, perhaps the finest monuments of this class of work in existence. The dies are very various, and represent men, seated and on horse- back, fabulous animals of various descriptions, and many formal designs. Much of the ornamentation is formed of fine interlaced chain work, such as is generally associated with Venetian binding, while many of the dies bear the greatest resemblance to those used in Strasburg in the isth century. Early Win- The early Winchester work, of which the finest Chester bindings, specimen is the cover of the " Winchester Domesday Book," in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, though not so elaborate as that of Durham, and without the interlacing pattern, has dies of equally beautiful execution. In all these early bindings the main design of the side is a parallelogram formed by lines of dies, but the centre is filled up with circles and portions of circles, a style peculiar to England. This use of a circular ornament was so common, that some of the dies were cut wider at the top than the bottom, like the stones in the arch of a bridge, so that when fitted side by side they would form circles or parts of circles ; and in the same way many of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 7 the oblong dies were curved. The next two centuries do not seem to have produced much work of importance ; and the lavish use of dies seems to have decreased. There is, however, little material of this period left from which we can judge, but from such of the account books and fabric rolls as have been preserved we can see that bookbinding was largely practised, and even the names of a number of individual binders are known. The most important foreign bindings of the time were produced in the Low Countries and in France ; Germany producing little that is noteworthy, with the exception of some fine hand-worked leather bindings of figure subjects or floral patterns. In these the back- ground is cut away to a slight depth and then diapered over with a punch, producing a very rich effect. The Netherlandish binders seem to have taken the lead, and beside doing beautiful work, introduced many improve- ments in the art. The invention of printing in 1454, forms naturally an invention of important epoch in the history of bookbinding. When books began to be issued in such great numbers it was necessary that the bindings also should be produced more rapidly, and though they necessarily lost much of 8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. their individuality, they retained in the various countries a national distinctive style. Bindings after this period fall into two distinct divisions, trade bindings and private bindings. It was the custom of the stationer to issue his books ready bound, having himself obtained them from the printer in sheets. In the earliest tinies, the printer was very often a stationer as well, and in the latter capacity bound his own books, but the two trades rapidly became distinct, the binding being done entirely by the sta- tioners. The rich private collectors continued to have their books bound in a more sumptuous manner, using as a rule damask and velvet rather than leather. Many binders stamped their names upon their bindings either in full or concealed in a rebus, others stamped their initials and trade mark ; one at least went so far as to ornament his books with his own portrait. Amongst the German morc important binders of Germany at this period we XV. Cent. bindings. may mention especially John Richenbach, of Geislingen. His bindings, as a rule of pigskin, bear full inscriptions stamped upon the sides giving not only his own name as binder, and the date of the binding, but often the name of the person for whom the book was bound. These bindings are dated from 1467 onwards. Johannes HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 9 Fogel, who used some very delicate stamps, amongst them a curious, half-length figure playing on a lute, bound the copy of the Mazarine Bible now in Eton College library, and also another copy of the same book sold lately at the Brayton Ives sale in New York. Anthony Koburger, of Nuremberg, one of the most important printers and stationers of the isth century, bound his books in a very elaborate and distinctive manner. He gave up the use of small dies, and by means of large tools covered the side with a handsome and harmonious design. He also printed the title of the book in gold upon the top of the obverse cover. It seems to have been in Germany that half-binding was first introduced, for we find many specimens of the isth century with the wooden boards left without covering and the back formed of tooled pigskin or leather, the sides being in some cases fastened to the wooden boards by thin strips of metal. Italian bindings have little interest, being as a rule Italian . . XV. Cent. ornamented solely with varieties of plain interlaced bindings, patterns, probably Saracenic in origin, though not unlike those found on early EngHsh bindings. They have, however, a few peculiarities in the finishing, amongst 10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. which we may notice the custom of putting four clasps, one at top and bottom as well as the two ordinary ones ; and another, more rarely found, no doubt introduced after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, and copied from the bindings of Greek MSS., of running a groove down the edge of the covers, a peculiarity of Eastern European binding. This habit of putting a groove on the edges of the covers of Greek books continued well into the 1 6th century; it occurs in many of the Aldine bindings and also on some made for Henri II. Invention of The most important event in the history of Nether- the panel stamp. landish binding was the invention of the panel stamp about the middle of the 14th century. By its means the whole of the side of a small book could be decorated from one block, and as soon as books of small size began to issue in large numbers from the printing press its economic advantages were recognised and it was universally used in the Low Countries, France and England. In the Netherlands trade guilds were very strict, not only the binder's trade mark but his designs also being protected, and from the archives of these guilds a good deal can be gathered about the bindings, and the career of individual binders traced. Among the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. il early bindings are a few curiously produced from metal stamps of large size which have somewhat the appearance of the hand-worked productions of the period. The ornamentation of later Netherlandish binding is generally formal, the centre panel with spirals of foliage containing Netheriand- . ish panels. birds, beasts or grotesque creatures, while round the edge runs a motto or text with not unfrequently the name of the binder; indeed, these bindings give more explicit information than those of any other country. Such examples were produced by Johannes Bollcaert with the legend "Ob laudem Christi hunc librum recte ligavi Johannes Bollcaert," another panel has " Exerce studium quamvis perceperis artem Martinus Vulcanius," a third " In sudore vultus tui vesceris pane tuo per Petrum Elsenum." Similar examples were produced by Ludo- vicus Bloc, by the numerous members of the family of Gavere, and many others. Two panels bear the names respectively of Jacobus illuminator, and Jacobus filius Vincentii illuminatoris. An Antwerp binding has the inscription " Johannes de Woudix Antwerpie me fecit." Another, from Ghent, "Joris de Gavere me ligavit in Gandavo ; omnes sancti angeli, archangeU dei orate pro nobis." A binding in the Bodleian has this panel on the 12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. side, together with another similar in style, with the name " Johannes Guilibert," and is the only example known of a binding containing the signed panels of two different binders. Pictorial panels do not seem to have been so commonly used as they were in France, but there are some of extremely good execution. A very beautiful specimen bears the initials B. K., and has on one side the Adoration of the Magi and on the other the Annun- ciation. Another, with the entry into Jerusalem on one side and the Adoration of the Magi on the other, has the ■ inscription, " Frater Johannes de Weesalia ob laudem xpristi et matris ejus librum hunc recte ligavit." French panel From France we have a very large series of panel stamps. stamps, many of great beauty. Jehan Norins uses two large panels, one containing the vision of the Emperor Augustus (Ara coeli), and having his initials at the base, the other with St. Bernard, and a border containing the Sibyls. This binding has been many times reproduced, but the initials J. N. have always been misread I. H. Norins used also a small panel with a formal acorn pattern containing the name in full. Alexandre Alyat, a Paris stationer, about 1500, used a large stamp with a figure of Christ and the emblems of the Passion. Andre HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 13 Boule, Edmund Bayeux, Guillaume Baudart, and Hemon Lefevre used panels depicting the martyrdom of St. Sebastian; Jehan Dupin, J. G., and others, a panel with four saints ; P. Gerard, a representation of the Crucifixion ; I. L., the Mass of St. Gregory. The num- ber of the French panel stamps, however, is so large that it is impossible to attempt to enumerate them in a small space. The binders of Rouen and Caen produced Norman binders. bindings most nearly resembling English work, owing, no doubt, to their intimate business relations with this country. As they produced English service books in large numbers, they would probably bind them for the English market, so that it is quite probable that even many of the bindings with representative English devices upon them may have been produced in Normandy. A binding in the University Library, Cambridge, with the initials A. R., bears the shields of London and St. George, but was almost certainly produced abroad. Among the Rouen binders we may specially note J. Richard ; J. Huvin, whose panels contain figures of St. Michael and St. Nicholas ; Jean Moulin, who used panels with a pun- ning allusion to his name representing a miller ; R. Macd, who used, among others, a panel with the Annunciation ; 14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. and Denis Roce, whose bindings contain figures of four saints. All these binders, except the last, placed their names in full upon their bindings. English ■ The introduction of the art of printing into England, XV. Cent. bindings, and the consequent influx of foreign craftsmen, materially changed the character of English binding and destroyed its distinctive style. The old customs lingered for a while, as we see from the Oxford bindings of the time, and in some cases the old dies were still used ; but when the foreign printers (and they were, as a rule, their own binders) so far out-numbered the English, it was but natural that foreign styles should conquer. William Caxton, our first printer, when he returned to England from Bruges in 1477, 110 doubt brought his binding tools with him, and used them in the style which he had learnt abroad. His bindings, always of leather, were ruled with diagonal lines, and the diamond-shaped compartments thus formed were ornamented with stamps of flowers and fabulous animals. The border of the panels was generally formed of triangular stamps of dragons. Caxton's stamps passed, after his death in 1491, into the hands of his successor Wynkyn de Worde, who used them until the beginning of the i6th HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 15 century, when they seem to have fallen into other hands, and some at any rate were used by the stationer Henry Jacobi. The early Oxford press was carried on by Theodore Oxford _, J . , . . XV. Cent. Kood, of Cologne, in partnership with Thomas Hunte, bindings. an English stationer, and their bindings exhibit an interesting combination of the two national styles. The stamps, evidently of foreign design, were, no doubt, sup- plied by Rood ; but their disposition upon the binding is in the old English style. On some examples we find the dies disposed in large circles or portions of circles, a peculiarity of early English work, and one which gave such a distinctive character to the 1 2th century bindings of Durham and Winchester. Oxford bindings of this period are very easily distinguishable from others, nor are they at all uncommon, for the demand for books in Oxford must have been very large. Lettou and Machlinia, the first London printers, were also binders of books, but as only two bindings can at present be safely assigned to them, there are but slight grounds for forming any opinion upon their style of work. There are of course numberless bindings belonging to the end of the isth century, which from their workmanship and ornamenta- i6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. tion can safely be put down as English, but which can- not be ascribed to any particular binder or town. English It is impossible to determine at what date the panel panel- stamps. Stamp was introduced into England, and there are few early examples that can with any certainty be assigned to the 15 th century. The earliest example perhaps is to be found on a loose binding in the library of Westminster Abbey. The sides are tooled at the edges with small tools, and in the centre is a twice-repeated stamp with the arms presumably of Edward IV. This binding has, however, no binder's mark. Frederic Egmondt and Nicolas Lecompte, stationers, who came to England as early as 1493, used panels bearing their initials and marks. Lecompte's binding is evidently of foreign design, and ornamented simply with an arabesque floral pattern. Egmondt's has more variety. His most elaborate panel, which bears his name in full at the base, represents a wild man and woman standing on either side of a tree covered with some kind of fruit, and bearing in one hand flowering boughs, while with the other they assist in supporting a shield bearing Egmondt's mark and initials, suspended by a belt from the branches above them. Besides this HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 17 he used a small panel with a Tudor rose and vine leaves, surrounded by a border of leaves and flowers, and bearing his mark and initials. A similar design was used by Richard Pynson, and is Pynson, 1493-1528, found in conjunction with a panel bearing his arms and supporters as well as his trade-mark. Herbert speaks of bindings by Pynson with his mark on one side and a lull- length portrait of a king on the other, but such a binding is not at present known. To Wynkyn de Worde no w.deWorde I493-IS34' panel can with safety be assigned. He used at first Caxton's dies with a few additions, notably a large die or small stamp with the Royal Arms. At a later date his bindings were executed probably by Netherlandish binders working in England, who would use their own stamps. Among the witnesses to his will we find the name of J. Gaver, who was probably one of the large family of Gavere, binders in the Low Countries. There is a binding in the library of St. John's College, Oxford, Netherlandish in ornament but English in workmanship, with the initials I. G., which might possibly have been executed by him. De Worde also mentions in his will Alard, a bookbinder, and Nowel, the bookbinder in Shoe Lane ; but none of their work has been identified. i8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. English About the beginning of the i6th century two panels panels. Came very much into favour with the London binders ; one containing the arms of France and England quartered on a shield and supported by the dragon and greyhound, supporters which were discarded in^ 1528; the other having in the centre the Tudor rose supported by angels. Round the rose run two ribbons bearing the motto — " Haec rosa virtutis de celo missa sereno. Eternum florens regiasceptra feret." A fond beUef, strongly encouraged by booksellers, has grown up amongst collectors that such books once formed part of the library of Henry VIII., a theory which only ignorance can recommend. It would be as rational to imagine that all shops which have over their door the Royal Arms were residences of the Queen. Why such designs were so popular with binders is unknown ; but it is not improbable that they represent some privilege or are the signs of some guild. In the upper corners of these panels are the sun and moon, and shields with the cross of St. George and the arms of London, while in the base we find as a rule the initials and mark of the binder. Amongst others who used these panels we may specially HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 19 mention Julian Notary, the famous printer, who had two varieties, and Henry Jacobi, an early London stationer, who had three. Variations of the Royal Arms were used by H. N., who, not being a citizen, omitted the arms of London from his panels, and by G. G., who discarded the proper supporters of the Royal Arms and put two angels in their places. E. G., A. H., R. O., R. L., G. R., M. D., and John Reynes, all used the Royal Arms in one form or another, and besides these there are some large unsigned panels bearing the arms of Henry VIII. quartered with those of Catherine of Aragon or Anne Boleyn. Pictorial panels do not seem to have been so popular pictorial in England as they were abroad, and many of those we find in use were probably of foreign manufacture. Two elaborate early examples depicting St. Michael and St. George, with a binder's mark of a head upon a shield, and another of St. George signed L. W., are most probably of EngUsh work, though it is impossible to be certain, as the binders of Rouen and Caen produced work in the same style. Another beautiful binding of doubtful nationality has on one side St. Barbara with her palm 20 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. branch and three-windowed tower, and on the other the Mass of St. Gregory. It is worth noticing as a distinc- tion between EngUsh and foreign bindings that the small books bound in England have as a rule three bands on the back, foreign ones having four or five. This rule however has often exceptions, especially in the case of Norman work, and can only be taken as evidence in con- nection with other and weightier facts. I. R., whose stamps fell at a later date into the hands of John Reynes and were used with his own, had two designs — one of St. George slaying the dragon, and another of the Baptism of Christ. The Annunciation was a favourite subject, and we find many varieties of it, the most elaborate being one with the initials A. R. of very foreign appearance, but with the shields of St. George and the City of London in the borders. Nicholas Speryng, the Cambridge binder, A. H., and L. P. had similar panels ; and there are many more without initials or mark. Henry Jacobi had a panel with " Our Lady of Pity ; " A. R., the Annunciation and Baptism of Christ ; G. R., a panel with four saints, similar to many French bindings of the period, and surrounded by the motto " Quidquid agas prudenter agas et respice finem : O mater HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 21 dei memento mei ; " also a similar panel, rather smaller and without the motto. The best known of these bind- ings is one produced by John Reynes, copied from a cut in a French Book of Hours, representing the emblems of the Passion arranged heraldically upon a shield with supporters, and inscribed below " Redemptoris Mundi Arma." There are a few late foreign bindings worthy of notice. Laterforeign bindings. A binder whose initials were I. P., and who was asso- ciated with the Augustinian Priory of St. Martin and St. Gregory at Louvain, had several stamps. His finest, remarkable for the beauty and delicacy of its design, has a figure of the dying Cleopatra with a variety of arabesque work, a small medallion portrait in the centre, and the motto " Ingenium volens nihil non." Another panel bears a figure of Hope with a verse from the Psalms, and seems to have been used by another binder, I. B., examples sometimes occurring with these initials. He had also a panel with a figure of Lucretia stabbing herself, and in the border we find the engraved date 1534. It contains also the binder's mark, his motto, and the monogram of the Augustinian monastery. A fourth binding is entirely unlike any other stamped binding of the time. The 22 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. panel is filled with a frame of elaborate interlacing rope- work, and has in the centre a shield with the binder's mark and initials: it has also the engraved date 1540. A curious Low Countries binding of about the same date has a representation of the death of Abel. Cambridge In England about this time a panel came into fashion bindings. ornamented with medallion heads, which was used by John Reynes, Godfrey, N. S. (Nicholas Singleton?), M. D., T. P., G. P., and others. It has little beauty to recom- mend it, being in a poor debased Renaissance style, and is the last production of English work of this class. From the Cambridge stationers we have a most inter- esting series of bindings. Nicholas Speryng, coming probably from Antwerp, used two panels. On one is the Annunciation with his mark and initials ; on the other, in allusion to his Christian name, the favourite design of St. Nicholas restoring to life the three pickled children, with the name in full, and incorrectly printed Nicholas Spiernick. Besides these panels he had at least three rolls and an oblong stamp, all bearing his initials and mark ; Garrat Godfrey, his fellow stationer perhaps identical with Gerard van Graten, having rolls similar in design. On a book in the library of Westminster Abbey HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 23 we find the rolls of both, one being used to obliterate the other. John Lair da Siberch, the first Cambridge printer, used a broad roll with his initials, which fell later on into the hands probably of Speryng, who, erasing the I, sub- stituted his own initial N. It is worth noticing that the Cambridge binders frequently made use of leather stained a dull red, a peculiarity rarely found in other English bindings. The introduction of the roll was rendered necessary introduction of the roll. by the impossibility of decorating folio books with the panel stamp. At first the borders round large books were formed from small dies placed end to end, and later on from oblong stamps used in the same way ; but this system was too laborious not to be soon superseded, and the roll took its place. With the invention of this pernicious tool the rapid decline of stamped binding commenced. At first these rolls were of fine broad work, and produced a handsome effect. An excellent specimen was used at Paris by Claude Chevallon con- taining a rebus on his name. In England the various royal emblems in compartments often formed the subject, as in the beautiful roll used by Siberch ; while a roll with flowers and fabulous animals was still more common, 24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. a very fine example being used by John Reynes. At a later period these rolls became narrower and the ornament more formal, and are hardly distinguishable from foreign work of the same period. Singleton the printer used one of these rolls with his mark and initials. On nearly all small initials may be found, but it is not improbable that at this late date they are those of the engraver of the tool rather than of the binder who used it. The last and worst state of roll binding was reached about the beginning of the 17th century, when the design, instead of being struck from a roll cut as an intaglio, and appearing raised, was struck from a tool cut en camdieu and appeared indented. Abroad, during the latter part of the i6th century, stamped binding sur- vived only in Germany, but the bold character of the early work was gone. In spite of the beauty of the design and the excellence of the execution, the sides present a meagre and unsatisfactory appearance, due partly to the great delicacy and consequent want of depth in the tools, and partly to the use of pigskin and parchment in place Later of leather. The designs, though fine, were over-elaborated, German bindings, and the wealth of detail was wasted on a leather too hard to receive it. The centre panels of these bindings, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 25 often designed by the greatest artists, contain as a rule portraits of celebrated people, ancient and modern, depicted in a very German manner. Lucretia, with puffed sleeves and a feathered hat, stabs herself elegantly between the ribbons which tie her ornamental bodice ; Judith, fashionably attired in a similar style, holds the fiercely mustachioed "head of Holofernes ; "Justice," not unlike Queen Elizabeth, with her hair in an embroidered net, stands gazing open-eyed upon a very unbalanced pair of scales which she holds in her hand. Other panels contain portraits of such modern celebrities as Martin Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, or the reigning sovereign. The borders contain coats of arms and small medallion heads. These bindings bear, as a rule, the name or ini- tials of the binder, often that of the designer as well, and in many cases are dated. However good their execution may be, they bear unmistakable signs of the decadence of stamped work, which, so far as producing anything artistic is concerned, now died out absolutely. GILT BINDINGS. In the following historical sketch of gold tooled bind- ings an attempt is made to give such an account as will enable the student to trace the development of the art through successive epochs and in different countries. It is for this reason that some pains have been taken to describe the ornament characteristic of the different styles and periods. As the art is especially a French art, the history of it cannot fail to be in the main a history of French binding, and it has therefore seemed best to make its progress in that country the groundwork of the present sketch, sup- plying collaterally such details of its contemporaneous development in England and elsewhere as may be neces- sary. Moreover, as the Kings of France from the time of Louis XII. to that of Louis XV. were patrons of binding, and the books from their royal libraries offer the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 27 most valuable material for its study, it seems most con- venient to treat the subject according to their reigns, at all events during the important period of the Renaissance. We shall consider the subject as it falls naturally into three main periods : the first from 1494, when Aldus Manutius set up his printing press at Venice, to the end of the i6th century. This was the period of Maioli and Grolier, of the royal bindings done for Francis I. and Henri II. The art attained almost at once its highest perfection, at all events from the point of view of design. Secondly, the 1 7th century, with which are associated the names of the Eves and Le Gascon. Thirdly, the i8th century, the time of Boyet, Duseuil, Antoine-Michel Padeloup and the Deromes, in France, and of the Harleian style and Roger Payne in Eng- land. Any division must necessarily be somewhat arbitrary, but it happens that in this case the centuries correspond pretty definitely to the different types of the art at different periods of its development. CHAPTER I. '* Venetian bindings. Italian bind- It was in Italy that, as far as Europe is concerned, ings during the i6th and artistic tooled binding had its rise, and it was the intro- 17th cen- ° tunes. duction of Arabian art by means of Venetian commerce that gave the initiative. The ornamentation of early Italian binding is largely derived from that of Persian and Arabian MSS. One style, particularly known as ■ " Venetian," was obtained directly from the East, and is most familiar to us now on the outside of Persian books. The board was coated with a sort of paper composition, the centre and corners then cut or stamped out in panels, and the whole, both of the recessed tablets and the upper ground, covered with a thinly-pared leather. This was next coated with a coloured lacquer, and finally decorated and painted with arabesques in gold. The painted mosaics so prevalent in France during the best period came from Italy. Geometrical interlac- Mosaics. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 29 ings were filled in with a sort of coloured and varnished incrustation, and then bordered in gold lines. Very bril- liant when first finished, the composition in time cracked and peeled off, thus injuring the gold line work that encircled it. Mosaics of inlaid leather, extremely rare, though not unknown, in the 16th century, acquired a partial vogue in the 17 th, and in the i8th the incrusta- tion method had entirely disappeared. Cameo bindings also originated and were prevalent in Cameo bind- ings. Italy durmg the early part of the 1 6th century. These had centre pieces of designs in relief taken from antique gems and medals. They must be distinguished from the imitations which became popular in France for a short time. The real were made of some sort of lacquered paste put on to the leather, and of this sort is the oval stamp on the books of Canevari; the imita- tions obtained the relief by stamping the leather, and of this kind are those bearing the medallion portrait of Henri II. It is not exactly known when sold tooling was first used introduction on bindings in Italy, though it is said that there were beau- tiful 13th century specimens done in Syria. It was probably introduced during the last quarter of the isth century, 30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. and the practice no doubt came from the Saracens. The European foster-mother of the art was Venice, and its adoption is probably to be assigned to Aldus at his own press there, after 1494, although there are occasional earlier instances. From this period at all events dates the decoration of binding by means of small tools, curves and lines used in combination, as distinguished from the stamped blind work characteristic of the preceding period in England, and prevalent much later in other countries, especially in Germany. Those tools bear witness to the influence that Eastern — and especially Arabian — art had over Venice. It is thought that her commercial rela- tions with the Levant attracted a large number of Greek and Arab workmen, who brought with them their art traditions, and some of whom were undoubtedly em- Aidus, 1494. ployed by Aldus at his press. Others, again, consider that much of the Eastern character in the Aldine bind- ings, such as the corded and dotted borders, is due to Aldus and others copying the bindings of the manuscripts introduced in such numbers into Italy after the fall of Constantinople, when the revival of learning took place. There is in the MS. Department of the British Museum a folio Virgil of the last quarter of the 15th century, the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 31 sides of which are very interesting specimens of Italian binding under the direct influence of the East. It is in brown calf, and has in the centre panel a circular orna- ment and corners. These are entirely Oriental in design, and Arabic letters signifying " The kingdom is God's " form part of the decoration. The corners are segments of the same circular ornament. The design is produced by a very fine matting of the ground with a small point, and is finely outlined in gold. This panel is surrounded by blind lines, and then a fine interlaced cable pattern partly in blind and partly in gold. The patterns of this kind without gold are older than Aldus, and were used at Venice from about 1470. The earliest books that Aldus issued have a gold stamp ; then followed blind or gold parallel lines with corner ornaments, from 1500 — 15 10, sober in style, and among the best early bindings to be found ; and lastly, those elaborate geometrical patterns with which the name of Grolier is associated. He met Grolier in 1512, and the interlaced patterns begin about 1520. The leather he used was a smooth skin, generally olive in colour. He was the first to disuse wooden boards. The earhest Aldine tools were solid, similar, indeed, to those used in the printing press, and 32 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Saracenic in character. Maioli had them modified for his bindings by using them hollow, that is to say only in outline, and Grolier, finding them heavy, had them altered for his use to the same ornament barred, or azured as it is called, from the colour blue in heraldry being represented in this manner. The azured tools were first used by Grolier for the bindings done in France, between 1530 and 1540; no azured tools are found on French bindings before that date. Such few Italian examples as are seen were probably imitated from French bindings. Maioli. The bindings of Maioli, are, roughly speaking, contem- porary with those of Grolier, no known specimen being earlier than 1530. Tommaso Maioli was an Italian bibliophile still living in 1549. His uncle, Michele Maioli, a scientific writer, was also a collector, but no books bound for Michele are known. Tommaso had an extensive library of well-bound and ornamented books, some of which passed by exchange into the col- lection of Grolier. As the designs on the books of both collectors are somewhat similar in character, and as Grolier's early books were of Italian workmanship, it may be well here to point out some differentiating features. Maioli designs HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 33 are distinguished for their flowing scroll-work, the grace- ful curves of which interlace freely with the framework. The framework, which is less the design than the scroll- work, is made up of curves rather than of geometrical figures. The ornaments are moresque in character, mostly in outline, though occasionally azured, and part of Maioii and Grolier. the field is often enriched with dots. The designs have certainly more artistic merit than Grolier's on account of the perfection of their scroll-work. On one side of the book is generally to be found the motto, " Tho. Maioli ET AMicoRUM," and on the other " Inimici mei mea MiHi NON ME MiHi," Or else "Ingratis servire NEPHAS." On one book is found " Portio mea Domine SIT IN terra viventium," and on those not bound for him he had a monogram composed of the letters A.E.H.I.L.M.O.P.S.T., which form his name, though this does not explain the E H and P. On the books bound for Grolier the interlaced framework is the design itself Instead of flowing curved lines we have a geome- trical composition of interlaced straight lines and semi- circles. The ornaments are similar in character to those on Maioli's books, but azured and differently placed; they do not blend with the scroll-work but are put in 34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. spaces without regard to the perfection of curve seen in the best Maioli designs. Sometimes a mosaic effect is produced by an incrustation of different colours on the band spaces between the lines. On some of the plainer books bound for Maioli, gold leaf has been rubbed into the leather, so that the effect left is that of a bloom or fine dust, very pleasing to the eye. There are also some very fine simple ones with a plain border and the name in a panel or tablet. Some think the only difference in the books bound for the two collectors lies in the fact that Maioli always preserved his florid Italian style, while Grolier's taste became more severe in France, where he abandoned his earlier style learnt in Italy. To the patronage of the Medici family is largely due the success of binding in Italy. Piero de Medici col- lected MSS. distinguished for their miniatures and decoration, and had them marked with the fleur de lys ; Lorenzo had his books stamped with his arms, a laurel branch and the motto " Semper.'' The collections of Cardinals Scipione Lancellotti and Bonelli were hardly less celebrated, and Canevari, physician to either Urban the VII. or Urban the VIII. (or possibly to both), HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 35 about the year 1590 had his books stamped with a design that has rendered them famous. The names of the Orsini, the d'Este, and the della Rovere together with those of Popes and Cardinals are to be found as collectors of fine books, bindings from whose libraries are of rare value. Italy had no permanent school of binding, and though the artistic inspiration came from her, it was in France that it took root as a fine art. Practically, in fact, the originality of Italian binding ceased to exist after the first half of the i6th century. It is to France that we must now pass to watch the rapid progress of the art towards perfection. The fifty years of the reigns of Francis I. and Henri II. are the richest of all in designs for fine bindings, and contain, besides the French work done for those two monarchs, the bindings done else- where for Maioli, Grolier, Canevari, and Marc Lauwrin, though which Lauwrin it was for whom bindings were done is not known. Royal bindings of the isth century in France are French bind- ing during not numerous. Of extreme rarity are the bindings of '^V^''' ^"'^ Charles VIII., and not much more numerous those of """'''■ Louis XII. Louis was the first who had his motto and device stamped on his books. Before his marriage with 36 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Anne of Brittany, we find a semis of bees, and- the motto "NON UTITUR ACULEO REGINA GUI PAREMUS.'' After his marriage we have sometimes only the Louis XII., monogram L.A., with or without a crown, or the arms 1495-1515. of France alternatmg with the ermine of Brittany, and the hedgehog that was also his emblem, with the motto " CoMiNUs ET EMiNus." Louis was a great collector of books; after the conquest of Milan he annexed part of the libraries of the Visconti and the Sforza, and he also bought the collection of, the Flemish amateur, Louis de la Gruthuyse. All these books he sent to his library at Blois, whence they were subsequently re- moved by Francis I. to Fontainebleau. The Bibliothfeque Nationale and the Bibliothfeque Mazarine each possess one specimen. Grolier's library, in respect of size and selection, was so much the finest of the time, and his name is so inseparably connected with the finest period of binding, jeanGroiier, that a brief account of it is necessary. Born at Lyons, 1479-1565. in 1479, of a family that came from Verona, he replaced his father, in 1510, as Treasurer of the Duchy of Milan under Louis XII. In 1512, he made the acquaintance of the elder Aldus whose press he HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 37 patronised during the remainder of his life. In 1529 he was sent by Francis I. as Ambassador to Pope Clement VII. Many books from the Aldine Press were dedicated to him in terms that show he aided Aldus and his family with money, and copies de luxe of all books issued by them were reserved for his library. In 1545 he became Treasurer of France, and in 1547 Finance Minister, both of which functions he kept till his death. He helped to establish the College de France, under Francis I., superintended many architectural works like that of the Palace of Chantilly, and invented a new coinage uiider Henri II. His library at the Hotel de Lyon, near to the Buci Gate, was composed of 8,000 volumes of classical and Italian authors — with but one known MS. and hardly any French printed books — of which only 350 have been traced. These were, no doubt, mostly collected in Italy. After his death his books were divided among his inheritors, and sub- sequently found their way into the chief private collec- tions of France. Most of them became the property of Mery de Vic, and lay forgotten for more than a century in the Hotel de Vic, which Grolier had bought from the inheritors of Bude. The hotel remained in the 38 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. possession of Grolier's descendants until 1676, when it was sold. At the sale, Esprit Fl^chier, Bishop of Nismes, acquired ten volumes, and it was probably in 1725, at the Fldchier sale of books in England, that the first Groliers made their appearance in this country. Their prices were very low until the beginning of this century, but have been steadily rising, especially since 1830. The sales of the Libri library did more than anything to increase their value. The British Museum possesses about thirty Groliers, the Dublin University Library seven or eight, and there are many others to be found in this country in private libraries. Sixty-four volumes are in the Bibliotheque Nationale, fifteen in that of St. Genevifeve, and seven in the BibUothfeque de 1' Arsenal. There arises the question, did Grolier have his books bound in Italy or France ? M. Leroux de Lincy, to whose researches we owe most information about Grolier, thinks that they were chiefly, though perhaps not exclu- sively, bound in France, while Fournier thinks the reverse. It is a point that will probably never be decided, but the early ones were most likely bound in Italy during his sojourn there. In 1496, after the great expedition to HISTORICAL SKKTCH OF BOOKBINDING. 39 Naples, skilful Italian workmen came over to the court of Charles VIII., and Grolier may likewise have brought Italian workmen with him on his return from Italy, so that even if fine bindings were not known to have existed in France long before the i6th century, they could well have been carried out there during his life- time. It is probable, however, that Grolier followed rather than set a taste in binding, but at the same time he no. doubt formed a school and created a native art out of foreign material, and if the inspiration came from Italy the development was thenceforth entirely French. The style associated with his name was in fashion throughout all the i6th century. His bindings may be divided into two classes — those done for others, but admitted into his collection, he contenting himself with adding name and motto ; and those which were specially done for him. The last may be again divided into those bound for him in Venice, and distinctly Italian in character, and those probably bound in France between 1540 and 1556. Those specially bound for him are in morocco or brown calf, and the back, without ornament, has generally five or seven bands, though some few in the Bibliothbque 40 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Nationale are without bands ; at the beginning and end of the volume there are four, five, or six leaves of guard, the third being of vellum. The ornamentation is in compartments, either in one of the rigid geo- metrical styles which he first adopted, the Italian one with coloured bands, or the French in black and gold, or else in the third and latest style, with graceful inter- lacings diversified by fleurons and other small tools on the side. The Italian Groliers are all painted ; those stained black with gold lines are thought by some to mark the transition between the Italian and French styles and are possibly French, but those with plain gold lines only, without staining or colouring show the pure French style. The motto " lo. Grolierii et amicorum," or "Mei Grolierii Lugdunens. et amicorum," is generally found at the bottom of the front board, but sometimes in the centre immediately under the title, though when the binding is of the first class, it is occasionally written in his own hand on the fly leaf On the other board is nearly always found " Portio mea, DoMiNE, SIT IN terra viventium." He had other mottos besides the three above named most often used. " Tamquam ventus est vita mea " is found only on a HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 41 copy of the Cortegiano of 1528, instead of "Grolierii ET AMICORUM," and on a: copy of the Poliphilo of 1499. On others, " Custodit Dominus omnes diligentes se, ET OMNES iMPios DISPERDET." His arms, before his marriage, are a shield, the field azure with three bezants or, surmounted by three silver stars. After his marriage he impaled those of his wife, Anne Briconnet. His crest was a gooseberry bush with the motto, " Nec herba NEC ARBOR," while "Aeque difficulter," together with an emblem of a hand coming out of a cloud and trying to pull up an iron nail attached to the top of a hillock, is found on the volumes of 1501, 1508, 1513, and 15x5, the early years of his collection, referring probably to some event in his life. The habit of having several copies of a work was no doubt for the use of his friends, for to Marc Lauwrin, Maioli, and the Presi- dent Chris, de Thou, he made presents of books, as may be seen from the inscriptions in them, and Geoffroy Tory, Pithou, and Claude du Puy also had similar gifts from him. Whether Grolier drew out his own designs, or who made them, is not known. Geoffroy Tory, en- graver and royal printer to Francis I., in his Chamffleury, a work on the proportion of ancient letters, speaks of 42 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. some which Grolier employed him to design in a way that leads one to think they may have been those that Grolier used on his bindings, and there is a great similarity between some of the Grolier designs and the borders that surround the pages of the Champfleury. To Estienne de Laulne, the great engraver and gold- smith, who worked with him on the new coinage for Henri II., he also undoubtedly owed much. Grolier is credited with having been Ihe first to use morocco as it is now dressed, and he certainly was among the first to use lettering pieces on .the backs of books, a fashion which took a long time to get established. He is known to have taken much trouble in getting the finest moroccos from the Levant, which reached him through Jehan Colombel, a merchant at Avignon. It must be remembered that though we credit the binder with the artistic decoration of books, it is in a sense inaccurate to do so when dealing with this period. Commercial During the whole of the time of which we are treating, bindings. the stationer was the binder ; he bound the whole edition of his work, which he was then prepared to sell to the public, if registered as a bookseller. It is usual to say that the printer was also the binder at this time, but it HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 43 was only when he was also a stationer that he was in that capacity likewise a binder. In the i6th century, binding was done in the workshops of the stationer-booksellers ; in the 17th it was still under their direction, but done outside of it by master binders. The commercial bind- ing of the earlier periods was so decorative that it is im- possible to neglect it, though it differs from hand-work in being stamped by mechanical pressure. By commer- cial bindings, we mean those issued by the printer-binders and decorated by stamps on which the ornament was cut entire. Almost all was probably commercial work till the time of Grolier. Its early history belongs, of course, to the history of blind stamped work, but it soon became connected with gold ornament. Some of the stamps on the books issued by these printer-booksellers are of con- siderable interest. They were mostly parlant, that is to say they usually contained some punning allusion to the name of the binder, and served him as a sign. These matrix-stamps were cut in metal similarly to those used by the binder in his capacity of printer. M. Gruel, who has made many researches about these printer-binders, mentions in chronological order, as the most important, Philippe Pigouchet, Denis Roce, Robert 44 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Mac^, the Gryphes at Lyons, Christophe Plantin at Antwerp, Jean Bogard, Madeleine Bourselle, widow of Frangois Regnault, Jacques Dupuis, the Elze'viers, &c. It seems to be a disputed point whether there are any books extant from the Aldine Press having the anchor stamped on the original cover. M. Gruel states that he possesses several Elz^viers having the well-known mark of that Press stamped in gold on the binding as first issued. The Plantin Museum contains one specimen with the stamp of the printer-binder, and the metal stamp is likewise to be found among the printing plant carefully preserved. This sign is a compass describing the arc of a circle and the motto " Labore et constantia," and the book on which it is to be seen is a duodecimo bound in calf, entitled Le Livre de V Institution Chritienne. The brothers Angelier, printers at Paris in the middle of the i6th century, had a far more ornamental sign of their Press. It was a framework of blind lines on the sides, with solid gold corner ornaments, and in the centre the device of two little angels kneeling before an infant Christ, who in His right hand holds the cord that con- nects les anges lies, and in His left the globe. Geoflroy Tory's bindings have his stamp of the broken pitcher, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 45 which he took when he became bookseller. To this he Geoffroy added later the wimble or auger. This first was adopted 1480-1533. by Tory after the death of his little daughter in 1522. At the end of a Latin poem, published in 1524, first appears the engraving with the broken pitcher, and the motto " NoN PLUS," which he henceforth adopted as the sign of his business, instead of " Civis." In the Champ- fleury he explains this mark, but in an obscure way, and with an apparent 'endeavour to connect it with general affairs. There is little doubt however that it originated in the death of Agnes, and may be thus interpreted : the broken pitcher is her career cut short, the book with clasps indicates her literary studies, which he superin- tended ; the little winged figure her soul, and the motto "NoN plus" = "Je ne tiens plus \ rien." His own interpre- tation in the Champfleury is not inconsistent with this, and is briefly as follows : — The broken pitcher is our body which is a vessel of clay, the wimble is fate which pierces alike both strong and weak, the book with three chains and locks signifies that after death our body is sealed by the three Fates, the flowers in the pitcher are the virtues we possessed in life. The plain broken pitcher alone is found on the binding of several octavos ; on some quartos 46 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. we get the broken pitcher traversed by the wimble, or toret as it is called in French. This was probably a punning mark on his name, for it was always in the form of a T, and was also used by engravers. There are three bindings by Tory in the Bibliothfeque Nationale. One, the quarto, has the wimble, and the design has all the appearance of having been painted on in gold, for it is very free, and there are no sunk impressions of tooling. There are two birds at the top among the scroll-work, and it is throughout exceedingly fine. There is a Pe- trarch, 1525, in the British Museum which has the pitcher. Commercial binding about 1535 began to reproduce the arabesque ornament and interlacings of the Renais- sance ; many such stamped covers are not easy to dis- tinguish from hand-work, being exact imitations of the best work of the master gilders, the dots and smaller gold ornaments being added by hand after the main impres- sion had been given. Marius Michel thinks that as many as 80 per cent, of the French and Italian bindings of small size, dating from the i6th century, were orna- mented by means of stamps. During the first half of the century commercial work was merely a reproduction of hand-work. The Lyonnese binders, whose reputation HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 47 dates from the early i6th century, used very fine stamps. Lyons They were mostly the azured corners and centre pieces which originated in Venice, but were largely used in France. The rarest of these Lyons stamps are those in imitation of certain title-pages of the time, having caryatides supporting a framework with allegorical figures. It was during the last half of the i6th century that this commercial work had a really independent artistic existence, and, consequently, was at its best. A third phase of the stamped work is seen when the foliated centre pieces, originally worked leaf by leaf, were engraved as a whole for commercial bindings — laurel being first used, the oak and palm leaves alternating with laurel not coming in till the end of the i6th century. Corners were made to match the centres, in which branches appeared from a small cartouche, or the little cherub head so often used by Renaissance sculptors. It is interesting to see how commercial work followed in the footsteps of artistic binding throughout successive epochs, reproducing the best designs ; and later on, when the art became decadent, also the worst. We need not follow it further, now that the fact of its existence has been emphasised, merely drawing attention to the 48 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. circumstance that it probably had indirect advantages — first, in the discontinuance of wooden boards, which could not support the pressure necessary to the stamp ; and next, in the general refinement of the work, cord being substituted for the strips of leather on which books had hitherto for the most part been sewn. During the Renaissance the artists who designed for the printer, the jeweller, the potter and the craftsman in all the minor arts, designed also the book-covers of the great collectors, and such designs were carried out not by the printer-binders, but by the professional doreurs sur cuir. It was their business to gild and tool all leather work, from the coffers and cases for jewels, then an important business, down to the boots worn by the gallants, which were decorated with fine arabesques in gold. Through- out this time, then, the name of the binder does not give us the name of the gilder, though such work was probably carried out under the binder's direction. On the jewel boxes above mentioned is often to be found work of the same character as on contemporary bindings such as the interlacings of the reign of Henri II., the small pointed tooling of Le Gascon, and the lace-work of Derome. The important gilders in the reign of Henri II. were HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 49 Jehan Foucault and Jehan Louvet. In the 1 7th century, when the edict of Louis XII I. , in 16 18, was passed, making booksellers and binders reside in the University of St. Yves or in the Palace, and forbidding them to employ any one not belonging to their craft, one Pigorreau, a boot gilder of great reputation, endeavoured to get him- self received as bookbinder, for fear of losing his employ- ment on the covers of books. After much opposition on the part of the craft, he succeeded, and we read in a contemporary document, "Henceforth many gilders, though opposed by the binders, either by payment of money or on the pretext of an apprenticeship to binders, contrived to become members of the Bookbinders' Com- pany. But as these letters of freedom have always borne the threefold description of bookseller, printer, and binder, several lawsuits have arisen between the Company and gilders who wished to be received into it." It was not till 1686 that a statute was passed making the craft of relieur-doreur separate from that of libraire im- primeur. It is impossible to discover the name of the great designer whose work may be traced on the chief bindings of Francis I. and Henri II., or of the great gilder who 50 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. carried out his designs ; and this obscurity continues throughout the history of binding. Francis I. Many of the books bound for Francis I. were ItaHan in their ornamentation, in the style known as Groher, except that the arms of France generally take the place of the title of the work or motto of the treasurer, which on Grolier's books are usually found in the centre of the sides. The emblem of Francis I. was a salamander amid flames, and the motto " Nutrisco et exstinguo," also the letter F. with the fleur de lys. The emblem and motto were given him in his childhood by his tutor Boisy, and he used them in his seal throughout his reign. His books were mostly bound in black leather, excepting the Greek MSS., which were in coloured moroccos with smooth backs. Few books from his library are to be met with besides the ten in the Bibliothfeque Nationale. Some that have dolphins show that the book was bound in the reign of Francis I. but for the Dauphin. Only two binders, Philippe Le Noir and Estienne Roffet — called Le Faulcheur, were at this time entitled to take the title of relieurs ordinaires du roi, and both were printers and booksellers. During the reign of Henri II. binding reached its HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 51 highest perfection, and yet the books from the library of the Henri 11., King and Diane de Poitiers are almost the only fine ones that we know of. Peace had given place to war, and, the arts being neglected, there were no distinguished collec- tors, the King alone having a library of any importance. Nevertheless, the best of the books bound for him and his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, are the best known of any period, bold and fine in design and unfettered by any tradition. Their main characteristics of reserve and simplicity are at once the reason of their excellence and perhaps the explanation of the subsequent decline of the ornamentation applied to book decoration. With the exception of the emblems, no engraved tools were used ; the designs were entirely composed with lines and segments of circles, which in combination enabled the great designer, whose handiwork can be traced on the best bindings of those reigns, to execute in a triumph of arabesque both flowing tracery and an infinite variety of conventional foliage. As to what brings about the degradation of ornament there will always be a difference of opinion, and, in fact, what constitutes decadence in design is in itself an obscure point. Certainly with the gradual use of engraved stamps 52 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. freedom and simplicity seemed to disappear, but it would be arbitrary to assume that the engraved "tool" was necessarily the origin of the deterioration of pattern. Perhaps the explanation lies in the fact of the want of restraint shown in the engraving of the tools. It seemed such an easy way of getting effect, that they were soon made too composite ; they were made to contain too much, so that the designs achieved by their aid, instead of growing with an organic growth, if the expression may be permitted, and from the delicate adjustment of small and simple component parts, were gradually planned more and more with a view to using these stamps, in which the elaboration was the main feature. The Eibliothfeque Nationale possesses some 800 volumes which must have constituted nearly the whole of the library of Henri II. Most of the books have his emblems beside the arms of France ; either his monogram, with that of his Queen, Catherine de Medicis, the two C's of the Queen being interlaced with the H of the King ; or his monogram with that of Diane de Poitiers and the deer, hound, and other emblems of the chase suggested by her name. The ground plan of the designs continues to be interlacings, but while in those that HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 53 Grolier borrowed from Italy there is a predominance of straight Hnes, those done for Henri II. are com- posed almost entirely of curves. There are two styles in the designs : those having only interlacings and curves and those with interlacings and azured tools employed in the central ornament. The backs are without any bands instead of having five or seven as heretofore, and for the first time the decoration of the back is brought into harmony with that of the sides. He also had some imitation cameo bindings done for him. Both Catherine de Mddicis and Diane de Poitiers had Catherine de Midicis, important libraries of their own, and it is a fact that has 1519-1589. often misled purchasers of these books that to the library of each belonged volumes having the monogram of the other. Catherine brought with her from Italy the art traditions of her family. Her dowry to Henri II. comprised some MSS. from the library of Lorenzo de' Medicis, and when the Marshal Pietro Strozzi was killed at the siege of Thionville in 1558, she annexed his library, pretending that she intended to buy it. Her excuse, as narrated by Brant6me in the Vie des Capitaities Strangers, was that the library came from a relative, the 54 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Marshal having acquired it after the death of the Cardinal Ridolfi, who was of the House of Medici. When Catherine took possession of it she promised to pay the Marshal's son, but never did so. More than 4,000 printed books, to say nothing of MSS., constituted her private library at Chenonceaux in Tourraine, or at the Chateau de St. Maur, near Paris, according to Hilarion de Coste, which was enriched by costly presents offered in exchange for her patronage of letters. On her death, in 1588, her creditors obtained leave to sequestrate her property, including her magnificent library. It ap- pears to have remained at Paris under the guardianship of Benciveni, Abb^ of Bellevranche, her librarian. In 1594, De Thou, who had recently become librarian to the King, lost no time in pointing out to Henri IV. that the collection should revert to the crown. The King at once issued letters patent to that effect, but they were not put in execution for some years. They had to be repeated and an Act of Parliament obtained. Thus it was not till 1599 that Catherine's library was incorporated with that of the Kings of France. In 1597 an inventory and valuation of this hbrary was made by M. F. Pithou, many interesting extracts from HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 55 which may be found in a pamphlet entitled Notice sur la BibUothtque de Catherine de Mtdicis, by M. Leroux de Lincy. Unfortunately, this inventory says little about the binding. We know that Catherine did not have bound for her the MSS. of the Marshal Strozzi, as Henri IV. undertook that task, devoting to it the revenue of the Jesuits which he acquired during their years of exile. But that she employed the finest artists of the time for her bindings is an undoubted fact from the examples we know, and makes it the more unfortunate that the inventory should be silent on the matter. A great part of the library of Catherine is still in the Bibliothbque Nationale ; but some important works mentioned in the inventory are no longer there, and others with her arms and motto are to be found in public and private libraries. M. Bauchart, in his Femmes Bibliophiles de France, says that the rarity of books with her arms is accounted for by the fact that when they were united to the King's library, they were mostly rebound with the royal arms as a sign that they belonged henceforth to the crown, but does not say what evidence he has in support of this. Among the most interesting of the books from her library possessed by the British Museum is the little set 56 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. in three volumes of the works of Dionysius the Areopa- gite, bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. After Catherine became a widow, in 1559, she took as her emblem a heap of ashes watered by tears and encircled by a scroll containing the motto, " Ardorem extincta TESTANTUR vivERE FLAMMA," and this device is to be found on her later bindings. According to Hilarion de Coste (^jEloges sur les Vies des Hemes, des Princesses et des Dames illusires, Paris, 1647), she had also a broken lance with the words, " Lacrimae hinc, hinc dolor." All phases of design may be traced upon her books, from the Grolieresque style on the earliest of them, with straight interlacings and solid Aldine tools, through the grand period when the unknown artist who worked for Henri II. evidently worked also for her, down to those bound during the last years of her life, with the fioreated ovals and regular interlacings found on some of the books of Henri III. and known as the Eve style. Diane de The library of Diane de Poitiers at her Chateau d'Anet Poitiers, 1499-1566. was hardly less celebrated. She appears always to have had a taste for books, for in 1531, as the widow of Louis de Breze, she adopted on her bindings an arrow, encircled by laurels rising from a tomb, and the motto, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 57 " Sola, vivit in illo." Later, as the mistress of the Due d'Orldans, afterwards Henri II., she suppressed the tomb and modified the motto to " Sola vivit in illA." Her library of splendid MSS. on vellum, and of specimens of printing, was superbly bound, and frequently enriched by presents from the King. Most of them have her arms as Duchesse de Valentinois, and the motto above named, with her emblems of the chase, and occasionally the significant motto, " Consequitur quodcumque PETIT." Her chsiteau at Anet was one of the chefs d'muvre of the Renaissance, a palace of enchantment dedicated to the cult of Diana. It was built by Philibert Delorme and sculptured by Jean Goujon ; Jean Cousin designed the stained-glass windows ; and Leonard Limousin and Bernard de Palissy vied with each other in its decorations of enamel and pottery. After the King's death Diana retired to Anet, where she died and was buried in 1566. During the seven years that she survived the King she constantly added to her library, which remained at Anet entirely neglected till 1723, when it was put up to auction on the death of the Princesse de Conde, to whom it belonged. Much controversy has arisen about the monogram S8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. found riot only on the books of Henri II., but in the sculptured work of the chateau at Anet, and indeed on most of the art monuments of his reign. Is this monogram to be interpreted as a double D.H., sig- nifying the initials of the King and his mistress, or is it an H and a C, the letters of Henri and Catherine de M^dicis ? The strongest arguments are for the first interpretation, though M. Paulin Paris, among others, supports the latter theory. He considers that Catherine adopted the symbol of the crescent as her own, and that the monogram is hers. Against this we have to put the following facts : first, that the monogram is often accompanied by the symbols of the chase, with which Catherine could hardly have associated herself; secondly, that that particular mono- gram is never crowned as is the single H so often found in juxtaposition ; thirdly, Catherine had a distinct monogram of her own in which the double C is inter- laced with the H, and in which the curves of the C jut out beyond the H in such a way as to leave no doubt about the letter ; fourthly, this monogram, in which the character of the C is so apparent, is the only one that is ever found crowned. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 59 Marguerite d'Angouleme, sister of Francis I., and Marguerite r\ r XT d'Angou- Queen of Navarre, had some fine bindings, the general i^me, 1492- plan of which is a series of lozenge-shaped compartments made of reversed curves. They are separated by marguerites, and have the crowned monogram of the Duchesse d'Alengon, or Queen of Navarre. There were many private collectors of this period Private Collectors. whose bindings are much sought after. Marc Lauwrin, Marc Lauw- rin. of Watervliet, near Bruges, whose books bear the motto, " Laurini et amicorum," and sometimes " Virtus in ARDUO.'' There are four Lauwrins in the Biblioth^que Nationale, all very plain and in black leather, with the exception of one, which is in light brown. All have bands except the last, and all have the name in a cartouche on the front side and the motto similarly placed on the other. Demetrio Canevari, physician to Urban VIII. canevari. the books from whose library are easily recognised by their fine central oval stamp of Apollo driving his chariot over the waves — Apollo being in gold, the sea in green and silver, and the chariot coloured. The motto, OP®OS KAI MH AOEIIiS, runs round the stamp, which is often enclosed in a fine border. They were probably inherited by Demetrio, as they were mostly 6o HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Charles Comte de Mansfeldt, 1595- Anne de Montmor- ency, J493- 1567- bound in Venice between 1540 and 1560, while he was not born until 1559. This library was in existence in the Vico Lucoli in Genoa up to 1823. Peter Ernest Comte de Mansfeldt, the celebrated General of Charles v., had a fine library. His son Charles had also decorative bindings. The books of Charles were bound in the style attributed to Nicolas Eve, and had his arms and monogram of two C's interlaced, also two deltas AA interlaced, which together make the reversed triangles, so well known on his books. The constable Anne de Montmorency had on some books his sword entwined with a sash, and the motto, AIIAANGS ; on others a golden eagle and " Dieu aide au premier baron CHRtoEN." Philippe Desportes, who died in 1606, had the double ^^ on the backs of his books. With the death of Henri II. the great traditions of binding are suddenly interrupted. Four different gilders have been traced at work on the chief books of Francis I. and Henri II., and their work is seen no more. Possibly they may have been obliged to leave the country in consequence of the Huguenot persecutions between 1562 and 1570. Of Francis II. not many bindings are known. Of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 61 these the chief decoration is either a dolphin in gold Francis ii., with plain lines on the side, or, after his ascent to the '"' '^ °' throne, the arms of France with his monogram. The work of the great gilder to Henri II. may be traced on the best of his books with a monogram uniting his initials with that of Mary Stuart. There are three in the Bibliothfeque Nationale and two in the Bibliothfeque de I'Arsenal. Of Charles IX. rather more bindings are extant. Some charies ix. 1560-1574. of those bound for Francis II. have the additional initials of Charles IX., suggesting that they were perhaps finished in his reign. They are mostly distinguished by two C's reversed and interwoven sometimes with K, which is believed to be the initial of his mother Catherine de Mddicis. The letters are crowned, and occasionally constitute a semis. The arms of France are in the centre, with or without two pillars united by a floating scroll, and the motto " Pietate et JUSTITIA." There now arises a new style of geometrical inter- lacing quite different from that hitherto prevalent, having large intermediate spaces left unfilled with decoration, which was particularly adopted by Henri III. This was a 62 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Henri III., period of emblems, which were never more misused 1579-1589. than by that monarch. He instituted the Order of the Saint-Esprit, the symbol of which often appears on his books, and his fanaticism shows itself in the religious legends and devices, such as the Crucifixion and the Passion, which are generally to be found on works bound for him, without distinction as to whether they are religious or profane. These occupy the centre of that geometrical division into wide compartments above mentioned, which formed the basis of the future bindings of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV. when they were filled in by the small tools of the Eves and Le Gascon. The backs are nearly always plain, with a compartment at the top containing the title, and in another at the bottom, " Spes MEA Deus," or " Memento mori." The intermediate space has in an oval the royal arms and two or more quatrefoils, usually containing a Death's Head — the emblem of the Order of Penitents, to which the King belonged. A second style, besides the devotional stamps before mentioned, has frequently a semis of tears, fleurs de lys, or the monogram of the King interlaced with two lambdas XX representing Louise de Lorraine, his wife. The British Museum possesses a very fine breviary belong- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 63 ingtothis King in two folio volumes, Paris, 1588. In the centre of the front cover is the Crucifixion and on the back cover the Annunciation. Each cover has a double set of corners, and the field is powdered with fleur de lys. Henri III. extended his sumptuary laws beyond the dress of the bourgeois and nobility to the decoration of their books. The titles were permitted to be in gold, the edges to be gilt, and lines and arabesques to be traced in gold, but all massive gold stamps were forbidden — a decree that in nowise injured the progress of the art. The austere character of the bindings done for the King's own use did not however suit the taste of his sister. Marguerite de Valois, and a new mode of decoration arose, with which is particularly associated the names of the Eves, for it constitutes their second style, and which, for want of a better word, may be called the foliated style. The Bibliothbque Nationale possesses bindings of Henri III. in these three styles. To Henri IV.'s reign belongs especially the fashion of Henri iv., 1589-1610. semis of monograms, flowers, and small tools. Always in existence from the earliest times, they were most popular in the 17 th century. Another mode of decoration that also prevailed, and which marks the commencement 64 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. English binding of the i6th century. of the foliated period, were centres composed of branches intertwined, which took the place of the heavier azured centres that had hitherto prevailed in most of the simpler bindings. Very few bindings are known as belonging to Henri IV. besides the eleven in the Bibliothfeque Nationale, and those that exist are wanting in originality ; they are marked with the H. crowned, and the shields of France and Navarre, the whole being surrounded by the collars of the Orders of St. Michel and the St. Esprit. In other parts of Europe binding was far behind France during the i6th century. Germany continued and perfected the use of blind stamped leather all through the period that Italy was developing gold tooling. In England, too, that mode of decoration continued, though not so late as in Germany, well on into the i6th century. It was not till the reign of Edward VI. that gold tooling became usual in England, most of the leather binding, in Henry VIII. 's reign, being still blind tooled, though with exceptions. The Journal of the British Archaological Association, 1853, vol. VIII. contains Berthelet's bill, as King's printer, for books sold and bound and for statutes and proclamations furnished to the Government in 1541 — 1543. From the items put HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 65 down we can glean something of the nature of the binding done for Henry VIII. : " Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes the vj day of January a Psalter in englische and latine covered with crimoysyn satyne, 2s. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes for a little Psalter, takyng out of one booke and settyng in an other in the same place, and for gorgeous binding of the same booke xijif. ; and to the Goldesmythe for taking off the claspes and corner and for setting on the same ageyne xvjr/. Summa 2/4." Then we have such phrases as "bound after the facion of Venice," " bound after the Italian facion," " bounde after the Venecian fascion," " covered with purple velvit and written abowte with golde.'' There are gilt tooled bindings of Henry VIII. in the Henryviii. 1509-1547. MS. Department of the British Museum. The most important is a folio commentary in Latin on the campaign of the Emperor Charles V. against the French, A.D. 1544, addressed by Anthonius de Musica of Antwerp to the King of England. The binding is in dark brown calf, having in gold an oblong in the centre with the arms of England and the initials H.R. Above this panel there is a tablet with "Vero defensori fidei," and below another tablet with " Errorumque profligatori F 66 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. OPTIMO " : on each side of the panel are two medalhons of Plato and Dido. The whole is enclosed within a graceful arabesque border surrounded by blind lines, which also run on either side of the panel and round the extreme edge of the book. The reverse side is the same, except that the mottoes are " Maximo hknrico OCTAVO " and " Reg. anglorum, franc, hibernicque, P, M, P, P, D, G." The whole binding is in a fine state of preservation and the border is particularly good, made up, as borders were of that time, by the repetition of a single stamp of Venetian design. Another binding of Henry VIII. is the Liber de tribus Hierarchiis, by Gualterus Delsenus, an octavo in brown calf. It has the arms of the King, and beneath a rough impression of the serpent and the crucifixion as type and anti-type. These are all set in a geometrical pattern of a square interlaced with a diamond, the remaining spaces being filled up with heavy tooling. There are also two volumes in precisely similar binding, though containing in one case " An address for a body of Laws to be made in Latin" and in the other a treatise " De origine Dominorum.'''' They are in olive- green morocco very rarely found on any English books HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 67 of the period, and the size is a small quarto. In the centre of each cover are the arms of the King and the letters H.R. set in a diamond-shaped framework of blind and gold lines. This is again enclosed in a larger diamond, broken at the top, bottom, and sides by a gouge. The whole is framed in a square of gold and blind lines with corner ornaments, the spaces between that and the diamond being filled in with scroll-work and flowering cornucopia. The Printed Book Department has several English gilt tooled bindings of Henry VIII. One, an Antwerp Bible in two folio volumes, is very similar to the first one described. Both volumes have mottos from the Bible in large letters set in bands as a centre panel. On the front cover of Vol. I. is " Ainsi que tous meurent par Adam," and on the back cover "Aussi tous seront VIVIFIES PAR Christ." Vol. II. has on the front "La LOY A est£ donn]£e PAR MoYSE," and on the back " La grace ET la V^RIT^ EST FAICTE PAR JisU CHRIST." There are also the initials of Henry and Anne and a crowned rose at the top and at the bottom of the panels, the whole being enclosed in a framework of a double border with blind and gold Unes. A second is a vellum 68 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. printed quarto by Berthelet, entitled Opus eximium de vera differentia regice potestatis et ecclesiastica. Each side has a panel with the arms of the King, his initials and crowned rose in the centre and corners, which is again enclosed in a framework of four heavy corners con- nected by a slight border. A third is Elyot's Image of Governance, also a quarto, printed by Berthelet. This is in white leather, and the design is entirely Italian. Each cover has the royal motto " Dieu et mon droit " with the King's initials set in a square panel of arabesque ornament : the border and corners are similarly of Vene- tian pattern, and on the edges of the leaves painted in gold are the words " Rex in vEternum vive." It is probable from the nature of the tooling that all the bindings above described were of English work- manship, and possible that those printed by Berthelet were also bound by him ; but one cannot definitely assign any particular work to him. It will be seen from his bill that he bound many blank books for the King; but Henry VIII. had also some books of plain paper made abroad for him, for one, a large folio in black leather, containing the Privy Purse expenses from 1529-1532, is certainly not English in the character of its HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 69 ornE^ment. It has a centre diamond ornament, a border made by a very fine roll, and corners formed by the border roll being carried across. Another of foreign make was obviously not put to use till more than a century and a half later, for it contains a list of works in the Royal Library about 1670-1680. It is an enormous folio, made of Italian paper, and having parchment end papers emblazoned with the royal arms and insignia of Henry VIII. It is very solidly made, and certain parts have ornamental sewing ; the whole is both blind tooled and stamped, many of the dies looking as if they were made for the whole sides of small books. Books bound for Edward VI. are more numerous ; Edward vi. , 1547-1553. these are well worth study in the British Museum. One in the MS. Department, Gualteri Delceni Commentarius, is particularly perfect in the adaptation of the design to the size of the book, which is a duodecimo. It is of brown calf, with the arms of the King and the badge of the daisy in gold in the centre. There are light corners of a sort of floral cornucopia, and the whole is set in a frame- work of blind and gold lines. There is likewise a small quarto, the Travels of Giosafat Barbara, of Venice, to Tana and Persia, trans- 70 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. lated by William Thomas and dedicated to Edward VI. It is in light brown calf, having some scroll-work in gold, with the arms of England in the centre within a flamed circle. The circle as well as a surrounding inter- laced oblong and diamond and an outer border are coloured black. Books bound for Edward VI. before he was King have the feathers, motto, and initials E.P., afterwards his arms and initials E.R., and sometimes a verse from Scripture. There is an octavo in the MS. Department done for him a year before he came to the throne, " Lists of cities named in Tragus Pompeius and in the Epistles of Cicero," addressed by Petrus Auvarius to Edward, Prince of Wales, a.d. 1546. It is in light brown calf, and has in the centre a panel with the Prince of Wales's feathers, motto, and initials E.P., surrounded by a circle of flames and rays. The border is made up by the repetition of an arabesque tool, and the field is filled with scrolls, rosettes, and stars. Three blind lines surround the gilt tooled panel, and three are placed again at the edge of the book. In the Printed Book Department there is another, De amplitudine Misericordice. Dei, Andreasius, Basileas 1550, which has the arms and initials of Edward HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 71 VI. in a panel of gold, and blind lines with corner tools. In the same Department there is the only one to be seen with a Scriptural verse; La Geografia de Claudia Ptolomeo, Venetiis, 1548, which has the motto "Omnis POTESTAS A Deo " on the sides. On the edges of the leaves are the arms of Edward VI. painted in Colours with the initials E. R. in gold. Otherwise the binding is quite plain but for a bordering gold line. Perhaps the finest binding done for Edward VI. is the Petri Bembi Cardinalis Historia Veneta, Yenetiis, 1551. The design is a very good interlaced pattern in black, each cover bearing the arms and crowned initials of the King. In a circle above the arms is the royal motto " DiEU ET MON DROYT," and in one below them the date MDLII. English binders throughout the i6th century reproduced only foreign styles on their leather work, the designs of which were often very good but the execution far behind the French or Italian prototypes. They were very fond of the circle as ornament, especially flamed, and its use may be noticed as a differentiating characteristic in the foreign geometrical types that they adopted. 72 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. We have seen this ornament on two Edward VI. books, and it is more frequent on those bound for Queen Mary. Berthelet who died in 1556 probably bound for both. Mary, There are three books belonging to Queen Mary in 1553-1558. the MS. Department of the British Museum. Myles Huggard's poem addressed to her is a quarto in brown calf, having a centre ornament of her arms in a flamed circle, and the letters M.R. at the top and the bottom, and one gold line with corner ornaments as a border to the whole. Another is a Horx bound in vellum. It has her crown and arms in the centre, and there is a panel of blind lines surrounding it, with a delicate gold orna- ment placed at intervals within them, and angle ornaments. Among the Printed Books are to be seen Bonner's Profitable and necessarye dodryne, 1555. The arms of the Queen are again seen in a flamed circle set in a diamond panel. This panel is enclosed in an arabesque border, the field being filled in with scroll-work. There are blind lines at the side of the border and all round the edge of the book. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 73 Lastly, the Epitome Operum Divi Augustini, Colonic, 1549. This is a very fine foHo in brown calf. It has a centre panel of a diamond interlaced with an oblong, containing the arms of the Queen in a flamed circle. There is a broad border of Venetian pattern, and all the spaces between that and the panel are filled up with arabesques. There are three blind lines round the outer edge and an extreme bordering line of gold. The Black Acts, Edinburgh, 1556, is the only English binding in the British Museum done for Mary Queen of Scots. It has on each cover her arms impressed in gold and painted, and accompanied by the words "Maria Regina" upon two scrolls, the whole being enclosed within a broad gold border. We have said that foreign types of design prevailed in England throughout this period. Besides the inter- laced and arabesque work described in many of the above-named books, enamelled or painted mosaics are to be found similar to the Italian originals. There are seven volumes of an Aldine Cicero at the British Museum in this style, with the showy arms of the Heydon family, to whom they belonged — a Talbot passant argent, spotted sable. 74 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Another style was that with azured corners and centre pieces which, originating in Venice, became firmly es- tablished at Lyons, and was soon introduced into this country. Most of these styles may be seen on the bindings of Queen Elizabeth, and by that time the technique had considerably improved. It may be remarked here ■ that though we speak of English bindings at this time, it is a disputed point whether much of the work was not done by foreign workmen. The evidence however is in favour of its being English, for though the designs are often good enough for French work, the execution and the drawing are mostly inferior. Elizabeth, Many of the bindings belonging to Queen Elizabeth 1558-1603. were very fine. Some m brown calf have the device of a crowned falcon holding a sceptre, which was ori- ginally Anne Boleyn's, but continued by her daughter, and others are in vellum elaborately tooled. In the MS. Department of the British Museum is a vellum-bound quarto, Aetonensis Schola Oratio de adventu R. Elizabetcs ad arces Vindesorenses, 1563. It is a fine specimen of tooling, with her arms in a panel with corners and a border of arabesque. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 75 There are also several embroidered bindings and others decorated with enamel or silver ornaments. Indeed the leather bindings done for Elizabeth were not numerous, if we can judge from the few that remain. Her taste seems to have been principally for a more ornate style, if we can judge from Paul Hentzner's account in A Journey into England in the Year 1598. " In Whitehall are the following things worthy of obser- vation. I. The Royal Library well stored with Greek, Latin, ItaUan, and French books. All these books are bound in velvet of different colours, though chiefly red, with clasps of gold and silver ; some have pearls and precious stones set in their bindings.'' Corpus College, Cambridge, has some books with a portrait generally said to be that of Elizabeth. The chief private collections of this century were those English collectors of: — Thomas Wotton, 1521-1587, called the EngUsh Groher, from his adopting a similar style and motto to that of the French collector ; Archbishop Cranmer ; Lord Treasurer Burghley; Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, whose books, generally marked with his crest, the bear and ragged staff, and his initials, R.D., are very 76 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. fine and much decorated ; Archbishop Parker ; Henry Fitz Alan Earl of Arundel, whose emblem was the white horse; Lord Lumley, his son-in-law, who died in 1609, and Sir Robert Bruce Cotton. Many of the bindings done for Wotton are very fine, not inferior to the best Groliers. There are three in the British Museum. One, Cicero's Questions Tusculanes, in duodecimo, Lyon, 1543, of which the design has been frequently reproduced. Another, the finest of all, the Historia Mundi of Plinius Secundus, Lugduni, 1548, is a folio, also in brown calf, having at the top and bottom of each cover a com- plicated interlaced geometrical pattern in black, and between them a square scrolled centre with his arms. The whole is one of the finest specimens of English binding of the time. There is a copy in a very poor state, the Exposicion of Daniel the Prophete, in duodecimo, like the rest in brown calf, having at the top of the front cover " Thom^e WoTTONi ET AMicoRUM," in the centre a medallion of a man's head, and beneath, " 1548 " : on the reverse side, at the top, " The Exposition of Daniel," in the centre a medallion of Lucretia stabbing herself, and at the bottom "Thom^e Wottoni et amicorum." This HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 77 <:ame from Cambridge, having been in the possession of C. Combe : and a similar binding is still there with the medallions and the motto of Wotton. The books from the libraries of the other collectors mentioned are not described, because they are all similar in design to the various work done for the English monarchs, and, like those, are of foreign characteir. Throughout this period brown calf and sheep was the leather used, morocco not occurring even in the Royal libraries till the time of Elizabeth or James I. These, together with vellum and velvet, formed, with very rare exceptions, the material in which all books were bound. CHAPTER II. Frenchbind- The Evc Style IS first associated with the library of ing during . the 17th Marguerite de Valois, the third daughter of Henri II. century. and Catherine de Medicis, and first wife of Henri IV., who inherited a love of books and spent much time and Marguerite money On her hbrary. The small floral compartments de Valois, 1552-1615 centered with marguerites that diaper her volumes, mostly bound in olive, red, and citron morocco, are known to all. Those having in the centre of one side a shield with three fleurs de lys on a fesse — and on the other side the motto, " Expectata non eludet," are often ascribed to her library, but in the opinion of M. Guigard were most probably bound for Marie- Marguerite de Valois de Saint-Remy, daughter of a natural son of Henri III. Some bindings of the Eve character were done for Henri IV. before he came to the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 79 throne, and they all have the border of blended palm and laurel foliage in the Eve style. Marius Michel says Antoinette , . deVendfime. the King's aunt, Antoinette de Vendome, had many books bound in the same manner. Her initials A. and V. were entwined in the centre of the panel, or two C.'s, the initials of her husband, Claude de Lorraine, and in the foliaged ovals the two XX of Lorraine alternate with a flower. There is one sign often to be found on the bindings, ascribed to Marguerite de Valois, and on other books of the 1 6th and early 17th century, namely the S. barrd. Many explanatory theories have been brought forward about it, and at one time it was considered to be the monogram of Gabrielle D'Estr^es, but subsequently being found on books preceding her time, it has been considered to signify fermesse. It was most probably a religious symbol. On some autograph letters of Henri IV. at the Bibliothfeque de I'Arsenal, it may be seen placed at the top of each letter and also at the end with his signature. The Eves were a family of binders of whom the first. The Eves 1578-1631. Nicolas, worked for Henri III. in 1579. For the King he bound 42 copies of the Ztvre des Statuts de T Ordre 8o HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. du Saint-Esprit, the order founded by Henri III. His brother Clovis bound for Henri IV. and Louis XIII. Many of the books bear his name on the title-pa^e but the majority are unsigned. In the elaborate work associated with his name the geometrical lay-out of the designs remains as before, but it has not the unity that has hitherto characterised similar work, for the parts are separable from each other. The originality con- sists in surrounding the compartments with scrolls or spirals and branches of laurel and palm. There are three distinct styles in the Eve work ; in the earliest the com- partments are not filled in at all, in the next they have the small azured tools of the Lyons school ; the interlac- ings are much richer, the branches more important, and the spirals broken up with small azured tailpieces ; in the latest the spirals are smaller and more numerous, palms alternate with laurel and oak in the branches, and the compartments are filled with the 17th century tools to be described later. The name of Fanfare was given to this style of work in the last century, when Charles Nodier had a volume entitled Les Fanfares et Courvtes abbadesques, bound for him in this manner by Thouvenin, and ever since the small tools employed in HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 8i it have gone by the name of Fanfares. There were no inside borders at this time. Jacques Auguste de Thou was the most celebrated De Thou, . ^553*1617. patron of bmding during the last part of the i6th century. Son of Christophe de Thou, first President of the Parlia- ment of Paris, he inherited from him a valuable library, containing several books bound for Grolier, which the latter had presented to Christophe, in gratitude for having saved his life and honour. Jacques Auguste was President of the Parliament under Henri IV., a position his son held after him. He had a library of 8,000 volumes bound in a variety of styles. It included Fanfare bindings of the late period, in which the spirals were profuse and the foliage elaborate and delicate ; the dotted work of Le Gascon in his early days ; fawn- coloured calf, ornamented with plain gold lines ; white vellum stamped with arms ; and, most numerous of all, books covered in moroccos, red, olive, and citron, per- fectly plain except for his fine coats of arms. These arms vary greatly at different periods of his life, in the following succession. Before he was married they were simply argent with a chevron sable between three gad- flies of the same, with a cherub's head as his crest above G 82 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. the escutcheon and his name below, the whole enclosed between two branches of laurel. Later, he added his monogram, I.A.D.T., and this and the arms are on his books up to 1587, when he married Marie Barbangon. After this he impaled his wife's arms, gules with three lions crowned argent, with his own, and modified his monogram to I. A.M. Marie died in 1601, and the following year De Thou married Gasparde de la Chastre. Henceforth her arms replace Marie's, and the monogram becomes I.A.G. He left this library in perpetuity to his family, and the eldest son, Francois Auguste, librarian to the King, guarded it till he was beheaded in 1642 at Lyons. The third son of the historian was then put in the place of Frangois, and became the head of the family and the owner of the library, which he enriched with the collection of his father-in-law, Huges Picardet. His books are known by the combined arms of De Thou and Picardet until 1660, when he was made Baron de Meslay. His arms are henceforth sur- mounted by a count's coronet instead of a baron's, and the motto "Mane nobiscum Domine." Three years after his death, in 1677, the Abbd de Samer-aux-Bois sold the collection to meet the creditors of the family. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 83 Charron de M^nars bought it almost intact, except some of the MSS., which went to the Royal library. In 1706, the Marquis de M^nars resold the library to the Bishop of Strasburg for ^^40,000, who bequeathed it to his nephew, the Prince de Soubise, and it was only finally dispersed in 1788. By far the greater part of De Thou's library was plainly bound in rich red morocco with his arms — a style that was subsequently much copied by collectors in all countries. We have now come to the end of the i6th century, for though the Eves and their new style belong to the extreme end of it, their most characteristic work belongs to the 1 7th. It remains only to say a few words about binding itself at the period we have reached as apart from decoration. Early i6th century binding is mainly remarkable for its solidity; with Henri II. the work became much finer. Bands on the back were at first very numerous and heavy ; later on they were discarded, and the ornament of the back was then brought into relation with that on the sides, as may be seen in the best work of Francis I. and Henri II., though this was hardly practised regularly till 1560. It is the custom to consider that the practice of sawing across the backs of 84 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. books, to embed the cord on which the leaves are sewn, did not originate until the i8th century, but it is evident from the plain backs of this time that something of the sort took place as far back as the middle of the i6th century. It was not till the end of the i6th century that the leather began to be pared before covering — an important step in the direction of neatness and delicacy of work. Throughout the century the guards and lining papers were white, and sometimes of vellum ; the edges of the books were profusely ornamented with designs similar in character to the sides, and carried out by means of matting tools, while a further luxury was the marker of silk or ribbon, often ornamented with precious stones. Louis XIII,, The books of Louis XIII. were principally decorated 1610-1643. with a semis of fleurs de lys, and do not differ much from those of Henri IV. His device was the single L. crowned, often used in the semis with the fleur de lys, and these were occasionally used in conjunction with the crowned monogram of Queen Anne of Austria, two A.'s interlaced, one of which is reversed. The sides were sometimes bordered with the branch work used so much in the preceding reign. Another type may be seen in HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 85 the British Museum, consisting of a framework of lines broken at the top, bottom, and sides by half circles, with angle ornaments, the crowned L. and the crowned A.'s. On certain of these books there is, besides, a small centre panel containing a monogram of the letters H. and D. surrounded by the S. ferm^. This is asserted by Guigard to possibly signify that they originally belonged to Henri IV. and Gabrielle d'Estrdes, passing subsequently into the library of Louis XIII. But this explanation seems more ingenious than probable, as it is unlikely that the d' of d'Estrees would be given as the prominent letter of the name. In the Bibliotheque Nationale may be studied three types of books bound for Louis XIII. : the semis of crowned L. and fleurs de lys ; the semis of crowned \X only ; and the semis of crowned fleurs de lys only. His use of the crowned XX. must not be confounded with the lambda used by Louise de Lorraine and Henri III. His binders were Clovis Eve, and after him Macd Ruette, who worked between 1606-1638, and is Mac6 Ruette. supposed to have introduced into France marbled paper and a yellow morocco also marbled. It may not be amiss to say here a few words about 86 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. marbled paper, the origin of which remains obscure. Some think it originally came from Holland as wrapping for Dutch toys. La Caille {Histoire de V Imprimerie, Paris, 1689, p. 213) assigns its invention to MacdRuette, 1606-1638. John Kunckel (Ars Vitraria Experimeti- talis, Dantzig, 1679, ii. xliii) claims it for Germany, and also describes its method of manufacture. Lord Bacon, again (Sylva Sylvarum, Cent. 8, No. 741), calls it a Turkish invention, and thus describes it : — "The Turks have a pretty art of chamoletting of paper, which is not with us in use. They take divers oyled colours and put them severally (in drops) upon water ; and stirre the water lightly, and then wet their paper (being of some thicknesse) with it, and the paper will be waved, and veined, hke chamolet or marble." In the Athenaeum of November i6th, 1889, there appeared an account of an album amicorum, 5 J in. x 3I in. just purchased for the South Kensington Art Library, containing 228 leaves, of which forty-six are of marbled paper, comprising no fewer than thirty-four varieties. This book belonged to Wolffgang, of Vienna, who left that town in 1616 for Con- stantinople, where he remained eight years. The earhest entry is dated May 14th, 1616, the latest, January 19th, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 87 1632. "Besides the forty-six leaves of marbled paper above mentioned, there are eighty leaves with a reserved space for writing or painting on, the broad border being adorned either with ornamental panels, similar to those on Persian bindings of the i6th century, or else with floral decoration like that on the so-called Rhodian tiles and plates." The writer considers that " marbled paper in its varieties was therefore most probably of Turkish invention, as the hitherto known examples, French or Dutch, which can be attributed to a date prior to 1680 are all of one class, the small comb variety." The MS. Department of the British Museum con- tains 520 books of this class. The fashion of having these books in which to put autographs, coats of arms, drawings or any record of personal friends was mainly a German one, and prevailed from the latter part of the 1 6th century to the end of the i8th century. Out of this large number only 32 possess any leaves of marbled paper at all, ranging from a single leaf to as many as 139 in one book. They were evidently inserted as a curiosity, and as they were bound up in the book when it was made for the owner, it is obvious that the earUest date of any signature contained therein, or of 88 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. the binding, if it is a dated binding as many are, must be taken as the date of the marbled paper contained in it. It is a curious fact that the earhest album in the British Museum containing specimens of marbled or patterned paper is one that has 38 leaves of the paper described above by the writer in the Athenaum as Eastern in character, having a panel pattern or floral decoration faintly shadowed upon it in a transparent fashion. The entries in this book range from 1586- 1608. The next in chronological order is in a contemporary binding bearing the date 1599. This has 8 leaves of marbled paper veined and blotched both sides in a grey- blue and pink, but there is no comb pattern among them. The next in date, 1606-16 14, has 28 leaves of marbled paper, all grey-blue vein marble, and some very faintly and delicately done like the Japanese marbled paper now in the market. But the most important one, as far as the number and variety of marbled and other coloured papers is concerned, is a Wisendisches Denksbuch, 1620-1640. It is an entry book of the births, deaths, &c., of the family of Francis Wisendo of Wesenburg, Secretary HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 89 to the Aulic Council, 1613-1660. It contains 139 leaves of paper marbled both sides, over twenty leaves of other varieties, some sprinkled with gold or various colours, others plain coloured and glazed, and also three leaves of the " shadowed " paper found in the earliest dated album, but without the Eastern character. From an inspection of these albums containing marbled papers certain conclusions may be drawn, though it is possible that at any time some discovery may be made that will alter them. At present, however, it appears that the "shadowed" papers — of whatever nationality they may be — are earher than any of the marbled papers, and that they are much earlier than appears from the South Ken- sington album, i.e. 1586 as against 1616. It is also evident that marbled paper, veined, blotched, and swirled appeared before comb marble, which was in fact a more mature development of the art, and that thus the statement " that all known examples of marbled paper before 1680 are of the small comb variety," is not borne out by an inspection of the albums in the British Museum. Antoine Ruette succeeded his father between 1640 and 1650 as Crown binder, and did some fine work go HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. for Anne of Austria, during her Regency, and for the Private Col- Chancellor Se'guier. The motto of Siguier was " Arte lectors. ET MARTE," and he had the ornament of the golden fleece on his arms. To the same period belong also, as collectors, Mornay, Philippede, Dupuy, La Vrillifere, and Richelieu. Mornay's books have, besides his arms, his monogram of e Gratia et Preseverantia Sanctorum, Londini, 161 8, a quarto in white vellum. The Museum is very rich in books bound for his elder son, Henry Prince of Wales. He was a great col- lector, like his tutor. Lord Lumley, who, no doubt, in- stilled into him his love of books. Lord Lumley pos- sessed many books from the library of Thomas Cranmer, the main part of which had come into the hands of Lord 98 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Arundel, his father-in-law. On the death of Lord Lum- ley, in 1609, the Prince bought a large part of his library, which he had rebound for his own, and so it happened that the Cranmer books became part of the Royal Collection to be given later on to the nation by George II. Prince Henry's books have mostly very large and bold corner stamps, such as crowned roses, crowned lions, or fleurs de lys, and the arms in the centre; the smaller ones have azured corners and the feathers with "Ich Dien" and "H. P." in the centre. Though there is no attempt at design in the decoration, they are fine in their striking and simple effect. Others, done for Charles Prince of Wales, afterwards Charles I., are similar in character, but rather lighter, having scroll- work suggestive of the Eve influence, and his arms, with "C.P." Many of Charles II.'s books were bound for him in France as gifts, but some of the English specimens have plain panels with his crown cipher between two palm branches ; and the British Museum, among the numerous examples it possesses of MS. books, has a fine sample of the cottage ornament done for him in 1669. The Fan A great many bindings of this century have the fan- style. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 99 shaped ornament which was so prevalent in Italy during the 1 7th century, when the art had become decadent in that country. Made up of very small tools in close com- bination, which form a crowded central circular orna- ment in the middle and semi-circular ones at the corners, it sometimes has a rich effect, but there is no balance in the design, the tools composing it being all minute, and very poor in character. We must not omit to mention a Scotch school of Scotch bindings. bmding that did some very good work at the end of the 17th century, and disappeared after the first quarter of the 18th. The leather was most often blue and somewhat over-elaborately covered with small leaves and dots, but the designs are ingenious. Inferior examples were produced down to 1750. A far better type, and the one most distinctly native xiie Cottage style. to England, though also used about 1630 in France, is that known as the Cottage style, in consequence of the lay-out being a pent-like arrangement of lines at top, bottom and sides. In this type the spaces are filled in, sometimes with the French sprays and branches in combination with lace-work, sometimes with the small tools used in the fan ornament ; little rings and scales- 100 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. work are also very frequent in the filling up and are particularly characteristic of the English school. With reference to this work it may be noticed that Enghsh binding suffered greatly from the inferiority in design of the tools used ; the only wonder is that so many of the bindings look so well as they do, for on analysis of the designs it may be seen with what poor material they were composed. The art of combining tools to pro- duce a good effect was also of the most elementary kind, and they often appear to be thrown on almost indiscrim- inately. Oxford and Cambridge adopted the Cottage style very largely in the books they printed, which were clothed by their own binders. The chief private collectors of this time were Bishop Cosin, for whom Hugh Hutchinson bound, the Earl of Oxford, and the Lord Chancellor Clarendon whose binder was Notts. Sir Kenelm Digby can hardly be included, as, when exiled to France after the execution of Charles I., he had his books bound there, many by Le Gascon ; and when he returned to England at the Restoration, he left his collection in France, where, on his death in 1665, it was dispersed. His books have his arms and those of Venetia Stanley, his wife. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. loi Other materials besides leather were largely employed during the i6th and 17th centuries. Silk, velvet and embroidery which had been in use from a very early period were extensively used for royal bindings from the time of Queen lElizabeth, and throughout the Stuart period, particularly on books of devotion. Ornaments from the goldsmith and enameller also continued to overlay bind- ings till the end of the 17th century. The tortoiseshell covers edged and clasped with silver which are a special feature of the late 1 7th century are probably of Dutch workmanship. Specimens of these may be seen both in the British Museum and at South Kensington. Embroidery, indeed, applied to this use was almost Embroidered bindings, exclusively an English taste, and nowhere are such fine specimens of needle-worked bindings to be found as in England during this time. Silks of exquisite colours, gold and silver thread, bullions and pearls, delicately and intricately woven, combine to give richness of colour and splendour of effect. The British Museum possesses many specimens, and the University Library at Cam- bridge has two velvet bindings, one embroidered and one gold tooled which cover Bacon's works, and were presented by the author to the Library. 102 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. The name of the Ferrars of Little Gidding, must not be omitted in an account of the binding of this time. The life of Nicholas Ferrar has been written several times, and for many years the exact nature of the " Protestant Nunnery '' as it was called of Little Gidding gave rise to much controversy. Born in 1592 he was a man of distinguished piety from his earliest childhood, who after leaving Cambridge travelled for about five years in Europe for the sake of his health, and acquired during that time much learn- ing of very varied kinds. His connection with the Virginia Company is a very interesting one, but it must suffice to say here that on his return to England in 1619 he was employed as King's Counsel to conduct its affairs when threatened by the conspiracy which finally overthrew it. He remained in the position of Deputy Governor till 1624 when it was dissolved by the king, and Ferrar, whose reputation all over the country had become very great, was then elected to Parliament. Here however he remained but a short time, and after buying the lordships of Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire he carried out his intention, conceived many years back, of retiring from the world HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 103 and leading a religious life. Thither he took with him his mother, his brother John, his sister Mrs. Collet, and numerous nephews and nieces. At Little Gidding the routine was ordered mainly with a view to a religious life, and was superintended entirely by Nicholas as prin- cipal, but what is of interest in this particular connection is that it was conceived in no narrow spirit, as the following extracts show : — " And for the variety of employments, Nicholas Ferrar entertained a bookbinder's daughter of Cambridge to learn of her the skill and art of bookbinding and gilding, and grew very expert at it, as the king, having received books of her binding, said he never saw the like workmanship." — Life of N. Ferrar, by his brother John. J. E. B. Mayor's edition, Cambridge 1855. And again: — "Some therefore spent part of the day in perfecting their harmony on the Scripture, or getting it by heart, others practising their singing or playing on instrumental music, some learning to write fair hands or else to cipher, some of them exercising their humility and diligence in gilding and binding of books, for he desired every one that would should be taught a trade. Accordingly he entertained a Cambridge bookbinder's 104 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. daughter that bound rarely to show them that piece of skill"— Zi/e of N. Ferrar, by Dr. Jebb. J. E. B. Mayor's edition, Cambridge, 1855. It was no doubt for the binding of the Harmonies that the craft was learnt, and a brief account of what these were may be interesting. They were contrived with a view to bring together the accounts given by the different evangelists of the various actions or doctrines of our Lord in such a manner that they might be read either as one connected history, or as related by any one writer. Capt. J. E. Acland-Troyte thus describes the manner of their construction in a paper in The Library, September, 1890. " Pasting-printing was the process by which they were produced. Nicholas Ferrar set apart a large room for this purpose and here he spent a part of every day directing his nieces, the Miss Collets and the Ferrars, how they were to arrange the verses or lines so as to perfect a chapter or subject ; the Gospel history being divided for this purpose into 150 heads. First they cut the particular passages out of the printed copy roughly, and laid them in their places on large sheets of strong paper, and when the subject was complete each piece was neatly fitted to the next belonging to it, and pasted HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. loj evenly and smoothly together, and kept in its place by the help of a rolling press. Nearly all the volumes are illustrated, every page being embellished with one or more engravings. These pictures were collected by N. Ferrar in his travels on the Continent and during the years 1613 — 1618, and are doubtless very valuable, as it is stated he secured the prints of the best masters and let nothing of value escape him." The first Harmony was no doubt intended as an aid to the religious instruction of the community; but Charles I. having known Nicholas from his active pubUc life, heard of his new activities and borrowed this con- cordance for his inspection. When he returned it some months later it was to order a copy for his own use. This order was carried out with such promptitude that we read in John Ferrar's' life of his brother, "Before the year came about, such diligence and ex- pedition was used that a book was presented to his majesty being bound in crimson velvet and richly gilded upon the velvet, a thing not usual." King Charles then ordered one to be made for him of the Kings and Chronicles, which was " bound curiously in purple velvet, io6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. and that also most artificially gilt upon the velvet in an extraordinary manner." There is no doubt that this patronage of the king gave a sort of fashion to these Harmonies, and that the community would have made many more than they did, had not their establishment come to an un- timely end. The strictness of their life gave rise both to curiosity and censure, and in 1647 or 1648 the soldiers of the Parliamentary party plundered the house and church and ruthlessly destroyed many valuable works, the family alone saving themselves by flight. The most important point to us is to discover the nature of the bindings done by the ladies of Little Gidding. It has been the custom to assign embroidered covers of a certain type to them, but there are no grounds whatever for this opinion, except that we know they decorated their church with needle- work. Without doubt one special type of their binding is mentioned in the extracts given above, i.e. velvet gilt-tooled or stamped. Captain Acland-Troyte's re- searches have resulted in the discovery of the where- abouts of eleven of the Harmonies which are fully described in the Archmologia of 1888, and of these six HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 107 are in leather gilt-tooled, four in velvet gilt-tooled and one in red parchment with the four corners and centres of the two covers ornamented with designs in open work white parchment stuck on and gilded. The British Museum possesses three Harmonies, two in the Printed Book Department, and one in the MS. Department. The most ornate is The Harmony of the Four Evangelists, compiled for Charles I. It is a large folio in blue leather tooled all over. A broad-banded diamond panel contains a circle ornament surrounded by hearts, a segment of this is found at each corner, and the whole field is diapered with small tools and larger ones placed at intervals. The other in the Printed Book Department is also a Harmony of the four Gospels diapered with a large azured diamond, the spaces between being filled in with a small tool. This style is met with on other books of the time besides the Harmony. There were three ex- hibited in the Burlington Club in i8gi. In the MS. Department is The Book of Kings and Chronicles. The binding is comparatively simple. It is in blue leather like the others tooled all round with gold lines at inter- vals of half an inch, each panel having an ornament at io8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. the angles. All these books were presented to the Museum by George II. and sent direct from Windsor. It may be observed that the description of the bind- ings given by John Ferrar does not accord with the bindings themselves so far as we can compare them with those of the extant books. The explanation may be that the compiler of the notes published by Dr. Mayor was not accurate in his account. The life is not a formally written work, but taken from Baker's MSS. headed Some directions for collecting materials for the life of Nicholas Ferrar, 6fc. The account of the Harmonies was probably written in 1653, or twenty years after the books had left Gidding, so that a mistake in assigning the right details of the work to the diiferent books may be excused, especially as there were books bound in velvet at a later date. There is however another explanation, and that is that the leather bindings had loose embroidered covers to which the descriptions refer, and which have since been lost. In a review of English binding up to this time we are struck by the fact that though the names of certain English binders are known, it is impossible to HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 109 connect many books with their names, when we come to the period of gilt bindings. Thomas Berthelet is called printer and binder to Henry VIII. and Edward VI., but he was only an employer of workmen for covering the books he printed. John Gibson, of Edinburgh, was the appointed binder to James VI. when King of Scotland in 1581. Robert Barker and John Norton were his nominal binders after his succession to the English throne, though, like Berthelet, they were only employers. Samuel Mearne worked for Charles II. But so long as no bindings can be identified as their work, their names are of little interest. In the 1 7th century, then, there was a certain amount of good binding done in England but chiefly in imitation of French models. The Grolier style took but little hold of English taste ; the semis of the royal Stuart bindings lacked the finish of those done for Henry IV. and Louis XIII. ; the Eve style was copied with least success of all, but the plainer De Thou or Bourbon models were capable of more satisfactory reproduction, and consequently the end of the period can show excel- lent examples of that school. To sum up, during this period of two centuries, no HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. English bindings admit of the following classification : (i) Those in material other than leather, and often decorated with enamels and gold and silver, pierced and engraved; (2) Stamped vellum and calf bindings; (3) The Venetian-Lyonese work ; (4) Occasional specimens of French-Grolier work, very frequent ones of the French semis, and some very good imitations of Le Gascon, done between 1660 and 1720, which delicate style, curiously enough, was the most frequently imitated of all French work : (5) The cottage ornamented bindings — the one distinctly English style belonging to the 1 7th century. CHAPTER III With the 1 8th century in France, both binders and French bind- ing of the collectors increased prodigiously in number. We have isth century said that the best of Boyet's work comes into this time ; he was followed by his son Etienne Boyet, Duseuil, Antoine Michel Padeloup, Louis Douceur, Pierre Lemonnier, Anguerrand, the Deromes, and Jean Paul Dubuisson, binder to the Duke of Orleans. Mosaics of inlaid leather were very numerous ; those of Padeloup being especially important. We have no longer to notice any royal bindings, kings had ceased to lead the way in art and letters, and binding, like other things, was becoming democratic. On the other hand, the names of collectors are legion. Mdme. de Chamillart, wife of the finance minister of Mdme. de Chamillart, Louis XIV., had her books bound by Boyet and 1657-1731. Padeloup, with her arms in the middle, and two C.'s 112 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Longepierrs. interlaced in the corners. The Baron de Longepierre had written many tragedies none of which had met with any success, until the Medea brought him a very temporary renown. He signalised his triumph by using the sign of the golden fleece henceforth on all the books in his library. The Medea has been long since forgotten, but his books plainly bound with the fleece at the four corners and occasionally between the bands at the back have given him an unexpected reputation and one which is likely to be permanent. Numerous bindings with this sign are in the market, but it is only occasionally that Comtesse a genuine Longepierre is met with. The Comtesse de dc Verrue, 1670-1736. Verrue had many of her books quite simply bound ; others with her arms and the name Meudon, where she kept her library, in gold. The Count d'Hoym, Saxon Ambassador at Paris to Louis XV., had his books stamped with his arms. The Due de la Valliere had an important collection. Much sought after are books that have in a decorative oval the inscription "Ex Museo Girardot de Prefonds." It was the period, too, of the femmes bibliophiles: every woman of fashion had her library ; the daughters of Louis XV., Marie Adelaide, Victoire and Sophie had each her books bound in HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 113 different coloured moroccos : red for the elder, olive and citron- respectively for the others. Mdme. de Pompadour's books numbered nearly 4,000. They are distinguished by three castles in her arms ; and Mdme. du Barry, though she could hardly read, made a point of following the fashion in books, and had hers bound with .her arms and the motto " Boutez en avant.'' Bisiaux's only title to fame is that of being her binder. We will take the chief binders of the i8th century as they succeed each other, and as far as possible give some characteristics of their style and work. Luc Antoine Boyet worked for all the great collectors, l. a. Boyet, 1680-1733, for Fl^chier and Colbert, for the Comte d'Hoym and Bellanger, for Longepierre and Madame de Chamillart. He is credited with having first instituted the doublures, but Gruel connects the name of Florimond Badier with this innovation. His strong point lay in forwarding, his mode of decoration being mostly very simple, and consist- ing principally of a framework of lines, the angles and edges only being ornamented, a style which even in the present day forms the main stock in trade of the ordinary binder. So much confusion has always surrounded the name Du Seuii, 1673-1796. of Du Seuil that it may be useful to separate as far as 114 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. possible fiction from fact, and state clearly when the fiction arose, and what the facts are that have been recently established with regard to the existence of Du Seuil and his period of work. The style always spoken of as the " genre Du Seuil " consists of a double framework formed by a delicate three- lined fillet or roll, the inner frame having a fleuron at the angles. This ornament is always of seventeenth-century character, and is very often a small vase. Books bound thus are mostly in red morocco, and some have a doublure or morocco lining, with a design similar to that on the outside. It is a style that predominates on the bindings of the seventeenth century, on the books issued from the Elzevier press, and on the works that composed the less ornamental portion of the libraries of Mazarin, Colbert, Kenelm Digby, Count d'Hoym, and others. It is impossible that Augustin Du Seuil, born about 1673, should have originated a style that prevailed between 1630 and 1680, and probably constituted the stock pattern of the majority of binders of that time. Assuredly the name of the originator is not known, nor is it, indeed, likely to be discovered, considering the dearth of signed bindings of the period. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 115 How, then, arose the tradition that associates the style described above with the name of Du Seuil, and, moreover, affixed, to that name the qualification of Abbd ? The name was apparently first heard of in 1724, when the library of Count Lomdnie de Brienne was sold in London on April 24, 1724, by James Woodman. This catalogue may be seen in the British Museum, and the title-page runs thus : "A Catalogue of the Library of his Excellency Louis Henri de Lomdnie, Count de Brienne, Secretary of State to Louis XIV., and Ambassador at Rome, belonging to his son the late Bishop of Coutance in Normandy." London, 1724, 8vo., pp. vii., 143. In the preliminary description we read : " The books are in very fair condition, and several hundreds of them have been new covered in morocco by Monsieur I'Abbe du Seuil, and the collection is as entire as it first came over ; " and throughout the list, against the names of certain individual books is to be found " Corio turcico compactum, per Abbatem du Seuil ; " or if the book was in French, " Relid en maroquin, par I'Abb^ du Seuil ; " and if in English, " Nicely covered in morocco by the Abb^ du Seuil." The sale of this fine library attracted great attention, for the taste for French bind- I 2 ii6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. ings had developed in this country, and according to the Mimoires inedits Louis Henri de Lom'enie Comte de Brienne, 1828, 8vo., vol. ii., p. 235, it had cost its owner 80,000 livres. These entries, then, constitute the only foundation for the tradition that there was sometime an ecclesiastic who amused himself in his leisure time by doing elegant bindings, and that such bindings were in the style already described. M. Gruel says that he has minutely searched the three volumes of the Catalogue de la bibliothlque de Lom'enie de Brienne, edited with great care by Laire and De Bare, and that he has found none of the above inscriptions, so that either they were not on the books at all, or if they were they escaped the notice of these editors. If we adopt the latter alternative, the recent suggestion of Mr. Quaritch may be considered. It is that the Count, in sending his books to sale, mentioned that certain of them were bound by A. du Seuil, mean- ing Augustin du Seuil, whose reputation was then established, and that the compiler of the catalogue expanded "A," into "Abbd." But Louis Henri de Brienne died in 1698 ; therefore if A. du Seuil did any work for him it must have been as a young man of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 117 twenty-five, who could hardly have done " several hundreds '' of books, unless, with a view to the words " new covered," we admit the possibility of a portion of the library having been dealt with by A. du Seuil after the Count's death,'and while still in the hands of his son, who had inherited it. In view of these facts we must pardon the Baron Pichon, who, in his interesting life of the Comte d'Hoym, vol. i., p. 162, indignantly ascribes the fable of the Abb^ binder to the imagination of the English. Before we pass from this imaginary Abb^ to the real Augustin du Seuil, we must note the astonishing way in which the tradition has been adopted in France as well as England. Charles Nodier seems to have been the first to spread it in France. In one of his papers relating to books and binding he says, "On croit que Du Seuil ^tait un eccldsiastique de Paris." Fournier, in his L'ari de la reliure en France, Paris, 1886, p. 208, repeats the same statement on Nodier's authority, and devotes several pages to a discussion of the habit of priests and leisured nobles adopting trades as a pastime. With us the story has been adopted with more excuse in consequence of the English catalogue of the Lomdnie sale. Hannett, in his History of the Art of Book-Binding, n8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. London, 1843, p. 193; and Edwards, in his Memories of Libraries, vol. ii., p. 977, London, 1859, as well as later writers, have all passed on the fable. It is time that the confusion was cleared away, and that book- sellers gave up describing in their catalogues all books of the 17th century decorated with rectangular fillets and corner ornaments as " in the style of Du Seuil." We will now pass on to some account of the binder to Louis XV. — Augustin du Seuil. The following biograph- ical details are found in Jal's Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d^histoire, Svo., Paris, 2nd edition, 1872 : His father, Honor^ du Seuil, was a Provengal shop- keeper in a village of the province of Marseilles, called Meusnes, evidently of slight importance, since the name is not found in any geographical dictionary. Honord married Elizabeth Billon, and their son, Auguste, was born about 1673. It is not known how or when he came to Paris, nor what master-binder taught him his trade ; but it is more than probable that he served his appren- ticeship to one of the Padeloup family, for on Novem- ber 23, 1699, he married Frangoise, daughter of Philippe Padeloup, aged twenty-five years according to the marriage register of St. Severin. By her he had seven HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 119 children, no one of whom, so far as we know, followed in his father's footsteps. His name is spelt in his signature A. Duseuil; other signatures show the Seuil separated from the article by a capital S. Lesnd speaks of him as Desseuil, and M. Libri, probably misled by Lesn^, in the catalogue of his library sold in London in 1859, as De Seuil. In the appointment as Court binder his name is spelt as De Sueil, but at that time ortho- graphy was still in an unsettled state, and differences in the mode of spelling Christian names are frequently met with. It is probable that his own signature above mentioned shows the correct way of writing the name. If any confirmation is wanted of the reputation of Du Seuil during his lifetime, it may be found in the fact of his appointment by King Louis XV. on February 26, 1 7 17, as Court binder, without waiting for any vacancy to take place, for Louis Du Bois already held the post, and did not die till February 15, 1728, but as it were in anticipation. The first letters patent run thus : "brevet de RELIEUR DU ROY POUR AUGUSTIN DE SUEIL." i2a HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. "Aujourd'hui 26° Fevrier 1717. Le Roy estant h. Paris, ayant ^gard aux t^moignages avantageux qui luy ont est^ rendus de la probitd et capacitd d'Augustin de Sueil, Maistre Relieur k Paris, et voulant en cette con- sideration le traitter favorablement, Sa Majesty, de I'avis de Monsieur le due d'Orleans, son oncle Regent, a retenu et retient ledit de Sueil en la charge de I'un de ses Relieurs ordinaires. Pour par lui en faire les fonctions, en jouir et user aux mesmes honneurs, prerogatives et privileges dont jouissent les autres Relieurs de Sa Majesty. Et pour assurance de sa Volontd, Elle m'a commands d'expddier aud. de Sueil le present Brevet qu' Elle a sign^ de sa main, et fait contresigner par Moy, Con" Secretaire d'Estat et de ses commandemens et finances." After the death of Louis Du Bois, eleven years later, Du Sueil succeeded regularly to the office, as is shown by the second brevet, in which he is formally installed, and which runs as follows. "Aujourd'huy 15 Fdvrier 1728. Le Roy estant k Versailles, bien inform^ de la capacity d'Augustin de Seuil et de sa fidelity et affection k son service, sa majeste I'a retenu et retient en la charge de I'un des HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 121 Relieurs de sa Maison vacante par le ddceds de Louis du Bois, dernier possesseur d'icelle ; Pour par led. de Seuil I'avoir at exercer en jouir et user aux honneurs, autoritds, privileges, franchises, liberies, gages, droits, fruits, profits, revenus et emolumens accoutumds et y appurtenant vels et semblables qu'en a jouy ou dd jouir led. du Bois et ce tant qu'il plaira k Sa Majesty, laquelle pour assurance de sa Volontd . . . etc." He thus occupied the post of Court binder for twenty- nine years, and on his death in 1746 was succeeded by Pierre Anguerrand. We know, too, that together with Boyet and Padeloup he did the Count d'Hoym's best work, for in the daybook of the Count, cited by the Baron Pichon, there is an entry of ninety-six livres paid to him for binding on August 24, 1725. His name appears likewise in the catalogue of the Abb^ de Rothelin, and in that of M. de Selle; and in the certificate of his wife's death he is described as " Relieur de Monseigneur et de Madame la Duchesse de Berry." There is no authentic specimen of his work, so that everything concerning his style is mere conjecture, and we do not know whether he was an imitator of the earlier 122 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. masters, or whether he originated a style of his own. It is most probable, though, that he worked after the fashion of Boyet and Padeloup, and there is work ascribed to him similar in character to the former, but more ornate, and with wide dentelle borders. M. P. Deschamps, under the pseudonym of Jean de Poche, has published in the Miscellanies Bibliographiques, Rouveyre, 1879 and 1880, different bills of binders, among which is one of Du Seuil. It contains the detailed account of sundry bindings supplied in 1740 to M. Anisson-Duperron, director of the Imprimerie Royale. It is a curious fact that the name of Augustin du Seuil, though he occupied the post of royal binder for so many years, has not been met with in any book of statutes, annual, or registered trade-list of the time. Antoine Padeloup, Called Le Teune, succeeded Boyet as Michel Padeloup, relicur du roi. and was one of a family that furnished 1685-1758, ■' many binders in this century. The characteristics of Padeloup, whose work has always had many admirers, is the beauty of his leather, the perfection of his forwarding, and the taste shown in his decoration. His mosaics must not be considered, for, though greatly admired for the HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 123 brilliancy of their colouring, the tile-like design of their compartments is often very feeble. Most of Padeloup's morocco work had excellent doublures, of which the dentelle borders are based on the 17th century tools, which were gradually becoming heavier in style. As a binder, Padeloup was rightly celebrated. He worked for Comte d'Hoym, Mdme. de Pompadour, Bonnier de la Mosson, and the chief collectors of the time, and was succeeded as relieur du roi by Louis Douceur, whose Louis Dou- <=«'"', 1737. work, though m the same style, is heavier and somewhat clumsy, Padeloup was the first who employed for gold work large engraved plates, which were used in an arm- ing press. He was also the first binder who used an etiquette with his name. Jean Ch. Henri Lemonnier, binder to the Duke of J. c. h. Lemonnier, Orleans in 1757, was one of a large family of binders. '737- He is celebrated for his elaborate mosaics, representing allegorical scenes, landscapes, and bouquets of flowers, which are rather tours de force than successful examples of decorative binding. He was succeeded by Tessier. Frangois la Fert^ bound for Louis XV. and for La Vallifere. The Deromes supplied more binders to this period 124 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. than any other known family. Jacques Antoine was the contemporary of Padeloup, but it was probably his son, N. D. De- Nicolas Denis, about 1761, who once more gave to the rome, 1761. art the distinction of a new style. The continuity of the traditions of Padeloup in his work may be due to his having purchased part of the latter's plant. His dentelles h Voiseau were imitations of those of Padeloup, who first used the bird-tool, which is much finer in his work than in the imitations of Derome le Jeune. He also did mosaics — a taste for which was the fashion of the age — but his dentelles are what made his reputation. They are distinguished from preceding ones by not being made up of the same tools in repetition, but in combina- tion, thus affording much more variety. The types of his tools, which were lightly shaded, were taken from the great metal workers of the time, and may be seen in the balconies and staircases of the houses of the period. We see in his work and in that of his predecessors how the tools employed had been gradually getting thicker and heavier, until in those of Dubuisson, who had the largest collection of the century, they are distinctly solid in character. What constitutes a style, says Marius Michel, is the repetition of the same ornamental forms HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 125 in all crafts and industries of a period. The iSth century style was a distinct one, and the motives of the Derome and Dubuisson dentelles may be found on all the pottery and tapestry and furniture of the time. Jean Paul Dubuisson was engraver painter and tool- j.p.DubuU- cutter, as well as binder and gilder. He was relieur^°Ti9^^^ du roi in 1758, and executed large and massive den- telles. Three other names are worthy of mention. The family of Anguerrand supplied many binders, but Pierre pierre was the most important. He bound for the Marquis de 1748-1777. ' Paulmy, between 1770 and 1775. Jean Pierre Jubert is supposed to have been binder to j. p. jubert, Marie Antoinette ; he is known chiefly for his almanacks in the dentelle style. Alexis Pierre Bradel, nephew and successor to Derome, a. p.Bradei, 1772-1809. worked in his manner, but is best known as the in- ventor of a temporary mode of binding for valuable books which enabled them to be used without being forwarded. French authorities in binding state that with Derome began the definite deterioration of binding, especially in the forwarding. They say that he cut down not only the 126 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. books entrusted to him of his own time, but the most valuable works of the past, thereby setting a fashion of smooth edges which lasted until Thouvenin, who was the first in the next century to reform forwarding and culti- vate a taste for large margins. He did of course a large amount of work, and this may be true of a part of it, but it is certainly not true of a great deal to be seen in this country. Derome introduced the use of hollow backs, in which the leather is not put directly on to the book. This, together with the deterioration of leather that took place at the same time, caused binding during the last fifty years of the i8th century to reach the lowest ebb to which the art was ever reduced. The above names, except that of Thouvenin, who belonged to the Empire and the time of Louis XVIII., are the last that appear in the list of French binders, before their craft was submerged during the time of the Republic. Bindings of The French Revolution was fatal to all forms of theRepublic i?93- luxury m art, and the bmdmgs of the time have nothing on them but patriotic or revolutionary emblems, such as the Phrygian bonnet, a sheaf of spears or the figure of Liberty. The Carnavalet Museum has an interesting collection of the tools used on books of this period. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 127 We shall consider the restoration of French work after 1820 in a few remarks dedicated to binding in this century. An impetus was given to English binding about 1720 English by the patronage of Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford, Ksth"*^ . - J 1 • century. who founded an important library, which was continued by his son. Eliot and Chapman were his binders, and their style, since known as the Harleian style, consisted The Har- of a broad tooled border with centre panels, in which the '7=0. ' pine-apple figures as a prominent tool. The leather used on the Harleian books was mostly red, but was very inferior in quality. The borders, unlike Derome's Van Dyck style, were always straight and without articulation, and the centre ornament was generally diamond in shape. The tools that composed both borders and orna- ment were small, and combined without much grace or skill. Thomas HoUis had emblematic tools cut for him by Thomas Hollis. the artist Pingo, which he used on the works to which he considered them suitable ; the caduceus of Mercury is found on books of oratory, the wand of .^sculapius on medical books, the cap of liberty on patriotic books, the owl on works of philosophy, and the pugio, or short 128 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Roman sword, on military subjects. He left his name and property to Thomas Brand, who continued this style of binding. French At the end of the century the French emigrants in- emigrant binders. troduced their own style. Distinguished amateurs, who had learnt the craft as an amusement, now practised it to support themselves, and the names of the Comte de Caumont, the Comte de Clermont de Lodeve and the Vicomte Gauthier de Brdcy appear in the records of the time, besides that of Du Lau, the friend and bookseller Roger of Chateaubriand. There succeeded to the Harleian Payne, b. i739,d. 1797. binders Roger Payne, whose name is associated with a particular English style. Mr. W. L. Andrews, of New York, has lately collected in a little book all that is known of the life of this binder, and it is from th6 material accumulated by his careful research that the following facts are taken. He learned his craft under Pote, the bookseller to Eton College, and when he came to London was first in the service of Thomas Osborne, a dealer in book rarities in Gray's Inn. He is then found established in business for himself by the kindness of one Tom Payne, whose shop at the Mews Gate was for half a century, between 1740 and 1790, a sort of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 129 literary coffee house in London. The portrait that we are now familiar with is from an etching done at the ex- pense of this Tom Payne. In his later years Roger took into partnership Richard Weir, whose wife is always known as the most remarkable of book menders and restorers. Many of the books in the famous library of Count McCarthy, at Toulouse, were repaired by her, as were also the parchments in the Record Office at Edinburgh. The partnership of Payne and Weir was however of brief duration on account of the intemperance of both. Russia leather had come into use about 1730, and much of Payne's best work is done in that, the rest being done in straight grain morocco, generally dark blue, but very often of a bright red. His tools were original in form, and some say both designed and engraved by himself. They consisted of crescents, stars, running vines and leaves, acorns, and circlets of gold. These were placed at intervals in the spaces to be decorated, and the field studded with gold dots. He was the first English binder who endeavoured to make his ornaments appropriate to the character of the book on which he put them, and his designs, though not important in composition, are dis- tinctly original, and look well on the straight grain 130 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. morocco then in fashion. His backs were often richly tooled, while the sides were almost plain ; and when the inside joints were highly decorated, the outside was generally very simple. Some fine Russia work is partly blind tooled and partly gilt, giving an effect which might well find more imitators. His end papers were nearly always of a plain colour, and that colour often making a most inharmonious contrast to the outside cover, purple predominating. As a forwarder he was a good workman, and the elaborate and original way in which he described in his bills the details of the work he had to carry out on a particular book have made them famous. He bound a great deal for Earl Spencer, also for Dr. Moseley — probably in exchange for medical advice — and for the Duke of Northumberland. He did every part of the work himself, and had he not lived in intemperance and poverty, might have proved himself a greater artist than he did. As it is his work is distinctive and most unmis- takable in style. Kalthoeber is supposed to have imitated his plain bindings, but few attempted his ornament, and thus, though his bindings are all unsigned, they are rarely undetected by any one who has studied his manner. Charles Lewis made the best imitations of his ornamental HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 131 work : but they are not to be mistaken by a practised eye. He died in a little room in Duke's Court, St. Martin's Lane, on November 20, 1797. It remains only to say a few words about binding in Modem this century, both French and English. '" '"^' To the earlier part of the time belong to France, Boze'rian and Thouvenin, both good artists, and Courteval, Lefevre and Simier, whose work was not in any way remarkable. Up to the end of the last century, skins had been tanned and dyed with great care ; from the first years of the Empire, down to 1840, they under- went quite a different treatment, greatly deteriorating thereby; sheepskin, grained to imitate morocco, was even used instead of goatskin, and the forwarding was of the most slovenly description. After 1830, amateurs of binding came to the front again, and the art rapidly improved. Purgold, the contemporary of, Simier and Thouvenin, began to reform the forwarding, and from his workshop came Bauzonnet, to be known later, and es- pecially in conjunction with Trautz, as among the chief of French modern binders and finishers. It was Pur- gold who reintroduced small tools in combination, instead of blocks, which had prevailed for some time. Purgold 132 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. bound with flat backs, Bauzonnet rounded his books much more, while Trautz carried the rounding to excess, thereby making his books open with much difficulty, a fault which is characteristic of the majority of recent French work, excellent as it otherwise is in technique. When Trautz became head of the business he reserved the finishing to himself, leaving the forwarding to skilled men under his superintendence. Cuzin was one of his workmen, and Thibaron worked upon his traditions. Lortic, a rival of Trautz and Bauzonnet, was an excellent binder, and more original than the former in his designs. Niddr^e, Duru and Cap^, contemporaries, must likewise be mentioned, and Chambolle who succeeded Duru. But the criticism to be passed on modern and contem- porary French binding, which is perfect in technique and has attained the highest point of finish, is that it copies slavishly the old traditions in design, and shows not the slightest tendency towards originaUty, the motifs of the work being chiefly taken from the last century. In England, a little colony of Germans — Baumgarten, Benedict, Walther, Staggemeier and Kalthoeber — con- tinued the traditions of Roger Payne ; though it was Charles Hering who worked chiefly in his style. Kal- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 133 thoeber's work has nearly always a star or circular orna- ment on the back; he also revived the practice of paintings on the edges of books, underneath the gold, a practice carried out still more extensively by Edwards, a binder in Halifax. Most of Edwards's work was done on vellum, and in Edwards of Halifax. 1785 he took out a patent for his " Invention of Embel- lishing books bound in vellum by making drawings on the vellum which are not liable to be defaced but by destroying the vellum itself." He thus describes the said invention : " Having chosen a skin with a firm grain, take off with a sharp knife all the loose spongy part of the flesh, then soak the part to be ornamented with water, in which a small quantity of pearl ash has been dissolved, till it is thoroughly wet, afterwards press it very hard, when it becomes transparent. In that state it may be drawn upon, beginning with the most light and delicate shapes, afterwards with the stronger, and ending with the coarsest, because a rough outline at first cannot be concealed with a fine finishing or shading, as where the drawing is made upon the surface which is looked at. When it is made a finished drawing, it may be painted with strong opaque colours, 134 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. but in this case the shades must be painted first and the lights afterwards. Copper plates may also be impressed so as to have a similar effect. When the ornaments are completed it must be lined with fine wove paper put on with paste made of the best flour, and is then ready for covering as other vellum books." On reading this it does not perhaps at first appear that this style of decora- tion is distinguished from others by its being underneath the vellum — done in fact from behind. In the British Museum may be seen the Prayer Book of Queen Charlotte printed at the Baskerville Press in 1760, and elaborately decorated in the style above described by Edwards in his specification. It has an Etruscan border in blue and gold, festoons in colours and arms in the centre, while the fore-edge is painted underneath the gold with a sacred subject. Etruscan John Whitakcr initiated the style termed Etruscan, in bindings. which designs from the decoration of Etruscan vases were copied in colours by means of acids instead of in gold. To John Mackinlay, for whom Payne worked before his death, most of these binders owe much of their excellence. Charles Lewis, in conjunction with Staggemeier, bound HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 13S most of the Althorp books, also those for Mr. Beckford, of Fonthill. Dibdin was a great admirer of his work at a time when the taste for books made his own writing on the subject so popular. He says of Lewis that " he united the taste of Roger Payne with a freedom of forwarding and squareness of finish pecuHar to himself." Lewis was assisted by Clarke, famous for his tree-marbled calf, in binding the library of the Rev. Theodore Williams, and Bedford, the best of all English binders in forwarding, did much inaportant work for the late Mr. Huth. In a general survey of binding from an artistic point of view, it is not difficult to trace the phases through which it passed, nor to see some of the chief reasons for its decadence. We have emphasised the period at which it attained its highest artistic point as, roughly speaking, the first half of the i6th century, but this is solely from the point of view of design — the technical qualities being without any of the finish that distinguishes later work. Many think the Eve and Le Gascon period to have been finer, but the designs of those masters lack the simplicity and dignity that distinguish the early work. Ornamentation is too profuse, there is too great a multiplication of detail, and too great a repetition of parts. 136 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. It will be observed, too, that as the mechanical aids to the art grew in number, taste declined. When line and circle constituted the chief elements of design, there may have been occasional poverty of invention, there was rarely error in taste and judgment. With the advent of the tool cutter came the temptation to lavish decora- tion without regard to balance of parts or appropriate- ness of design. The foliated style gave ample scope for this weakness, and much of the work of the Eve school is an example of it. It is a relief to turn to the Bourbon bindings, which may have been a reaction from the excessive ornament, with their fine untouched spaces of leather having as sole decoration the coats of arms of their owners. When highly decorative work again came into fashion, we see little else than reproductions of the great models, with often an extremely injudicious combination of different styles. Padeloup, in France, and Payne, in England, are the only binders who can be said to have originated a new style. Binding can never again become a fine art unless design goes hand in hand with the execution which now leaves nothing to be desired. For accomplished craftsmanship is HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 137 only admirable when it interprets happy invention. In all departments of decorative art we see the same in- ability to escape from the traditions of the past, but in none has there been such servile copying of the old models as in the decoration of books. CONTEMPORANEOUS SOVEREIGNS IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND. FRANCE. 15th Century. Charles VII. 1422 Louis XI. ... 1461 Charles VIII. 1483 {Jeane,d. of Louis XI. Anne, Duchess of Brittany Mary, d. of Henry VII. of England i6th Century. {Claude, d. of Louis XII. Eleanor of Austria Henri II. ... 1547 Catherine de Medici TT. ■ TT fMary Stuart, '^ Francis II.... iS59| of Scotland Mary Stuart, Queeh of Scotland r^u 1 T V £ i Regency of Catherine Charles IX... 1560 [ £ Medici Henri III. ... 1574 Louise de Vaude- mont, called Louise de Lorraine {Marguerite de Valois, d. of Henry II. Marie de Medici 17th Century. {Anne of Austria, d. of Philip III. of Spain T • -v-TiT ^,„ f Maria Theresa, d. of Louis XIV... 1643 I Philip IV. of Spain Philippe d'0rl6ans, grandson of Louis XIII., Regent, 1715-1723. Louis XV. 1 8th Century. f Mary Leczynska of ■■ '7'5i Poland Louis XVI... i774{'^Sistrfa"'°'""" °^ Louis XVII. 1793 Never reigned Republic I... 1793-1799. ENGLAND. isth Century. Henry V. ... • • 1413 Henry VI. ... 1422 Edward IV. ... 1461 Edward V. .. 1483 Richard III Henry VII o,/El!zabeth, d. of •■ ^4851 Edward IV. i6th Century. Catherine of Aragon Anne Boleyn Henry VIII J Jane Seymour - '5o9<,AnneofCleves Catherine Howard .Catherine Parr Edward VI. •■ 1547 Mary .. I5S3 Philip of Spain Elizabeth ... ... 155S 17th Century. James 1 1603 Anne of Denmark Charles 1 1625 Henrietta of France Commonwealth 1649 Charles II. ... i66o|^^*"'°^ °^ ^'a- I. ganza {Anne Hyde Maria Beatrice d'Este William and Mary 1689 William III.... 1694 i8th Century. A"- ^H^'S!L.?r'' °' George I I7i4f "Idf """""'^ °* George II. ... 1727 Caroline of Anspach George III. ... 1760!???';'? Charlotte of ^ ' \Mecklenburg-Strelitz TECHNICAL TERMS. Blind Tooling Dentelle Border. Doublure . . . End Papers . . . Finishing . . . Forwarding . . Gaufr£ Edges . . Gouge Petits Fers . . POINTILLi . . . Rolls . . . . Semis Squares . . . . Tools Impressions of the finisher's tools without gold. A border, resembling lace work, finished with finely-cut tools. When the inside of the cover is lined with leather it is called a doublure. The papers placed at each end of the volume and pasted down upon the boards. All ornamentation in blind or gold by means of tools used in combination. All processes through which a book passes after sewing other than those of orna- mentation by means of tools or rolls. Impressions made with the finisher's tools on the edges of the book after gilding. A finishing tool forming the segment of a circle. Small hand tools used in finishing as distin- guished from the stamps or blocks worked in a press. The dotted style of Le Gascon. Wheels of brass, cut to any pattern, for impressing the gold leaf on the leather. A diaper design, made up of the repetition of one or more small tools. The portions of the boards that project beyond the edge of the book. Brass stamps used for impressing the gold leaf on the leather. APPENDIX I. EMBROIDERED BOOK-COVERS. The subject of embroidered book-covers is but a very small part of the far larger and more generally interesting one of embroidery itself. The history of the rise and fall of embroidery is as interesting as the rise and fall of other arts. During the Middle Ages it was as seriously pursued as any of the higher ones that at various times and in various places have been prosecuted throughout the ages. It had its archaic stages, its season of fruition in complete perfection, and finally its period of as complete debase- ment. No one has been able to trace its origin ; one might indeed say with truth that, like certain other arts, it has HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 141 the distinction of having its beginning shrouded in antiquity. The Old Testament, and especially Ezekiel, is full of passages showing the skill of the Jews in needlework — a skill which they are supposed to have derived from the Egyptians, who excelled in embroidery and introduced gold thread or wire into their work. All the gold stitches came from Phrygia, and that country was so celebrated among the ancients for its embroidery that the Latins knew the work under no other name than Phrygian, and the Roman Generals wore the " toga picta " at their feasts — so called from the purple fabric being covered with gorgeous embroideries. But the Chinese used embroidery before the Phrygians, and beyond that it is not easy to trace. Babylonian bas-reliefs, Egyptian frescoes, Assyrian stone fragments, Greek fictile vases, remains of Ro- man villas and tombs — all testify to the existence of embroidery as a fine art. The classic writers are full of allusion to it. In Greece it was highly honoured, for not only was its invention ascribed to Athenfe — in itself a signiiicant fact — but the maidens who took part in the Panathenaic procession embroidered the " peplos" or veil, upon which the deeds 142 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. of the goddess were wrought in gold. The references throughout the Iliad and Odyssey are very numerous, and we gather that in those days, as in the latter mediaeval ages, it was the occupation of distinguished ladies when their lords were at the wars. Even the fair Helen herself is described in the Iliad as sitting apart engaged on a work which portrayed the wars of Troy. " Now Iris went with a message to white-armed Helen, and in the hall she found her weaving a great purple web of double woof, and embroidering thereon many battles of horse-taming Trojans and mail-clad Achaians, that they had endured for her sake at the hands of Ares." And again in the Odyssey : " Helen stood by the coffers, wherein were her robes of curious needle- work, which she herself had wrought." From the earliest times embroidery was devoted to objects of ecclesiastical use. With the advent of the Church came ample opportunity for the highest skill in the decoration of priestly robes, altar cloths and hangings, and from that date the art became historical. Whatever may be thought of the value of the Church to humanity in later times, it was for many centuries the school- master and protector of the arts as well as of learning. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 143 To her we owe that embroidery was kept alive during the dark ages, for it was the work of the convents and the convent schools. To the revolution that overthrew her with the Reformation may be ascribed the debase- ment of the art which, when it ceased to be demanded for church decoration, became the plaything of princes, exchanging its sacred symbolism for the sentimental symbolism of corrupt courts, as it had once before exchanged the classic symbolism of antiquity for that of the Church itself. If the Old Testament and Greek and Latin writers impress upon us the importance with which embroidery was regarded before the Christian era, still more numerous are the mentions of it after that period. The chronicles, the inventories of churches, the wardrobe accounts of kings and queens, the literature of poetry from Chaucer down to Taylor, the " water-poet " in the 17th century, all abound with descriptions that show the extent to which it was cultivated. Anastasius has left a list of the embroidered gifts given by popes and emperors to the churches from the fourth to the ninth centuries, recording their subjects also. Church inven- tories — minute in detail as to vestments — show that they 144 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. constituted the chief offerings of the high-born dames. Wealthy penitents gave dedicatory needlework as drap- eries for the images of saints, and from the different chronicled accounts it is clear that before the end of the 7th century ladies were skilled in the art. Before that date there is but one authenticated name — that of the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine, who died in the fourth century, and is said to have embroidered an image of the Virgin. The "opus AngUcanum," of which we hear so much whenever embroidery is written of, was certainly produced under the Anglo-Saxons, and William of Poitou, chaplain to the Conqueror, relates that the Normans were as much struck on the latter' s return into Normandy with the splendid embroidered garments of the Saxon nobles as with the beauty of the Saxon youth. Although as far as book-covers are concerned we have nothing to do with the "opus Anglicanum," it was so curious and complicated a development of the art of needlework that a few words may be given to it. The term, though often employed for old English embroidery of any kind, is in its true application limited to a class of ecclesiastical work only in which the faces and inside HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 145 parts of the figures are worked in chain stitch in circular lines, the relief being given by means of hollows sunk with hot irons. Besides this attempt to reproduce the effect of bas-relief in the embroidered figures, some give as characteristics of the style the admixture of jeweller's work in the borders, or imitation of it in gold thread ; others the peculiarity of the " laid " stitches in gold which so permeated the linen grounding as to give the look of a material woven with gold thread. It first began to be celebrated in the 12th century, and that its value was excessive may be gathered from the Librate Roll of Henry III., which states that in 1241 the King gave a mitre so worked to Peter de Agna Blanca costing ^&2, a considerable sum according to present value. The best specimens of this work are to be found on the Continent, sent no doubt as gifts to popes or bishops before the Reformation, or sold at that time of church plunder. But the Syon cope, now in the South Kensington Museum, is among the finest, and the account of it in Dr. Rock's Catalogice of the Embroideries in the South Kensington Museum, is most instructive to students of embroideries. That English work had a continental reputation is L 146 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. shown by an anecdote related by Matthew of Paris : — "About this time" (1246), he says, "the Lord Pope (Innocent IV.) having observed that the ecclesiastical ornaments of some Englishmen, such as choristers' copes and mitres, were embroidered in gold thread after a very desirable fashion, asked where these works were made, and received in answer, in England. 'Then,' said the Pope, ' England is surely a garden of delights for us. It is truly a never-faiUng spring, and there, where many things abound, much may be extorted.' Accordingly the same Lord Pope sent sacred and sealed briefs to nearly all the abbots of the Cistercian Order established in England, requesting them to have forthwith forwarded to him those embroideries in gold, which he preferred to all others, and with which he wished to adorn his chasuble and choral cope as if these objects cost them nothing." In the first ages of the Christian era embroidery is spoken of in contemporary literature as " opus plum- arium," or feather work, of the meaning of which we shall say more later on. But in mediaeval times it was better known as " aurifrascum " or " aurifrigium," i.e., the opus Phrygium, hence the name of orfrais or orfreys, first found in Domesday Book, and often met with HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 147 afterwards in Chaucer and the Roman de la Rose. These words mean generally borders, guardings, facings, or any parts of a material in which gold thread was used. The term embroidery is comparatively modern, and its derivation doubtful, though ascribed generally to the Celtic "broud," a prick, and "brouda," to prick, while Barbaric Latin has "brustus," "brusdus," and "auro- brustus." Up to about the 13th century needlework was entirely in the hands of cloistered women, being considered a very serious art, a branch indeed of painting; but from the Librate Roll of Henry III., which gives a list of embroiderers' names, we gather that at that time men pursued it as well as women, and in the 14th century one Stephen Vyne was so highly commended that Richard II. and his Queen appointed him their chief embroiderer, and Henry IV. granted him at their decease a yearly pension in reward of his skilful services. Thus from the extensive inventories of cathedral vestments — Lincoln alone, for example, having six hundred — and the Librate Rolls, which show the enormous sums paid for them — hundreds of pounds in our money not being thought too much for a single L 2 148 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. vesture — we can gain some idea of the service of em- broidery to the Church as the handmaiden of ecclesiastical art. Is it surprising that so few of these costly decorations remain, and that their intrinsic value rather than their antiquity is the cause of their disappearance ? Needlework, however, was dedicated to other services besides that of the Church. Great ladies, at a time when there was little else they could do, spun and wrought in their castles throughout the days of chivalry. Mantles of state, heraldic surcoats, scarves and banners occupied their needles, as well as priestly vestments and the adornment of altars. Some of the City Companies have still the gorgeous palls which were lent to cover the coffins of their liverymen ; the Fishmongers' is especially notable, and the Sadlers' and Ironmongers' are also very fine. Such fondness for costly raiment had crept in that the statute of Edward III. against excess of apparel enjoined that none whose income was below four hundred marks a year should wear cloth of gold or drapery enamelled or embroidered. These elaborate raiments were faithfully depicted on the monuments of the nth, 1 2th, 13th, and 14th centuries, so that besides the written statement we have this more HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 149 trustworthy authority. A well-known example of the accurate representation in stone of the finest work of the needle is the surcoat of the Black Prince in Canterbury Cathedral, and when in 1797 archaeologists opened King John's tomb in Worcester Cathedral, they found him in the same dress and attitude as that portrayed on the recumbent statue. The statute above named gave rise to curious methods of embroidery, in order to produce the same gay results by means of less costly materials. So in the second year of Henry VI., 1422, another statute was passed whereby all such dishonest work was to be forfeited to the King. It set forth that " Divers persons belonging to the craft of Brouderie make divers works of Brouderie of insufficient stuffe and unduly wrought with gold and silver of Cyprus, and gold of Lucca and Spanish laton (tin), and that they sell them at the fairs of Stereberg, Oxford, and Salisbury to the great deceit of our Sovereign Lord and all his people." With this statute began the State protection of the trade, and licensed embroiderers were further insured against competition in 1453 by another, forbidding the im- portation of foreign embroideries for five years, which was re-enacted under Edward IV., Richard III., and ISO HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Henry VII., and only partially repealed in the third and fifth of George III. To what extent embroidery constituted the occupation of the ladies of England may be still seen in the baronial halls that remain. Hatfield, Knowle, Penshurst, and many others have various hangings wrought by their hands, for embroidery was in request as wall decoration before wainscoting came in. In Haynes's State papers we read that Mary Queen of Scots, when at Tilbury Castle in 1568, said to a correspondent of Sir William Cecil "that all day she wrought with her nydell, and that diversity of the colours made the work seem less tedious, and she continued so long at it till very payne made her to give over.'' With gifts of this sort did she seek to propitiate Elizabeth, herself an expert ip the craft, specimens of whose work are shown at Penshurst in Kent, and who it is supposed wrought more than one of the book-covers extant. Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, is full of the work of Bess, Countess of Shrewsbury, whose many talents are thus quaintly described : " Yet with all the care exercised in exalting her family to an extraordinary pitch of greatness, with a laudable ambition to decorate her native country with the most HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 151 magnificent residences England can boast of, with an affectionate discharge of maternal duties to fourteen children, and a due performance of the conjugal obedience claimed successively by four husbands, she, like all the gentlewomen of that generation, found leisure to embroider her arm-chairs and work her own counterpanes." In its highest perfection embroidery was exclusively an English art, almost to the reign of the Stuarts, when it sank into a debased style. Its fall came with the Civil War and Puritanism : the devastation of churches swept away the fine work that enriched them; the abolition of monasteries that had fostered the arts of painting, illumination, and needlework completed the destruction. What was left from the spoilers and escaped the melting-pots of the Jews, is mostly possessed by the old Roman Catholic families, and may still be seen in their houses and chapels. Abroad the Reforma- tion was less sweeping, consequently Germany possesses far more ecclesiastical art remains, and has thus been able to do a great deal for the training of schools of needlework. The reigns of the Stuarts show how low it descended under their patronage. Charles I. sent from IS2 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. his prison locks of hair to the nobility that favoured him, that the ladies of the household might use it in working his portrait. In this reign, and that of James I., it was the fashion to do portraits in needlework, stitched flat or raised : they are mostly exceedingly bad, but the library of the British Museum possesses a small book of Psalms " collected into English meeter " by Sternhold and Hopkins, bearing the date 1643, ^^^ with the portrait of Charles I. in silks, embroidered on white satin, which is a good specimen of its kind. With James I. we reach the work known as embroidery on the stamp — the lowest point in the history of the art. The figures of people, flowers, or animals were stuffed with cotton or wool, and raised in high relief; the faces were sometimes painted, and the hair and wigs done in complicated knotting. This style had its origin in Germany, and though thoroughly inartistic in principle, some foreign examples are attractive, but the English ones are without a re- deeming quality. I have come across one or two book- covers of this work, but luckily most that we have are of a better style. It is possible that besides the downfall of the Church, protection may largely have contributed to the loss of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 153 the art in preventing access to foreign models. We have seen with what severity the early statutes hindered the expansion of the craft. Later on the East India Company, who had the monopoly of the Anglo-Indian trade under Cromwell in 1654, could well have en- couraged it by importing the best Eastern designs, had not embroidery alone of Indian manufactures been contraband by these ancient statutes. At a time when our work was most debased, that of Italy, Spain, and Portugal was at its best, and when in 1707 the Portuguese were sending their silks and satins to be worked at Goa, a fresh statute was obtained, forbidding the importation from India of any wrought material. The majority of the embroidered bindings in the British Museum are of the 17th century, and nearly all contain works of devotion. In France it was other- wise, but in this country it is the exception to find secular books in embroidered covers. The whole Booke of Fsalmes, 1619, is the best preserved of all those in the Museum library. The two figures on the sides, set in a framework of silver wire, are still gorgeous with the colours of the silks used two centuries and a half ago, while the surrounding scroll- IS4 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. work of " purl " — a material to be described later on — has lost but little of its brilliancy. The groundwork of the covers was always velvet, satin, or silk — mostly the two first — and of these time has proved velvet to be decidedly the best and most suitable material, and silk the least durable of the three. Nothing is known of the history of velvet, whence it came, or what people made the fortunate discovery of its manufacture. It probably originated, as well as satin, in China; but the earliest places where it was made in Europe are all we know for a certainty, and these were the south of Spain and Lucca. The name "velluto" most decidedly indicates that Italy was the market through which it reached us from the East. It was no doubt fully in use after the middle of the 14th century, but is not mentioned in the earliest inventory of church vestments extant — that of Exeter Cathedral, 1277, though unmistakably alluded to for the first time in the later one of 1327. Satin was not known in England until the 14th century. The earlier church inventories have no men- tion of it, but it is named among the rich bequests made by Bishop Grandison to his cathedral at Exeter in 1340, and the later wardrobe accounts have frequent HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 155 mention of it. Chaucer, who died in 1400, mentions it in his Man of Lawes Tale : — ■ " In Surrie whilom dwelt a compagnie Of chapmen rich, and thereto sad and trewe That wide where senten hir spicerie, Clothes of gold, and satins rich of hewe." Velvet and satin, then, constituted the actual covers of the books. The materials used for their enrichment were floss silks of many colours ; gold and silver threads of various thicknesses, the thinner being called " pass- ing " ; and " purl," a material imported from Italy and Germany in the i6th century, and henceforth much in vogue. To these may be added spangles, the inven- tion of which has been attributed to the Saracens, "plate," and "lizzarding." Plate consists of narrow strips of gold or silver metal beaten thin and stitched on to the work by threads of silk which pass across them, and lizzarding is likewise the metal beaten flat and thin but coiled round a silken line. Spangles are not very often found on book-covers, pearls being much more preva- lent in the isth century, but " plate " and lizzarding were very frequently used, especially as the art got more debased and striking effects were aimed at without much trouble. 156 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Gold thread was produced by twining long narrow strips of gold or gilt silver round a line of silk or flax, and is probably almost, though not quite, as old a process as that of working up the pure metal itself into a hair-like thread to be either woven into the raw material or em- broidered on it. Probably the oldest church vestments were embroidered with this gold wire, though in later times the gold thread mostly took its place. It is possible that the reputation of Attalus II., King of Pergamus, as an inventor of gold tissues may have arisen from his patronage of thread of gold, for the gold flat plate or wire was certainly in use before his time. It is a fact that in the 13th century ladies used to spin the gold thread needed for their own embroidery, for the process which they followed is set forth as one of the items among the other costs for that magnificent frontal wrought 1 27 1 A.D., for the high altar at Westminster Abbey. The bill is to be seen in the Chancellor's account for the year fifty-six of Henry III. But it was also imported, and the gold threads that still preserve their brilliancy were surely Oriental, and probably came over in the bales of Eastern merchants. It had various names from the places where it was made, these indicat- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 157 ing also its quality. Thus may be seen "a vestment embroidered with eagles of gold of Cyprus ; " and again, " a cope of un watered camlet laid with strokes of Venis gold," but in what the difference consisted I do not know, though experts have many theories on the subject. The first wire-drawing machine was invented at Nuremberg in the 14th century, but was not introduced in England until 200 years later. "Purl" is a spiral wire cut into lengths; this was threaded on silk and sewn down generally over packthread in the raised portions of the design to give a slight relief. The same word is met with under the form of "purfling," and its derivation is from "pour filer," to thread on. It was sometimes manufactured with a coloured silk twisted round the metal, though not concealing it, giving a very rich effect. The small corkscrew-like rings made by this coiled wire are very effective, catching the light in a sparkling way. This material is now made in four different varieties, rough and smooth, check and wire check purl. A further kind called bullion is also to be had of gold and silver wire-makers. The art was soon discovered of making all these materials in an inferior way ; in such cases the work has 158 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. perished, so far as its artistic value is concerned, but in the best days of needlework only the finest of everything was used. In the history of embroidery, accordingly, it is found that much of it has been lost from two contrary causes. What was made of the best material was often melted down for its intrinsic value, and what was decorated with adulterated metal has not stood the test of time. In these days, when there is no longer any- thing to fear from the melting-pot, there is no doubt that the metal threads and purl used should be only of the best. I pass on now to consider the way in which these materials were used, and the kind of stitchery most effective for the purpose of book-covers. The finer kinds of metal thread, called "passing" and "tambour," were either worked through the material or sewn on to it with silk of the same colour. Sometimes they were sewn on flat and sometimes raised over thread or even cord if the relief was to be high, but this was done only on satin and velvet, silk embroidery was never thus raised, They were mostly used double, the lines being laid down side by side and only the ends passed through from the back. Occasionally, too, they were sewn down HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 159 with a bright red silk that added lustre. This kind of work, in which the gold thread is stitched on the surface by threads coming from the back of the material, is called " couching," or " laid " work, and the ancient modes of couching were very numerous, zigzags, wave patterns, and all kinds of diapers being produced by the position and arrangement of the stitches that control the gold thread. This use of a very fine passing is not often found on book-covers, but there is one in the MS. Department of the British Museum which, though much worn, is an interesting specimen of this class of work. It is a Latin psalter of the commencement of the 14th century, which belonged subsequently to Anne, daughter of Sir Simon de Felbrigge, a nun in the convent of Brusyard, in Suffolk, to which she bequeathed it, and where the figures were probably wrought. Only the panels now remain. Let into the sides and patched with leather, these represent on the upper side an Annunciation, and on the lower a Crucifixion. The figures are of the finest workmanship, and stand out on a ground wrought with a gold thread caught down in a wave-like pattern. Different sizes of gold twist were employed for scroll-work or for outlining leaves and i6o HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. flowers, or for bordering the raised parts of the design in which purl was used. The kinds of stitches used in the gold and silk embroideries are comprised in classical and mediaeval authors under six heads, four of which are to be met with on book-covers. First of all is that termed Opus Phrygium, or Orphreys, as it was called in the Middle Ages, which includes all passing and metal thread- work above described. It was so named in the beginning because the Phrygians had attained to the utmost perfection in the art when con- quered by the Romans, who imagined them to have invented it, being unaware of the success of the Chinese in tissue ornament. The Romans imported and domesticated the art, and afterwards applied the name to all work in gold. Opus Pulvinarium, or cushion work, includes all stitches regulated by the thread of the material, such as mosaic, cross and tent stitches, as well as chain stitches — all, in fact, except the fiat ones. It is considered to have been so called because the stitches, being firmly set, were found most suitable to shrines and cushions. Under the name of Berlin work it has become wholly HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. i6i debased, but what its effect can be may be seen in a little volume of Psalms in the British Museum, covered in canvas worked all over in tent stitch. Opus Plumarium, or feather work, embraces all flat stitches — of which the distinguishing mark is that they pass and overlap each over — such as those known as " satin," " stem," " twist," and " long and short " stitches. This class has more capabilities in it than any other, as the design may grow with the freedom of stitches that are not counted but wrought at the will of the worker. The origin of the word is obscure. Pliny mentions the Plumarii as craftsmen in the art of acu ptngere, or paint- ing with the needle, and it is probable from the feather patterns found in Egyptian art that first feathers them- selves and later the imitation of them were used in the adornment of textile fabrics. Feather application was therefore most likely the first motive of the word, which was afterwards extended to the stitches which conveyed a similar effect. All these three classes are to be found exemplified either alone or in combination upon book-covers. I give the remaining three for the sake of completeness. They are : — Opus Consutum, cut or appliqud work, and M i62 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDINCJ. of this there is one example on a binding in the British Museum — the only one I have so far come across. The Opus Araucum or Filatorium, net or lace-work, and the Opus Pectineum, tapestry or combed work, are naturally not represented on book-covers. It is almost certain that the application of embroidery to binding was essentially an English art, and nearly all the examples in our national collections are of home workmanship. The Bibliothfeque Nationale has two on view in the Printed Book Department, and two in the MS. Department, which are of native work ; there may be more, but according to the rules of the library it is impossible to make any researches from the point of view of a particular art, as one must know the title of a book before one can get access to it. Both those in the first department are folios — one bound for Louis XIV. in blue satin has his arms wrought in gold, silver, and silk, and those of France and Navarre in the corners ; the other, bound for Louis XV. in crimson velvet with gold embroidery, has a water-colour portrait of the King on the front side, and the arms of France on the other. "Les Gestes de Blanche de Castille," Queen of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. i6j France, in the MS. Department, dedicated to Louise de Savoie, one of the many French ladies who had a famous and well-bound library, is covered in black silk, the stitchery representing a hunting scene as well as the presentation of the book to Louise. The most interesting one of the four is a small collec- tion of prayers of the end of the 15th century. Inside the boards are portraits — probably of the possessors — the book itself being covered in an embroidery in very fine cross-stitch representing the Crucifixion with the Virgin, St. John, and the angels. In France, however, embroidery was more frequently used as a mere envelope for a book of devotion richly tooled, when the owner was in mourning, and desirous that nothing gay should disturb the sombre note of her apparel. Such a one Monsieur Gruel lately discovered sewn on a binding still fresh in appearance, and dating from the 1 7th century. Some of the old books treating of the art of needle- work are very valuable ; of others, indeed, only the titles are known. It is rather a curious fact that the English specimens are all after Elizabeth's reign, when embroidery had ceased to be a necessary part of education. Their M 2 i64 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. disappearance may perhaps be accounted for by their having been cut to pieces, and used by women to work over or transfer to samplers. Mr. Douce, in his illustra- tions to Shakspere, has a list of some of these books. There is one which, from the dress of a lady and gentle- man in one of the patterns, appears to have been originally published in the reign of James I. It appears that the work went through twelve editions, and yet a copy is now scarcely to be found. It is entitled The needless excellency, a new booke, wherein are divers admirable workes, wrought with the needle. Newly in- vented, and cut in copper, for the pleasure and profit of the industrious. Printed for James Boler, 1648." Beneath this title is a neat engraving of three ladies in a flower garden, under the names of " Wisdom," " Indus- trie," and " Follie." Prefixed to the patterns are sundry poems in commendation of the needle, describing the characters of ladies who have been eminent for their skill in needlework, among whom are Queen Elizabeth and the Countess of Pembroke. If the art of embroidery in its application to binding is ever to come into fashion again, some lessons may be learned from its similar employment in past times. And HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 165 at the outset it may be said that it is only applicable within certain limits. Books chosen for decoration by needlework should be such as are not meant to be stood up in a bookcase, but rather intended to lie on a table or be kept in a case. It follows, one would think, that the work should appear only on the upper side of the book, unless it is of so fiat a nature as not to interfere with its recumbent position. It is true that nearly all the old embroidered covers were worked on both sides, but most of them are much more worn on the under side, the appearance of the whole being thus greatly marred by the discrepancy between the freshness of the two sides. If the design is not in relief at all, being worked in silk and without metal thread or purl, it can appear satis- factorily on both sides. Another condition is that the material should be velvet rather than silk or satin, as being much more durable, not only in its texture, but also in the colours in which it is generally made. A great many of the old embroidered books that have survived are worked on silk or satin of very delicate colours, and with silks equally delicate in hue, giving artistically the most charming results. But the conditions of modern life, with its smoky towns and i66 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. constant struggle with dirt, render such materials quite unsuitable now, while a good rich-coloured velvet has an immense amount of wear in it, and is more dirt-resisting than many a delicate-coloured calf or morocco. Velvet, then, being the most suitable covering, a further limitation is brought about in the materials with which it should be worked. There is no doubt that gold and silver passing of the best kind, in conjunction with purl, looks best on velvet, and that silks are more suited to the ground with which they naturally correspond. On velvet only is it worth while expending the time and trouble of an embroidered design. There is a book in the British Museum, Opera Franscisd, Baronis de Veru- lamio, 1623, bound in purple velvet, and worked with silver purl and passing, which is an example of the style of work most adapted for revival. Another, which may be seen in one of the show-cases of the Museum, entitled Orationes Dominicae Explicatio, bound for Queen Eliza- beth in 1583, is in material, colour, and design the most perfect example of this style of work. Bound in dark green velvet, the sides are completely filled by a well-balanced design of comparative simplicity, worked HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 167 with couchings of gold twist, the roses and leaves being treated with purl on a slightly raised foundation. I may roughly class the embroidered bindings that are within reach as materials for study under four heads — Those with heraldic arms blazoned on velvet; those with scroll-work in couchings of twist and metal threads mixed with purl, having either velvet or satin as ground- work ; those wrought with silks on silk or satin ; and those covered entirely with fine tapestry stitch in silk on a linen or canvas ground, no part of which appears. In comparing these different classes one is impressed by the fact that the simplest in design are both the most effective and the most pleasing. Here and there may be seen one that is both complicated and successful, but not often — certainly so rarely that in reviving the art complication in design should be avoided rather than the reverse. The two first classes are the most attractive and suitable for models ; there is always a distinction about coats of arms, and set on a fine-coloured velvet with a simple border of gold twist they are both simple and effective. There are two very fine embroidered covers in the South Kensington Museum. One is of white satin i68 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. richly embroidered in seed pearls and coloured silks which have not lost their colour, the whole being still exceedingly brilliant. The second shows a blue velvet cover worked with silver purl, the back of which has an extremely original design. In the beginning of this century a French binder called Lesne wrote an elaborate poem in favour of his craft, which, like similar poems with a purpose, is not of any great merit as literature. But it contains some good things, and, among others, two lines which should become the motto of every craftsman : " Un art n'est qu'un metier dans une main vulgaire ; Un metier est un art quand on le sail bien faire.' APPENDIX II. THIO USE OF METAL IN BOUND BOOKS. Before the multiplication of books by printing, their covers had more to do with the goldsmith's art than with that of the binder, whose labours were comparatively restricted. In those days his functions were merely to fasten together the leaves of the books and place them between two boards, which were then decorated by the workers in precious metals. If skins were used, he covered the boards in leather or parchment ; after which they passed into other hands for the fixing of metal clasps and hooks to keep the boards shut, and in most cases nails were also inserted, the round and projecting heads of which preserved the flat surface of the binding. The high price of manuscripts throughout the Middle 170 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Ages, due to the scarcity of parchment, and the time and labour necessary for transcription, explains the luxury of ornament that decorated their outsides. The thick wooden boards — the weight of which was necessary to keep the parchment flat — were enriched with ivories, precious stones, engraved gems, plaques of gold and silver both engraved and filigreed, and the finest enamels. As the books were not often transported from place to place, indeed but little moved, the weight of their covers was not a matter of importance, and these were sometimes made to contain relics of the saints. To all such work the name Byzantine has been applied, prob- ably from the fact that Byzantine art flourished and predominated over that of other countries from the Sth to the 1 2th centuries. It has thus no meaning as a geographical expression, but is a general term applied to bindings composed of these arts of the gold and silversmith, of the enameller and ivory-carver, executed in the first thirteen centuries of the Christian era, and influenced in spirit by the art of the lower empire. Of these bindings those enriched with sculptured ivory diptychs on the sides are perhaps the earliest. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 171 These were already in use in the time of the Romans, the name being derived from SwrTuxa, the two wings, or boards of the pugillaria. These pugillaria, or table- books, consisted of from two to eight leaves of ivory, wood, or metal, wax-covered to take the impression of the stylus. Their preservation naturally suggested a cover, which was made of ebony or boxwood connected by two or more hinges. The pugillaria were chiefly for private memoranda. The diptychs were larger, and contained public acts of consuls or magistrates inscribed on their wax-covered leaves. The curious in this matter can consult a learned work of Gori on this subject, published at Florence in 1759, and entitled Thesaurus Veterum diptycfmrum Con- sularium et Mcclesiasticorum, a work in three folio volumes, describing these diptychs and their embellish- ment with sculptured ivories, plates of silver and gold riveted to the wood and finished in delicate workman- ship. In the early days of the Church there were carved illustrations of Scriptural subjects, generally in compartments containing the Saviour and the Apostles, and, indeed, carved especially in harmony with the contents of the manuscript, but occasionally the plaques 172 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. used were relics of pagan days, and then their subjects were naively interpreted in a Christian sense to suit the use made of them. Such a one, for example, is the famous Messe des Fous, with a musical notation of the 12th century, now in the library at Sens. The cere- monies that accompanied this office de la Circoncision, and which were tolerated for a considerable time, were often of a most grotesque and extravagant kind — hence its name. The ivories of this manuscript represent the triumph of Bacchus, and date probably as far back as the 4th century. It is well reproduced, together with other ivories, in Labarte's book, Labarte making almost a specialty of depicting this form of book-cover as Libri did of the enamelled ones. Of the three classes into which these very early bindings most naturally fall, ivories, goldsmith's work proper, and enamels, the gold and silver work — pierced, chased, or engraved, and often ornamented besides with precious stones — occupies the middle place, enamelled covers apparently originating when gems became rare. Throughout all ancient historical records mention is made of this second class of bindings, wrought by command for the wealthy to dedicate to the Church, or HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 173 by the monks themselves as cases worthy of the devo- tional works which they enclosed, and often placed in homage on the high altar itself. The number that has come down to our times is very small, nor is it surprising that they should not have escaped the plunder that took place during the different vicissitudes of the Church. Those extant are scattered over various museums and libraries of Europe, and it is unfortunately very rare to find any previous to the 12th century on the manu- scripts for which they were originally designed. Torn from what they once covered on account of their worth they have either been recaptured and applied to others of later date ; or the book itself ceasing to be of value, they have been removed and kept as works of art on account of their beauty or historic interest. From time to time those so preserved have been facsimiled in such books as Labarte's Histoire des Arts Industriels, Lacroix's Moyen Age et la Renaissance, and Libri's Monuments in'edits. M. Libri, it is well known, possessed a larger number of these valuable covers than almost any other collector, and in his book they are reproduced according to their original size and in their original colours. 174 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. This form of costly protection to the not less costly MSS. had itself in turn to be protected, and thus these books were often enclosed in boxes which were them- selves sometimes the work of the goldsmith, or else in outer covers of chevrotin, a thin leather, or sendal, a rough silk. These coverings were termed in later times chemises, and sometimes chemises a queue, when there was a margin of stuff which, when the MS. was being read, folded up on to the page and so allowed a hold on the parchment without the risk of soiling it with the fingers. These chemises appear in inventories and catalogues of libraries of the 14th and 15th centuries. They are very • rarely met with, but one of red sendal may be seen in the Louvre enveloping a Book of Hours of St. Louis. The same thing, in a modified form, and made of red velvet, preserves a large folio in the MS. Department of the British Museum — the original book of in- dentures made between King Henry VII. and John Islippe, Abbot of Westminster, for the foundation of the King's Chantry, dated the i6th of July in the nineteenth year of his reign (1500). The boards of this book are covered in red damask cut at the top in a wave pattern. The velvet cover lined with HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 175 damask is loose on the silk-covered boards, except for an attachment here and there where the bosses and clasps of silver-gilt enamelled are affixed to them. It is cut much larger than the book at the head and tail, and is also brought round over the fore-edge, the clasps lying on the side. Attached by silken cords are five impressions of the King's Great Seal, each contained in a silver box adorned with the royal badges. This book is in the Harleian collection, to which it was presented by Sir Thomas Hoby of Bisham, in the county of Berks, and is altogether very interesting, though the workmanship is more curious than beautiful. A con- temporary duplicate copy of the inside was made for use by the same hand. The third class of costly bindings of the Middle Ages are the Limoges enamelled covers — a style often em- ployed alone, or else in conjunction with gold and precious stones. These are more fitly studied as enamels than as bindings. They are divided into two classes : the kind known as partitioned or champleve, which is the oldest and dates back to the 12th century, or perhaps, even to the early times of Byzantine art ; and the painted enamels, which did not commence before the second 176 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. half of the 15th century. It is the older style to which M. Libri devotes eleven plates with not unnatural pride, as they are of extreme rarity. The Cluny Museum possesses two splendid plaques which once adorned a book : one of them represents the Adoration of the Magi, the other, Etienne de Muret, founder of the Order of Grandmont, talking with St. Nicolas, and the inscrip- tion fixes the date, " + Nicolas Ert parla h mone Teve de Muret.'' Milan Cathedral has a still older and finer specimen in a book-cover presented, it is said, by the Archbishop Aribert to this church in 1020. It is described in Zes Arts au Moyen Age., by Du Sommerard. As the monasteries were the depositories of the arts and sciences until the invention of printing, so there were monks whose special avocation it was to bind the manuscripts which others of their fraternity had written and embellished. Warton, in his History of English Poetry, gives an interesting account of the scarcity of books at this period, and of the details concerning their maintenance. It was part of the sacrist's duty to bind and clasp the books used in the service of the church, and for this purpose a room called the Scriptorium was HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 177 set apart in every great abbey where those worked who transcribed, as well as those who bound and ornamented. The same writer tells us how some of the classics were written and bound in the English monasteries, and mentions one Henry, a Benedictine monk, of Hyde Abbey, near Winchester, who in the year 1178 tran- scribed Terence, Boetius, Suetonius, and Claudian, which he bound in one volume, and formed the brazen bosses of the covers, with his own hand. Ecclesiastical histories show that estates were often granted for the support of the Scriptorium, atid that special grants were not unfrequently made for pur- poses connected with the actual binding of books. Thus . Charlemagne, about 790, gave an unlimited right of hunting to the monks of Sithin for making their gloves and girdles of the skins of deer, and covers for their books. Nigel gave the monks of Ely two churches in 1 160 " ad libros faciendos ;" and the constitutions of the several monasteries enjoined care in the binder's craft, as well as in the preservation of the libraries. Monks alone, like princes, had the right of practising many arts ; they could be writers, illuminators, binders, and goldsmiths, instead of their functions being limited to the perform- 178 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. ance of one single craft, or even part of a craft, as was statutory in the trade guilds outside the Church and the Throne. So it came about that up to the discovery of printing, the multiplication of books and their decoration remained entirely in the hands of monasteries, and until the middle of the 14th century religious art prevailed over any form of secular art. The monk Thdophile, of whom nothing personal is known, wrote about the middle of the nth century a treatise of the utmost importance on the arts of paint- ing or calligraphy, glass-staining, and goldsmith's work. This work, entitled Diversarum artium schedula, gives technical descriptions of so complete a kind that the arts described could be practised from them, and as Th^ophile himself was both a painter of manuscripts and a worker in glass, gold, and enamel, it is probable that it was destined for monks, and that convents always included one or more monks able to repair or make the necessary goldsmith's work for ecclesiastical purposes. This explains, no doubt, why the skill applied to the jewelled covers or boxes for their missals was of such a high order, for those capable of fashioning cups and vessels of sacramental plate would find it no impossible task to HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 179 beat out the plates of gold or silver for the adornment of their devotional books. It was not till the 14th century that the secular branch of goldsmith's work had a position apart. Up to that time the making of shrines, reliquaries, and cups was their chief occupation. During the following century they widened their sphere of labour by manufacturing gold and silver plate, and enriching the treasury and even the wardrobes of kings and nobles. With the 1 6th and i7t"h centuries workmanship superseded the weight of the precious metals. The goldsmith of that time had to be sculptor, modeller, smelter, enameller, jewel-mounter, and metal-worker combined, and hence there is more unity about the metal-wrought bindings of that time than there is about the earlier ones. Indeed, an important point to be observed in connec- tion with the Byzantine covers is, that they have not the unity that belongs to a single work of art. Portions of them made by different artists at different periods, and even in different countries, were incorporated in one cover, or smaller ones were subsequently adapted to larger volumes by resetting them in borders and so enlarging their capabilities. It is, perhaps, partly due to N 2 i8o HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. this feature that the term Byzantine has been applied to this mixed work, not wholly so much to express its con- nection with a particular country or period, but rather to indicate a certain type, the characteristic of which is this admixture of materials often somewhat incongruous and rarely the work of a single hand, and which followed therein the example set by much of the art of Byzantium itself. It is only the later ornamented covers that can with any propriety be treated of as bindings. The magnificent ways in which the monks habited their manuscripts not less costly than the precious metals themselves, are mostly fitted to be studied as the work of the goldsmith. So it is, too, with the 17th century covers made entirely of metal, pierced, beaten, and engraved. As specimens of this last class we may mention two in the British Museum and two in the South Kensington Museum. Perhaps the best specimen of all is in the British Museum — a German binding of the 17th century in gilt metal, pierced and engraved. The back of the cover ds treated in the same way, in two longitudinal compartments hinged together to allow of the better HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. i8i opening of the volume, which is somewhat thick. The edges of the leaves are painted and gauffered, the head and tail being protected at the back by a flat metal cap also pierced and chased — forming part of the cover. The whole is a most beautiful example of a metal binding. It contains a Frauenzimmer Spiegel, or series of female characters taken from the Old and New Testament, by Hieron Orteln, with forty engravings. The second in the same collection is also a German binding. It is of silver, ornamented with a Niello border surrounding open silver tracery. It contains Flosculi historiarum, by Jean de Bussieris, dated 1688, but the cover is older than the book. To this goldsmith's chasing, known as Niello work, is traced the art of engraving, for the workman was in the habit of rubbing a black substance into the lines he cut to see how his work progressed. The best in the South Kensington Museum is a cover of arabesque open work in silver-gilt, probably Dutch work about 1670. It is a good example of a mode of treating book-covers not often resorted to, but very effective, in which the ornamentation is concentrated on the front instead of the back portion of the book ; and i82 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. which is as suitable for flat tooling as for pierced work. Another is that of a very delicate piece of work con- taining Gobel's Jesum liebender Seelen tagltche Himil- reis, pubUshed at Nuremberg in 1704. It is in a con- temporary binding of oak boards covered with per- forated silver-work, and has similar silver clasps. Both the piercing and chasing as well as the design are in the most perfect taste. There are three chief sources of information for bindings and book ornaments during the 14th and 15th centuries : these are the inventories of libraries, chiefly foreign, such as those of the splendid col- lections of the Dukes of Burgundy and of Orleans ; the wardrobe accounts of English kings and queens, like those of Edward IV. kept by Piers Courtneys in 1480, and edited by Sir H. N. Nicolas ; and the wills and bequests of the nobles and rich men in this country at a time when books, as such, were still valuable, and when it was customary to leave them as legacies both to friends and to ecclesiastical bodies. I shall glance at each of these in turn, and see how the books of the time were described in detail as works of art, which they really were. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 183 Belonging to the Dukes of Burgundy were Heures de la Croix in " a binding embellished with gold and fifty-eight large pearls in a case made with camlet, with one large pearl and a cluster of small pearls ; " the romance of the Moralite des homes sur le Ju des £sch'ers {game of chess) "covered in silk, with white and red flowers, and silver-gilt nails on a green ground ; " a book of Orisons " covered in red leather with silver- gilt nails ; " a Psalter " having two silver-gilt clasps bound in blue, with a golden eagle with two heads and red talons, to which is attached a little silver-gilt instru- ment for turning over the leaves, with three escutcheons of the same arms, covered with a red velvet chemise." Belonging to the Duke of Orleans, brother to Charles VI., we find Vegfece's book On Chivalry "covered in red leather inlaid, which has two little brass clasps; the Book of Mehadus covered in green velvet with two silver-gilt clasps enamelled with the arms of his Royal Highness ; the book of Boetius on Consolation, covered in figured silk ; the Golden Legend covered in black velvet without clasps." These same inventories give an account of the prices paid for the bindings and their ac- cessories. Thus on September 19th, 1394, the Duke of i84 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Orleans paid to Peter Blondel, goldsmith, twelve livres fifteen sols for having wrought besides the Duke's silver seal, two clasps for the book of Boetius ; and on January 15th, 1398, to Emelot de Rubert, an embroideress at Paris, fifty sols tournois " for having cut out and worked in gold and silk two covers of green Dampmas cloth, one for the Breviary, the other for the Book of Hours of the aforesaid nobleman, and for having made fifteen markers and four pairs of silk and gold straps for the said books." From the accounts of these two libraries, which were partly destroyed and partly disseminated among the great public collections, it is possible to obtain a de- scription of every form of binding and decoration in vogue during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. These books were, of course, manuscripts, and it may be observed that while the Duke of Burgundy had his bound for the most part as soon as he acquired them, the Duke of Orleans obtained his ready-bound, and only had those re-covered that were in need of it by his two binders, Guillaume de Villiers and Jacques Richier, to whom various sums of money are assigned in the inven- tories for skins, clasps, nails, &c., all mentioned in detail. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 185 To turn to our own country, the wardrobe and privy purse accounts qf Edward IV., Henry VIII., Mary, and Elizabeth all show the same love of binding as an art, with the same minute descriptions. From the accounts of the first-mentioned monarch we take the following entry : — " Delyvered for the covering and garnysshing vj of the Bookes of oure saide Lorde the Kynges, that is to say, oon of the Holy Trinite, oon of Titus Lyvius, oon of the Gouvernal of Kynges and Princes, a Bible, a Bible Historialle, and the vjth called Froissard. Velvet vj yerdes cremysy figured ; corse of silk, ij yerdes di' and a naille blue silk weying an unce iij q' di' ; iiij yerdes di' di' quarter blac silk weying iij unces ; laces and tassels of silk xvj laces ; xvj tassels, weying to gider vj unces and iij q' ; botons xvj of blue silk and gold ; claspes of coper and gilt iij paire smalle with roses uppon them ; a paire myddele, ij paire grete with the Kyng's Armes uppon them ; bolions coper and giltlxx; nailes gilt ccc." The bolions named were a sort of button used as fastenings of books made of copper and gilt, and cost about eighteen pence each. Velvet was a favourite material, and is the most frequently mentioned in these lists, with or without i85 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. ornamentation. Among Henry VIII.'s expenses may be seen paid to " Rasmus one of the Armerars for garnishing of divers books " — which was apart from binding — on one occasion ;^ii ss. 7d., on another ";^34 los. for garnishing thirty-six books," probably only the fixing of clasps, corners, bosses, and the like to the sides. Skelton, the poet laureate of Henry VIH., thus describes one of his missals : — With that of the boke lozende were the claspes, The margin was illumined al with golden railes, And bice empictured with grass-oppes and waspes, With butterflies, and fresh pecocke tailes, Englored with flowers, and slymy snayles, Envyved pictures well touched and quickely, It would have made a man hole that had be right sickly, To behold how it was garnished and bound, Encoverde over with golde and tissue fine. The claspes and bullions were worth a M. pounde. With balassis and carbuncles the border did shine With aurum mosaicum evey other line. We know from the numerous books emblazoned with the arms of Henry VII. that that monarch must have possessed a fine library, which was no doubt augmented under his son. The German traveller Hentzner, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 187 who visited the royal library in 1593, which was then located at Whitehall, says that it was well furnished with Greek, Latin, Italian, and French books, all bound in velvet of different colours, yet chiefly red, with clasps of gold and silver ; and that the covers of some of them were adorned with pearls and precious stones. The library of the British Museum possesses many books once belonging to the royal collection, from the time of Henry VII., from which we see that neither Mary nor Elizabeth fell behind their predecessors in a love of costly bindings. > At the end of Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth there is a list of " gifts given to her majestie at Newyeres-tide 1582,'' and among them "a boke of gold enamuled garnished with viii amarestes given by Mr. Packington ; " and again, " a little booke of gold enamuled garnished and furnished with smale diamondes and rubyes, both claspes and all hanging at a chayne of gold, viz vi pieces of gold enamuled two of them gar- nished with ragged staves of smale sparcks of diamondes and iv of them in eche, 11 smale diamonds and two smale sparcks of rubyes xvi lesser pieces of golde, in evey of them a smale diamonde, also xxiv pieces of i88 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. golde in evey of them, iv perles with a ring of golde to hang it by all given by therle of Leycester master of the horse." In the inventory of her jewels and plate made in the sixteenth year of her reign several ornamental books are thus described : " Oone Gospell booke, covered with tissue and garnished on th' onside with the crucifix and the Queenes badges of silver gilt, poiz with wodde, leaves, and all cxij oz ; " and again, " Oone booke of the' Gospelles plated with silver, and gilt upon bourdes with the image of the crucifix ther upon and iiij evangelists in iiij places with two greate claspes of silver and guilt, poiz lii oz.gr. and weing with the bourdes, leaves, and binding and the covering of red vellat, cxxjx oz." I have mentioned wills as a fertile source of in- formation concerning bindings ; such works as the Testamenia Vetusta of Nicolas, and the wills and in- ventories published by the Surtees Society ; and others drawn from the archives contain bequests of books, of which the following, from the will of Lady Fitzhugh, 1427, is a specimen; " Als so I wil yat my son William have a Ryng with a dyamond and my son Geffray a gretter, and my son Robert a sauter cov'ed with red HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 189 velwet, and my doghter Mariory a primer cov'ed in Rede, and my doghter Darcy a sauter cou'ed in blew, and my doghter Malde Eure a prim' cou'ed in blew." Eleanor, Countess of Arundel, left by will to Ann, wife of her nephew Maurice Berkeley, a book of Matins covered with velvet, and her daughter Ann, Duchess of Buckingham, a primer covered with purple velvet with clasps of silver-gilt. The most successful example of the application of silver ornaments to binding, both from the simplicity of design as well as perfection of finish, may be seen in an octavo volume in the manuscript department of the British Museum bound in green velvet — Le Chapfelet de Jesus ef de la Vierge Marie. It contains a metrical Life of Christ, the descent of the Holy Ghost, &c., illustrated by a series of miniatures executed for Anna, wife of Ferdinand, King of the Romans, afterwards Emperor. Her name and the monogram IHS are on the clasps. The book seems afterwards to have come into the possesion of Margaret Tudor, wife of James IV. of Scotland, the letters of the name of Marguerite in Tudor roses forming the bosses of the binding, which is of the sixteenth century. Another good specimen igo HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. though of very different character, is A Meditation upon the Lord's Prayer (with the text) written by the King's Majestic (James I.) for the benefit of all his sub- jects especially of such as follow the court. London 1619. This is the King's own copy bound in purple velvet, with shields bearing the royal arms, clasps with I. R., the King's initials, and corner pieces, all in silver. The corners on the upper side have the crowned fleur-de-lys as the badge of France, the crowned harp as that of Ireland, the crowned thistle for Scotland, and the cross, also crowned, for England. The precise meaning of the latter does not appear ; it was probably taken out of the crown, of which the cross is always a part in the arms of England, but it does not seem to be found elsewhere as a separate emblem in this significance. Those on the under cover are at the two top corners ; a crowned thistle, and a crowned lion sitting holding a sceptre and sword — both badges of Scotland ; and at the lower corners, a rose and lion on a cap of maintenance, both crowned, the crests of England. The clasps have the portcullis, which was the badge used in reference to the descent of the Tudor family, from the house of Beaufort, and is thus accounted for in HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 191 Willement's Regal Heraldry: — "Catherine Swinford, a mistress and subsequently wife of John Duke of Lancaster, resided at the castle of Beaufort, in Anjou and at that place gave birth to a son named John, maternal grandfather of King Henry VII., who with others of her children by the Duke were in 29 R. 2 legetimated and had the surname De Beaufort given to them.'' The portcullis was evidently the type of this castle, the place of their nativity. Henry VII. some- times added to it the words " altera securitas," intimating that, as the portcullis was an additional defence to a fortress, so his claim to the crown through the blood of Beaufort should not be rejected, although he possessed it by more sufficient and undeniable rights. I have described this little book at some length, for apart from its interest as a King's copy and work of art, it is a typical example of the problem to be worked out in many a like specimen — a problem often historical and frequently complicated by emblematic and heraldic devices, from the deciphering of which may be gathered generally the approximate date of the binding, and not unfrequently the name of the owner and the circum- stances of its origin. 192 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. A new Testament, dated 1643, is, like the last, in duodecimo, and may be also seen in one of the show- cases of the King's Library in the British Museum. It is bound in red velvet, with silver corners and clasps bearing allegorical figures of the cardinal virtues, and of the four elements, with ornamented medallions of King Charles I. and Queen Henrietta in profile. The back has some strips of braid upon it, which are inappropriate to the silver ornaments. Both this and King James's book are capital specimens of one of the most attractive classes of book ornament of the time — that of velvet with silver mountings. Another kind of decoration much in vogue for books was enamel. Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester, men- tions in her will in 1339 "a chronicle of France in French, with two clasps of silver, enamelled with the arms of the Duke of Burgundy ; a book containing the Psalter, Primer, and other devotions, with two clasps of gold enamelled with her arms ; a French Bible in two volumes, with two gold clasps enamelled with the arms of France ; and a Psalter richly illuminated, with the clasps of gold enamelled with white swans, and the arms of my lord and father enamelled on the clasps." Unfortunately HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 193 no reproduction, except a coloured one, conveys any idea of the beauty and delicacy of this form of ornamentation ; but the lover of this work will find two examples in the British Museum, which are unequalled for fine colour and exquisite design. They are both gold enamels ; one is a centre-piece, or rather two centre-pieces that de- corate a folio New Testament bound in green velvet which the Stephanus press published in 1550. The gold plates are very thin, of a diamond shape, measuring only 2| inches by 2^, and fastened to the boards of the book with nails — that on the upper cover having the arms of Elizabeth, that on the under side a crowned Tudor rose. In Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, her visit to Cambridge University in 1578 is related, and after mentioning the public orator's speech, the gifts to the Queen are thus described : "About the end of his oracion, the orator making mention of a present, Mr. Daniel Rowland, then Vice-Channcelour, making his three ordinarie curtesies, and then kneeling at her Majestie's feete, presented unto her a New Testament in Greek of Robert Stephanus, his first printing in foho, bound in redde velvett, and lymmed with gowld, o 194 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. the armes of England sett upon each side of the book very fair ; and on the third leaf of the book, being fair and clean paper, was also sett and painted in colours the armes of the universitie with these writings following." Then follows a long Latin inscription. The British Museum copy has not the arms of Cambridge thus painted inside, and so this cannot be the book here described ; but it is just possible that the enamel centre- pieces may once have decorated the Queen's own copy. Another specimen of enamel work also exhibited is from the library of George III., a volume of Christian meditations, bound in light red velvet, now worn quite threadbare, with corners, clasps, and centre-pieces of gold enamelled in colours. It formerly belonged to Queen Elizabeth, whose initials and badge are embla- zoned thereon. Gold filigree work was also often used, both for clasps and corners, and has an extremely light and pleasing effect. A Book of Hours in the manuscript department of the British Museum is a good example. It was written in Latin on vellum in France, at the close of the 15th century, and is bound in dark red velvet. It has also some curious cushion markers, which were HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 195 an added luxury to books of that time. Each marker — and there are several — is made of silk or brocade, and though not fastened to the book, is kept from slipping through it by means of a little pillow of the same material. This collection of tiny cushions attached to each other rests on the top of the book, and the ends of the markers, which are long, are often embroidered with gold and silver thread. There is one style of binding about which a few words may not inappropriately be said here. Tortoise- shell covers are peculiar to the 1 7th century. Sometimes plain, except for an edging of silver, with silver corners and clasps, or more often dexterously inlaid with silver and mother-of-pearl, they form a pleasant diversity to the richer and more highly ornamented bindings which were then beginning to be more and more rare. The South Kensington Museum contains three specimens, of which the most interesting is perhaps a very small volume containing a book of prayers, written on vellum in Hebrew with illuminations, the little tortoise-shell covers being inlaid with silver-gilt, filigree, piqud, and incrusted work. It is Spanish, about 1747, and only measures three inches by two and a quarter. o 2 196 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. The British Museum has also three or four of these covers. One of a book of Jewish daily prayers, Amster- dam 1667, is a fine octavo, enriched with two silver hinges, besides clasps and centre-piece of silver, as well as a top ornament with a ring for suspending the book. A small quarto, also containing Jewish prayers is treated in a similar way without the centre and suspension pieces. Paradiess-Gdrtlein by Arndt, Ulm, 1772, is elaborately inlaid with silver and mother-of-pearl on the sides, and bordered with a plain band of silver — a very delicate piece of work. This sort of book-cover is mostly German or Dutch, and does not appear to have obtained in either France or England. The disappearance of these costly kinds of decoration for books was very gradual, and even after the taste for the more precious metal ornaments had subsided, and given place to the hardly less elaborate tooUng of leather covers, the use of silver clasps, with or without corners, continued. These are to be found in great variety, at the sellers of old silver in all parts of the world. Some time ago there was a fashion for their use as cloak-fastenings, and it is lucky — that being so — that there soon sprang up a manufacture for their repro- HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 197 duction by means of casting, else those that really once adorned the old bindings might be still less rare than is actually the case. As it is, many a second-hand silver- smith can produce genuine silver book ornaments, some just as they were when torn from the books, to be got for little more than the price of the silver ; others, alas ! already adapted to feminine needs. In Holland and Belgium especially, the collector may still pick up the unadapted specimens. One such may be seen in the South Kensington Museum, in silver pierced work, engraved and having the sides heart-shaped — a delightful specimen of what may be done with little technical labour, when the design is simple and appropriate. It is German work, and was bought at the Annual Inter- national Exhibition in 1872, for ten shillings ! Why should clasps have disappeared from modern English bookbinding, except in the case of Bibles and prayer-books when they are of an inartistic and thoroughly commonplace character ? It is not the case in France, where such a firm as that of Messrs. Gruel and Engelmann turn out nun^erous books with silver clasps, not of course wrought by hand, but of excellent Renaissance design, and no doubt hand-finished. There igS HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. is scope for a renewal of such work in our time, though I think if it is to take place it should always be hand- wrought, and applied to books that are intended for what the French call reliures de fantaisie. We hear a great deal about metal-work now, and indeed see both embossed and pierced copper and brass-work as finger- plates, bowls, dishes, and many other lesser articles of domestic use. Why does not some of this industry go towards the embellishment of our books ? The material needed, though somewhat expensive to start with, has always its intrinsic value, and but a small amount is required; the tools, too, are mostly those used for the harder metals, and need less effort in their manage- ment. The most important point to be observed is that the silver, which should not be thicker than a three-penny piece, is either alloyed like foreign silver or else annealed so as to be of the necessary hardness and resistance. The delicate little corners that come off an old book are often extremely slight, and yet perfectly firm and solid. If the metal used is too ductile it is impossible to avoid a flimsy and weak effect. The design should be first traced or engraved, then the raising should follow, and the piercing be done last of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 199 all. This is eifected by means of a fret saw, and it is not more difficult to cut metal than wood except in the case of iron. To do either well requires some practice, and a good piercer never touches his work with files, but lets it be as the saw leaves it. Such work is well within the range of the amateur craftsman, though he may need professional assistance in the mitring of the corners and making the hinge and fastening of the clasp. A last word as to the mounting and application of such ornament. It should be always on a plain material — if leather, untooled ; if silk or velvet, undecorated in any other way. Morocco, pigskin, velvet, or the deerskins now prepared with a soft rough underside are all suitable, and a book well but plainly bound in one of these coverings, and decorated solely with corners, clasps, and perhaps a badge in silver, can be no better habited than after this fashion of the 1 6th century. APPENDIX III. BOOK-EDGE DECORATION. Of the minor details of bookbinding there is no one that used to meet with more attention and that is now more neglected than the ornamentation of the edges. The old modes of edge decoration were nearly always gilt-edge decoration — that is to say, the edges were mostly gilt either before or after the application of the ornament — and may be roughly divided into three classes : — First, what is now known under the various names of gilding i I'antique, " tooled " or " gauffered " edges ; second, gilding on marbled, painted, or coloured edges ; and third, gilding on landscapes. Each of the two first classes includes different varieties of the same process. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 201 The first had its rise in France in the reign of Louis XII., and was reserved for important works mostly destined for the king. Ornaments, arms, and the devices of the sovereign were impressed upon the edges, and this refinement of book luxury was then known as " antiquer sur tranches," though its more modern title is "ciseler sur tranches." Nearly all the books in the original binding of the sixteenth century are so orna- mented. According to M. Gruel the most ancient book known to be so " tooled " is a Recueil de Piices latines et grecques, published by Frangois Tissard, and printed at Paris by Gilles de Concourt about 1507. It is an octavo volume bound with the arms and emblems of Louis XII., and the conventionalised floral design on the edges is entirely worked by hand. It is in the Bibliothfeque Mazarine. Our own national library possesses many specimens of this kind of work, and if there are none of equal import- ance to the above, there are many of charming design and of a style especially appropriate to the limitations of the subject. The process by which designs of this class are executed is very simple, though to make complete 202 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. designs for circumscribed spaces, requires the workman to be an artist. After the edge is gilt in the ordinary way, a coat of size is lightly passed over it. When dry, the edge is slightly rubbed with palm oil to make the gold adhere, and then covered with gold leaf of a different colour to the first used. The tools for the various designs are then slightly warmed and impressed upon the edge. A still more delicate way is to take up the gold, cut in small pieces, from the cushion on the tools, so as to avoid sizing the already gilded surface. The gold that has not been touched by the tools is then lightly rubbed off, and there remains an effective pattern of one coloured gold upon another. Of course there is no necessity to use the two kinds of gold ; in many of the designs, the tools have been worked straight on to the original gilded edge. A further variety may be seen when the design looks dull upon a bright ground. This is achieved by working the tools on the edge when the gold leaf has been flattened on and not burnished. The impressions being slightly sunk, the edge may be bur- nished afterwards without touching them, and they will consequently remain dull. In France, book edges are still treated somewhat after HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 203 this manner, and the " dselure des tranches" forms a separate trade. But the decoration, strange to say, is almost entirely confined to books of devotion, and is carried out mostly in a stereotyped fashion that deprives it of any attractiveness, and without any of the elaborate- ness and appropriateness of design that characterise the best examples of the historic period. The patterns are traced by means of dots worked with fine punches and a light hammer. Although lovers of fine bindings in France are very numerous, and the prices they pay their masters of the art are often those of a picture or a gem, the taste for these decorated edges seems to be altogether a thing of the past. It is a pity that it should be so, for edge gilding is carried out to great perfection, and inasmuch as any form of painting under gold requires great delicacy in the operation of gilding, the French would no doubt achieve great success in all modes of edge decoration. One has only to compare a book gilded in London with one done by a good Paris workman to see that what is but a rough handicraft here is a fine art over there. The next class of edge ornament is rather later than the earliest specimens of the first, and comprises 204 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. different modes of painting and colouring the edges underneath the gold, with or without the combination of tooling. Such work is very difficult of reproduction ; a good deal of the charm of it hes in the painted parts, and these being worn with age are but rarely visible in their integrity. As examples, however, of the results attained, we may mention two folios in the British Museum. Both are German bindings of the sixteenth century, the first entitled De Maria Virgine, Canisius, Ingolstadii, iS77i from the library of Albert V., Duke of Bavaria ; the other Der Stat Niirnberg Verneute Reformation, Franckfurt am Main, 1566. The edges are fairly well preserved, and the figures of the Virgin and Child which are painted on the one, and the arms of Nuremburg on the other, are clearly seen. The latter is the best planned and executed design ; the details of the painted arms are most delicately tooled, and the rest of the design is thrown up by means of the ground or field being matted down by a small punch very carefully worked. Another German binding of the same date, Auslegung des Evangellii Matthosi, Leipzig, 1575, in the South Kensington Museum, has a quaint and well-disposed HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 205 painting of the Day of Judgment on the fore-edge which is not gilded. There is a beautiful pearl embroi- dered book in the same collection, mentioned in the paper on embroidered bindings. A New Testament and Psalms in Dutch, 1594, which has an elaborate painting of numerous figures on the fore-edge carried out in the most delicate water-colours in such a manner as to defy reproduction. This, again, is one of the few specimens executed neither under nor over gold. Per- haps, on the whole, some of the finest specimens of this class are the seven folio volumes in the South Kensington Museum which comprise the complete works of Luther. They are dated Jena, 1572 — 1581, and are bound in brown calf, elaborately tooled. The volumes being very thick, the edges offer considerable scope for ornament. The only part painted is the shield of Saxony in the centre of each fore-edge, the remainder of the space being filled up with complicated arabesques and Renaissance ornaments. While on this subject, I may mention that in the year 1875 there was offered to the trustees of the British Museum a set of 170 volumes, formerly belonging to Odorico Pillone of Belluno, and at that time in the 2o6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. possession of Signor BayoUe, of Venice, a relative of Count Pillone. These books were remarkable for being adorned by Cesare Vecellio, a nephew of the great Titian and author of " Costumes Ancient and Modern, of Different Parts of the World, with discourses on the same," pubUshed at Venice in 1590, and again in 1598. In this discourse, which treats of the dress of a "gentil donna " of Civital di Belluno, Vecellio mentions with great enthusiasm the Casa di Pillone, one of the chief families of the little town, and their charming villa of Casteldardo. Cesare Vecellio was, no doubt, a friend and favourite at this villa, and hence his brush and pen ornamented a considerable portion of its fine library. Twenty out of these 170 volumes, clad in vellum wrappers, have these wrappers enric^hed by designs in pen and ink or washed in with Indian ink by Vecellio. Over 140 are remarkable for their fore-edges being painted by the same hand. Most of these are folios of the second half of the isth or first part of the 1 6th century, clad in dark leather, and creamy pig-skin, rough with deeply stamped devices on bosses of brass, and fastened with clasps or strings. Such books were commonly placed with their backs to the wall and their HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 207 fore-edges exposed, and the latter, being thick, presented a fine field for the pencil of Vecellio. The late Sir Stirling-Maxwell thus described some of these edges : " Vecellio has generally contented himself with a single figure grandly designed and boldly coloured. St. Jerome, sometimes in the red robes of the cardinal, sometimes in the semi-nudity of the hermit, appears in various attitudes on the fore-edges of the portly edition of his works, printed by Froben at Basle in 1537. Augustine's De Civitate Z>«, Venice, 1494, has that good bishop in his study, with a view of Hippo, I presume, by the seashore, in the back-ground, looking very like Venice. Galen's Opera, Basle, 1529, is decorated with a doctor in his scarlet robes, and hat trimmed with ermine. Dante, Venice, 1491, of course has the well known figure in red with the capucho of old Florence. The Dictionarium of Calepin, Lugduni, 1578, has a vase with a tall flower of many blossoms ; Eutropius, Basle, 1532, shows the heads of three emperors ; wA Suetonius, Basle, 1533, the same number of gold medallions on a light blue ground." Though the trustees of the Museum did not purchase this fine Venetian library, it is still in this country, and it is by the courtesy of its present 2o8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING owner that I have been enabled to give this account of it. In the present day, little is done in the direction of painted edges. Gilding on marbled or plain coloured edges appears to be the only way in which this luxe des livres is carried out. The edges are for this purpose first marbled, the colours being used rather sparingly ; when dry slightly rubbed with very fine sand-paper to take off the roughness of the colour, and then burnished with an agate. The size is then lightly applied, the gold- leaf put on at once, and finished off as in ordinary edge gilding. When dry the marble appears through the gold. An inverted form of this process appears in what the French call " Dorure sur trancfies Damassies." This consists of first gilding the edge, slightly burnishing to fix the gold, and then marbling in the ordinary way. When the colours are dry a further burnishing is all that is necessary. The last class deals with landscape representations on the fore-edge, a mode of decoration of which there are no known English examples before the latter half of the 1 8th century. It is effected in the following manner: — When the edges are well scraped and burnished HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 209 ■they are fanned out, and in this position confined between two boards and tied tightly on each side. A subject is then painted on them in either water-colours •or some sort of stain or coloured ink free from body colour. When perfectly dry the boards are untied and •the leaves take their proper position. The book is then put in the press and thinly gilt once, the gold being flattened by the burnisher without polishing. Another •coating of gold is then applied, and it is burnished in the usual way. The first coating of gold protects the •colours, and the second, penetrating the first, unifies the whole, so that it is completely identified with the leaves. When the volume is closed the picture is not seen for the gold, but when the leaves are drawn out in the pro- cess of opening, it at once becomes apparent. The only thing necessary for the success of this mode of decoration is that the objects should always be drawn a little short, so that they attain their full height by the spreading of the leaves. The man whose name is especially identified with this work is Edwards of Halifax, and his books are pretty frequently met' with. A recent specimen of this kind of work may be seen ■on the British Museum copy of Mr. Loftie's Kensington, p 210 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Picturesque and Historical 1883, the fore-edge having two small views painted on it by Mr. Luker, junior. This is by far the most attractive form of edge de- coration, with the exception, perhaps, of a really well- planned and executed design of the first class ; it needs, of course, an artist to make the water-colour drawing, and for the book also to be printed on rather thin paper, but with those two conditions it can be a wholly satisfac- tory form of adornment. The modern fashion of print- ing books on paper like cardboard is utterly destructive of any of the three classes of decoration treated in this- paper. APPENDIX IV. EARLY DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE CRAFT. In the Accounts of Piers Courteys, Keeper of the King's Great Wardrobe in the City of London between the 8th April and the 29th of September 1480, 20 Edw, IV., are the following disbursements : — And to Alice Claver for the makyng of xvj laces and xvj tasshels for the garnysshing of divers of the Kinges bookes if viij* ; and to Robert Boillett for blac[k] papir and nailles for closyng and fastenyng of divers cofyns from the Kinges grete Warderobe in London unto Eltham aforesaid v* ; Piers Bauduyn stacioner for bynd- ing gilding and dressing of a booke called Titus Livius xx' for binding gilding and dressing of a booke of The 212 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Holy Trinite xvj" ; for binding gilding and dressing of a booke called Fro[i]ssard xvj' for binding gilding and dressing of a booke called the Bible xvj° for binding, gilding, and dressing of a booke called Le Gouvernement (^ Kings and Princes xvj° for binding and dressing of thre smalle bookes of Frenche price in grete v'f viij* ; for the dressing of ij bookes whereof oon is called La Forteresse de Foy and the other called The Book of Josephus iij' iiij*; and for binding and gilding and dressing of a booke called The Bible Historial xx°. (Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York : Wardrobe accounts of Edward the Fourth. Edited by Sir H. N. Nicolas, pp. 125-6. Ed. 1830.) Thomas Berthelet's Bill, as King's Printer, for Books sold and bound, and for Statutes and Proclamations furnished to the Government in 1541—43- This document is a schedule, in the form of a small quarto book of twelve leaves of paper, annexed to a parchment warrant under the royal sign manual of HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 213 Henry VIII., directing payment thereof to be made by the treasurer of the Court of Augmentations. The schedule is written by the same hand as the warrant ; but on the latter is a receipt or discharge, written by Berthelet himself, 29 September, 35 Hen. VIII [1543], four days after the date of the warrant. The reader cannot fail to notice how numerous copies of biblical and theological books occur, as provided or bound for the King ; among the former are the New Testament, printed in English and Latin, and among the latter, the commentaries of the King's "favorite author," Thomas Aquinas, and the Institution of a Christian Man. The prices and bindings of these various works are highly interesting. Much of the bill relates to statutes and proclamations printed for the King. The statutes were, at that time, promulgated in the form of proclamations ; and this ancient practice is not a little illustrated by the particular instances stated in Berthelet's bill. On this subject, the introduction to the authentic edition of the Statutes of the Realm, published by the Record Commissioners, may be consulted (Chap. V. § 2), in the Appendix to which is given a list of old statutes printed by the several 214 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. King's printers, wherein Berthelet's name occurs almost constantly from 1509 to 1546. In addition to the autographs of the King and his printer, the document bears the signature of Sir Thomas Audley, chancellor, at the end of the bill. By the King. Henry Eex. We wolle and commaunde you that of suche our Treausour as in your handes remayneth ye doe ymedyatly upon the sighte herof pay or doe to be paide unto our trustie servaunte Thomas Berthelett our prynter the somme of one hundred seventene poundes sixepence and one halfepeny sterlyng. The whiche is due and owyng by us unto hym for certeyne parcelles delyvered by the seid Thomas unto us and other at our commaundement as in this booke, whereunto this our present warraunte is annexed particularly dothe appere. And these our lettres signed with our hande shalbe unto you a suf- fycient warraunte and discharge for the same. Yoven under our Signemanuell, at our Manour of Wodstooke, the xxiiij" of September, the xxxv yere of our reigne. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 215 To our right trustie and righte welbeloved S'* Edward Northe, Knyghte, treausourer of thaugmen- taciouns of the Revenues of our Crowne. Receyved of sir Edward North, Knight, treasourer of the Augmentations, the sayd summe of one hundred seventene poundes vj. d. ob. according to tlie tenour of this warrant, the 29 day September, a° regni regis Henrici viij, xxxv. Per me Thomam Bertheletum. Anno Domini 1541, et anno regni serenissimi et invictissimi Regis Henrici Octavi, Dei gratia Anglie Francie et Hibernie Regis, fidei Defensoris, et in terra Ecclesie Anglicane et Hibernice Supremi Capitis, tricesimo tercio. In primis, delyvered to my Lorde Chauncellour, the ix"" day of December, xx" Proclamacons made for the enlargyng of Hatfeld Chace, printed in fyne velyme, at vj"^' the pece. Summa, los. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxx day of December, a Newe Testament in englisshe and latyn, •of the largest volume, price 3^. 2i6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Item del)rvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the vj day of January, a Psalter in englisshe and latyne, covered with crimoysyn satyne, 2S. Item delyvered the same tyme, a Psalter, the Proverbes of Salomon, and other smalle bookes bounde together, price i6if. Item delyvered to the Kinges hygnes, for a litle Psalter, takyng out of one booke and settyng in an other in the same place, and for gorgious byndyng of the same booke, xij'^- and to the Goldesmythe, for taking of the claspes and corner, and for settyng on the same ageyne xvj"^' Summa 2S. 4d. Item delyvered unto the Kinges hyghnes, the xv day of January, a New Testament in latyne, and a Psalter englisshe and latyne, bounde backe to backe, in white leather, gorgiously gilted on the leather ; the bookes came to ij^' the byndyng and arabaske drawyng in golde on the transfile, iiij^' Summa 6^-. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xviij day of January, a booke called Enarraciones Evangeliorum Dominicalium, bounde in crymosyn satyne; the price IS. 4d. Item delyvered to the Kinges hig[h]nes, the xxiij day HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 217 of January, a booke of the Psalter in englisshe and latyne, the price viij*- ; and a booke entiteled Enarraciones Evangeliorum Dominicalium, the price xij"^* ; and for the gorgious byndyng of them, backe to backe, iij'- iiij**- Summa 5^. Item delyvered to Maister Hynwisshe, to the Kinges use, a paper booke of vj queres royall, gorgiously bounde in leather 7^. bd. Item del3rvered to my Lorde Chauncellour, the xxv day of January, vj'^ Proclamacions concernyng the Kinges stile ; eche of them conteynyng one leafe of bastarde paper, at j'^' the pece. Summa 50^. Item delyvered to my Lorde Chauncellour, the iiij day of February, vj*^' Proclamacions concernyng eatyng of whyte meates ; eche of them conteynyng one hole leafe of Jene paper, at ob. the pece, 25^. Item delyvered the xxv* day of February, to the Kinges hyghnes, Ambrosius super epistolas sancti Fault Item one Psalter in englisshe, in viij° xx'' Item ij litle Psalters, xvj''" Summa 4^. Sd. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the laste day of February, xij bookes intitled Summaria \in\ Evangelia 2i8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. et Epistolas ut leguntur, ij bounde in paper hordes at viij^* the pece, and x in forrelles, at vj*" the pece, Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the iij day of Marche, one Summaria in Evangelia et Epistolas, gor- giously bounde, and gilte on the leather, price 2S. Item delyvered the same day, ij bookes, intitled Conciliadones locorum Altkemeri, price 4^. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the same day, one Opus Zmaragdi, price ^s. Sd. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the v"" day of Marche, one Novum Testamentwn, bounde with a Sum- maria, price 2^. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the ix day of Marche, one Novum Testamentum, in latyne, bounde with a Summaria super Epistolas et Evangelia, 2s. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xij' day of Marche, one Authoritas allegabiles sacre scripture, with one Summaria in Evangelia et Epistolas, gor- giously bounde in whyte, and gilte on the lether, iiij Item, Sedulius in Paulum, at iij'' Item, Petrus Lum- ber dus in Epistolas sancti Pauli, at iij' iiij"*' Item, Homelie ven. Bede in Epistolas Dominicalis, at xvj*"' Item, HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 219 Questiones Hugonis super Epistolas sancti Fault, ij^ Summa 135. 8^. Item delyvered to the Kinges Maiestie, the xv day of Marche, Thomas de Aquino, in Evangelia Dominicalia, et Homelie Bede, una ligati cum alijs ; price 2s. 8d. Item, Psalterium in latyne, and a Psalter in englisshe, una legati ; price 2j. %d. Item, Arnobius super psalmos, 2s. Item, Hay mo super psalmos, 2s. Item, Jo. de Turre-cremata super Evangelia, 2s. 8d. Item, Omelia Haymonis super Evangelia, i dd. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xvj day of Marche, one Arnobius super Psalterium, bounde with other bookes, 2s. Item del3rvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xviij day of Marche, one Arnobius super Psalterium, and one Psalter in englisshe, price 2s. Sd. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xix day of Maxche, Jlomilie Bede kyemales, bounde with his Homilijs on the Pistles, price 2S. 8d. Item, Homilie Bede aestivales, bound alone, price 2od. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxiij day of 220 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING, Marche, Homelie Bede pars estivalts, bounde with his Homilies on the Epistoles, price 2s. Sd. Item the same day, delyvered to his grace, Enarradones sancti Thome de Aquino super Evangelia, bounde with Homilijs Bede super Epistolas, the price 2s. 8d. Anno Domini 1542. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxv" day of Marche, one Psalter in latyne of Colines printe, and one in englisshe, bounde together; the price ij^ viiij'"' Item, Arnobius super Psalterium, and a Psalter in englisshe, bound together, price ij° viij''" Item, San\c\tus Thomas de Aquino super Matheum, the price ij^' Summa (>s. Zd. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxvij day of Marche, one Cathena aurea divi Thome de Aquino in Evangelia Dominicalia, price ij iiij''" Item the same day delyvered to his hyghnes, one Postilla Guilielmi Parlisliensis, price ij'- Summa 5^. ^d. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxviij day of Marche, one Enarradones sancti Thome de Aquino in Evangelia Dominicalia, with Homilijs ven. Bede in HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 221 Epistolas ut per totum annum leguntur in templis ; price ij* viij^' Item, Psalterium in latine, with Arnobius super Psalmos ; the price ij^ viij''- Item, Faber super Epistolas Catholicas, the price xx*- Item, Dydimus Alexandrianus, with Beda upon the Epistolas Catholicas, price ij'' Item, one Catanus super Evangelia, price iij^' iiij^' Summa 12^. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xxx day of Marche, one Cathena Aurea divi Thome super Evangelia in duobus, price 5J. Item delyvered the same day to his grace, one Dionysius Carth. ; and a Faber Stampe super Epistolas Catholicas, price 35. Item delyvered the same day, one Dydimus Alex- andrinus, and Beda super Epistolas Catholicas, price 25. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the ij day of Aprill, one Thomas de Aquino in Evangelia Dominicalia, and Beda super Epistolas, bounde together, price zs. 2>d. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the same day, one Homilie Johannis Chrysostomi in Matheum, the price 25. Item, one Homilie Jo. Chrysostomi in Johannem Mar- ciim et Lucam, price 25. i,d. 222 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the xj' day of Aprill, Dionysium Carthus. in Evang. in viij, bounde in ij, price s^f. Item delyvered the same day, to my Lorde Chauncel- lour of England, iiij^ Proclamacions concernyng stealyng of haukes egges, and kepying of soure haukes ; eche con- teynyng a leafe of basterde paper, at j"" the pece. Summa Item delyvered to my Lorde Chauncellour the xvj day of Aprill, iiij"^ Proclamacions concernyng stealing of haukes egges, and kepyng of soure haukes ; eche of them conteynyng a hole leaffe of Jene paper at ob. the pece. Summa ids. Zd. Item for iiij'^ of the same, that were new made ageyne, at ob. the pece. Summa ids. Zd. Item delyvered to my Lorde Chauncellour of England, the XX day of Aprill, all these Actes followying, printed in Proclamacions ; that is to wete, v"^ of the Acte concern- yng counterfeit lettres or privie tokens, to receyve money or goodes in other mens handes; eche of them con- teynyng a leaffe of Jene paper, at ob. the pece, 20s. \od. Item delyvered v° of the Actes concernyng bying of fisshe upon the see ; eache of them conteynyng one hole HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 223 leaffe of basterde paper, at j^" the pece. Summa 4i.y. 8d. Item delyvered ij'^ of the Acte concernyng foldyng of clothes in North Walles, eche of them cbnteynyng halfe a leaffe of basterde paper, at ob. the pece. Summa Ss. 4^. Item v= of the Acte concernyng pewterers ; eche of them conteynyng one hole leaffe of basterde paper, at ]''• ob. the pece. Summa 3/. 2s. 6d. Item c of the Acte coiicernyng kepyng of greate horsses ; eche of them conteynyng ij hoole leafes of bas- terde paper, at ij'^- the pece. Summa 4/. ^s. ^d. Item v"^ of the Acte concernyng crossboues and hande gonnes ; eche of them conteynyng iij holle leaves dim. of basterde paper at iij''" ob. the pece. Summa 7/. Si'. \od. Item v'- of the Acte concernyng the conveyaunce of brasse, latene, and bell mettall over the see ; eche of them conteynyng one holle leafe of basterde paper, at j*" the pece. Summa 4ij'. ?>d. Item v*^ of the Acte ageynst conjuracions, witchecraftes, sorcery, and inchauntementes ; eche of them conteynyng, one holle leafe of Jene paper, at ob. the pece. Summa 20s. lod. 224 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Item v"^ of the Acta for the mayntenaunce of artillarie, debarryng unlaufull games ; eche of them conteynyng iiij holle leaves of basterde paper, at iiij^* the pece. Summa 8/. 6s. Sd. Item v'' of the Acte concernyng the execucion of certeyne Statutes; eche of them conteynyng iij hoole leaves dim. of bastarde paper, at iij^' ob. the pece. Summa 7/. $s. lod. Item v'^ of the Acte for bouchers to selle at their libertie, by weyghte or otherwise ; eche of them conteynyng one holle leafe of basterde paper, at i°' the pece. 41^. ?>d. Item v'^ of the Acte for murdre and mahcius bloud- shed within the Courte; eche of them conteynyng iij hole leaves dim. of basterde paper at iij'^' ob. the pece. Summa 7/. 55. lod. Item xij of the Acte concernyng certeyne Lordships, translated from the Countie of Denbigh to the Countie of riynt ; eche of them conteynyng one hoolle leaffe of basterde paper, at j''" the pece. Summa 12^- Item v'- of the Acte concernyng false prophesies upon declaracion of armes, names, or badges ; eche of^^them conteynyng a dim. leafe of basterde paper, at ob. the pece, 20^. xod. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 225 Item v"^ of the Acte concernyng the translation of the ■saynctuarie from Manchestere to Westechester ; eche of them conteynyng one hooUe leaffe dim. of basterde paper, at j^ ob. the pece. Summa 3/. 2s. 6d. Item v*^ of the Acte for worsted yarne in Northefolke ; eche of them conteynyng a hooUe leaffe of basterde paper, at ]■* the pece. Summa 41s. Sd. Item v*^ of the Acte for confirmacion and continuacion ■of certeyne Actes ; eche of them conteynyng one hooUe leafe of basterde paper, at j*^- the pece. Summa .4.IS. 8d. Item v"^ of the Acte for the true making of kerseyes ; eche of them conteynyng one holle leafe dim. of basterde paper, at j'^ ob. the pece. Summa 3/. 2s. 6d. Item v^ of the Acte expondyng a certeyn Statute con- cernyng the shippyng of clothes; eche of them con- teynyng a dim. leafe of basterde paper, at ob. the pece. -Summa 20.f. lOi/. Item for the byndyng of ij Primmers, written and covered with purple velvet, and written abowte with golde, at iij* the pece. Summa 6s. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the vj day of .Maye, xij of the Statutes made in the Parliament holden Q 226 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. in the xxxiij" yere of his moste gracious reigne ; at xvj* the pece. Summa i6s. Item delyvered to Mr. James, Maister Denes servaunte, for the Kinges hyghnes use, the xvj* day of Maye, a greate booke of paper imperiall, bound after the facion of Venice, price i ^s. Item delyvered to the seid Maister James, for the Kinges hyghnes use, another greate booke of paper imperiall, bounde after the Italian fascion, the price, 14,^. Item delyvered the xiiij day of June, to Maister Daniell, servaunte to Maister Deny, to the Kinges hyghnes use, ij bookes of paper royall, bounde after the Venecian fascion, the price, iSs. It delyvered to Maister Secretory, Maister Wrysley, the V day of November, iij dosen bookes of the Declaracion of the Kinges hyghnes title to the soverayntie of Scotland, at iiij'' the pece. Summa 1 2s. Item delyvered to Maister Jones, servaunte to Maister Deny, the xxx daye of December, v Tullius de Officijs, bounde in paper bourdes, at xvj'' the pece, and one gorgiously gilted for the Kinges hyghnes, price iij^ iiij''. Summa, 10^. Item for byndyng of a paper booke for the Kinges HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 227 hyghnes, and the gorgious giltyng thereof, delyvered the xiiij day of January to Mr. Turner, ^s. 4^. Item delyvered to Maister Hynnige, for the Kinges hyghnes use, the vij day of Febr. a greate paper booke of royall paper, bounde after the Venecian fascion, price 8s. Item delyvered the ix day of February, to my Lorde .Chauncellour, vj"^ of the Proclamacions for white meates, at ob. the pece, 25^. Item delyvered the vj day of Marche, iij bookes of "The Institution of a xp'en man," made by the clergy, unto the Kinges most honerable Counsayll at xx* the pece, 5s. Anno Domini 1543. Item delyvered the vj day of Aprill, to Maister Henry Knyvett, for the Kinges hyghnes, a bridgement of the Statutes, gorgiously bounde, 5^. Item delyvered to the Kinges moost honerable Coun- saill, the viiij day of Aprill, iij litle bookes of the Statutes, price xij*. Item iij bookes of the vj Articles, price vj**. Item iij of the Proclamacions ageynst Ana- Q 2 228 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. baptistes, price vj''- Item iij Proclamacions of ceremones, price vj''. Item iij of the Injunccions, price vj''- Item iij of holy dayes, price iij'^. Summa, 3,?. 3^. Item delyvered to my Lorde Chauncellour of England, the iiij daye of Maye, ij'^ Proclamacions concernyng the price of suger, conteynyng one hole leafe of basterde paper, at j*" the pece. Summa, i6s. Sd. Item for the byndyng of a booke written on vellim, by Maister Turner, covered with blacke velvet, i.6d. Item delyvered to my lorde Chauncellor, the xxxj day of Maye, v'- of the Acte for the advauncement of true religion and abolisshment of the contrarie, made out in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteynyng iii leaves dim. of greate basterde paper, at iijd. ob. the pece. Summa, 7/. 5^. lod. Item delyvered v'- of the Acte for the explanacion of the statutes of willes, made out in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteynyng iii leaves of great basterd paper, at iijd. the pece. Summa, 6s. ^d. Item delyvered v"^ of the Acte agaynst suche parsones -as doe make bankeruptes, made out in Proclamacions, eche of them conteynyng two greate leaves of basterde paper, at ijd. the pece. Summa, 4/. y. ^d. ' HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 229 Item delyvered v^ of the Acte for the preservacion of the ryver of Severne, made oute in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteynyng two small leaves of paper, at jd. the pece J 41^. 8d. Item delyvered v*^ of the Acte concernyng coUectours and receyvours, made out in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteyning a leafe dim. of paper, at jd. the pece. Summa, 41s. 8d. Item delyvered v'^ of the Acte for the true making of coverlettes in Yorke, made oute in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteyning ij smalle leaves of paper, at jd. the pece. Summa, 41^. 8^. Item delyvered v'^ of the Acte for the assise of cole and woode, made owt in Proclamacions ; eche of them con- teynyng a leafe of smalle paper, at ob, the pece. Summa, Item delyvered v*^ of the Acte, that persons, beyng noe common surgions, may mynistre outwarde medycines, made oute in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteynyng a leafe of smalle paper, at ob. the pece. Summa, 20s. lod. Item delyvered v'- of the Acte to auctorise certeyne of the Kinges majesties counsaill to sett prices upon wines ; 230 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. made out in Proclamacions, eche of them conteynyng a leafe of paper, at ob. the pece. Summa, 20s. lod. Item delyvered v'^ of the Acte for the true making of pynnes, made out in Proclamacions ; eche of them con- teynyng halfe a leafe of paper, at ob. the pece. Summa, iQS. ^id. ^d. Item delyvered v"- of the Acte for the true making of frises and cottons in Wales, made oute in Proclamacions ; €che of them conteynyng a leafe of paper, at ob. the pece. Summa, 21s. 8d. Item delyvered fiftie of the Acte for pavying of certeyne lanes and stretes in London and Westm., made out in Proclamacions ; eche of them conteynyng ij leaves of smalle paper, at jd. the pece, 4^. 2d. Item deljrvered fiftie of the Acte for knyghtes and burgeses to have places in the parliament, for the county- palantyne and citie of Chester, made out in Proclama- cions ; eche of them conteynyng a leafFe of smalle paper, at ob. the pece ; 2s. id. Item delyvered fourtie bookes of the Acte for certeyne ordenaunces in the Kinges majesties dominion and principalitie of Wales, at iiij''' the pece. Summa 13^. 4d. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 231 Item delyvered to the Kinges highnes, the firste day of June, xxiiij bookes intitled "A necessary doctrine for any Christen man," at xvjd. the pece. Summa, 32^. Item delyvered to the Kinges highnes, the third day of June, xxiiij bookes intitled " A necessary doctrine for any Christen man," at xvj'* the pece. Summa, 32^. Item delyvered to the Kinges hyghnes, the iiij day of June, xxiiij of the booke intitled " A necessary doctryne for any Christen man," at xvjd the pece. Summa, 325. Item delyvered to Maister Stokeley, the xij day of June, xij Proclamacions for the advancement of true religion, at iijd. ob. the pece ; 35. (>d> Item XX of the Proclamacions of the Acte for explana- cion of the statute of willes, at iijd. the pece. Summa, Item xj proclamacions of the Acte of bankerupte, at ijd. the pece. Summa, 35. 4^. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acte for Severne, at jd. the pece. Summa, 2od. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acte of coUectours and receyvours, at jd. the pece, 2od. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acte for making of coverlettes in Yorke, at jd. the pece. Summa, zod. 232 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING Item XX of the Proclamacions, that persones beyng noe comon surgions may ministre outewarde medicynes, at ob. the pace. Summa, lod. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acta for certeyne of the Kinges maiesties counsaill to sett prices of wynes ; at ob. the pece. Summa, lod. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acte for true making of pynnas, at q^ the pece, ^d. Item XX Proclamacions of the Acte for true making of frises and cottons in Wales ; at ob. the pece. Summaj lO^. Summa totalis, cxvij//. w]d. ob. Thomas Audeley. Cancellarius. The original MS. of this account was purchased by the British Museum in 1870. Mr. Arber has reprinted it in his Records of the Stationers' Company, and states that the amount of the account is equal to ;^i,2oo of present money. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 233 AN ACTE CONCERNING PRINTERS AND BINDERS OF BOOKES. Where as by the provision of a Statute made in the firste yere of the reygne of Kynge Richarde the thirde, it was provided in the same acte, that all straungers repayr- yng into this realme, might lawfully bring into the saide realme painted and written bokes to sell at their libertie and pleasure. By force of which provision there hath comen into this realme sithen the makynge of the same, a marveilous number of printed bookes and dayly doth. And the cause of the making of the same provision semeth to be, for that there were but few bookes and fewe printers within this realme at that time, whiche could well exercise and occupie the said science and crafte of printynge : Neverthless, sithen the making of the saide provision, many of this realme, being the Kinges naturall subjectes, have given them so diligently to lerne and exercise the saide craft of printinge, that at this day there be within this realme a great number of connyng and experte in the said science or crafte of printinge as able to exercise the saide crafte in all pointes, as any straunger 234 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. in any other realme or countrie. And furthermore where there be a great numbre of the Kinges subjectes within this realme, whiche live by the crafte and misterie of binding of bookes, and that there be a great multitude wel expert in the same : yet all this not withstandinge there are divers persons that bringe from beyonde the sea great plentie of printed bookes, not onely in the Latin tongue, but also in our maternall englishe tongue, some bounde in bourdes, some in lether, and some in parchiment, and them sell by retayle, wherby many of the Kinges subjectes, being binders of bookes, and havinge none other facultie wherwith to get their livinge, be destitute of worke, and like to be undone : except some reformacion herin be had. Be it therefore enacted by the Kinge our soveraigne lorde, the lordes spirituall and temporall, and the comons in this present parlia- ment assembled, and by auctoritie of the same, that the said proviso, made the first yere of the said King Richarde the thirde, from the feast of the nativitie of our lorde god next commyng, shall be voyde and of none effecte. And be it further enacted by the auctorite afore saide, that no person or persons resiant or inhabitant within HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 235 this realme, after the saide feast of Christmas next coming, shal bie to sel againe any printed bookes brought from any partes out of the Kinges obeysance, redie bounden in bourdes, lether, or parchement, upon peine to lose and forfaite for every booke bou(n)d out of the saide Kinges obeisance, and brought into this realme, and bought by any person or persons within the same to sell againe contrarie to this Acte, sixe shillyng eight pence. And further be it enacted by the auctorite aforesaide, that no person or persons inhabitant or resiant within this realme, after the saide feaste of Christmas, shall bie within this realme, of any straunger borne out of the Kinges obedience other then of denizens, any maner of printed bookes brought from any the parties beyond the sea, except only by engrose and not by retail ; upon peine of forfaiture of vi s viii d for every boke so bought by retaile, contarie to the fourme and effecte of this estatute, the said forfaitures, to be always levied of the biers of any suche bookes, contrarie to this act : The one halfe of all the said forfaitures to be to the use of our soveraigne lorde the Kinge, and the other moitie to be to the partie that wyll lease or sue for the same in any 236 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. of the Kinges courtes, be it by bil, plaint, or infor- macion, wherein the defendant shall not be admitted to wage his law, nor no protection ne essoen shall be unto him allowed. Provided alway and be it enacted by the auctorite beforesaide, that if any of the saide printers or sellers of printed bokes, inhabited within this realme at any time hereafter happen in such wise to enhance and encreace the prices of any such printed bokes in sale or bindings at to highe and unreasonable prices, in such wise as complaint be made thereof unto the Kinges highnes, or unto the lorde chauncellour, lorde treasurer, or any of the chiefe Justices of the one benche or of the other : that then the same lorde chauncellour, lorde Tresorer and ii chief Justices, or twoo of any of them^ shall have power and auctoritee to enquire thereof as well by the othes of xii honest and discrete persons, as other wyse by due examinacion by their discrecions. And after the same enhansing and encreasyng of the saide prices of the saide bookes and binding shall be so founde by the said xii men, or otherwise by examinacion of the saide lorde chancellour, lorde tresorer, and Justices, or two of them : that then the same lorde HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 237 -chauncellour, lorde treasourer, and Justices, or two of them at the leaste, from time to time, shall have power and auctorite to reforme and redresse suche enhansyng of the prices of printed bookes, from time to time by their ■discrecions, and to limit prices as well of the bookes as for the bindyng of them : and over that the offender, or -offenders thereof, being convict by the examinacion of the same lord chauncellour, lorde tresourer and two justices or two of them, or otherwise, shall lose and forfaite, for every booke by them solde, whereof the price shall be inhaunsed, for the booke or bindynge thereof iii. s. iiii. d. the one halfe thereof shalbe to the Kinges highnes, and the other halfe unto the parties greeved, that will complaine upon the same, in maner and forme before rehersed. JEXTKACT FROM THE EARLY MINUTES OF THE STATIONERS' COMPANY. Anno xix° Rie Elizabeth 1577 xxi October. At a Court holden this same daie the bookbinders ieing pnt. and shewinge their griefs and the Mr. Wardens 238 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. and Assistants with the rest of the Liverie beinge pnt. and hearing the same it was ordered by assent of all the said parties as followeth viz. i. That the bookbinders that be Inglishmen and Freemen of this Citie shall have woork before strangers and foryners so that they the same Freeman that be Inglishman and binders — shall doo their woork work- manlie and as well as any other would doo it and at as reasonable rate and price as other workmen will doo the same kinde of woork. ij. Item that the said bookbinders so often as they or any of them shall receyve woorke to be done for any person shall redelyuer the same wrought and done as it ought to be to the owners thereof at ye same day and tyme that was appoynted and agreed uppon and the receipt thereof betwene the parties whom ye case shall concern or win iij dales then next following att ye furthest unles a longer respit uppon some reasonable cause shallbe obteyned of the owner or owners thereof. iij. Item that the breakers and infringers of this orde- nance or of any article thereof shall for every such his HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 239. offence suffer such punishment by imprisonment or other- wise as to ye Mr. and Wardens for the tyme being shalbe thought meete. EXTRACT FROM STATIONERS' RECORDS, BOOK A. P. 50. XXV. March, 1586. Upon complaint made to the right honable the lord maior and court of Aldermen By Willm. Lobley, John Oswald, Edward Day and divers others : yt was ordered by the said court, That the Right Worshipful Mr. Raffe Woodcocke, Mr. Cuthbert Buckell, Mr. Henry Byllingesley Aldermen of this citie Should repaire to the Stacon- ers' Hall in London there to examine and heare such causes as should be brought before them and thereof to make certificat. . . . Thereupon the xxv"" day of Marche Ao. dni 1586. And in the eight and twentieth yere of the reign of our souvergn ladie queue Elizabeth ; Upon the hearinge of the said cause by the said Comyttees at the said Hall, yt is uppon the motion of the said Comittees and by assent of the said complaynantes then and there ordered and decreed as followithe viz. I. Ffirst concerninge Stytchinge of bookes : that there shalbe an explanation of a constitution hereafter 240 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. made for yt purpose. That is to saye That no Stationer nor any other person or persons occupyinge the trade of bookesellinge, bindinge, ffoldinge, or Sowinge of Bookes, Shall from henceforth binde, sell, utter, or putt to sale ■or cause to be bounde, solde, uttered or putt to sale, any booke in any volume whatsoever which is or shalbe bored or prycked thoroughe with Bodkyn, AUe, Needle, or other instrument, and stitched with Thryd, Stryp of Leather, or other such device, but such onelie, and none other as shalbe sowed uppon a sowinge presse as heretofore hath been accustomed, containing any greater number of Sheetes than is hereafter expressed. That is to say in the volume called folio there maie be bound stytched onelie fFortie Sheetes and not aboue. In the volume called Octavo twelve Sheetes onelie and not aboue. And in the volume called Decimo Sexto ffyve or sixe Sheetes at the most and not aboue, uppon paine of such forfaiture as in the said constitution ys specified. Provyded alwaies that this constitution or explanacon or any thinge therein contained shall not extend to the st5M;chinge of any the bookes of Statutes not con- teyninge any moe Statutes than is or hereafter shall -be decreed or published at any one Session of Plament. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 241 But that suche Statute booke may be stitched. Any thinge to the contrarie notwithstandinge. 2. Item that no person or persons occupyinge the facultie of bindinge, sewinge or foldinge of booke shall hyer or kepe in work in the said trade of Bookbyndinge, sewinge or foldinge of booke any person or persons other than his or their apprentyces of the malekinde only, or other than journeymen freemen of this citie, or other than the wyfe or children of the said Bynder or sower of Books, or other than the children of the Wydow of any such bynder during her wydowhed but no longer, uppon payne to be fyned and suffer such further punishment as by the mr. wardens and assistants or moore pte of them shalbe thought meete and reasonable. 3. Item that no person or persons being a bookseller and occupyinge the trade of Retaylinge and Selling of Books Shall putt any woork That is to saye any bookes unbounde, to be bounde, unto or by any fforrayner. Stranger, or to any other person whatsoever that are not freeman of this citie contrarye to an Acte of Comon counsell therfore provided as in the said Acte dothe at large appere uppon the pain and paines in the said Acte conteined. 242 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. Provided always that if any of the companie of Staconers shalbe charged with offendinge the said Acte The ptie grieved shall first make his complaint thereof to the mr. wardens and assistants of the said Companie in open court in their hall Who thereuppon shall doo their endevour and haue power and authorytie to take con- venient order for the Removing or Redresse of the offence. Or yf they cannot take convenient order therein then to sett the ptie grieved at libertie to prosecute remedie in yt behalf according to the said Act in case the offender or offenders will not stand to their order. Any- thinge whatoseuer to the contrarie thereof in anywise notwithstandinge. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 243 EXTRACT FROM MINUTES OF THE COURT MEETINGS OF THE stationers' COMPANY, BOOK F, P. 2i8a. At a Court holden at Stationers Hall on Monday, the ifourth day of March, Anno Domini 1694. Present John Sims, Master. Henry Mortlock, Samuel Loundes, :} Wardens. Roger Norton, John Towse, Edw. Brewster, Robert Clavell, Thomas Parkhurst, William Phillips, William Rawlings, George Copping, ) Assistants. Samuel Heyrick, John Richardson, Richard Simpson, Richard Chiswell, Walter Kettilly, William Shrowsberry, Bennett GrifEen, Charles Harper. A Petition of severall Bookbinders representing the lowe condition they were brought by the lownesse of prices and deareness of Lether was exhibited at this Court beging their Approbation to a table of Rates therewith presented. And for the better consideration R 2 244 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. thereof Mr. Brewster, Mr. Parkhurst, Mr. Clavell, Mr. Simpson, Mr. Chiswell, Mr. Kettleby, Mr. Shrowsbury, and Mr. Harper were appointed A Committee to Assist the Master and Wardens, any three with Mr. and one Warden to bee of the Quorum and to make report the next generall Court. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 245 A REPORT CONCERNYNG THE STATYONERS. To the right honorable Sir Henry Billingsley Knight Lord Maior of the Cittie of London and to ye right Worshipfull the Aldermen his bretheren. Most humbly shewe and beseach your good Lordship and worshippes your poore supphants the booke binders of the Companie of Stationers in London That whereas vppon a former Complaynte made in the tyme of Sir WoLSTON Dixie Lord Maior [1585-6-7], againste ye nom- bers of frorreyne[r]s and Straungers then intrudded into the trade and workes of your poore Suppliauntes who humblie craved to haue the benefitt of ye Statute vppon them It pleased his Lordship upon due Consideracon of your suppliauntes requeste and in right of the freedome to appoynt master Alderman Woodcock Alderman Buckle and your selfe to repaire to Sta- tioners Hall and there to examyn here and certifie such matters As should be brought in questyon At which tyme and place the Statute was graunted for your Sup- pliauntes behoofe But the master and wardens of the Companie then being (for some respectes to themselues 246 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. best knowen) Desired a stay thereof for yat they would vndertake to see our cause otherwise redressed which for a t5Tne they did vntill they waxed wearie of your Sup- pliauntes Complaintes And nowe are wilKng the statute should be putt in execucon most humblie beseaching your Lordship and worshippes for yat the nomber of forreyne[r]s are more encreased since then before through their dailie repaire from all partes of the realme to London your Suppliauntes also beinge in nomber fortie six all freemen, taxable to their companies and to the Cittie, and as sufficyent for their skyll As any forreyne[r] whatsoeuer That yt maie please your good Lordship and worshippes to vouchsafe them your lawfuU favours yf they maie haue the Statute in force for forreyne[r]s As other Companyes haue and do execute Or ellse your poore Suppliantes shalbe in case to be vtterly ruynat[e] and vndone beseaching the Allmightie to blesse your honour and worshippes in all your actions and afFayres By reason of which peticon your Lordship Appointed us the Committees herevnder named to heare the de- maundes and answeares aswell of the Stationers as of the Alyens yat vse the trade or mistery of booke bind- ing[:] we haue had e[a]ch partie before vs and haue HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 247 indifferently heard them, And we do certifie your Lord- ship and worshippes our opinyons therein as foUoweth Imprimis wee thincke yt meet yat those AHens being Straungers borne owte of her Maiesties domynions/ being free denizens or any of their sons that be at this daye householders or from three monethes laste paste, should for their seuerall lief tymes be permytted free liberty to haue so many Apprentices As those which be of the yeomanry of the Company of Stationers which Apprentices shall first become bounde to a freeman of the Company of Stationers for so many years as the said Straungers borne or Straungers some shall agree with such Apprentice or his freindes for And the said Alien or straunger shall sett no other person on worke in yat trade of booke bindinge excepte his or their children or Jorneymen free of the Company of Stationers only vppon paine to loose the benefitt of having Apprentices as the Companie haue or ought to haue And if any alien Straunger borne haue at this presente any servaunt that is bound apprentice to Anie other man free of Anie other Com- pany then of the Stationers we thincke yt reasonable such Apprentice or Apprentices do become bounde Anewe or 248 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. ellse his or their Indentures to beare date with the tyme that they now do/ to one of ye Companie of Stationers free of this Citty to th[e]end yat ye trade shalbe not be dispersed into more Companyes then allready it is/ Item we thincke yt reasonable yat every Alien Straunger borne being Denizen or the sonne of Any Straunger whose father is or hath bene denizen yat hath served Anie of the Companie of Stationers or other Company in ye trade of Bookebinding As a Jorneyman for wages before this Daie that every of those yat so shalbe founde to haue served as a Jorneyman may be so permytted during his or their lief or liefes to serve As a Jorneyman And not to be further permitted to keepe shoppe or shoppes nor inwardlie to worke for them selves in ye trade of Bookebinding/ And whereas divers of her Maiesties Subiectes haue served their Apprenticeshippes in other Citties or townes within this realme which do repayre to this Citty and are sett on worke by sondry persons vsing the trade of book binding aswell free of the Stationers as of other C ompanies to the great hindrance of the pore workemen in the Company of Stationers of which Company Are verie many poore men/ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. 249 ifor Avoyding of which Inconvenyence and for rehef of the said poorest of the Company of Stationers The premisses considered and thought good to be graunted by your lordship and worshippes wee thincke yt can no way be preiudiciall that the Acte of Common Councell made for restraynte of setting forreyne[r]s on work the firste daie of Auguste in the third and fourth yeres of Kinge Philipp and Queene Mary may from henceforth be again in force As when the same was first made And yat some Act of Common Councell might be made agreing with the decree made in ye Starr Chamber for the stinting of Apprentices to such free men as Do vse that trade of booke binding printinge or book sellinge. Thomas Bennett. Henry Rowe. Leonard Hglliday. Thomas Wilford. Which report being read in this Court vas verie well- liked and allowed of And therevppon ordred that the same shalbe entered into the Repertory and observed accordingly. [Repertory 24,>/. 132—133'. and 133—133*] Mr. Arber, in his Transcript of the Registers of the Company of Stationers of London 1554-1640, says : " Most of the smaller publications which constituted the 250 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BOOKBINDING. majority of the issues from the press were published unbound, or, as we should say, 'stitched.' The best binders, as indeed all the printing paper down to about 1588, came from France. As the larger works therefore only as a rule came to the binders' hands, we need not be surprised at there being in 1597 but 47 freeman binders in London, and they too apparently belonging to several companies. BIBLIOGRAPHY. A CLASSIFIED list of books and papers relating to a subject has always seemed to me a preliminary step to its study. I have therefore endeavoured to do for bind- ing what has not previously been done even in France, where alone it may be said to possess a literature. But if a subject catalogue is to be of real use to the student it must be exhaustive as far as it goes — that is to say, it should give such information as may enable him to judge of the scope of every work described in it, as well as guide him in its purchase. For this reason I have in the following list given the number of plates, pages, and editions, besides the usual information. The list does not pretend to be a complete one in certain departments, chiefly in French and German dictionary and magazine articles. There are so many serial publications that information concerning them 252 BIBLIOGRAPHY. could only be obtained by prolonged search in the chief continental libraries. There must also be statutes and notices relating to the craft in its early times which are yet to be discovered. In the most important directions I believe the list to be fairly complete, but what I desire in its publication is that it should stimulate those interested in binding at home and abroad to note anything that has escaped my search and to communicate it to me, in order that later on the list may be issued in a form still more exhaustive. There may be many things, such as early manuals and craft rules, hidden away in provincial libraries which librarians may come across from time to time, and which may possess much valuable information concerning early English binding. With regard to the arrangement adopted in the list, it is simply alphabetical, any other being liable to cross classifications. Its limitations may be gathered from its omissions. I have not included in it : — (a) Books in the classical languages relating to the libraries of the ancients. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 253 {b) Catalogues of ancient or modern libraries, except when illustrated or prefaced by some account of binding. (c) Catalogues of sales or dealers' catalogues, except when illustrated. I shall be glad of any additions, which will be carefully set aside for future use. S. T. Prideaux, 37, Norfolk Square, London, W. A Statement of the Causes which led to the Present Difference between the Master and Journeymen Bookbinders of Edinburgh. Edinburgh, 1825. Cr. 8vo. Acts of King Henry 8th. Contains one concerning the Craft of Printers and Binders of Books. London, 1562. 8vo. Adam (Paul). Systematisches Lehr- u. Handbuch der Buchbin- derei u. der damit zusammenhangenden Facher. Pp. 999. 775 Illustrations in text. Dresden, i886. 8vo. Adam (Paul). Der Bucheinband, seine Technik und seine Geschichte. Pp. 268. 194 Illustrations. Leipzig, 1890. 8vo. Adam (Paul). Die Kunst des Blinddrucks, der Handvergoldung und der Ledermosaik. Pp. 60. Illustrated. Leipzig, 1892. 4to. Adry (Le Pere). Catalogue chronologique des Imprimeurs et Libraires du Roy. Published by Le Roux de Lincy. Paris 1849. 8vo. AUgemeiner Anzeiger fiir Buchbindereien. A Trade Journal Stuttgart. Cr. 4to. 254 BIBLIOGRAPHY. All the Year Round. Vol.20, pp. 564-567. London, 1868, etc. Bookbinding. Almanacks and Lists — Almanac Dauphin, ou Tablettes Royales du vrai merite des Artistes celebres du Royaume. Get Almanach a paru annuellement de 1772 a 1777. Almanach du Commerce de Paris pour I'an VII. de la Republique Fran9aise, pp. 693. Paris, de rimprimerie de Valade. 8vo. Tableau divise en trois classes dela Communaut^ des Maitres de Marchands Papetiers-Colleurs et en Meubles, Cartiers, Relieurs- Doreurs de Livres de la Ville, Faubourgs et Banlieue de Paris. Chez la Vve. Valade, 1789. Pp.46. i2mo. CetAnnuairea ete dresse conform^ment a I'Edit de 1776. Tr^s pr^cieux Recueil pour I'Histoire de la Reliure, d'une grande raret^. Alt-Mutter (G.). Ueber die Beschaffenheit, den Gebrauch u. die Verfertigung der beweglichen Biicher Einbande des Herrn Decourdemanche in Paris. Mit Abbildungen. Wien, 1832. 8vo. [Enthalten in Band 13 der Jahrbiicher des kaiserlich koniglich polytechnischen Instituts in Wien. ] American Bookbinder. Monthly. Buffalo, N.Y., 1890, &c. American Bookmaker. An illustrated Trade Journal. New York, 1881, &c. Andrews (William Loring). Roger Payne and his Art. Pp. 35. II Plates. 120 copies printed on Holland paper and 10 on Japan. New York. 1892. 8vo. Andrews (William Loring). Jean Grolier de Servier, Viscount d' Aguisy. Some account of his Life and of his famous Library. Pp. 68. 6 Plates of Bindings. 140 copies and 10 on Japan. New York, 1892. 8vo. Annuaire du Bibliophile. Annee 4 contains La reliure a I'exposition de Londres en 1862. Pp. 15-24. Paris, 1860-63. 8vo. Antiquarian Magazine, &c. Vol. 8, pp. 172-179. London, 1881, &c. Bookbinding, by B. Quaritch. Antiquary. London. 4to. Du Seuil. S. T. Prideaux. May, 1892. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 255 Anweisung zur Euchbinderkunst, darinnen alle Handarbeiten mit gehbrigen Kupfern. Leipzig, 1762. 8vo. 2 Theile. Archseologia. Vol. I., Parts i and 2. An account of the Har- monies contrived by Nicholas Ferrar at Little Gidding. Captain J. E. Acland-Troyte, M.A. London, 1 888. Pp.16. 4to. Further note on the Harmonies contrived by Nicholas Ferrar at Little Gidding, in a letter from Captain J. E. Acland-Troyte to Henry Salusbury Milman, Esq., M.A., Director. Pp. 4. Archaeological Journal. Vol. 18, 1861, pp. 277-286. London, 1845, &c. Special Exhibition and notices of the Art of Book- binding. c» Arnett (John Andrews). An inquiry into the nature and form of the Books of the Ancients. Pp.212. London, 1837. i2mo. o Arnett (John Andrews). Bibliopegia, or the Art of Bookbinding in all its branches. Pp. 212. 10 Plates and Addenda, pp. 10. London, 1835. l2mo. For later English editions .?«« Hannett (John), jf. A. Arnett being a pseudonym. Arnett (John Andrews). Bibliopegia, oder die Euchbinderkunst in alien ihren Zweigen. 2 Auflage. Mit 10 Steintafeln u. Holzschnitten. Aus dem Englischen. Pp. 232. Stuttgart, 1837. i6mo. C> Arnett (John Andrews). The Bookbinders' School of Design as applied to the Combination of Tools in the Art of Finishing. Pp. 14. 8 Plates engraved by Joseph Morris. London, 1837. 4to. Arrest du Conseil d'Etat prive du Roy du 18 Septembre, 1730. Opuscule de 12 pages qui se trouve genfelement dansle Regle- ment pour la Libraire et Imprimerie de Paris, arrets en Conseil d':^tat le 28 Fevrier, 1723, et public en 1731. Paris, P.A. Le Mercier, pere. l2mo. Art of Bookbinding, The. Pp.92. London, 181 8. 8vo. Art and Letters. London, 1881, &c., 1883. August and Septem- ber. Bookbinding Illustrated. 256 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Art Journal, The. London, 1849, &c. Years 1850, 1854, 1859, 1861, 1876, 1878, 1880, 1881. Articles relating to Binding. L'Art et I'ldee. Revue contemporaine du Dilettantisme litt^raire et de la curiosite. A monthly journal. Paris, 1892. 8vo. No. 2 contains Saint Heraye (G. de) La decoration exterieure des livres with the Illustrations contained in an article on the same subject in CasselFs Magazine of Art, 1891, by S. T. Prideaux. L'Art Pratique (Georges Huth). Leipsic and Paris, 1879-85. 4to. Recueil de documents choisis dans les ouvrages des grands maltres, Franfais, Italiens, AUemands, Neerlandais, &c. Two or three designs for bindings. Arte Italiana decorativa e industriale. Roma-Venezia, 1890. Folio. Monthly periodical. Anno I. , No. 9, contains Legaturi di libri dei secoli xv. and xvi. Illustrated. See Portafoglio delle Arti decorative. Auber (Ed. ). Reliure d'un MS. dit Evangeliaire de Charlemagne, Paris, 1874. 8vo. Extract from Vol, 35 of the Mhnoires de la SocikS NatioTiale'des Antiquaires de France. Balinger (E. F.). Deutliche u. volkommen bewahrte Anweisung aus Biichern, etc. Flecken aller Art . . . zu vertilgen. Pp. 15. Stuttgart [1867]. 8vo. Bapst (Germain) Les Arts du Bois, des tissus et du papier. Paris, 1883. 8vo. Chapter on " L'Imprimerie et la Reliure," with 18 Plates of Bindings. This work reproduced the principal exhibits of the Exhibition in 1882 of the Union centrale des Arts decoratifs. Bauchart (E. Q.). Les Femmes Bibliophiles de France. 2 vols. With 43 Plates of arms and 25 reproductions of bindings. Paris, 1886. Large 8vo. Bauer (C). Handbuch der Buchbinderei. 7. Auflage v. C. F. G. Thou's Die Kunst Biicher zu binden. Mit 36 Holzschnitten im Text u. einem Atlas v. 1 1 Foliotafeln, enthaltend Abbildungen alterer u. neuerer Buchverzierungen. Weimar, 1 88 1. 8vo. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 257 Beauchamps (J. de) et Rouveyre (Edouard). Guide du Libraire- Antiquaire et du Bibliophile. Preface par Jules Richard. Pp. XV., 176. 46 Plates and Frontispiece. Paris, 1884-5. 8^°- Vol. I issued in 12 parts. Only 4 parts issued of Vol. 2. Behrend(L.). Das Ganze des Vergoldens fur Buchbinder. Duis- burg, 1841. 8vo. Bender (E.). Alt-deutsche Lederarbeiten. Leipzig, 1889-90. Folio. Beraldi (Henri). Estampes a livres 1872-1892. Pp. 207. 40 Plates of Bindings. 390 copies. Paris, 1892. Large 8vo. Berard (Andre). Dictionnaire biographique des artistes fran9ais du XV' au XVli^ siecle, suivi d'une table chronologique et alpha- betique comprenant en 20 classes les arts mentionnes dans I'ouvrage. Paris, 1872. 8vo. Class 18 is of binders,and gives a brief notice of 34 French binders. Bergmeistfer (T.). Unterweisung in der Buchbinderkunst. Leipzig. Berjeau (Jean Philibert). Le Bibliomane. Londres, 1867. Small 8vo. Two numbers continued as Le Bibliophile illustr^. Londres et Paris, 1867. Large 8vo. These together form Vol. I., Nos. 1-12. Continued as Le Bibliophile, Vol. II., Nos. 13-25. Londres, 1 867. 8vo. Le Bibliophile illustre contains Les Reliures de Grolier. Pp. 2. i Plate. Berliner Buchbinderzeitung. Berlin, 1883. Folio. Bernard (Auguste). Geoffroy Tory, Peintre et Graveur, premier Imprimeur Royal., Paris, 1857. Svo. Deuxieme edition. Paris, 1865. 8vo. Bibliophile Fran9aise. Gazette illustree des Amateurs de Livres, d'Estampes, et de haute curiosity. Paris, 1867-73. 7 '^"'s. Svo. 113 Plates of bindings, armorials, &c., with text by Brunei, Julien, Fournier, &c. loi of these Plates appeared later in the Album de reliures, by Julien. Bibliothfeque Nationale. Notice des Objets exposes. Paris, 188 1. Bickell (L.). Bucheinbande des XV. bis xvili. Jahrhunderts aus Hessischen Bibliotheken. 42 Plates. Leipzig, 1892. Folio. Bickley (A. C). On Embroidered and Embroidering Books. Woman's World, 1889. pp. 41-45. S Illustrations. 2S8 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Bigmore (Edward C). The Printed Book. London, 1887. 8vo. Illustrated, pp. viii. 312. A translation of Le Livre by- Henry Bouchot. Bigmore (Edward C. ). [Another edition.] The Boole : its Printers, Illustration, and Binders. Edited by H. Grevel. Pp. 383. London, 1890. 8vo. Chapter viii. treats of Bookbinding. *> Blades (William). The Enemies of Books. Pp. xiii., no. Illus- trated. London, 1880. Post 8yo. Second Edition. Pp. xiii., 114. 1880. 3rd edition. Blades (William). [Another edition.] Revised and enlarged. Pp. xiii., 165. London, 1 888. 8vo. This volume forms part of the Book Lover's Library, edited by H. B. Wheatley. Blades (William). Les Livres et leurs Ennemis. Traduit de I'Anglais. Pp. 128. Paris, Londres (printed), 1883. 8vo. Blades (William). Books in Chains. London, 1890. 8vo. 2nd edition. 1892. -^^Blades (William). The Chained Library. London, 1890. 8vo. Blades (William). Bibliographical Miscellanies. 1890. 8vo. For additional notes to the above by W. Salt-Brassington, see The Library, July, 1 89 1, &c. Blades (William). Pentateuch of Printing. Pp. xxvi., 118. Illus- trated. London, 1891. 4to. Blanc (Charles). Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Vol. 22. Oct. and Nov. 1880. 12 Plates. Some portion of these two articles was incorporated in the chapter on Binding in the Author's Crammaire des Arts dicoratifs. Blanc (Charles). Grammaire des Arts decoratifs. Pp. 417-456. 6 Plates. Paris, 1882. 8vo. Boeck (T. ). Die Marmorirkunst. Mit 30 Marmorpapiermustem. Wien, 1880. 8vo. Bonnardot (A.). Essai sur I'art de restaurer les Estampes et les Livres. Seconde Edition. Pp. 349. Paris, 1858. 8vo. Bonnardot ( A. ). De la reparation des vieilles Reliures, complement de I'essai sur I'art de restaurer les Estampes et les Livres. Pp. 72. Paris, 1858. 8vo. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 259. Book of English Trades. Pp. 442. 70 Engravings. The Book- binder. Pp. 29-35. I Engraving. London, 1818. i2mo. Bookbinder, The. London, 1887, &c. A Trade Journal, con- tinued as the British Bookmaker. Bookbinders' Price Book, calculated for the different Modes of Binding, as agreed upon at a General Meeting of the Trade, December, 1812. Pp. 48. London, 1813. 8vo. Bookbinders' Complete Instructor in all Branches of Bookbinding, &c. Peterhead, 1823. i2mo. Bookbinders' Trade Circular, The. London, 1850-77. l2mo. Bookbinding Trade, The. Proceedings at a Meeting of the Book- sellers and Publishers of London and Westminster. Pp. 15. 1839. 8vo. Book-finishers' Friendly Circular, The. Conducted by a Com- mittee of the Finishers' Friendly Association. London. Printed for the Association, 1845-51. i2mo. Contains Illus- trations of styles of finishing. Bookmart, The. Pittsburg, U.S. Vol. V. April, 1888. The Art of Bookbinding. This article, by Theodore Child, origin- ally appeared in the New York Sun. Bookseller, The. London, 1858, &c. Numerous Trade Notices, also an Account of the Bookbindings exhibited at the Exhibition of 1862, May 31st, 1862. Bordeaux (Raymond). Quelques mots sur I'Histoire de la reliure de Livres. Pp. 8. 2 Plates. Paris, 1858. 8vo. Bosquet (Emile). Traits theorique et pratique de I'art du relieur. Pp. viii., 323. 16 Plates and 71 Illustrations in Text. Paris, 1890. 8vo. Bosquet (Emile). Baremes ou devis de Travaux de Reliure. Paris, 1892. 4to. Bouchot (Henri). De la Reliure, examples a imiter ou a rejeter. Pp. 92. 15 Plates. Paris, 189:. Svo. Bouchot (Henri). Le Livre, I'lUustration, la Reliure. Etude historique sommaire. Paris, 1886. Post 8vo. Illustrated. Chapter viii. treats of Bookbinding. S 2 26o BIBLIOGRAPHY. Bouchot (Henri). Les Reliures d'art k la Bibliotheque Nationale. Pp. SI. 80 Plates. Paris, i888. 8vo. Pp. xii., Notices des planches. Bouvenne (Aglaiis). Les monogrammes historiques. Paris, Aca- demic des Bibliophiles, 1870. l2mo. Contains many mono- grams taken from bookbindings. Box (Ernest). Dictionnaire de I'Art, de la Curiosity et du Bibelot. Pp. 568-73. 4to. Art de la Reliure. Illustrated. Paris, 1883. Brade (Ludwig). Illustrirtes Buchbinderbuch. z Auflage besorgt V. Herzog. Leipzig, 1868. 8vo. Mit einem Atlas dazu. Lief. I. Quer Folio — 3 ganzlich umgearb. Auflage v. Robt. Metz. Mit 150 Holzschnitten. 1882. 8vo. Brade (Ludwig) and Winckler (Emil). Das lUustrirte Buchbinder- buch. Pp. 276. 71 Illustrations in Text. Leipzig, i86o. 8vo. Brade (Ludwig) and Winckler (Emil). Het Geillustreerde Boek- bindersboek, met vele Houtgravuren. Pp. 326. Leyden, 1861. l6mo. Bradshaw (Henry). Notice of a fragment of the Fifteen Oes and other prayers. [Memoranda, No. 5-] Pp- 12. London, 1877. 8vo. Brassington (Wm. Salt). 1. Paper upon "Thomas Hall, and the old Library founded by him at King's Norton." Transactions of the Library Asso- ciation, 1887-88. 2. Paper upon ' ' An Old Birmingham Lecturer, the Rev. Thomas Hall, B.D., 1610-65." Transactions of the Birmingham and Midland Institution. Archaological Section, 1887-88. 3. On Bookbinding. A Paper read before the Midland Institute, 27th March, 1889. A few copies printed off separately. Pp.15. 1890. 4to. 4. Additional Notes to " Blades' Bibliographical Miscellanies," The Library, }\i\y, 1891, &c. Brassington (W. Salt). Historic Bindings at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, with reproductions and descriptions of 24 books, lyondon, 1892. 4to. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 261 British Bookmaker, The. Monthly Trade Journal. Illustrated. London, 1890, &c. Small 4to. British Museum, i. A Guide to the Printed Books exhibited in the King's Library. 1891. 2. A Guide to the Autograph Letters, Manuscripts, Charters, Seals, Illuminations, and Bind- ings exhibited in the Department of Manuscripts and in the Grenville Library. 1890. Brockhaus' Conversations-Lexikon. Band 3. Pp. 650-652. i Plate of Illustrations of Binders' presses, &c. Leipzig, 1882, &c. Brosenius (Fr.). 54 Anweisungen in der Buchbinderkunst. Qued- linburg, 1842. i6mo. 2te vermehrte Auflage. Brosenius (Fr. ). 70 Anweisungen in der Buchbinderkunst. Qued- linburg, 1847. i2mo. Brunet (Gustave). Dictionnaire de Bibliologie Catholique. Columns. 1263-1282 — Article, "Reliure." Paris, i860. 8vo. Brunet (Gustave). Dictionnaire de Bibliographic et de Bibliologie. Supplement. Columns 588-591 — Article, "Reliure." Paris, 1866. 8vo. Brunet (Gustave). Etudes sur la Reliure des livres et surles collec- tions de quelques bibliophiles c^lfebres. Pp. 50. Bordeaux, 1866. 8vo. This pamphlet has the object of supplementing Fournier's La Reliure aux derniers sihles, and contains extracts from Libri's Monuments inidits. Brunet (Gustave). Another Edition. Bordeaux, 1873. 8vo. 115 copies only printed. Brunet (Gustave). Another Edition. Pp. vi., 173. Bordeaux, 1891. 8vo. Brunet (Gustave). Bibliomania in the present day, from the French of Philomneste Junior. With a notice and portrait of Trautz- Bauzonnet. Pp. 141. New York, 1880. 8vo. Brunet (Gustave). La Reliure ancienne et moderne. Recueil de m6 Planches de reliures artistiques des xvi=, xvn«, xvili" et xix° Si^cles. Introduction par G. Brunet. Paris, 1884. Large 8vo. Buecher (C). Frankfurter Buchbinder-Ordnungen. Frankfurt, 1888. 8vo. a62 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Buecher (Carl). Frankfurter Buchbinder-Ordnungen vom xvi. bis zum xix. Jahrhundert. Tiibingen, 1888. Buecking (J. J. H.). Die Kunst des Buchbinders. Stendal, 1785. 8vo. Buecking (J. J. H.). [Another edition.] Neu verbessert u. ver- mehrtherausgegeben, vonJ.M. D. B. StadtamHof. 2 Plates. 1807. 8vo. Bulletin des Arts. Paris, 1845-48. 8vo. Continuation of ^a//«/2K de Talliance des Arts (1842-44), year 1845, p. 315, and 1846, p. 33 and p. 256. Bulletin du Bibliophile public par Techener. Paris, 1834, &c. 8vo. Numerous Articles and Plates. Butsch (A. F.). Die Bucher-Ornament der Hoch-u.-Spat Re- naissance. Leipzig, 1878-1880. 4to. 2 Bande. Cabinet of Useful Arts and Manufactures, designed for the perusal of Young Persons. Pp. 125-8. Dublin, 1821. The Art of Binding Books. Caille (Jean de la). Histoire de I'Imprimerie et de la Librairie, oil I'on voit son origine et son progres jusqu'en 1689. Divis^e en deux livres. Pp. 348. Paris, Jean de la Caille, 1689. 4to. Calcar. Boekbindem. Met Houtgravuren. 1881. 8vo. Calvert (F. Grace). On Decay in the Binding of Books. Trans- actions of the Society of Arts. Pp. 120-22. Vol.57. 1851. ■ Cartier (Alfred). De la decoration exterieure des livres et de I'his- toire de la Reliure depuis le quinzieme si&cle. Pp. 209. 12 Plates. 1885. Extrait du Bulletin de la Society des Arts de Geneve. Reproduced without consent of the author in the Journal Union de la Papeterie, Lausanne, 1886, and with inferior Plates. Case of the Bookbinders of Great Britain, The. [Praying that the House of Commons ' ' will not consent to prohibit the making Mill -boards."] [London, 1711.] S. sh. fol. Case of the Bookbinders of Great Britain, The. [" Humbly offered to the Consideration of the Hon. House of Commons, relating to the excessive duty resolved to be laid on Mill-boards."] [London, 1711.] S. sh. fol. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 263 Cassell's Technical Educator. Pp. 40-42, 87-90, 296-7, 401. Vol. 4. London, 1886. Art of Bookbinding. Catalogue chronologique des Libraires et des Libraires-Imprimeurs de Paris, depuis I'an 1470, epoque de I'^tablissement de I'lm- primerie dans cette capitale, jusqu'a present. Paris, chez Jean- Roch Lottin de Saint-German, 1789. i2mo. Catalogue de la Bibliothfeque de M. Rivide Heredie, Comte de Benahavis. 3 Plates. Paris, 1891. 8vo. Catalogue 69 de la Librairie ancienne de Ludwig Rosenthal. 6 Plates. Munich, 1892. 8vo. Catalogue de Livres rares et precieux composant la Bibliothfeque de M. Hippolyte Destailleur. i Plate. Paris, 1891. 4to. Catalogue de Livres et Manuscrits, la plupart rares et precieux provenant du Grenier de Charles Cousin. Pp. 240. 5 Plates. Catalogue de Faiences Anciennes. Pp. 25. 6 Plates. Paris, 1 89 1. Large 4to. Catalogue de Livres rares et precieux dont la vente aura lieu a Munich, Juillet 21, 1891. 4 Reproductions of Bindings. Catalog der im Germanischen Museum vorhandenen interessanten Bucheinbande und Telle von solchen. Mit Abbildungen. Pp. 102. Niirnberg, 1889. 8vo. Catalogue des livres composant la Bibliotheque de S. E, Don Paolo Borghese, Prince de Salmona. Premiere partie vente de i6 Mai au 7 Juin, 1892. Roma. 8vo. Pp. 714. 36 Repro- ductions de Reliure. Catalogue du Mus^e Fol. W. Fol. Paris and Geneva, 1879. 4 vols. 8vo. Vol. 4, chap, v., contains Reliure. Pp. 202-267. 33 Illustrations. Catalogue illustre de la Bibliotheque du Marquis de Morante. Pp. 352. 35 Plates of Bindings. Paris, 1872. 8vo. Catalogue of ti Loan' Collection of Ancient and Modern Book- bindings exhibited at the Liverpool Art Club, November, 1882. Pp. 47. Pp. V. of Introduction, by J. N. (John Newton). Liverpool, published by the Club, 1882. 8vo. 264 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Catalogue of the valuable and very extensive Library of the late James T. Gibson Craig, Esq. In lo parts. 32 plates. 100 copies printed on large and fine paper. London, 1887. Large 410. Catalogue of the very choice Collection of Books and Miniatures formed many years since by J. T. Payne, Esq., sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge on Wednesday, the loth day of April, 1878. 9 Plates of Bindings facsimilied in colours. Catalogue of an Exhibition of Bookbindings, 1860-90. Pp. 61. New York, the Grolier Club, 1 89 1. l2mo. Catalogue of the Choicer Portion of the Library formed by M. Guglielmo Libri. London, 1859. The introduction, by G. Libri, contains information relative to Bookbindings. Catalogue of the Exhibition of Bookbindings at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1891. Pp. Ixi. of Introduction ; xvi. , by E. Gordon DufF, on early stamped bindings, and xlv. by S. T. Prideaux, on gilt bindings. 4to. Catalogue of the Exhibition of Modern Bookbindings at the Caxton Head, High Holbom, 1891. 4to. Pp. 15. 2 Plates of Bindings. Catalogue of the Exhibition of Art Bindings at Nottingham Castle, in connexion with the Annual Meeting of the Library Association. Pp. ii., 52. 8 Illustrations. 1891. Catalogues illustres de la Bibliothique de Amb. Firmin Didot. 5 torn. Paris, 1878-84. 4to. Numerous Plates of Bindings. Century Magazine. Vol. 39. The Grolier Club of New York. Pp. 86-97. 5 Reproductions of Bindings. Chambers (Robert). Book of Days. Vol. II., pp. 338-40. 2 vols. London, 1886. Imp. 8vo. Ancient Books. Vol. II., pp. 596-97. Illustrated. Roger Payne. Illustrated. Chambers' Journal. Edinburgh, 1844, &c. Years, 1856, 1857, 1869, 1885. Articles on Bookbinding. ChampoUion-Figeac (Aime). Documents Paleographiques relatifs. a I'Histoire des Beaux Arts. Paris, l868. 8vo. Chevillier ( Andr^). Dissertation Historique et Critique sur 1' Origine de rimprimerie de Paris. Pp. 448. Paris, 1694. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 265 Chretien-Lalanne (Marie Ludovic). Curiosites bibliographiques. Reliures pp. 300-309. Paris, 1845. i2mo. One of the vols, of the Bihliothique ae Poche. Clarke (William). Repertorium Bibliographicum. 1819. Cl^mence (Adolphe). Revue de la Reliure et de la Bibliophilie. 3 Plates. , Paris, 1869. 8vo. Three numbers only appeared. Clerget (Charles Ernest). Motifs d'Ornaments du xvi° siecle (Liv. 1-3 only published). 3 Plates of Bindings. Paris, 1840. 4to. Cobden-Sanderson (T. J.). Article on Bookbinding in English Illustrated Magazine. Pp. 323-332. Illustrated. Jan., 1891. Cobden-Sanderson (T. J.). Article in the Arts' and Crafts* Exhibition Society Catalogue. Pp. 11. First Exhibition, 1888. Cobden-Sanderson (T. J.). Craft Ideals. Transactions of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry. Pp. 256-266. Liverpool Meeting, 1888. Code de la Librairie et Imprimerie de Paris. Pp. 500. Paris, 1744. i2mo. Collections de Charles Cousin. Sale Catalogue on Japanese Paper. 5 Plates of Bindings. 1891. Large 4to. Collet (S.). Relics of Literature. Pp. 400. Contains Bills of Roger Payne. London, 1823. 8vo. CoUinot (E.) et Beaumont (A. de). Omements de la Perse, &c. Paris, 1880. Imp. folio. Several Plates of Bindings. Collinot (E.) et Beaumont (A. de). Recueil de Dessins pour I'Art et rindustrie. Paris, 1859. Folio. 217 Etchings — a few of Bindings. Commission d'enquete sur la situation des ouvriers et des industries d'art institutee par decret, en date du 24 Decembre, 1881. Paris, 1884. 4to. Dans ce recueil se trouve la deposition de M. Lortic pour la Reliure. Constantin (Leopold Auguste) pseud. Bibliotheconomie. In- structions sur I'arrangement, la conservation et I'administration des Biblioth^ques. Pp. 56-61. Paris, 1839. 8vo. De la Reliure. 266 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Constaxitin (Leopold Auguste)/«Mrf. Nouvelle Edition . . aug- mentee. 1841. [One of the Manuels Roret.^ Constantin (Leopold Auguste) pseud. Biblioteconomia, 6 nuevo manuel completo para el arreglo, la conservacion y la ad- ministracion de las bibliotecas. . traducido del frances al castellano y adicionado por D. Hidalgo. Madrid, 1865. 8vo. Cousin (Charles). Racontars illustres d'un vieux CoUectionneur. !"?• 335- 8 Plates of Bindings. Paris, 1887. Large 4to. Cousin (Jules). De I'organisation et de I'administration des biblio- th^ques publiques et privees. Manuel theorique et pratique du bibliothecaire. Pp. 151-169. Paris, 1882. 8vo. Cowie. Bookbinders' Manual. William Strange, Junior, 8, Amen Corner, Paternoster Row. 7th Edition. London. Craig (James Gibson). Facsimiles of Old Bookbinding in the Collection of J. G. Craig. Privately printed. 25 copies only. No letterpress. 27 Plates. Edinburgh, 1882. 4to. Crane (W. J. E.). Bookbinding for Amateurs. Pp. vi., 184. Illustrated with 156 Engravings. London, 1885. 8vo. Crusius (F. G.). Beitrage zur Geschichte der Buchbinderkunst. In illustrirte Zeitung fiir Buchbinderei, &c. No. 3-9. 1869. Leipzig. 4to. Crusius (F. G.). Ueber die Entwickelung des gegenwartigen Verhaltnisse im deutschen Zunft- u. Handwerksleben, seit dem Anfange dieses Jahrhunderts. Diisseldorf. 1858. 8vo. Aus Aer Deutsche Gewerbezeitung v . 1853. Cundall (Joseph). Chambers' Encyclopaedia — Article on Book. binding. Cundall (Joseph). On Bookbindings, Ancient and Modern. Pp. xi., 132. 28 Plates. London, 1881. Cr. 410. Cundall (Joseph). On Ornamental Art, applied to Ancient and Modern Bookbinding. London, 1848. 4to. Read before the Society of Arts, 1847. Some copies have 21 Plates by Tuckett, selected chiefly from the Library of the British Museum. See also Transactions of the Society of Arts. Pp. 213-225. Supp. vol. [vol. 56]. 6 Plates and Facsimile of a Bill for Binding by Roger Payne. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 267 Cyprianus (Ernst Salomo). Selecta Programmata. Pp. 40-46, Co- burgi, 1708. Svo. De Ornatu Librorum. Danel (L.). _ 17 Planches de Reliure executees en chromotypo- graphie tirees sur papier du Japon et publiees dans le Bulletin Morgand et Fatout. Paris. 4to. Davenport (Cyril James). I.. Note on an Old Binding. The Bookbinder, Vol. 2, p. 44, Sept., 1888. Illustrated. 2. Early English Embroidered Books, &c. The Queen, Jan. 26, 1889. Illustrated. 3. Embroidered Books. The Bookmaker, New York, No. 6, Vol. XI, Dec, 1890. Illustrated. 4. Early London Bookbindings, &c. The Queen, June 20, 1891. Illustrated. 5. Embroidered Books at the Burlington Fine Arts Club. The Queen, Aug. 15, 1891, and Aug. 29, 1891. Illustrated. De Chanteau (Maurice). De la Corporation des Imprimeurs, Libraires et Relieurs de la Ville de Metz. Pp. 40. Metz, 1867. Svo. (Reproduction des Actes de la Communaute depuis 1656 jusq'en 1781.) Defrem&y (C). Journals des Savants. Paris, 1816, &c. 4to. August and September, 1876. Derome (Leopold). La Reliure de Luxe. Le livre et I'amateur. Pp. 246. 63 Coloured Plates from original designs. Paris, 1888. Derome (Leopold). Le Luxe des Livres. Pp. xii., 140. Paris, 1879. i2mo. Designs and Ornaments for Bookbinding. London, 1840. 4to. Deutsche Buchbinderzeitung. 36N0S. Leipzig, 1880-81. Fol. A Trade Journal. Deutsche Bucheinbande der Neuzeit, eine Sammlung ausgefiihrter Arbeiten aus Deutschen Werkstatten mit erlauterndem Text. Herausgegeben v. Johannes Mant. Leipzig, 1889. 268 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Dibdin (Thos. Frognall). A Bibliographical, Antiquarian, and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany. 3 Vols. London, 1821. 8vo. Vol. 2, pp. 411-421, contains the account of French binding and binders answered by Lesne in his " Lettre d'un relieur franjais k un bibliophile anglais." — Second edition. 3 vols. London, 1829. 8vo. Dibdin (Thos. Frognall). The Bibliographical Decameron. London, 181 7. 3 vols. 8vo. Vol. 2. Dialogue 8. Pp. 425-533 contains an account of Bookbinding ancient and modern, specimens of bindings, and notices of binders. Dibdin (Thos. Frognall). Bibliomania. Pp. 87. London, 1809. 8vo. Another edition, much enlarged. London, 181 1. 8vo. New and improved edition. London, 1876. Dictionnaire de I'lndustrie, &c. Tom. 9. Pp. 520-529. Paris, 1840. 8vo. Reliure. Die englische Buchbinderkunst ; enthaltend eine Beschreibung von dem Werkzeuge, Vorrichten, Vergolden, u. Ausarbeiten Schreibbiicherbinden, Schnittfarben, Marmoriren, Sprengen, &c., &c. Leipzig, 1819. 8vo. I Holzschnitt. Double (Lucien). A travers deux Siecles et quatorze Salons. Pp. 53. Illustrated. Paris, 1878. 8vo. Du Bois (Henri Pene). Historical Essay on the Art of Bookbind- ing. Pp.42. New York, 1883. 8vo. Du Bois (Henri Pene). Four Private Libraries of New York. Pp. 119. 8 Plates of Bindings. Edition limited to too num- bered copies. New York, 1892. 8vo. Dudin. L'Art de Relieur-doreur de Livres. 1st Edition. Pp. 112. 16 Plates. Paris, 1772. Small folio. Written by command of the Academic Royale des Sciences, to be included in the Description ginirale des Arts et MStiers. Dudin. L'Art du Relieur. Nouvelle edition, augmentee de tout ce qui a ete ecrit de mieux sur ces matieres en AUemagne, en Angleterre, en Suisse, en Italic, &c. Par J. E. Bertrand. Pp. 110, and 2 Explanatory Plates. Paris, 1820. 4to. Extract from the Description genlrale des Arts et Mitiers. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 269 Dulac (L'Abbe J.). Reliure d'un Montaigne a I'S barre et a mono- grammes. R^ponse a une question de I'Abbe L. Couture. Pp. 22. I Plate. Paris, 1880. 8vo. Dunning (T. J.). Trades Societies and Strikes. Some account of the London Consolidated Society of Bookbinders. Pp. 93-104. London, i860. Svo. Duranville (Leon de). De la Bibliophile. Rouen, 1873. Svo. Extrait du Precis des Travaux de I'Academie des Sciences, Belles- Lettres et Arts de Rouen, &c. Only 60 copies printed. Du Sommerard (Alexandre). Les Arts au Moyen-Age. Paris, 1838-46, Album S&ie I.-X. and Atlas contain several very fine Plates of Bindings. Dutuit. Souvenir de I'Exposition de M. Dutuit. Pp. 107. 34 Plates-. Paris, 1869. 4to. Edit du Roy du 21 Aout 1686, pour le reglement des Tmprimeurs et Libraires de Paris. — Sdit du Roy du 7 Septembre 1686, pour le reglement des relieurs et doreurs de livres. Paris, D. Thierry, 1687. 4to. Edit du Roy, portant nouvelle Ci;eation de six Corps de Marchands et de quarante-quatre Communautes d'Arts et Metiers, donne au mois d'Aoiit, 1 776. Une plaquette in-4to. de 30 pages dans laquelle se trouve le Nouveau Reglement qui erige la Reliure en Communaute nouvelle avec les Papetiers-Colleurs et en Meubles, et les Cartiers. Edmunds (W. H.). Bookbinding. See Exhibitions. Reports of Artizans, &c. Edwards (Edward). Memoirs of Libraries. 2 vols. London and Leipzig, 1859. Svo. Vol. 2 (pp. 959-987) contains an his- torical account of Bookbinding, with 6 Plates. Elton (Charles Isaac). A Catalogue of a portion of the Library of Charles Isaac Elton and Mary Augusta Elton. Pp. 222, 28 Plates. London, 1891. Svo. EncyclopiEdias, &c. For Articles on Bookbinding, see American Cyclopaedia — Blackie's Modem Cyclopsedia — Bouillet (N.). Dictionnaire Universe! des Sciences . . . et des Arts — Ency- 270 BIBLIOGRAPHY. clopsedia Metropolitana — Globe Encyclopsedia — ^Johnson. Universal Cyclopedia — National Encyclopaedia — Popular Encyclopaedia — Rees-Encyclopaedia or Universal Dictionary. Eschebach (August). Aus der Buchbinderwerkstatt. Gedichte. Pp. 102. Berlin, 1861. l6mo. Eschebach (August). Gebrauchs-Anweisung zur einer neuen pralcti- schen Blattvergoldekunst. 11 Aufiage. Berlin, i86r. i6mo. jfetablissement d'une Bibliotheque. Paris, 1877. l2mo. Reports of Exhibitions arranged chronologically. • Rapport du jury central sur les produits de I'industrie fran5aise k I'exposition de 1834, par le Baron Ch. Dupin. 3 vols, in Svo. Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1836. Rapport du jury central. Exposition des produits de I'industrie fran- 9aise, 1839. 3 vols, in 8vo. Paris, 1839. Rapport du jury central. Exposition des produits de I'industrie fran- gaise, 1844. 3 vols. 8vo. Rapport du jury central sur les produits de I'agriculture et de I'indus- trie expos& en 1849. 3 vols. Paris, 1850. Svo. Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations. Official De- scriptive Catalogue. Vol. 2. Pp. 536-552. London, 1851. Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations, 1851. Reports of the Juries. Vol. 2. Pp. 928-936. London, 1852. Book- binding. Exposition universelle de 1855. Rapports du jury mixte international. 2tom. Pp. 1290-1303. Paris, 1856. Reliure, p. 341. Machines pour la reliure. International Exhibition, 1862. Reports of the Juries. London, 1863. Class 38. Section D. Bookbinding. Rapports du jury international sur I'exposition de Londres, 1862, publies par Michel Chevalier. 6 vols. Paris, 1862. 8vo. Rapport des ouvriers relieurs delegues a I'exposition universelle de Londres en 1862. Pp. 36. Paris, 1863. Svo. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 271 Exposition de 1867. Delegation des ouvriers relieurs. Premiire farlie. La reliure aux expositions de I'indus- trie (1798-1862). Pp. 278. Paris, 1868. 8vo. - Deuxiime Partie. La reliure i I'exposition de 1867. Etudes comparatives de la reliure ancienne et modeme. Pp. 223. 9 Plates. Photogravure. Paris, 1869-75. 8vo. Rapport de la commission superieure ^ I'exposition universelle de Vienna, 1873 (section fran9aise). 5 tom. Paris, 1875. 8^°' Rapport de la delegation ouvriere fran9aise a I'exposition universelle de Vienne, 1873. Relieurs. Paris, 1874. 8vo. Rapport sur rimprimerie et la librairie (et la reliure) a I'exposition Internationale de Philadelphie, 1876, par Rene Fouret. Paris, 1877. 4to. Exposition Universelle de Philadelphie, 1876. Delegation Ouvriere libre Relieurs. Pp. 247. 2 Plates. Paris, 1879. I2mo. Union Centrale des Arts decoratifs (111° Groupe de I'Exposition technologique de 1882). Librairie, Photographic, Gravure, Reliure, Papier peint. Rapport du Jury des Industries du Papier, par M. Alfred Firmin Didot. Paris, 1883. 8vo. Union Centrale des Arts decoratifs (7° Exposition, 1882). Deuxieme Exposition technologique des Industries d'Art. Le Bois, les Tissus, le Papier. Documents Officiels de I'Exposition. Un volume in 4to, dans lequel se trouve le Rapport de M. Alfred Firmin-Didot, sur la Reliure. Paris, 1883. Reports of Artizans selected by the Mansion House Committee to visit the Paris Universal Exhibition, 1889. Pp. 14-4S. London, 1889. 8vo. Bookbinding by W. H. Edmunds. Falckenberg (Albert) & Co. Ideen-Magazin fiir Buchbinder. Zusammenstellung von Stempeler, Linien, &c., aus der Graviranstalt von Falckenberg & Co., in Magdeburg, 1843-56. Imp. 4to. Heft 1-4. Falckenberg (Albert) & Co. Musterblatter der Stempel u. Fileton fiir Buchbinder und Vergolder aus der Graviranstalt von Falckenberg & Co., in Magdeburg. Magdeburg. 1844. 4to. 6 Hefte. 272 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Fallce (Jacob). Die byrantinischen Buchdeckel der St. Marcus Bibliothek in Venedig. Text and 10 Plates. Wien, 1867. Large folio. Fine Arts Quarterly Review. London, 1863. Year 1863. Ancient Ornamental Bindings. Firmin-Didot. Catalogue illustre de la biblioth^que de Ambroise Firmin-Didot. Paris. 1878-84. 4to. 5 vols. Numerous Plates of Bindings. Fitzgerald (Percy). The Book Fancier ; or, the Romance of Book Collecting. Pp. 99-136. London, 1886. l2mo. Fizeliere (Albert de la). Des Emaux cloisonnes et de leur Intro- duction dans la Reliure des Livres. Extract from Bulletin de Bouquiniste (1-15 December, 1869). Pp. 16. Paris, 1870. 8vo. Flat Ornament. 150 Plates. 6 Plates of designs for binding. London (Batsford). 1886. Folious Appearances : a consideration on our ways of Lettering Books. Pp. 24. 1854. 4to. See Tapling. Fougeroux de Bondaroy (Auguste Denis). Art de Travailler les Cuirs dores ou Argentes. Pp. 42. 2 Plates. Paris, 1762. Fol. Fournier (Edouard). L'art de la Reliure en France aux derniers siecles. Pp. 235. Paris, 1864. 8vo. Deuxieme Edition, 1888. Pp. 226. Franklin (Alfred). Precis de I'histoire de la Biblioth^que du Roi, aujourd'hui Bibliotheque Nationale. (2nd Edition. Revised and augmented. ) Pp. 341. Illustrated. Paris, 1875. 8vo. Frisius (Frid.). Ceremoniel der Buchbinder. Leipzig. 1728. 8vo. Mit Titelkupfer. Fritzsche (Gustav). Anleitung u. Vorlagen zur Herstellung ge- schnittener u. gepunzter altdeutscher Lederarbeiten. 4, voU- standig^umgearbeitete u. verbesserte Auflagemit 128 originalen Zeichnungen nebst einem Vorwort v. Dr. A. Weiske. Leipzig, 1887. 8vo. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 273 Fritzsche (Gustav). Modeme Buch-Einbiinde. Sammlung kiinst- lerischer Original-Entwiirfe zur Ornamentirung von Buch- decken. 4 Hefte a. 7 Chromolith. Leipzig, 1878-79. Or. Folio. Fritzsche (Gustav). Sinn- u. Denkspriiche fiir Buchbinderei Werk- statten. Leipzig. Fritsche (Gustav) u. Winckler. See Winckler (Otto). Gauffecourt (Caperonier de). Traite sur la Reliure des Livres. Printed by the author at his country house at Montbrillant, near Geneve, 1763. Pp. 72. 8vo. Only three copies extant known — one was included in the second library of Charles Nodier, the other is still in the public Library of Besanjon, and a third in the possession of Mons. Gruel. Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1859, &c. Index to 1st series. Vols. 1-15, 1866. Index to 2nd series. Vols. 16-25, 1870. Numerous Contributions to the subject of Binding. G&aud (H.). Essais sur les livres dans I'antiquite. Pp. xiv. 232. Paris, 1840. 8vo. Georg (Johann). Niitzliches Stempffelbuch von Allerlei krunimen Villeten, auch saubem Stempffeln, zusammengesetzt durch Jphann Georg ; Schwertfeger, Eisen, Sigel, Wappen, und Stempffel, Schneider in Numberg, 1697, 4to. 14 Copper Plates (including title page). Greve (Ernst Wilh.). Hand- u. Lehrbuch der Buchbinde- u. Futteralmachekunst. In Briefen an einen jungen Kunstver- wandten, &c. Berlin, 1822-23. 2 Bande. 8vo. II Zeich- nungen in Steindruck. 2. Ausgabe, 1832. 8vo. Grimm (C. H.). Album der Relieur-Doreur. Vorlegeblatter fiir Buchbinder u. Vergolder. Lief. 1-8, u. 10 Blatter. Paris, 1840-46. J Gr. Folio. Grosse (Edward). Der Gold- und Farbendnick fiir Buchbinder. Vienna, 1889. 8vo. Gruel (L^on). Manuel Historique et Bibliographique de I'Amateur de Reliures. Pp. 186. 70 Plates. Paris, 1887. 4to. 274 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Gruel (Leon). Notice sur Christophe Plantin. Extraite du Journal Ginlral de V hnprimerie et de la Librairie du 26 Septembre, 1891. Pp. 11. 2 Plates. Paris, 189 1. 8vo. Guide des Corps des Marchands et des Communautes des Arts et Metiers, tant de la Ville et Fauxbourgs de Paris que du Roy- aume. Un volume in-i2mo de 496 pages danslequelse trouve un Resume du Reglement de la Communaute des Relieurs et Doreurs de Livres. Paris, 1766. Guiffrey (J. J.). Les grands relieurs parisiens du xviii" siecle, Boyet, Padeloup, Derome. Documents nouveaux. Pp. 15. 8vo. Extrait du Bulletin de la SociHS de VHistoire de Paris, and de rile de France. Pp. 98-112. 11= annee, 1884. Guigard (Joanns). Armorial du Bibliophile, avec illustrations dans le texte. 2 tom. Paris, 1870-72. 8vo. Guigard (Joannes). Nouvel Armorial du Bibliophile. 2 tom. Paris, 1890. 8vo. Haas (H. de). De boekbinder of al hetgeen wat tot die Kunst betrekking heeft. Plates. Dordrecht, 1806. 8vo. Halfer (Josef). Die Fortschritte der Marmorirkunst. Budapest, 1885. 8vo. Another Edition. Stuttgart [1891]. 8vo. [Forming part of Leo's Buchbinder Bibliothek.'] Hall. Bookbinders' Patterns. Two parts. 4to. Published by W. Day, Bookbinders' Tool Cutter, 12 Middle Row, Holborn (with prices). Handbook of Taste in Bookbinding. New edition. Pp. 31. With Illustrations. London. 8vo. Published and probably written by E. Churton. Handbuch der Buchbinderei. Wien, 1 88 1. Hannett (John). Bibliopegia ; or, the Art of Bookbinding, etc. A New Edition. Pp. ii., 194. 10 Plates. 1842. i2mo. Fourth Edition. Pp. iv., 166. II Plates. London, 1848. i2mo. Sixth Edition. (2 Parts.) London, 1865. 8vo. Part I is another copy of the work entitled An Inquiry into the Nature . . . of the Books of the Ancients. By J. A. Amett. With a new title page, preface, and index. BIBLIOGRAPHY. 275. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1850, &c. Vol. 32. Pp. 25-29. 1865. Binding. Part of an article entitled "Making the Magazine." Also vol. 75. Pp. 165-188. July, 1875. "A printed Book." This article also appears in vol. 14 of the European edition. Pp. 165-168. July, 1887. (The title page reading " Harper's Monthly Magazine.") The European edition commenced with vol. 62 of the American edition, 1881. Heuss (Adam). Wanderungen und Lebensansichten. Jena, 1845. 8vo. Hoe (Robert). A Lecture on Bookbinding as a Fine Art. 63 Illustrations. New York Grolier Club. 1886. Small 410. Hoffmann (F. C). Beitrage zur Bildung glucklicher Handwerker mit besonderer Beziehung auf der Buchbinder Handwerk. Heft I. Wien, 1819. 8vo. Honer (B.). Die Geheimnisse der Marmorirkunst, nebst einer Anleitung zur Farbenbereitung. Futtlingen, 1870. Gr. i6mo. Horn (Otto). Die Technik der Handvergoldung und Lederauflage. Mit 8 lith. Tafeln. Gera, 1887. 8vo. Horn (Otto). Vorlagen zum Verzieren von Gold- und Farbschnitten durch Ciseliren, Malen, Drucken, &c. 9 Tafeln u. Text. Gera (Reusz). 1886. 4to. Horn (Otto) u. Ludwig (E.). Mustervorlagen u. Motive zur De- coration von Buchdecken und Riicken. Pp. 48. 41 lith. Tafeln u. Text. Gera. 1885. Gross 4to. Horn u. Patzelt. Vorlagen fur geschnittene u. gepunzte Lederar- beiten. Text u. 16 Tafeln in Farbendruck. Gera, 1887. Home (Thomas Hartwell). An Introduction to the Study of Bibliography. 2 vols. Pp. 292-309. London, 1814. Svo. Article on Binding. Hour Glass. September, 1887. A Chat about Bookbinding. Also issued as a pamphlet by J. W. Zaehnsdorf. Houze (J. P.). Le livre des Metiers manuels. Pp. 387-393. Paris, 1882. Svo. Reliure. T 2 376 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Howard (Joseph T.). On Ancient Bindings in the Library of Westminster Abbey {London and Middlesex Archaological Transactions). Vol. 2. London. 1864. 8vo. Hiittner (J. Ch.). Ueber einige bequeme Vortheile u. Handgrifife in der Buchbinderei in England. Tubingen, 1802. 8vo. Illustrirte Zeitung fur Buchbinderei, &c. Dresden, 1867. 4to. A Trade Journal. Industries of the World. 2 vols. London. Vol. 2. Pp. 676-7. Bookbinding. Ives (Drayton). Sale Catalogue. Illustrated. New York, i8gi. Jacob (Paul L. ). See Lacroix (Paul). Jacobi (Charles Thomas). On the Making and Issuing of Books. London, 1891. l2mo. Chapter vii. The Binding of Books. Jacobi (Charles Thomas). The Printer's Handbook. London, 1887. 8vo. Jal (Auguste). Dictionnaire critique de biographie et d'histoire. Paris, 1867. 8vo. Contains on p. 1083 a genealogy of the Der6me family. 2nd edition. Paris, 1872. 8vo. Jaugeon. L'art de relier les Livres. This forms the Sth part and completion of a great work, ' ' Description et Perfection des Arts et Metiers." The MS. has never been printed. It was begun in 1693 and finished in 1704. The part relating to binding has 42 pages of text, and 2 explanatory plates ; these last were used later on by Dudin in his ' ' Art du Relieur-doreur des livres," which appeared in 1772. This is the first technical work on binding known. Journal der neuesten Fortschritte in der Buchbinderei, &c., &c. Weimar, 1844-54. I. -III. Band. Gr. 410. Journal fiir Buchbinderei, Lederwaaren, u. Cartonagen Fabrikation. A Trade Journal. Leipzig, 1881. Imp. 4to. Journal of the British Archseological Association. Vol. 8. Berthe- let's bill as King's printer, for books sold and bound, and for statutes and proclamations furnished to the Government in 1541-1543. London, 1853. 8vo. Pp. 7. BIBUOGRAPHY. 277 Journal of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1867, &c. Year 1838 has an account of Hancock's patent for attaching the leaves of a book with caoutchouc. Journal of the Society of Arts. London, 1853, &c. Vols.' 7, 22, 24, 28, 36. Articles on Binding, &c. Julien (le Bibliophile). Album de reliures artistiques et historiques des xvi», XVII", xviii" et xix» siecles, accompagne de notes ex- plicatives. Paris, 1866. In 4 Parts. 4to. The 3 first parts have each 24 Plates, the 4th has 28. All the Plates but the last 3 in Part 4 appeared in Le Bibliophile FranfaiS. Karmarsch und Heeren's Technisches Worterbuch. Pp. 109-125. Band 2. Prag, 1876, &c. Buchbinderarbeiten. Katalog der im germanischen Museum. See Catalog. Kellen (David Van der). Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance dans- les Pays-Bas. La Haye [1865-79], fol. Contains 2 plates of silver book covers and ornaments. Kunst- u. Lehrbuch fiir Buchbinder, worin alle Handarbeiten die zur Dauer u. Zierde eines Buches gereichen, moglichst genau be- schrieben. Landshut, 1820. 2 Theile. Labarte (Jules). Histoire des Arts Industriels au Moyen Age. itt fine Plates of jewelled and ivory book-covers. 4 torn, and album. Paris, 1864-66. 8vo. Labarte (Jules). Deuxi^me edition. 3 tom. Paris, 1872-75. 4to. Laborde (Comte de). Les Dues de Bourgogne. 3 vols. Paris,. 1849-52. 8vo. Laboulaye (C). Dictionnaire des Arts et Manufactures. Paris, 1845, &c. Col. 3188-92. Reliure. Lacroix (Paul \_Le Bibliophile JacoF^. Les Arts au Moyen Age et a I'epoque de la Renaissance. Pp. 467-81. Reliure. Paris, 1869. 8vo. Lacroix (Paul \Le Bibliophile Jacob"^. Le Moyen Age et la Renais- sance. 8 Plates. Tom. V. Reliure. Paris, 1848-51. 278 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Lacroix (Paul [Le Bibliophile Jacob\i. Arts of the Middle Ages. Chapter on Bookbinding. Pp.14. 12 Illustrations. London. 1870. Lacroix (Paul \Le Bibliophile Jacob"^. La Reliure depuis I'anti- quit^ jusqu'au xvn» siecle. Extrait de 20 pages in l2mo, des CuriositSs de T Histoire des Arts. Paris, 1858. [ ] Jacob (Paul L. ). Catalogue des livres du bibliothique de la Comtesse de Barry, avec les prix a Versailles, 1771. Paris, 1874. i6mo, 100 copies only. A reprint from the original MS. with Note and Preface by the bibliophile Jacob. [ ] Jacob (Paul L.). CuriositSs de I'histoire des arts. Pp. 157-181. Paris, 1858. i6mo. La reliure depuis I'antiquite jusqu'au dix-septiime siecle. , La Fizeliere (Albert de). Des Emaux cloisonnes et de leur intro- duction dans la reliure des livres. Pp. 16. Paris, 1870. 8vo. Extract from the Bulletin du Bouquiniste. December I and IS, 1869. Lalanne (Ludovic). Curiosites bibliographiques. Paris, 1857. i2mo. Lami (E. O.) and Tharel (A.). Dictionnaire encyclopedique et biographique de I'industrie et des arts industriels. Pp. 771-8. Illustrations in text. Reliure. Paris, i88i, &c. Tom 7. Lang (Andrew). Books and Bookmen. Bibliomania in France. Pp. 90-108. 2 Plates of Bindings. London, 1886. 8vo. In the New York edition, 1886, pp. 95-107, is an Article on Bookbinding, which does not appear in the London edition. Lang (Andrew). The Library. Pp. 63-73 a-n