ttso H. 
 
an inquiry 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 NATURE AND FORM 
 
 OF TUB 
 
 BOOKS OF THE ANCIENTS; 
 
 WITH A 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 art of bookbinding, 
 
 FROM THE TIMES OF 
 
 THE GREEKS AND ROMANS TO THE PRESENT DAY; 
 
 INTERSPERSED WITH 
 
 bibliographical references to men and books 
 
 OF ALL AGES AND COUNTRIES. 
 
 illustrated with numerous engravings. 
 
 BY JOHN ANDREWS ARNETT. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 RICHARD GROOMBRIDGE. 
 
 1837. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following work aspires to the rank of a historical and 
 chronological record of the art and science of composing books, 
 and their subsequent embellishment, — a subject so intimately 
 connected with literature, as to have ever been a matter of 
 much speculation to the antiquarian and man of letters, as well 
 as of great interest to the artist and general reader. 
 
 To the perusal of the works of Ames, Palmer, Stower, Han- 
 sard, and Johnson, on the History of Printing, may a desire to 
 collect the dispersed records of the much older Art of Book- 
 binding, and to perpetuate the still existing specimens of the 
 talent of early times (many fast hastening to, and all in pro- 
 gress of, decay), be said to have arisen, and the appearance of 
 the present work be attributed. To effect this object, the 
 slight notices of the form of books, and remarks on their embel- 
 lishment, found in numerous publications devoted to biblio- 
 graphical subjects, to the histories of countries, of a people, or 
 of individuals, have been collected. These, as now arranged 
 in chronological order, and embodied with a historical record 
 and dissertations founded on personal inspection of many 
 ancient bindings, will, it is presumed, be found to possess an 
 interest and variety not hitherto attached to the subject. 
 
 Where an opportunity of consulting the works to which 
 allusion has been found made by others, has not occurred, 
 references have been given to the parties citing them ; but in 
 all other cases the original authority. The references to the 
 labours of such as have incidentally toiled in the same field 
 will be found throughout scrupulously recorded ; as also to the 
 productions of those, who, in a more extended manner, Have 
 devoted their time and talents to the subject. These are, the 
 Hev. P. F. Dibdin, D.D., and the Rev. T. II. Horne, B.D. To 
 the former gentleman, thanks are particularly tendered for the 
 ready permission granted to copy some of the engravings, and 
 make use of extracts from his valuable works. In the compo 
 sition of the following pages, it has, on two occasions, bee: 
 necessary more particularly to refer to them, viz. the impresses 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 m lf bindings of the fifteenth century, and the French bindings of 
 the same period. On this department of the History ot Book- 
 binding, the Doctor has been so diffuse, that little could he 
 added. Such other specimens and remarks are therefore 
 introduced, as were necessary to connect the style with the 
 introduction of others ; and various incidental matter relative to 
 the characters of Grolier, De Thou, and the French Binders of 
 their times ; a preference being given to the Doctor s own 
 statements, to any dishonest garbling or re-writing of this 
 portion of the work. 
 
 To the Rev. T. H. Horne, thanks are also due for several 
 valuable suggestions ; and like acknowledgments to Sir S. R. 
 Meyrick, the Very Rev. G. Gordon, Dean of Lincoln, the 
 Rev. C. IT. Hartshorne, the Rev. H. H. Baber, of the British 
 Museum, the Rev. W. Cureton, of the Bodleian Library, 
 Oxford, T. Thomson, Esq., of the Record Office, Edinbuigli, 
 J. B. Nichols, Esq., Mr. John Martin, Mr. John Bohn, and 
 Mr. C. Knight, for hints, or assistance rendered in the pursuit 
 of the following inquiries. 
 
 The illustrations for the early portion of the work, have been 
 engraved principally from the “ Antiquites d ITerculanum, by 
 David. The others from sources named in the text, or from 
 drawings made of existing bindings in the British Museum, 
 &c., by Mr. James Lee, by whom nearly the whole of the 
 engravings have been executed. 
 
 The work has been composed at intervals of leisure, from 
 more serious occupations ; and, if not embracing all the ele- 
 gance of style by some desired, it is trusted will be found at all 
 times clear and perspicuous. To this end, the object through- 
 out has been to avoid all technicalities and vague speculations , 
 to keep the truth of history and the value of utility constantly 
 in view, without running into unnecessary diltuseness. 1 ie 
 subject, it is presumed, will thus be found to address itselt to 
 every class of readers; and intimately connected as it is with 
 literature, in all ages and countries, the frequent reference 
 necessarv to be made to the possessors of collections, and many 
 scarce books existing in good preservation m public and 
 private libraries, will, it is hoped, alike constitute an ad- 
 ditional claim on the attention of the antiquarian and 
 
 111 HI. TOG RAP HER. 
 
 April. 1837 - 
 
THE 
 
 BOOKS OF THE ANCIENTS, 
 
 &c. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON THE RECORDS AND WRITINGS OF THE EARLIEST 
 PEOPLE ; THEIR FORM, AND METHOD OF PRESER- 
 VATION. 
 
 In the darkness of ages, the arts and sciences gene- 
 rally have been enveloped in obscurity — of many, 
 not even the record of their existence, and of others, 
 merely the passing mention of their once general 
 prevalence, has been handed down to us. And 
 whilst those arts which must of necessity have first 
 occupied the thoughts and attention of mankind, 
 such as would contribute to their personal comfort, 
 to the supply of their wants, or to the defence of 
 their position and home, are scarcely known, we can 
 little expect that anything approaching to the refine- 
 ments of life, such as the records of their literature, 
 will be met with. In the brief notices of the trans- 
 actions of man soon after the creation, we find Jubal 
 
 n 
 
2 THE RECORDS OF THE 
 
 referred to as the father of all such as handle the 
 harp and organ, and Tuhal-cain as an instructor of 
 every artificer in brass and iron. To this may be 
 added, the knowledge the earliest people possessed 
 of the art of wine-making, of navigation and ship- 
 building, as implied in the formation of the ark of 
 Noah, of building and architecture, in the erection 
 of the city and tower of Babel, of the making of 
 arms for trained fighting-men, of images, of camels’ 
 furniture, and of chariots of war. And if we descend 
 to the date assigned by Dr. Good a to the Book of 
 Job, namely, 1200 years after the flood, it is 
 certain that at that epoch metals were extracted 
 from the earth and used for domestic purposes, for 
 instruments of war, and for money; that various 
 musical instruments were known, that written cha- 
 racters were in common use, that astronomy was 
 cultivated as a science, and that mankind unques- 
 tionably were not living in the simple patriarchal 
 state, since different ranks in society are in several 
 instances familiarly mentioned ; whilst it is at the 
 same time quite evident, that the degree of intel- 
 lectual acquirement and of refinement which would 
 allow of the composition of the work itself, could not 
 have been low in the scale of human cultivation. b 
 Considering these facts, and reasoning from the general 
 improvement of society in all ages, where men have 
 
 a Good’s Book of Job, p. 4 0. 
 
 vol. i. p. 52 . 
 
 ■ b Beke’s Origines Biblicae, 
 
EARLIEST PEOPLE. 
 
 3 
 
 congregated together, it may he pronounced all but 
 certain, that some degree of refinement, and a regard 
 for learning, had been arrived at by the antediluvian 
 world, particularly so when the general belief of the 
 Mosaic account gives a period of 2000 years duration 
 to the earth prior to the deluge. 
 
 Of the mode adopted in the earliest times to 
 transmit to after generations the records of the pre- 
 ceding ones, an impenetrable darkness hangs around ; 
 and in attempting any description, conjecture alone 
 can be the foundation. And if this uncertainty as to 
 the very existence of their records is the case, how 
 much more difficult becomes the path by which we 
 can draw anv conclusion as to the material of which 
 they were composed, or of the manner of preserving 
 them. That the antediluvians did arrive at a con- 
 siderable degree of proficiency in many of the arts, 
 has been shown, and we may fairly conclude that 
 some method had been invented, by which the 
 thoughts and opinions of the learned might be com- 
 municated in some more durable manner than oral 
 testimony. But nothing exists to prove this to be 
 so ; we, therefore, are left to draw the inference, from 
 what has been transmitted relative to later times, 
 that a similar mode had been adopted, and progres- 
 sion made, in periods anterior to them. Taking this 
 as our guide, and allowing that there is much on the 
 subject we must be content to remain ignorant of, 
 it will be necessary to ascertain what has reached us 
 relative to the materials on, and form in, which 
 b 2 
 
v 4 
 
 THE RECORDS OF THE 
 
 the early inhabitants of the earth inscribed their 
 records. 
 
 Engraving, or sculpture on stone, appears to have 
 been the first method of writing ; the great and 
 noble actions of nations and men were cut on entire 
 rocks and mountains . 0 This custom was continued 
 for many ages, and remains still exist in Denmark, 
 Norway, the deserts of Tartary, and Judea. The 
 absence of rocks in many situations, or for the better 
 keeping before the eye of youth the acts and deeds of 
 their forefathers, doubtless suggested the pillar or 
 column. Josephus makes mention of two, one of 
 stone, the other of brick, on which the children of 
 Seth wrote their inventions and astronomical disco- 
 veries .' 1 Porphyri also speaks of some stone pillars 
 in Crete, on which the ceremonies of the Corybantes 
 in their sacrifices were recorded . 0 Many of the 
 obelisks brought from Egypt are of this character, 
 and there are some ancient monuments of the same 
 kind of writing remaining in that country, more 
 particularly among the ruins of Persepolis/ These 
 inscriptions commemorated events in history and 
 discoveries in science, and to them the ancient 
 historians, Sanchoniatho and Herodotus, acknow- 
 ledge their obligations. tr Mr. Drummond, however, 
 is of opinion that the first essays in the art of writing 
 
 c Job xix. v. 24. <> Antiquities of the Jews, book i. c. 2. 
 
 e Warton’s English Poetry, vol. i. p. xxvii. &c. 
 
 1 Maurice’s Babylon, p. 180 .— — s Herculanensia Hon. W. 
 Drummond, p. 118. 
 
EARLIEST PEOPLE. 
 
 5 
 
 must have been on softer materials than stones. 
 Whether so or not, it is certain that the time and 
 labour necessary to carve on stone, would soon lead 
 men to consider of some more expeditious mode of 
 recording their thoughts and discoveries ; as well as 
 to multiply their number. We find clay was early 
 used for the purpose, and stamps made by which it 
 was impressed, and then submitted to the action of 
 the sun or fire to harden. 1 ' To this class the Baby- 
 lonian bricks belong, the inscriptions on which 
 doubtless were intended for the propagation of 
 science, to the inculcation of some special facts, or 
 the record of some useful memorial . 1 And though 
 the meaning of these inscriptions is unknown, the 
 preservation of some of the bricks through a period 
 of some thousand years, proves that the ancients 
 rightly calculated on the mode they adopted in 
 perpetuating their discoveries. These bricks were 
 employed in the building of their public edifices. 
 From them further advances were made, which ulti- 
 mately led to the formation of books. This progress 
 is shown in the following sketch of a burnt clay pillar, 
 of about the same period as those before referred to. 
 It also displays a considerable improvement in the 
 formation of the characters. This pillar, with several 
 of the bricks, are preserved in the library of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge. 
 
 11 Fosbroke’s Cyclop, of Antiquities, vol. i. p. 23o. 
 
 ■ Hansard’s Typograpliia, p. 2. 
 
 B 3 
 
6 
 
 THE RECORDS OP Tlf-E 
 
 Mr. Hansard, who minutely examined this pillar, 
 considered it a rare piece of ancient learning' and art, 
 and a work of great public importance at the time it 
 was executed. He says: “One of these printed 
 pieces might contain a complete subject; or a sub- 
 ject might occupy several of them, which altogether 
 formed a series ; each piece answering, as it were, 
 such a purpose as the leaf of a book ; one following 
 another in regular order, from the beginning to the 
 end of any subject, as the sheets in a volume. From 
 
EARLIEST PEOPLE. 
 
 T 
 
 a succession of these printed miniature monuments 
 might numerous sets be made ; and thus might laws,- : 
 astronomical observations, historical annals, and any 
 other subject of interest to mankind, be recorded.” 14 
 
 This opinion, there can be little doubt, is a right 
 conclusion. And to confirm it we find, even long 
 after the acknowledged period of the invention of 
 letters, that engraving on similar pillars of stone and 
 other durable substances was still adopted. Pollux 
 and Suidas state that the pieces of brass on which 
 the public documents in their time were written, 
 were of a cubical form. 1 
 
 The first books, then, if we may so call them, were 
 simply in the form of pillars or tables, of which 
 frequent mention is made in Scripture under the 
 name of Sephir. When, however, the ancients had 
 matters a little longer to treat of, they would adopt 
 materials more suited to their purpose. Hence, 
 wood, slate, horn, plates of lead and copper, leaves 
 of trees, and other materials, according to the local 
 circumstances of different nations, and their progress 
 in the arts, were used to write such things upon as 
 hey were desirous to have transmitted to posterity." 1 
 
 That a ready mode of writing was in general use, 
 or at least well understood by the learned, previous 
 to the delivery of the tables of the law, is proved by 
 the command given to Moses, “ Write this for a me- 
 
 ^ typographia, p. 10. — r 1 Herculanensia, p. 104. * 
 
 111 fosbroke’s Ency. of Antiquities, vol. i 235. 
 
8 
 
 THE RECORDS OF THE 
 
 morial in a book.” It is observable, that there is not 
 the least hint to induce us to believe that writing was 
 then newly invented : on the contrary, we mav con- 
 clude, that Moses understood what was meant by 
 writing in a book; otherwise God would have in- 
 structed him, as he had done Noah in building the 
 ark ; for he would not have been commanded to write 
 in a book, if he had been ignorant of the art of writing: 
 but Moses expressed no difficulty of comprehension, 
 when he received this command." He may have 
 become acquainted with the art of writing in Egypt, 
 which country, we learn from the Old Testament, 
 was long previously acquainted with all those arts of 
 civilization and government, and notions of property, 
 which usually belong to nations which have been long 
 settled and civilized . 0 
 
 Slight as are the notices of the writings of the early 
 ages of the world, little can here be stated relative to 
 ancient bookbinding, but that some mode of preser- 
 vation of documents which must have required so 
 much care to execute, was early devised, cannot be 
 doubted ; and therefore the art may be dated as 
 almost coeval with the science of composing books : 
 and that both one and the other would soon follow 
 the invention of hieroglyphic characters and letters > 
 though it must be after the latter period to which we 
 must look for anything that can decidedly be called 
 
 11 Astle’s Origin and Progress of Writing, pp. 12, 13 
 
 Sharpe’s Early History of Egypt, p. 4. 
 
EARLIEST PEOPLE. 
 
 9 
 
 bookbinding. Previous to this, the preservation of 
 their tables, &c., was by means of cases of wood, 
 stone, or earthenware, of which we have an example 
 in the commandments given to Moses. But that 
 writings in his time were of some extent, is shown 
 in the book of Exodus (xxiv. 4 — 7), where we 
 find that Moses wrote all the words and all the judg- 
 ments of the Lord, contained in the twenty-first and 
 two following chapters. What was the material, or 
 what the form of the original book of the law, cannot 
 be ascertained. Montfau£on believed it was written on 
 skins ; and considering that the roll is the form still 
 adopted in all the synagogues of the Jews, we shall 
 not be hazarding too much to state it to have been so 
 since its first promulgation by Moses to the people. 
 Some progress must have been made before this ; and, 
 at whatever period books were first formed, a neces- 
 sity would arise of uniting the several parts together, 
 for the more ready reference, as well as their better 
 preservation. This, however slight or rudely per- 
 formed, was the foundation of an. art, which in our 
 day has arrived at a style of decoration scarcely to. 
 be surpassed by any other „ 
 
 That the writers of the books would be the first, 
 binders, it is fair to presume ; from which class, per- 
 haps, or from others trained to the art, would proceed 
 a race of artisans restricted to this branch alone. 
 But there is again no data to establish the fact, and 
 we can only hazard the conjecture, seeing that the 
 details of all the arts for many ages are alike unknown. 
 
10 THE RECORDS OF THE EARLIEST PEOPLE. 
 
 This may be attributable to the circumstances of the 
 times, or to the habits of the nations of antiquity. 1 
 The Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Syrians, and Egyptians, 
 all bordering upon each other, were alike early versed 
 in the arts of life. From all that is known of the 
 latter, either from Greek authors or from modern 
 discoveries in the antiquities of Egypt, they appear to 
 have been a nation of practised manipulators, me- 
 chanics, and workmen. The distribution of the 
 people into ranks, and particular occupations to the 
 same families from generation to generation, confined 
 the knowledge possessed by each class, and never 
 contributed to form a common stock of information. 
 Hence the political system of the country provided 
 for a succession of hereditary artists ; and when that 
 system was destroyed by the conquest of Egypt, the 
 peculiar arts of the Egyptians were entirely lost. p 
 
 But the remains of their greatness, and evidences 
 of their ability, were an example to their conquerors. 
 
 The Greeks have abundantly borne testimony to how 
 much the world is indebted to the Egyptians for 
 architecture, geometry, agriculture, irrigation, letters, 
 and paper. To some of these we shall more par- 
 ticularly allude in the next chapter. 
 
 P Brayley’s Utility of the Knowledge of Nature, p. 57 — 59. 
 
11 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 BOOKS FROM THEIR FIRST KNOWN FORM, AND BOOK- 
 BINDING IN THE TIMES OF THE GREEKS AND 
 ROMANS. 
 
 A ray of light now beams on our subject, for 
 though time, and the ravages of war, have swept 
 away, with few exceptions, all the original written 
 documents, records, and literature of the once power- 
 ful and learned nations of the earth, still we are now 
 enabled, by the notices met with in ancient writers, 
 to speak with certainty of the materials on which the 
 first known books were written and the form in 
 which they were made up, as well as of the covering 
 adopted for their greater security. 
 
 The first books were square, and consisted of but 
 one leaf, or tablet. These were composed of wood, 
 &c., as before stated. The etymology of the word 
 booh, and its equivalent in many languages, indicates 
 that they were originally written on vegetable sub- 
 stances. Thus, from the Greek biblos, the Latin 
 liber, codex, folium, and tabula, we learn that books 
 were sometimes inscribed on the inner bark and 
 
12 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 sometimes on boards cut off the main bodv of the 
 tree ; and the English word book, derived from the 
 Saxon boc, the root of which is the northern bench, 
 a beach or service tree, evidently shows that the 
 books of our ancestors were of a similar fabric. Thus 
 we find that the leaves of the palm tree , 3 and the 
 finest and thinnest part of the bark of such trees as 
 the tilia, the philvra, a species of linden, the lime, 
 the ash, the maple, and the elm, were first used when 
 men began to extend their writings and disquisi- 
 tions . 15 This custom existed in the time of Ulpian, 
 who mentions it, and even still continues in nations 
 where little progress has been made in refinement, 
 copies of books being frequently brought to this 
 country from the east, written on oblong slips of 
 bark or reed, fastened together by strings at each 
 end. In Ceylon they still write on the leaves of the 
 talipot : and the Bramin MSS. in the Talinga lam 
 guage, sent to England from Fort St. George, are 
 written on leaves of the Ampana, or Palma Malaba- 
 rica. c Numbers of these books, executed in a fine 
 and beautiful character, and bound together with 
 boards, may be seen in the library of the East India 
 Company. A very curious library of this description 
 was discovered some time ago among the Calmuc 
 Tartars, by the Russians. The books were exceed- 
 ingly long and narrow, the leaves very thick and 
 made of bark of trees, smeared over with a double 
 
 a Pliny, 1. xiii. 10. b Astle’s Writing, p.201. 
 
 Bibliography, vol. i. p. 42. 
 
 - c Horne’s 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 13 
 
 varnish ; the ink or writing being white on a black 
 ground. d 
 
 The early writers successively made use of linen 
 and cotton cloths ; of the skins, intestines, and even 
 shoulder blades, of various animals ; of table books of 
 wax, ivory, and lead; of the skins of fishes ; and of 
 the intestines of serpents. To some of these we shall 
 have again to refer, in the course of our researches. 
 These substances, in those countries where know- 
 ledge and letters had made some progress, soon fell 
 into disuse on the introduction of the Egyptian 
 papyrus, which unquestionably is the earliest of any 
 of the various kinds of paper with which the an- 
 cients were acquainted. It was in very common 
 use in the time of Alexander, but the exact date of 
 its discovery is unknown ; and even where it was 
 first made is matter of dispute ; but it is very evident 
 from the ancient papyri found at Thebes and else- 
 where, and from Isaiah xix. 7, that it was used for 
 writing long before the period above referred to. 
 According to Isidore, it was first made at Memphis ; 
 and according to others, in Seide, or Upper Egypt. 
 It was manufactured from the inner films of the 
 papyrus, or biblos, a sort of flag or bulrush, growing 
 in the marshes of Egypt. The outer skin being 
 taken off, the films or inner skins were separated 
 from the stalk, laid on a table, moistened with 
 the glutinous waters of the Nile, and afterwards 
 
 J Hist, de Academy, It. Inscriptions, tom. iii. p. G. 
 
 c 
 
14 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 pressed together, and dried in the sun. e Bruce, the 
 African traveller, who made some experiments on 
 the subject, however, denies this property of tli e 
 waters of the Nile. 
 
 Successive experiments in the manufacture of skins 
 ultimately led to the invention of vellum or parch- 
 ment. This discovery is attributed to the prohibi- 
 tion of the exportation of the papyrus from Egypt, 
 by one of the Ptolemies ; in order to throw an ob- 
 stacle in the way of Eumenes, king of Pergamus, 
 who endeavoured to rival him in the magnificence 
 of his library/ Thus left without material, we find 
 from Vossius that Eumenes invented a method of 
 cleaning skins on both sides, before only written on 
 one. It was called Charta Pergamena from the 
 name of the capital. Parchment or vellum was also 
 used in Egypt. Pliny says — 
 
 “ Mox aemulatione circa bibliothecas regum,” &c. 
 
 The same is related by CElian and Hieronymus 
 with little variation A The Saracens had beautiful 
 parchment, equal in appearance to paper. 1 ' 
 
 Having thus shown the nature of the materials of 
 which the ancients composed their books, and which, 
 in the infancy of the art, is so intimately connected 
 with bookbinding as to form a part of the subject, 
 we shall now proceed to the consideration of the 
 form first adopted, the mode of preservation, and the 
 
 e Townley’s Illustrats. of Bib. Lit. i. 45. f Bayle, Chal- 
 mers, &c. s Herculanensia, p. 106. 11 Gibbon’s Borne, 
 
 ix. 51. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 15 
 
 style of ornament in use in early times. The first 
 form, when more flexible materials began to be 
 used, was the roll, called by the Romans, volu - 
 mina and also scapi.' This, doubtless, was the 
 most ancient mode of binding, and at first con- 
 sisted in sewing the different sheets or leaves 
 together, till the volume or book was finished. 
 Only one book was included in a volume, so that a 
 work generally consisted of as many volumes as 
 books. They might measure, when extended, one 
 yard and a half wide, and fifty long. k They were 
 written in separate pages, and fastened parallel to 
 each other, so that the reader perused one page, 
 then rolled it up at one end, unrolling the next page 
 and so on to the end, as is seen in the following 
 engraving from a painting found at Pompeii. 
 
 1 Ency. Metliodique. k Fabricius’ Bibl, Antiq c.xix. p. 607. 
 
 c 2 
 
16 bookbinding in the times of 
 
 Of the gieat and early skill in making these rolls, 
 an instance is found m Josephus, in reference to a 
 copy of the law, sent to Ptolemy Philadelphus, which 
 was written in letters of gold, upon skins so artfully 
 put together, that the joinings did not appear. 
 The most extiaordinary papyrus that perhaps exists 
 in any collection, is a funeral roll discovered at 
 Memphis, and now in the British Museum. It is 
 consideied to he about three thousand years old, and 
 appeal s to relate to a scribe of high rank named 
 Nebsenai, of the temple of Pthah Sokar. When 
 entii ely opened, it is considered this roll will mea- 
 sure one hundred feet in length. 
 
 I he Greeks derived their first knowledge of the 
 roll from the Egyptians, and the style passed for a 
 long series of years under the name of Egyptian 
 binding. This continued the general form for many 
 ages, the libraries of the Greeks and Romans consist- 
 ing of rolls for some centuries after the Christian era. 
 And it will now he seen that the whole arcana of 
 the manufacture and binding of books was well un- 
 derstood by these once powerful people. 
 
 The writings of the Greeks do not furnish any 
 detail as to the mode of binding books, but that they 
 were fully alive to the importance of the subject, 
 may be inferred from the circumstance of the Athe- 
 nians erecting a statue to the memory of Phillatius , 
 the discoverer of a substance to make the pages or 
 
 Antiq. of Jews, book xii. p. 405. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 17 
 
 sheets adhere together." But the writers among the 
 Romans, who doubtless obtained much of their 
 knowledge from the Greeks, enter into the minutia 
 of the art, and thus furnish us with every thing 
 necessary for a full description of the form and mode 
 of preservation of the records of early times. The 
 Romans had their librarii, librarioli, bibliopegi, and 
 bibliopola ; answering to our printer, engraver, binder, 
 and bookseller. The librarii multiplied books by 
 transcribing MSS. ; the librarioli illustrated them by 
 ornament on the title-pages, margins, and termina- 
 tions ; — the bibliopegi employed their skill on the em- 
 bellishment of their exteriors : — and the bibliopola 
 were engaged in the disposal of them. 
 
 It is with the bibliopegus that we have more par- 
 ticularly to interest ourselves in this treatise, and of 
 his functions we shall, in the general description of 
 ancient bindings, have constantly to speak. The 
 duties of the other branches employed in the produc- 
 tion of books will be introduced in illustration of 
 various references it will be necessary to make rela- 
 tive to the form of ancient records. 
 
 In the infancv of the art, the sheets or pages, it 
 has been stated, were fastened, or sewn together by 
 strings. The damage caused by this proceeding, 
 where the material was so frail as the papyrus, led to 
 the invention of paste or glue by an Athenian, 
 whose countrymen, Olympiodorus states, accorded 
 
 " Novcau Traite de Diplom, tom. iii. p. 60. 
 c 3 
 
Jo BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES Off 
 
 to him the honour before referred to. Of its use for 
 this purpose, Cicero, in a letter to his friend Atticus, 
 has left a proof , 0 and Pliny confirms it. Pollux also 
 mentions writers and vendors of books, and the 
 glutination of them. p 
 
 When the sheets intended to form one volume or 
 hook, were thus attached together, another, generally 
 of parchment, was in like manner fastened to the 
 left margin of the first page, for the purpose of form- 
 ing the cover, and another at the termination. The 
 interior of the first was reserved for the dedicatory 
 epistle, and which, from its being found on the open- 
 ing of the roll, a limine , was called liminaire. After 
 the embellishment of the work by the skill of the libra- 
 riolus, it then passed into the hands of the bibliopegus. 
 
 The first operation of the Greek and Roman book- 
 binder was to cut the margins above and below per- 
 fectly even, and the sheets at beginning and end 
 square. He then gave the exterior the most perfect 
 polish possible by means of the pumice-stone, with 
 which substance the writers had previously smoothed 
 the interior. Horace, Pliny, Martial, Ovid, and 
 Catullus all bear testimony to this use of the pumice, 
 and to the present day it is adopted by bookbinders 
 in some of their operations. 
 
 The cover, which was called the involucrum, was 
 then fastened to a cylinder of wood, round which the 
 volume was rolled. Porphyrio states they some- 
 times were formed of hone, and sometimes even of 
 
 ° hook iv. 4. 1' Book vii. So. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 19 
 
 gold / 1 They had frequently one of these rollers at 
 each extremity. At the ends of the cylinder a ball 
 or knob was then affixed, which was employed as a 
 handle for evolving the scroll, it being at one time a 
 reputed crime to take hold of the roll itself. The 
 outside of the volume was called frons, the balls at 
 the end umbilici, or, according to Ovid and Tibullus, 
 cornua. These were generally made of bone, wood, 
 or horn, and often carved and adorned with ivory, 
 silver, gold, or precious stones/ The value or im- 
 portance of the manuscript was sometimes indicated 
 by the style of ornament introduced upon these bosses, 
 and many of them, without doubt, were inscribed 
 in the centre or round the edge with the name of the 
 author of the work. It appears, however, from the 
 papyri found at Herculaneum, that this expensive 
 style of embellishment was not general, but that 
 many of their writings were simply rolled up, with a 
 ticket or label attached to the centre, bearing the 
 title of the work, as shown in the following engraving 
 of some of the rolls discovered there. 
 
 '< Dibdiu’s Bib. Decameron, vol. ii. p. 430. 
 r Fabric. Bibl. Antiq. c. xix, p. (i07. 
 
20 
 
 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 This illustration also gives a further idea of the form 
 of ancient books. 
 
 The cover, which, according to Achilles Statius, 
 was at first woven of the fibrous bark of some tree, 
 was embellished by the addition of colour and orna- 
 ment. Purple and scarlet were the most general. 
 Martial says 
 
 “ Sunt quoque mutatae ter quinque volumina formas, 
 Purpureo fulgens habitu, radiantibus uncis;” 
 
 and speaking of a libraria opposite the Forum Julii, 
 “ There you may buy Martial, polished with pumice- 
 stone, and ornamented with purple, for five denarii.”* 
 But in another epigram he enters into the details of 
 the binding of a book in his time — 
 
 “ Festina tibi vindicem parare, 
 
 Ne nigram cito raptus in culinam 
 Cordyllas madida tegas papyro, 
 
 Vel thuris, piperisque sis cucullus. 
 
 Faustini fugis in sinum ? Sapisti. 
 
 Cedro nunc licet ambules perunctus, 
 
 Et frontis gemino decens honore 
 Pictis luxurieris umbilicis ; 
 
 Et te purpura delicata velet, 
 
 Et cocco rubeat superbus index.” 1 
 
 We see herein that the patronage of literarv efforts 
 was then considered of some value, and that the 
 work of the poet was about to appear under that of 
 Faustinus. The leaf perfumed with oil of cedar, and 
 decorated with a double ornament, the painted bosses, 
 the bright purple cover, and the magnificent title in 
 red letters, gives an idea of the splendour of the 
 
 ‘Epigram i. 118. 1 Epigram ii. book 2. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 21 
 
 whole appearance. To this notice of what Martial 
 wished to be performed on his work, another proof 
 of the elegance of some of the Roman books is found 
 in the directions given by Ovid relative to the omis- 
 sion of all ornament. The poet in exile, sent his 
 book to Rome, and directed that it should be pre- 
 sented in a simple manner, typical of grief and afflic- 
 tion, “ in the costume of an exile.” 
 
 “ Nec te puvpureo velent vaccinia fuco : 
 
 Non est conveniens luctibus ille color. 
 
 Nec titulus minio, nec cedro charta notetur: 
 
 Candida nec nigra cornua fronte geras. 
 
 Felices ornent haec instrumenta libel los : 
 
 Fortun® memorem te decet esse me®. 
 
 Nec fragili gemin® poliantur pumice frontes : 
 ilirsutus passis ut videare comis.” T 
 
 Let not, he says, violets adorn it with their purple 
 dye,* that colour is not suitable to grief, nor let the 
 title be ornamented with vermillion, nor the leaf with 
 cedar. He wishes no exterior embellishment to 
 appear, and the polish of the pumice to be omitted, 
 so that the roughness and remnants of hair remain- 
 ing on the parchment might convey the- idea of 
 his own, through his affliction, “ that it may appear 
 rough with dishevelled hair.” 
 
 Horace™ and Tibullus 1 confirm all that has been 
 advanced above on the practice of the art among the 
 Romans, and many other passages in Martial might 
 
 v Ovid de Tristibus, Eleg. ad Librum, 1. " Epistle xx. 1. 
 
 x Book iii. eleg. 1. 
 
 * Serviun says that vaccinia were violets of a purple colour. — Pliny 
 that it was a shrub in Gaul adapted for tlyeing. 
 
22 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 be quoted to the same effect. Tibullus appears to 
 refer to a cover coloured with yellow : — • 
 
 “ Lutea sed niveum involvat membrana libellum 
 
 but it may be a question whether the colour of the 
 parchment, of which the cover was formed, and 
 which assumes a yellow appearance from age, is not 
 the right construction of the passage. 
 
 To Catullus we are indebted for a minute and ela- 
 borate description of ancient binding, In the dedi- 
 cation to Cornelius Nepos he writes — 
 
 “ With pumice dry, just polished fine, 
 
 To whom present this book of mine, 
 
 This little volume, smart and new.” x 
 
 And in another of his poems, in ridicule of a person 
 named Suffenus, he gives us what may be considered 
 a complete description of the best binding in the 
 time of Cicero : — 
 
 “ AD VARRUM. 
 
 “ Suffenus iste, Varre, quern probe nosti, 
 
 Homo est venustus, et dicax, et urbanus ; 
 
 Idemque longe plurimos facit versus. 
 
 Puto esse ego illi millia aut decern aut plura 
 Perscripta, nec sic, ut fit, in palimpsesto 
 Relata ; chartse regiae, novi libri, 
 
 Novi umbilici, lora rubra, membrana 
 Directa plumbo, et pumice omnia aequata.” y 
 
 which has been thus rendered : — 
 
 “ Suffenus, that wretch, whom my Varus well knows, 
 
 So pretty, so prating, so over polite. 
 
 Has a genius for verse that incessantly flows, 
 
 Has a muse which ten thousand fine things can indite. 
 
 x Catullus, English Translation, 2 vols. 8vo.' 
 
 ■y Ode 22. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 23 
 
 His paper is royal, not common, or bad ; 
 
 His wrappers, his bosses, are totally new; 
 
 His sheets smooth’d by pumice, are all ruled with lead, 
 
 And bound with a riband of rose-coloured hue.” z 
 
 The reference to the covers and bosses being of a 
 new character, shows that the custom was to intro- 
 duce great variety in the style of ornament. The 
 directa plumbo, M. Peignot, in his Essay on the Books 
 of the Ancients, thinks refers to the parchment of 
 which the cover was composed, being cut with a 
 square, from Catullus appearing to direct attention 
 to the exterior form and condition of the binding ; 
 and further grounds his opinion from the book or 
 roll being described as written on chartce regia, and 
 the covers being of parchment, mcmbrana, as above 
 described. 
 
 The lora rubra of Catullus were two strings of 
 coloured riband or leather, attached to the last sheet 
 or cover of the volume, round which, when it was 
 rolled up, they were fastened so as to keep the whole 
 tight and firm, and prevent the introduction of dust 
 and insects. 
 
 On the outside of the cover the title of the work was 
 generally inscribed. Chrysostom, who flourished in 
 the fourth century, and who, doubtless, founded his 
 argument on what he had frequently seen done at 
 Constantinople, or by the more eastern princes who 
 had business to transact with the Greek emperors, 
 very particularly alludes to this custom. In his re- 
 
 '■ English Translation. 
 
24 
 
 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OE 
 
 marks on a disputed passage of the Bible, he ob- 
 serves that it referred to the title written on the 
 wrapper, which signified “The Messiah cometh.” 
 And Aquilla, who flourished one hundred years 
 earlier, gives the same interpretation. 1 This suggests 
 a more distinct idea of the passage ; as when referred 
 to the case in which the roll was enclosed, the im- 
 pression becomes clear and energetic, implying that 
 the subject of the book is that “ the Messiah cometh,” 
 which title might with great propriety be wrote or 
 embroidered on the wrapper or case in which it was 
 kept. b 
 
 The title consisted of a square piece of fine vellum 
 or parchment, glued on the cover in such manner 
 that, when rolled up, it appeared near the top, some- 
 thing similar to the titles of the books of the present 
 day. For this purpose the finest description was 
 selected. Cicero begs his friend to send him two of 
 his workmen, and wishes them to bring some fine 
 parchment, for making the titles of the books. c These 
 title pieces were generally of a darker colour than the 
 cover, and the letters formed of gold. 
 
 Recent discoveries have confirmed these views. 
 The collection of James Burton, Esq., formed during 
 his travels in Egypt, contained some specimens of 
 papyrus rolls, discovered in the tombs at Thebes, 
 which fully illustrates the subject, and also prove a 
 
 a Calmet’s Dictionary, vol. iii. p. 129, ed. 1836. b Har- 
 
 mer s Observations on Scripture, vol. iv. p. 10. c Letters 
 
 to Atticus, iv. 4. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 25 
 
 considerable advance in the art by the Egyptians. 
 One, in the hieroglyphic character, is inclosed in a 
 curiously worked piece of leather, and has been 
 covered with gold. Another contains a short 
 incription on the outside, and a third, now in the Bri- 
 tish Museum, a long one on the cover. 
 
 These specimens also show that the ancients were 
 well acquainted with the process of gilding on leather 
 and other substances, and that they so embellished 
 the covers of their books is now placed beyond ques- 
 tion. It is evident the art of impression was well 
 understood, as we find from the Scriptures that seals 
 and coins were in use from the earliest periods, as 
 well as brands and other instruments for the purpose 
 of marking. Virgil makes mention of brands with 
 letters being used in his time for marking cattle, 
 &c. with the owner’s name. The various seals, 
 found in the tombs, and brought from Egypt in our 
 day, as well as the certainty of many of their orna- 
 mental decorations being formed by pressure, abund- 
 antly confirms all that ancient writers have recorded. 
 
 The engraving gives the general appearance of the 
 roll when completed. 
 
 D 
 
26 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OP 
 
 From the perishable nature of the material of which 
 the rolls and their coverings were composed, and the 
 destruction of them in the war and strife of nations, 
 it is seen that very few perfect specimens have been 
 preserved to our times. The excavations at Hercula- 
 neum, the discovery of the ruins of which took place 
 in 1713, has thrown some further light upon the 
 subject. Here, after a lapse of nearly two thousand 
 years, 1756 papyri have been acquired. Thirty-nine 
 years after its first discovery, in making an excavation 
 in a garden at Resina, in the remains of a house sup- 
 posed to have belonged to L. Piso, were found a 
 great number of papyrus rolls. They were ranged in 
 presses round the sides of a small room, in the centre 
 of which was a sort of rectangular book-case ; many 
 of the rolls were at first destroyed by the workmen, 
 who, from the colour given by age, took them to be 
 sticks of charcoal. When, however, it was discovered 
 that they were ancient manuscripts, the attention of 
 the learned was directed towards their preservation. 
 Father Piaggi invented a machine which is still 
 employed for unrolling them, hut many of them have 
 been destroyed, — some crumbling into dust on the 
 slightest touch. His late majesty, George IV., then 
 prince of Wales, took much interest in the matter, 
 and at his own private cost employed several gentle- 
 men in the task of unrolling and decyphering them. d 
 Among others, Sir H. Davy visited the spot for the 
 
 ll Herculanensia, preface i. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 27 
 
 purpose of assisting, but from some supposed impedi- 
 ments which obstructed his research, gave up the 
 experiment, after a little success had attended his 
 endeavours. It is to the shape of these rolls, and the 
 coverings they may have had, we have to refer : in 
 shape, the engraving at page 19 gives a correct re- 
 presentation, and of the state in which they were 
 found, two letters received in this country, about the 
 middle of the last century, present a full account. 
 One, from Camillo Paderni, keeper of the museum at 
 Portici, among other things, describes a room, the 
 floor of which was formed of mosaic work. He says, 
 “ it appears to have been a library, adorned with 
 presses, inlaid with different sorts of wood, disposed 
 in rows, at the top of which were cornices.” He 
 was buried in that spot more than ten days ; he took 
 away three hundred and twenty- seven manuscripts, 
 all in Greek characters ; there was also a bundle, 
 consisting of eighteen volumes, wrapped round with 
 bark of tree ; they were Latin. The second, from 
 another person, describes a chamber of a house in 
 Herculaneum, where was found a great quantity of 
 rolls, about half a palm long, and round ; they ap- 
 peared like roots of wood, all black, and seeming to 
 be only of one piece ; one of them falling on the 
 ground, it broke in the middle, and many letters were 
 observed, by which it was first known that the rolls 
 were of papyrus. There were about one hundred 
 and fifty rolls in wooden cases, much burnt. This 
 writer mentions the unrolling of a tract on music, by 
 
28 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 Philodemus, which had about sixty columns, each 
 column having twenty lines, of the third of a palm 
 long. He also says there were Latin manuscripts, 
 some of which were so voluminous, that, unrolled, 
 they would take up a hundred palms. 6 A long in- 
 terval took place between the publication of this trea- 
 tise and any subsequent fragments, and even up to 
 the present time little further progress has been 
 made/ 
 
 In addition to the care and attention bestowed on 
 the preparation and execution of these rolls by the 
 ancients, they were not less mindful of their preser- 
 vation. They employed a species of oil extracted 
 from the cedar tree, to prevent their destruction from 
 moths, worms, and other liable injuries. 5 Pliny says 
 that the books of Numawere preserved under ground 
 for five hundred and thirty-five years, from having 
 been rubbed with cedrium, and enclosed in boxes 
 formed of cedar. 1 * The testimony of Ovid, Catullus, 
 and others, has been before adduced as to its appli- 
 cation for this purpose. 
 
 In addition to the coverings of the rolls, the an- 
 cients were accustomed to further protect them from 
 injury by placing the most valuable in cases or chests 
 of cedar wood, with the titles or labels at top in the 
 following manner. 
 
 e Herculanensia, 192. f Edinburgh Review. xlviii. 353 — 
 
 and Quarterly Review, v. 1. s Vitruvius, ii. 11. h Hist. 
 
 Natura, xiii. 13. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 29 
 
 This case was called by them scrinium, and capsa, 
 or capsula, and was generally of a circular form, from 
 its readier adaptation to the shape of the rolls. The 
 ancients, in times of war, devastation, and rapacity, 
 buried their writings in the earth, and this may at 
 first have given rise to the scrinium. We have an in- 
 stance of this in the twenty-second of Jeremiah, where 
 he ordered the writings which he delivered to Baruch 
 to be put in an earthen vessel. Whatever it may 
 have been originally, it became afterwards a general 
 sort of bookcase . Catullus, in excuse to Manlius for 
 not sending him some verses, pleads having only one 
 box of his books with him. This also proves that 
 they were in the habit of taking a number of books 
 with them to whatever place business or pleasure 
 might lead, forming a sort of travelling library, as 
 one of these boxes w r ould contain several volumes. 
 Some of them were highly ornamented. One found 
 d 3 
 
30 
 
 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 at Herculaneum, but which crumbled to dust soon 
 after its discovery, bore busts of Demosthenes, Epicu- 
 rus, Hermes, and Zeno. 
 
 While the roll was the form adopted for the length- 
 ened works of the ancients, they appear for a long 
 period to have made use of table books or pugillaria, 
 for the purposes of taking notes, keeping accounts, &c. 
 These were tablets of ivory, wood, or metal, thinly 
 covered with wax, the writing upon which, with a 
 stylus or iron pen, could be erased and written in 
 again at pleasure. 1 Pliny* states that the public acts, 
 among the most remote nations were written in 
 leaden books. The existence of books formed of this 
 metal is further supported by the testimony of Job, 
 Suetonius, and Frontinus. The eminent antiquarian, 
 Montfaucon, purchased a book at Rome in the year 
 1799, which he describes as composed entirely of 
 lead : — “ It is about four inches long by three wide. 
 Not only the pieces which form the cover, but also 
 all the leaves, in number six, the stick inserted into 
 the rings, which hold the leaves together, the hinges 
 and the nails, are all of lead, without exception . ” k 
 It contained Egyptian gnostic figures, and writing. 
 Montfaucon presented it to M. the Cardinal de 
 Bouillon, but what has become of it is unknown. 
 These leaden plates were frequently so extremely thin 
 that they mighteasily be rolled up. CEneas Philiorceti- 
 cus tells us that they were beaten with a hammer 
 
 ' Note to Catullus, Ode 39. i Nat. Hist. xiii. c. 1. — 
 
 k Moutfaucon, Antiq. Expliq. ii. 378. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 31 
 
 until they were rendered very thin and pliable. 1 
 Catullus'” adverts to some wanton girl, who had 
 jestingly stolen his pugillaria or poetical notes. One 
 of these from Herculaneum is here represented. 
 
 They were connected together at the back by rings, 
 and consisted of from two to six or eight leaves, 
 having in the centre of each a slight projection or 
 button, to prevent the notes on the wax being des- 
 troyed or defaced. According to the number of the 
 leaves, they were called duplices, triplices, quintu- 
 ples, &c. The duplice has been introduced above, 
 and from the same source we are enabled to present 
 the triplice. 
 
 1 Herculanensia, 100. 
 
 Ode 30. 
 
32 
 
 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 They were in use in the time of Homer, and accorcf- 
 to Pliny were introduced before the Trojan war. " 
 
 “The dreadful token of his dire intent, 
 
 He in the gilded tables wrote and sent." 0 
 
 Martial p makes mention of tablets of parchment 
 covered with w r ax. 
 
 The convenience of the square form in these tablets 
 ultimately led to its adoption for almost every des- 
 cription of writing. The honour of the introduction 
 of binding, composed of separate leaves, as now uni- 
 versally practised throughout Europe, has been ac- 
 corded to Eumenes, king of Pergamus, the same to 
 whom we have before referred as the inventor of 
 parchment. q 
 
 When the folded form came into use, the necessity 
 of a cover would become more apparent than for the 
 rolls, and hence gradually arose bookbinding in its 
 present shape. — At first the leaves were simply tied 
 together with riband, the riband forming a hinge 
 similar to the rings in the tablets before represented. 
 The form and manner will be understood by the fol- 
 lowing engraving. 
 
 n Hcrculanensia, 101. ° Homer’s Iliad, vi. 16S. 
 
 p xiv. ep. 7. 9 Vossius, Bayle, Montfaueon, &c. 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 33 
 
 The cover at first, no doubt, would be a simple 
 leaf of parchment, or some other skin. This would 
 soon be found of itself insufficient, and probably sug- 
 gest the use of boards, which were very early adopt- 
 ed. Bruce, the Abyssinian traveller, had in his pos- 
 session a large and very perfect manuscript on papy- 
 rus ; “ a gnostic book, full of their dreams,” which 
 had been dug up at Thebes, and which he believed 
 was the only perfect one then known. Speaking of 
 it, he says, “ the boards or covers for binding the 
 leaves, are of papyrus root, covered first with the 
 coarse pieces of the paper, and then with leather, in 
 the same manner as it would be done now. It is a 
 book that we should call a small folio, and I appre- 
 hend that the shape of the book, where papyrus is 
 employed, was always of the same form with those 
 of the moderns.” In this latter remark Bruce is 
 decidedly wrong. “ The woody part of the root of 
 the papyrus served for boards or coverings of the 
 leaves. We know that this was anciently one use of 
 it, both from Alcaeus and Anacreon. The Ethiopians 
 use wood for the outer covering of their books, and 
 cover them with leather.” r 
 
 A more recent traveller. Dr. Hogg, has added to 
 our store of knowledge on the early form of books, in 
 a description of two papyri found at Thebes. He re- 
 lates that “ among the various objects of antiquity 
 which were purchased from the Arabs, at Thebes, 
 
 r Travels, vii. 8. 
 
34 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 were two papyri, the one in Coptic, the other in 
 Greek ; both in the form of hooks. The Greek pa- 
 pyrus has been discovered to contain a portion of the 
 Psalms. The leaves, of about ten inches in length, 
 by seven in width, are arranged, and have been sewn 
 together like those of an ordinary book. They are 
 formed of strips of the papyrus plant, crossing each 
 other at right angles. They were both discovered 
 among the rubbish of an ancient convent at Thebes, 
 remarkable as still presenting some fragments of an 
 inscription, purporting to be a pastoral letter from 
 Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, who died A.D. 
 371. s The portion of the Psalms is now in the 
 British Museum, and consists of about thirty leaves. 
 The Coptic MS. contains one hundred and fifty 
 pages, folded in the form now adopted by us, but has 
 never been bound. It was in the collection of J. 
 Burton, Esq., lately sold by Messrs. Sotheby and 
 Son. Mr. Thorp, the bookseller, of Piccadilly, was 
 the purchaser, at the sum of 84/. 
 
 These discoveries prove a very early knowledge of, 
 and considerable proficiency in the art as now prac- 
 tised. When once the leaves were secured, the sub- 
 sequent stages of covering and ornamenting would 
 soon follow. Bruce describes the book he had as 
 being covered with leather, and Suidas, who lived in 
 the tenth century, and who would reason from 
 personal knowledge of bindings of much earlier 
 
 s Visit to Alexandria, £cc. ii. p. 312 . 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 35 
 
 times, however erroneous his opinions on alchemy 
 may have been, confirms the use of leather for the 
 purpose of binding by the ancients. In his Lexi- 
 con, he describes chemistry as the art of making 
 gold, and states that the golden fleece, in search of 
 which Jason and the Argonauts went, was nothing 
 else than a book bound in sheep skin, which taught the 
 art of making gold. 1 
 
 The materials used and style of decoration adopted 
 by the ancients for the embellishment of their rolls, 
 has been described. All this knowledge would, when 
 a more ample field for display, which the square form 
 presented, arose, be brought into requisition, and 
 considerably improved upon. In addition to the 
 staining or colouring, it is but reasonable to suppose 
 various ornaments would soon be added by people to 
 whom many of the fine arts were so familiar. We 
 have direct testimony of the adoption of impressed gold 
 ornaments, and the Diptych, to which we shall now 
 refer, proves that sculptured figures and other carved 
 embellishment were very extensively introduced. 
 
 To enter fully into a description of the nature, 
 form, and circumstances connected with the Diptych, 
 cannot, from its great extent, here be effected. Gori 
 has filled three folio volumes on the subject, and to 
 his learned work we must be content to refer the 
 curious in this matter. They have been classed under 
 two descriptions, the profane and sacred. The former 
 
 1 Edinb. Review, 1, 25b. 
 
36 
 
 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 will here engage our attention, reserving the latter to 
 the next chapter, as coming properly under the period 
 devoted to the consideration of the bindings, more 
 immediately connected with monastic and religious 
 institutions. 
 
 The name is from the duplice , or two-leaved pugil- 
 Jarla, consisting, like it, of two boards covered with 
 wax, on which the characters were marked with the 
 stylus. They were of similar character but different 
 application ; the pugillaria being small, as before des- 
 cribed, for private memorandums ; whilst the Diptych, 
 of large dimensions, more especially appertained tq 
 the public acts of the consuls, magistrates, and other 
 functionaries. They were generally composed of 
 ebony or box-wood, connected together by two or 
 more hinges. They were then embellished with 
 carved ivory, and frequently with silver, gold, and 
 precious stones, riveted very closely to the wood, and 
 finished with the utmost elegance and taste. The 
 names of the consuls, and the titles they respectively 
 bore, generally in a contracted form, were inscribed 
 upon them. The nature of the carving, &c-, was 
 much alike in design, though of varied execution. 
 Of twelve described by Gori, very little difference 
 exists, being full-length portraits of the consuls, and 
 compartments exhibiting the peculiar games and 
 amusements of the people. The description of one, 
 which he designates the “ Diptychon Leodiense,” 
 will fully illustrate the nature of their extensive and 
 elaborate ornament. Seated in the centre of each 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 37 
 
 board is a portrait of the consul, holding in one hand 
 a baton, and in the other, upraised, a purse, as if in 
 the act of throwing it to some victor in the games. 
 Above are three miniature portraits, various other 
 ornaments, and the inscription. Below, on one board, 
 is a representation of a combat with wild beasts. On 
 the other are two men, leading out horses for the race, 
 and beneath them a group, with a ludicrous represen- 
 tation of two other men exhibiting the strength of 
 their endurance of pain by allowing crabs to fasten 
 on their noses. The frame-work and general detail 
 are filled up with the best effect and proportion, ihe 
 inscription on the first side is 
 
 fl anasTasivs pavL provs 
 SAVINIAN VS POMP ANAsT 
 
 and on the second, 
 
 V INL COM DOMEST EQVlT 
 eT CONS ORD 
 
 This he pronounces to refer to Anastasius, “ Consul 
 Orientis,” A. D. 517, and his name and title, as 
 Anastasius Paulus Probus Sabianus Pompeius, vir 
 ilustris comes domesticorum equitum, et consul or- 
 dinarius." 
 
 The inscriptions on several are of a like character, 
 but one, the “ Diptvchon Bituricense,” relates to the 
 above Anastasius, the inscription being nearly the 
 
 u Gori’s Thesaurus Vet. Dipty chorum, i. 4. 
 
 E 
 
38 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 same. This latter appears to have found its way 
 into the royal library, Paris, as it is described by Dr. 
 Dibdin, in his Tour, v as well as a letter inserted in 
 it, written by a Mons. Mercier, on the subject of 
 Diptych s, taken principally from Gori. 
 
 For the better understanding of this part of the 
 subject, an illustration of one from the library of the 
 Vatican is presented. It refers to the Consul Boethius, 
 who flourished anno 487. Its character is seen in 
 the engraving. A similar figure, seated, with the 
 purse and upraised hand, is on the other side, which 
 bears part of the inscription, 
 
 narmanlbokTkivsvceTinl 
 
 expppvsecconsordeTpaTric 
 
 and which Gori, in a lengthened description, inter- 
 prets as referring to “ Manlius Boethius consul ordi- 
 narius et patricius” 
 
 Of this description of ornament did many of the 
 side covers of books of former times consist, as we 
 shall have occasion soon to speak, and there can be 
 but little doubt that the Greeks and Romans were 
 profuse in this addition to the beauty of their literary 
 treasures. Montfaucon, w in his researches relative to 
 ancient literature, confirms many of the facts that 
 have been brought forward. He says, “ the Greeks, 
 after the custom of the present day, fastened together 
 the leaves of their books, distributed into threes and 
 
 ' Vol. ii. 117. - w Palaeogr. Gratae, 26. 
 
Lee. sc 
 
 FAC-SIMIJvE OF AN IVORY DIPTYCH, 
 IN THE l.IBRARY OP THE VATICAN, ROME. 
 
— 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 39 
 
 fours, covered them with calf, or some other skin 
 generally thicker. They strengthened the upper and 
 lower part, where the hook is more embellished, with 
 a wooden tablet glued to the side in order that the 
 leaves might adhere together more firmly.” And 
 Schwarz* that the “ books of the Romans, about the 
 time of the Christian era, were covered at one time 
 with red and yellow leather, at another time with 
 green leather ; at one time with purple, at another 
 with silver, at another with gold.” 
 
 The authorities cited, and existing specimens of 
 ancient workmanship referred to in illustration of the 
 subject, amply prove that the ancients were as pro- 
 fuse in the embellishment of their books, as they were 
 careful in their preparation. They had also their 
 large paper copies, and what may he called their hot- 
 pressed compositions, still notable in our day, being 
 twice polished with pumice. 5. That the art must have 
 arrived at a considerable degree of perfection, is further 
 confirmed by the accounts of the number of volumes 
 contained in their public libraries, and which of neces- 
 sity would require the protection binding gives, to 
 preserve them from injury. The earliest notice of a 
 repository for records is the house of the rolls in 
 Babylon, referred to in Ezra, vi. 2. In the celebrated 
 Alexandrian library, consisting of seven hundred 
 thousand volumes, and the one subsequently formed 
 at Constantinople, of upwards of one hundred and 
 
 ' Be Ornament. Lib. Vet. Disp. iii. 163. >' Notes to 
 
 Catullus, Ode six. 
 
 E 2 
 
40 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF 
 
 twenty thousand, doubtless not only the common pur- 
 pose of preservation would he attended to, hut ele- 
 gance and embellishment studied. Zonarus relates 
 that among other treasures in the latter, there was a 
 roll one hundred feet long, made of a dragon’s gut 
 or intestine, on which Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were 
 written in letters of gold . 2 Of the splendour of the 
 libraries of the Romans, it is reported that that of 
 the younger Gordian, at Rome, was paved with marble, 
 and ornamented with gold ; that the walls were 
 covered with glass and ivory, and that the armouries 
 and desks were made of ebony and silver . 11 
 
 Nor do books in the time of the ancients appear to 
 have been so scarce as in periods nearer our own 
 day they will be seen to have been ; for in addition 
 to their numerous public libraries, we find many 
 notices of those of private individuals; as that of 
 Lucnllus, mentioned by Plutarch ; of one at Tusculum 
 named by Cicero ; of that of Appellico the Teian, at 
 Athens, which Sylla took to Rome ; of that of the 
 Pisos found at Herculanseum, b and o c numerous others 
 containing large collections of books. The testimony 
 of Seneca, Cicero, and Pliny, relative to the pleasure 
 they derived from their libraries, also shows that 
 books were comparatively plentiful. They were at 
 that time an article of commerce. Catullus , 6 in an 
 Ode to Calvus, who had presented him with some 
 
 Warton’s Eng. Poetry, i. lOt. « a Astle’s Writing, intro- 
 duction vii. b Ilerculanensia, 91. 0 Ode xiv* 
 
THE GREEKS AND ROMANS. 
 
 41 
 
 despicable authors, promises him a return of others 
 as worthless, in search of which he says 
 
 “ Let but the morn appear, I’ll run 
 To ev’ry hook-stall in the town. 
 
 Pollux speaks of booksellers’ shops as being among 
 the parts of sea-port towns. d We also find mention 
 of stands for the sale of books in such places ; e and 
 Martial describes a bookseller’s shop as having all 
 the pillars or posts inscribed with the titles of the 
 vendible books, the best being kept in the upper nidus, 
 and the inferior in those below/ That these libraria, 
 or booksellers’ shops, existed in almost every large 
 city or town under the Roman sway, is abundantly 
 confirmed by Horace, g Pliny, 1 ’ Cicero, 1 and others. 
 This trade in books must have given employment to 
 a great number of ribliopegi or bookbinders, who 
 were also called librorum concinnatores, compactores, 
 and who appear to have had under their direction the 
 (jlutinatores , mentioned in Cicero’s fourth epistle to 
 Atticus. 
 
 Taking a review of this part of our subject, it may 
 be pronounced in conclusion that a system of book- 
 binding was known to the Greeks and Romans very 
 little, if any, inferior to our own ; that in elegance 
 and finish, as in every other matter where taste was 
 required, and in which they so much excelled, they 
 would not be deficient ; but that from the continued 
 
 d Book vii. 33. e Dionisius of Halicarnassus, x. 5. — — 
 
 f Epigram 1. 118. £ Epist. i. 20. h ix Epist. 11. — 
 
 1 Philippic xi. 9. 
 
 e 3 
 
42 BOOKBINDING OF THE GREEKS, &C. 
 
 wear to which the cover of a book is subject, and 
 more particularly to the total destruction of all the 
 Roman libraries by the successive irruptions of the 
 Northern armies into the Western empire, and the 
 sacking of Alexandria and Constantinople by the 
 Saracens and Turks, no perfect remains of bookbind- 
 ing as it was in their time, has come down to ours. 
 The state and progress of the art, during another era, 
 will be the object of our endeavours now to illustrate. 
 
43 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS UP TO THE INVENTION 
 OP PRINTING. 
 
 For upwards of two thousand years it has been 
 shown in the preceding chapter that the Art of Book- 
 binding, by means of attaching the leaves to the back 
 and affixing boards to the sides, has been practised, 
 the addition of embellishment followingUn its train as 
 a matter of taste, if not of necessity. Having, as we 
 trust satisfactorily, established these facts, it will now 
 be necessary to pass to the consideration of the sub- 
 ject as connected with the monastic institutions of 
 Europe, when, from the annals of religious commu- 
 nities, and the appearance of bindings of the twelfth 
 and thirteenth centuries, we shall not only be able to 
 show what was the state of the art at that time ; but, 
 reasoning from what we find it then to be, confirm 
 what has been advanced as to the knowledge of it 
 possessed by the ancients. 
 
 It will be first necessary to advert to the state of 
 literature and scarcity of books in this and other 
 
44 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 countries of Europe in early times, being partly illus- 
 trative of the progress of the art, connected as the 
 making and binding of books will now be found to 
 be. Before the invention of paper from linen, books 
 were so scarce and dear, as to be beyond the reach of 
 all but the rich, and it may reasonably be computed 
 that the price of books was a hundred fold their 
 present value. Though the materials of which they 
 were made had been as cheap and as plentiful as paper 
 is at present, the labour of multiplying copies in 
 manuscript would always have kept them compara- 
 tively scanty. Hence learning was almost exclusively 
 confined to people of rank. The papyrus was in most 
 general use ; but when the Saracens conquered 
 Egypt in the seventh century it could no longer be 
 procured. Parchment, the only substance for writing 
 which then remained, was so difficult to be obtained 
 that it was customary to erase the characters of 
 antiquity, and Sophocles or Tacitus were obliged to 
 resign the parchment to missals, homilies, and the 
 Golden Legend.® In this manner many of the best 
 works of antiquity were for ever lost, though some 
 have in late times been recovered, from the imperfect 
 manner the first writing was erased. 5 History 
 records many facts which place in a very striking 
 light the scarcity and consequent value of books 
 during the dark ages. Private persons seldom pos- 
 sessed any hooks at all, and even distinguished mo- 
 
 Gibbon’s Rome, v. 380. 
 
 ■ b Edinb. Review, xlviii. 353. 
 
UF TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 45 
 
 nasteries could in general boast of no more than a 
 single missal. The collections which the ancients 
 
 O 
 
 possessed did not in these times exist, for the libraries, 
 particularly those of Italy, which abounded in innumer- 
 able and inestimable treasures of literature, were, as 
 has been before referred to, every where destroyed by 
 the precipitate rage and undistinguishing violence of 
 the northern armies. Of the rarity of books, War ton, 
 in the second Dissertation to his History of English 
 Poetry, has given a long account. During this period 
 the monasteries principally became the depositories of 
 science. They were more tranquil than the rest ot 
 the world, and thither the arts fled for refuge ; artists 
 became monks and monks became artists, the manu- 
 scripts and illuminations executed by them, which are 
 still preserved to us, attest their dexterity and skill 
 in designing and executing the most beautiful and 
 complex subjects. 0 And it is evident from various 
 accounts left us, that the religious were not only the 
 writers and illuminators, but also the binders of books 
 in the times of the Saxons, which they continued to 
 practise up to the invention of printing. The monks 
 and students in monasteries were the principal la- 
 bourers in this business, and it was part of the sacrist’s 
 duty to bind and clasp the books used for the service 
 of the church. d A book, usually known by the name 
 of Textus Sanctus Cuthberti, preserved in the Cotto- 
 nian. Library (Nero, D. IV.) is a fine specimen of 
 
 c Specimens of Ancient Sculpture, ii. d Warton, ii. 244. 
 
46 MONASTIC' AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 Saxon caligraphy and decoration of the seventh cen- 
 tury. It was written by Eadfrid, bishop of Durham, and 
 Ethelwold, his successor, executed the illuminations, 
 the capitals, and other illustrations, with infinite labour 
 and elegance. Bilfrid, a monk of Durham, covered 
 the book, and adorned it with gold and silver plates 
 set with precious stones. These particulars are 
 related by Aldred, the Saxon glossator, at the end of 
 St. John’s gospel. Simon, of Durham, or Turgot, 
 tells us that the cover of it was ornamented “ foren- 
 secis geminis et auro.” Many curious tales are 
 related concerning this book ; amongst others, Turgot 
 gravely asserts, that when the monks of Lindisfarn 
 were removing from thence, to avoid the depredations 
 of the Danes, the vessel wherein they were embarked 
 oversetting, this book, which they were transporting 
 with them, fell into the sea. Through the merits 
 of St. Cuthbert, the sea ebbing much further than 
 usual, it was found upon the sands, above three miles 
 from the shore, without having received injury from 
 the water. 6 The original binding has been replaced 
 by a russia covering, having been, most likely, de- 
 spoiled of its ornaments at the period of the reforma- 
 tion. We find also that Dagseus, a monk who 
 flourished in Ireland in the early part of the sixth 
 century, was a skilful caligraphist, and manufactured 
 and ornamented binding, in gold, silver, and precious 
 stones. He died A.D. 587. Ethelwolf, in a metri- 
 
 6 Astle’s Writing, 101. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 4? 
 
 cal epistle to Egbert, at that time resident in Ireland, 
 with a view of collecting MSS. extols one Ultan, an 
 Irish monk, for his talents in adorning books/ Her- 
 man, one of the Norman bishops of Salisbury, about 
 the year 1080, not only wrote and illuminated books, 
 but also bound them/ Some of the classics were 
 early written and bound in the English monasteries. 
 Henry, a Benedictine monk of Hyde abbey, near 
 Winchester, transcribed, in the year 1178, Terence, 
 Boetius, Suetonius, and Claudian, which he bound in 
 one book, and formed the brazen bosses of the covers 
 with his own hands. 1 ' 
 
 For the purposes above enumerated every great 
 abbey appropriated a room, which was called the 
 Scriptorium. Here several persons were constantly 
 employed in transcribing not only the service books 
 for the choir, but books for the library ; and binding 
 them. Ingulphus, of the abbey of Croyland, speak- 
 ing of the lending of books, says “Our books, as well 
 the smaller unbound volumes, as the larger ones 
 which are bound, we altogether forbid.” 1 The custom 
 of making this one good use of convents and of 
 Christian societies, was derived from very early times. 
 About the year 220 Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, 
 built there a library for the preservation of the 
 epistles of the learned. And Origen was assisted in 
 the production of his works by several notaries, who 
 
 fO’Conor’s Rerum Hebernicarum, clxxvii. s Mon. Angl. iii. 
 
 27 5. h Warton, i. cxliv. dis. 2. ‘ Ing. ap. Gale, 104. 
 
48 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 wrote down in turn that which he uttered. k For the 
 support of the Scriptorium, estates were often granted. 
 That at St. Edmondsbury was endowed with two mills. 
 The tithes of a rectory were appropriated to the 
 cathedral convent of St. Swithin, at Winchester, in 
 the year 1171. Many other instances of this species 
 of transaction occur. About the year 790, Charle- 
 magne granted an unlimited right of hunting to the 
 abbot and monks of Sithin, for making their gloves 
 and girdles of the skins of the deer they killed, and 
 covers for their books. Nigel, in the year 1160, gave 
 the monks of Ely two churches, ad libros faciendos. 
 R. de Paston granted to Bromholm abbey, in 
 Norfolk, 12d. per annum, a rent charge on his lands, 
 to keep their books in repair. These employments 
 appear to have been diligently practised at Croyland, 
 for Ingulphus relates that when the abbey was burnt 
 in the year 1091, seven hundred volumes were con- 
 sumed. Large sums were disbursed for grails, 
 legends, and other service-books for the choir of the 
 chapel of Winchester college, as is shown by a roll of 
 John Morvs,the warden, an. xx. Richard II.A.D.1397. 
 It appears, in this case, that they bought the parch- 
 ment, and hired persons to do the business of writing, 
 illuminating, noting, and binding, within the walls of 
 the college. The books were covered with deer-skin. 
 As Item in vj pellibus cervinis emptis pro libris pre- 
 dicts cooperiendis, xiijs. iiijd. The monks, as has 
 been before remarked, were skilful illuminators. 
 
 k Eccl. Hist, of Eusebius Pamphilus, book vi. c. 20. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 49 
 
 They were also taught to bind boohs. In the year 
 1277, these constitutions were given to the Benedic- 
 tine monasteries of the province of Canterbury : 
 “Abbates monachos suos claustrales,loco operis manu- 
 alis, secundern suam habilitatem ceeteris occupationi- 
 bus deputent : in studendo, libros scribendo, corri- 
 gendo, illuminando, ligando.” That the students 
 and monks were the binders of books, is further con- 
 firmed by a note in the first page of a manuscript Life 
 of Concubramis. “ Ex conjunctions (ligatura) 
 dompui Wyllelmi Edys monasterii B.MariseS. Mod- 
 wense virginis de Burton super Trent monachi, dum 
 esset studens Oxonise, A. D. 1 5 1 7 . 1 Haymo de 
 
 Hethe, in the original endowment of Chalk, in Kent, 
 in 1327, compelled the vicars to be at the expense of 
 binding their missals, “ libros etiam ligari fociet."'" 
 
 The multiplying of books, with their bindings and 
 decorations, were almost solely confined to the re- 
 ligious houses in the early ages of Christianity, and 
 that it continued to be so until the invention of print- 
 ing there is abundant proof. In one of John of 
 Trittenheim’s (abbot of Spanheim) exhortations, in 
 the year 1486, after many injunctions against idleness, 
 he observes that he has “ diminished their labour out 
 of the monastery, lest by working badly you should 
 only add to your sins, and have enjoined on you the 
 manual labour of writing and binding books.” And 
 again, urging them to the duty, he says — “ It is true 
 
 1 Warton, i. cxlvi. dis. 2. m Archaologia, xi. 362. 
 
 F 
 
50 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 that the industry of the printing art, lately, in our 
 day, discovered at Mentz, produces many volumes 
 every day ; but it is impossible for us, depressed as 
 we are by poverty, to buy them all.” 1 * From their 
 scarcity, they were more curious of their books than 
 we are. They therefore were extremely anxious for 
 their preservation, but unfortunately that which 
 appeared likely to protect them for ages, often proved 
 their destruction. The side covers were formed of 
 wood, which tended to facilitate the ravages of the 
 worm, and when not of a good quality the edges 
 soon got damaged, and the books suffered consider- 
 ably. These wooden covers doubtless were at first 
 perfectly smooth and unadorned, but as the contents 
 of the work would frequently be of importance, it may 
 reasonably be supposed that, like the people of still 
 earlier times, the owners would decorate the exterior 
 according to the extent of their esteem for the book. 
 Hence originated the art of embellishment upon the 
 side covers. 
 
 The earliest specimens of the external decoration of 
 books that have been preserved to our day, is doubt- 
 less those of the Diptych, one class of which have 
 been described. We shall now refer to those of a 
 sacred character, or such as were connected with the 
 affairs and administration of the early churches. They 
 were in every respect, except the ornament, like those 
 referred to at page 36. This ornament consisted of 
 carved illustrations of passages in the lives of the 
 
 hr. Mag. x. 128. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 51 
 
 Saviour, the Virgin,the Apostles, and the saints of the 
 Romish church ; some of them bearing in compart- 
 ments as many as twenty-two subjects. Gori has 
 devoted the whole of his third volume to them. The 
 earliest specimens are of rude workmanship, but as 
 the church progressed in prosperity, the same elegance 
 of finish we have had occasion before to remark, is 
 found upon these. One subject of frequent occurrence, 
 is the Saviour, seated in the act of teaching as heie 
 represented. 
 
 F 
 
 o 
 
52 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 This occupies the centre of the hoard ; the corners 
 are variously filled up with the four evangelists, their 
 emblems, or subjects of religious import. 
 
 The Royal Library at Munich contains the finest 
 specimens of this description of book ornament in the 
 world. The British Museum exhibits very few, and 
 those not of a splendid character. The late Mr. 
 Douce possessed a number of diptychs, the particulars 
 of which have been given by Sir S. R. Meyrick, to 
 whom they were bequeathed . 0 One of them, of the 
 time of Edward the First, he says, is in ivory, and 
 when open, measures eleven inches and three quarters 
 long, and eleven wide. In front of the subjects, 
 which are in alto-relievo, are twelve trefoiled arches 
 within pointed ones, arranged in two tiers, the upper 
 row having pediments with crockets and finials. The 
 first subject is the Annunciation; then the interview 
 between Mary and Elizabeth. Next the angels 
 appearing to the shepherds to tell them of the birth of 
 Christ. One of these last is beating a tabor with a 
 drumstick, and another playing on the bagpipes. Tn 
 front of them are Joseph, the Virgin, and Child. 
 Then three kings on horseback, their bridles made 
 half their length of chain, and three on foot, come 
 into the presence of one sitting on his throne (pro- 
 bably Herod), attended by his mace-hearer, announce 
 their intention of taking the presents they bear to 
 the infant Jesus. Next, the Virgin appears seated 
 
 Gent.’s Mag. new series, v. 585. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 53 
 
 on a Gothic chair, being crowned hy a descending 
 angel, bearing the child on her lap, before whom appear 
 three of the kings with their presents, one kneeling 
 and taking off his crown with one hand, as he makes 
 the offering with the other. Lastly, Herod’s cruelty, 
 the soldiers wearing the cervelliere over the capuchon 
 of mail, and surcoats. On the outside it is orna- 
 mented with foliage. 
 
 The acts of the religious rulers, like those of the 
 consuls, gifts to the church, &c. were noted in these 
 diptychs. p Montfaucon states the names of the 
 bishops were carefully registered, or erased, accord- 
 ing to the purity or immorality of their lives. q 
 
 The ornament seen on the diptych soon became 
 common on the choice books of the church, and the 
 plain wooden cover was adorned with all the ingenuity 
 that wealth and taste could bestow. The libraries on 
 the continent are much richer in gems of this des- 
 cription than our own country, and some specimens 
 have been described by Dr. Dibdin r with great 
 minuteness. St. Jerom, who flourished in the fourth 
 century, refers to the splendour of many books in his 
 time. 8 A book of the Gospels, translated by Ulphilas, 
 bishop of Moesia, A. D, 370, was called the “ Silver 
 Book of Ulphilas,” because bound in massy silver. 1 
 Another copy presented hy the emperor Justin to 
 pope Hormisda, between the years 518 and 523, was 
 
 p Gori Thesaurus Yet. Dipt. i. 2. aPalaeog. Graeca?, 34. 
 
 ' Bibliographical Tour, iii. 262 and 460. s Astle’s 
 
 Writing, 196. 1 Ibid. 87. 
 
54 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 bound in plates of gold and enriched with precious 
 stones, to the weight of fifteen pounds. Leo III., 
 who was raised to the pontificate in 795, gave to 
 various churches copies of the Gospels, alike splendidly 
 ornamented. The abbot Angilbert, on the restoration 
 of the abbey of St. Riquier, A. D. 814, presented to 
 it a copy of the Gospels, in silver plates, “ marvel- 
 lously adorned with gold and precious stones.” 
 Another copy, written in letters of gold and silver, 
 and bound in gold, enriched with gems, was presented 
 to his church by Hincmar, on becoming archbishop 
 of Rheims in 84 i. The emperor Michael, about the 
 year 855, sent as a present to St. Peter’s, a Gospel 
 of most pure gold, with divers precious stones. 
 Everhard, count of Friuli, bequeathed by will, A. D. 
 861, to his children, his Bible, and a number of other 
 books, among which a Gospel bound in gold, another 
 in silver, and another in ivorv. In 1022, the em- 
 peror Henry II., on recovering from illness, at the 
 monastery of Monte Casino, presented to it a copy 
 of the Gospels, covered on one side with most pure 
 gold, and most precious gems. Returning the same 
 year into Germany, he had an interview with Robert, 
 king of-France, but of all the rich presents offered by 
 that king, the emperor accepted only a copy of the 
 Gospels, bound in gold and precious stones. Desi- 
 derius, who became abbot of the above monastery in 
 1058, provided it with many costly books; "and the 
 empress Agnes made many rich gifts to the church, 
 and among the rest, a copy of the Gospels, with one 
 
UP TO THIS INVENTION OF PRINTING. 5 - 
 
 side of cast silver, with chased or embossed work, 
 very beautifully gilt. u 
 
 These specimens will suffice to give an idea of the 
 labour and expense expended on the external deco- 
 ration of books at a very early period of the history 
 of Europe. But to return more particularly to the 
 productions of the monks and religious of our own 
 country, we shall find that in their progress they did 
 not lose their ancient reputation. We have before 
 described the book of St. Cuthbert, and other works. 
 The next eaidiest is a Latin Psalter considered to be 
 the oldest extant in England, and thus described 
 by Moule. v “ The original book upon which all our 
 kings, from Henry I. to Edward VI., took the coro- 
 nation oath, is now in the library of a gentleman in 
 Norfolk. It is a MS. of the four Evangelists, written 
 on vellum, the form and beauty of the letters nearly 
 approaching to Roman capitals. It appears to have 
 been written and bound for the coronation of Henry 
 I. The original binding, which is still in a perfect 
 state, consists of two oaken boards, nearly an inch 
 thick, fastened together with stout thongs of leather, 
 and the corners defended with large bosses of brass. 
 On the right-hand side, as the book is opened, of the 
 outer cover is a crucifix of brass, double gilt, which 
 was kissed by the kings upon their inauguration ; and 
 the whole is fastened together by a strong clasp of 
 brass, fixed to a broad piece of leather secured with 
 
 11 Papers oil the Dark Ages, No- xiii Br. Mag. ix. -19. 
 v Bibliotheca lleraldica, 493. 
 
56 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 two brass pins.” This book is now in the library of 
 the Duke of Buckingham at Stowe. It was formerly 
 entered in the Exchequer as a little book with a 
 crucifix. The crucifix is about six or eight inches in 
 height, and the workmanship rather clumsy. A 
 drawing of it by Vertue, is in the collection of the 
 Society of Antiquaries." Another MS. Gospel, 
 partly Latin and partly Saxon, in the British Museum 
 (Cotton MSS. Titus D. xxvii.) is also bound with 
 oaken boards, one being inlaid with pieces of carved 
 ivory, which is supposed to have been executed at a 
 later period, probably from the piety of some sub- 
 sequent owner. They are however very curious and 
 deserving of explicit notice. The first consists of our 
 Saviour, with an angel above him : the second of 
 the Virgin with Christ in her lap — the Virgin is in 
 half length : the third is a small whole length of 
 Joseph with an angel above. A gilt nimbus is round 
 the head of each, but that which encircles the Virgin 
 is perfect ; and the compartment in which she appears 
 (about 5 inches high) is twice the size of each of the 
 others. The draperies throughout are good. It is 
 altogether a choice specimen of ancient binding.* 
 This mode of external ornament is further illustrated 
 by the following description of two books by Mr. 
 Astle, in a paper on crosses and crucifixes. “ A 
 booke of Gospelles garnished and wrought with, 
 antique worke of silver and gilte with an image of 
 the crucifix, with Mary and John, poiz together 
 " Dibdin’s Bib. Decam. ii. 434. * Ibid. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OE PRINTING. 57 
 
 cccxxij. oz.” In the Jewel House in the Tower “ a 
 booke of gold enameled, clasped with a rubie, having 
 on th’onesyde a crosse of dyamounts, and vj. other 
 dyamounts, and th’ other side a flower de luce of 
 dyamounts, and iiij . rubies with a pendante of white 
 sapphires, and the armes of Englande. Which booke 
 is garnished' with small emeraldes and rubies hanging 
 to a cliayne pillar fashion set with xv knottes, everie 
 one conteyning iij. rubies (one lacking).” 5. 
 
 It was also usual in early times to engrave the arms 
 of the owner on the clasps which were generally 
 attached to books. Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, 
 mentions in her will, in 1339, “ a Chronicle of France,” 
 in French, with two clasps of silver, enamelled with 
 the arms of the Duke of Burgoyne ; a book contain- 
 ing 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 illu- 
 minated, with the clasps of gold enamelled with white 
 swans, and the arms of my lord and father enamelled 
 on the clasps. z Among the books in the inventory 
 of the efi’ects of Sir John Fastolfe, were two “ Mys- 
 sayles closyd with sylver,” and a “ Sauter claspvd 
 with sylver, and my maysters is arrays and my ladyes 
 ther uppon.” a 
 
 The Bedford Missal is, perhaps, as splendid a spe- 
 cimen of the taste and ingenuity of the monks, as anv 
 
 y Archaeologia xiii. 220. '■ Nicolas’ Test. Vetusta, i. 148. 
 
 a Archseol. xxi. 270. 
 
58 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 extant. It contains fifty-nine large miniatures, occu- 
 pying nearly the whole page, and above a thousand 
 small ones, in circles of about an inch in diameter, 
 displayed in elegant borders of golden foliage, with 
 variegated flowers, &c. Among the portraits are 
 whole-length ones of John, duke of Bedford, regent 
 of France in the reign of Henry VI., and of his 
 duchess. The volume measures eleven inches by 
 seven and a half in width, and two inches and a half 
 in thickness. It is bound in crimson velvet with 
 gold clasps, whereon are engraved the arms of Harley, 
 Cavendish, and Hollis quarterly. The duke of Bed- 
 ford presented it to his nephew Henry VI. b It was 
 bought of the Somerset family, by Harley, second 
 earl of Oxford ; from whom it came to the late 
 duchess of Portland, at whose sale Mr. Edwards 
 became the owner for 215 guineas. It was sold 
 again in 1815 to the marquis of Blandford for 687/. 
 155. Sir John Tobin is now the possessor. 
 
 These may be pronounced as fair general specimens 
 of the talent of the ancient European Bookbinders, 
 time, damp, the worm, and religious zeal, having 
 worked the destruction of the coverings of nearly all 
 the early manuscripts ; though to the latter must be 
 attributed not only the scarcity of proof of what the 
 bindings of these talented monks and artists were, 
 but the entire loss of the books also. The mistaken 
 zeal, enthusiasm, and bigotry of the early leaders of 
 
 b Horne’s Bibliography, i. 302, and Nichol’s Illust. vi. 296. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 59 
 
 the reformation, or of those they employed, swept 
 away without distinction the works of the learned 
 with the books of devotion preserved in the religious 
 houses, and deprived the world doubtless of many 
 treasures now unknown. With these the bindings were 
 of course destroyed, and even in cases where the book 
 may have been preserved, the cupidity of many to 
 whom the task of visiting the religious establishments 
 was assigned, would lead them to divest them of the 
 •valuable ornaments with which we have shown many 
 were enriched and decorated. Not only were the 
 libraries completely sacked, hut the huge volumes 
 which contained the ancient services, and abounded 
 in all the churches and monasteries, were destroyed 
 without mercy, ardently and enthusiastically. Many 
 of these had been brought direct from Rome, where a 
 great manufactory of such works had for some cen- 
 turies existed. An immense volume was laid upon 
 the lutrin, or reading-desk, in the middle of the choir, 
 and the letters and musical notes, which accompanied 
 the words, were of such an enormous magnitude, 
 and so black, that they could be read by the canons, 
 as they sat in their stalls, at as great a distance, and 
 with as much ease, as an inscription on a monument. 
 These ponderous volumes lay unmolested on the desk, 
 or at the utmost were only carried to the adjoining 
 sacristy, and were a part of the furniture, and almost 
 of the fixtures, of the churches ; they were exempt 
 from injury and accident, and were frequently there- 
 fore of great antiquity, having been constructed in 
 
GO 
 
 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 very remote times, when manuscripts of value were 
 plentiful. 0 They were garnished with corners of brass, 
 with bosses, and brass nails, to preserve the bindings 
 from injury in being rubbed on the desk or pulpit, 
 and protected from dust by massive clasps. Some, 
 when very large, were, for further protection, laid 
 upon rollers. The nature and extent of these ad- 
 ditions are shown in an illumination of a MS. of the 
 fifteenth century, in the Royal Library, Paris, from 
 which the following is taken. 
 
 The accumulation, though slowly, had, in a great 
 number of years, led to the formation of many con- 
 siderable libraries in the houses of the religious at 
 the period of the reformation. d Of the extent of the 
 devastation and frightful havoc then committed a 
 writer of the time gives an account. Speaking of 
 the destruction of books, he indignantly savs, “ Never 
 had we been offended for the loss of our libraries, 
 being so many in number, and in so desolate places 
 for the more part, if the chief monuments and most 
 notable works of our most excellent witers had been 
 c Edinb. Review, xlviii. 96. d Leland’s Collectanea, i. 109. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 61 
 
 preserved. If there had been in every shire of England 
 but one solempne library, to the preservation of those 
 noble works, and preferment of good learning in our 
 posterity, it had been yet somewhat. But to destroy 
 all without consideration, is, and will be, unto 
 England for ever, a most horrible infamy among the 
 grave seniors of other nations. A great number of 
 ■them which purchased those superstitious mansions, 
 reserved of those library-books, some to serve the 
 jakes, some to scour their candlesticks, and some to 
 rub their hoots ; some they sold to the grocers and 
 soap-sellers ; some they sent over sea to the book- 
 binders, not in small numbers but at times whole ships 
 full, to the wondering of the foreign nations. Yea, 
 the universities of this realm are not all clear of this 
 detestable fact. But cursed is that belly which 
 seeketh to be fed with such ungodly gains, and 
 shameth his natural country. I know a merchant 
 man, which shall at this time be nameless, that bought 
 the contents of two noble libraries for forty shillings 
 price; a shame it is to be spoken. This stuff hath 
 he occupied in the stead of grey paper, by the space 
 of more than ten years, and yet he hath store enough 
 for as many years to come !” 6 
 
 With these facts before us it need not be matter of 
 
 surprise how few specimens of bookbinding, prior to the 
 
 introduction of printing, now exist. Previous extracts 
 have shown the early adoption of wooden boards as 
 
 ' Bale’s Preface to Leland’s Journey, 1510. 
 
 G 
 
62 
 
 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 side covers, for books, by the monastic binders. 
 Every means were used for their preservation, hence 
 strength and durability were most studied. They 
 sewed them on pieces of skin or parchment ; and even 
 carried their precaution so far as to protect each sheet 
 externally and internally with a slip of parchment, to 
 prevent the thread, with which the book was sewn, 
 from cutting the paper, and to protect the back from 
 injury. When the boards were first covered, it 
 appears that a common parchment or vellum, made 
 from the skin of the deer, was used. Richard Chan- 
 dos, bishop of Chichester, mentions in his will, so 
 early as the year 1253, a “ Bible, with a rough cover 
 of skin,” and bequeaths it to William de Selsey.' 
 Another proof of the adoption of this covering occurs 
 in the “ Accounts of the Household of Edward I. and 
 II.,” contained in four MS. volumes presented to the 
 Society of Antiquaries, by Sir Ashton Lever ; which 
 were in the original binding of calf-skin, dressed like 
 parchment with the hair on, and razures of the hair 
 made for writing the inscription. 8, Elizabeth de 
 Burgh, in the year 1355, by will left “ to my hall, 
 called Clare Hall, Cambridge,” among other books, 
 one missal, covered with white leather or hide, and 
 one good Bible covered with black leather. 1 ' More 
 expensive ornament followed, as has been shown. 
 Velvet was long the material used for the covers of 
 
 f Nicolas Testamenta Vctusta, ii. 762. s Archaeologiae, vii. 
 
 418-19. 11 Nicolas, i. 58. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 63 
 
 the best works. The Bible, when first translated into 
 Latin, was divided into four or six parts. In the will 
 of Richard (Sanctus), bishop of Chichester, he be- 
 queathed to the four orders of friars, each one part, 
 (1258) “ glossatam,” which means with marginal 
 notes. In the next century the Bible was translated 
 into French, illuminated, with a commentary, and 
 bound in two volumes covered with velvet, with clasps 
 of gold, enamelled with the arms of the prince or 
 nobleman at whose expense the MS. was made. 
 Psalters were more common. Missals, as has been 
 before remarked, were so splendid as to have minia- 
 tures in every page, and were wrought with jewels 
 on the covers of the velvet.' The wills of the 
 nobles and rich of this country, in times when it was 
 the custom to leave books as legacies to friends and 
 ecclesiastical bodies, however, furnish the best evi- 
 dence of the use of velvet as a cover for books in very 
 early times. In the will of Lady Fitzhugh, A.D. 1427, 
 several books, &c., are thus bequeathed : — “ Als so I 
 wyl yat my son William have a Ryng with a dyamond 
 and my son Geffray a gretter, and my son Rob’t a 
 sauter covered with rede velwet, and my doghter 
 Mariory a primer cou’ed in Rede, and my doghter 
 Darcy a sauter cou’ed in blew, and my doghter Malde 
 Eure a prim’ cou’d in blew.” k Eleanor, countess of 
 Arundel, left by will to Ann, wife of her nephew, 
 
 Nicolas, i. xxvii. Notes. k Wills and Inventories, part 
 
 i. Surtees Society, and Nicolas, i. 213. 
 
 G 2 
 
64 MONASTIC AND OTHER BINDINGS 
 
 Maurice Berkeley, a book of Matins covered with vel- 
 vet. This was in the year 1455 ; and in 1480, a 
 similar bequest was made to her daughter, by Ann, 
 duchess of Buckingham, of a primer covered with pur- 
 ple velvet, with clasps of silver gilt. 1 
 
 These records prove velvet to have been used as a 
 cover for books long before the time usually assigned 
 to it, and shows that every variety of colour was 
 adopted according to the subject matter of the con- 
 tents of the volume. This was particularly the 
 case a century or two earlier, for among the courte- 
 sies of love in chivalric times, the present of books 
 from knights to ladies was not forgotton, and it more 
 often happened than monkish austerity approved of, 
 that a volume bound in sacred guise, contained not a 
 series of hymns to the Virgin, but a variety of ama- 
 tory effusions to a terrestrial mistress. m 
 
 The will of Walter, lord Hungerford, proves the 
 use also of coloured cloths for binding at an early 
 period. He bequeathed in 1449, to Lady Margaret, 
 wife of Sir Robert Hungerford his son, “ my best 
 Legend of the lives of the saints in French, and co- 
 vered with red cloth." 
 
 The art of bookbinding, it is seen, both as respects 
 style, and variety of material for the covers, was far 
 advanced at the period that witnessed the invention 
 of printing. The details of its history for a century 
 after that event, may be pronounced the history, 
 
 f Nicolas, i. 270, 357- m Mill’s History of Chivalry, i. 42. 
 
 " Nicolas, i. 238. 
 
UP TO THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 65 
 
 making allowance for the improvements the greater 
 number of books and consequent field for exertion 
 would produce, of at least a like period before. We 
 proceed to trace it under new circumstances, attested 
 by numerous records and notices of writers of days 
 gone by, — illustrated and corroborated by specimens 
 of bindings that have withstood the havoc of time. 
 
66 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, FROM THE INVENTION 
 OF PRINTING TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, MORE 
 PARTICULARLY AS RELATES TO MATERIALS AND FI- 
 NISH. 
 
 The multiplication of manuscripts, which the intro- 
 duction of paper, made from linen, into Europe, oc- 
 casioned, caused a considerable reduction in their 
 price, and contributed essentially to the diffusion of 
 knowledge. Learning had already begun to revive, 
 and to he cultivated with considerable ardour, when 
 the invention of printing by John Gutenburgli, of 
 Mayence, or Mentz, about the year 1438, gave a new 
 stimulus to the human mind, and formed the most im- 
 portant era to the history of literature and civiliza- 
 tion. 1 It drew forth learning from libraries and con- 
 vents, and, by increasing the number of hooks, placed 
 them within the reach of all. The avenues of science 
 were thus thrown open to every one, and volumes of 
 information which had before existed in costly manu- 
 scripts, were now in every hand. No retrogression 
 a Gibbon. 
 
ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS. 67 
 
 in knowledge or the arts, could ever more take place, 
 recorded as it now became in a thousand ways, spread- 
 ing abroad the intelligence, improvements, and inven- 
 tions of the more skilful, and making them alike the 
 common property of the whole community. 
 
 What printing became to the other arts, binding 
 now, in an especial manner, became to the produc- 
 tions of the press. And, that the practisers of the 
 art were fully sensible of this is shown by the firm 
 way the bindings of early printed books, which 
 are still preserved, are executed. And to this care 
 we may attribute the existence of so many specimens 
 of early typography, for if the slight and careless 
 manner, in which some bindings of a later date have 
 been executed, had at that time been common, it is 
 but reasonable to suppose, that we should also have 
 to regret the loss of many of those specimens we now 
 possess. 
 
 The art of printing was introduced into England 
 by William Caxton in 1473, and his press fully esta- 
 blished in Westminster Abbey in 1477. b The early 
 English printers, however, did not make much pro- 
 gress, for it appears that an act was passed in the year 
 1483, authorizing “ strangers repairing unto this 
 realm to bring printed and written books, to sell at 
 their pleasure.” Books were at first printed either 
 in large or small folio, or at least quartos ; the smaller 
 sizes were not in use till some time after the inven- 
 
 b Ame's Typograpli. Antiq. i. 3. 
 
68 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 tiou of printing, if at all, certainly but rarely previous 
 to A. D. 1480. c At this time too, and long after, 
 every process belonging to a printed book, from the 
 punch to the binding, was included under the general 
 denomination of printing. A Of the early English 
 
 bookbinders, consequently, very little is known, and 
 that only from their connection with the printing 
 branch of the profession. Thus we find that Wynkyn 
 de Worde, the successor of Caxton, left by will, 
 legacies, to Nowel, the bookbinder in Shoe Lane, 
 and to Alard, bookbinder, his servant. 6 This Nowel, 
 doubtless, was what is now called a chamber binder , — 
 that is, doing work for the bookseller and printer, 
 and perhaps at that time wholly employed by 
 Wynkyn de Worde. John Reynes, at the George, 
 in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, about the year 1527, was 
 an eminent publisher and binder / To these, in fur- 
 ther confirmation, may be added, Michael Lobley and 
 William Hill," living in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, 
 1531 — 1536, as also “Toye, the bookbinder,” named 
 as engaged in search for the printers of a work 
 against the government of the church, about 1550.'“ 
 
 Of the progressive improvement in bookbinding 
 and the materials with which the books were covered, 
 the public libraries of Europe, and especially, as will 
 be seen in another chapter, the royal library at 
 Paris, exhibit many specimens. Manuscript books, 
 
 c Horne’s Int. to Bibliography, i. 291. a Hansard’s Ty- 
 pography, 334. e Arne’s Typographica Antiquities, i. 120. 
 
 f Ibid. i. 413. s Ibid. ii. 756. Ibid. i. 569. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION' OF PRINTING. 
 
 69 
 
 and those printed many years after the invention of 
 printing, were variously decorated in binding. David 
 Casley, deputy librarian to George II., speaking on 
 the subject, says, “ The very covers of a great many 
 MSS. are curiosities, there having been different 
 ways of binding books in different ages : and some 
 have happened to have been bound with so good 
 material as to have lasted a great while, which may 
 be proved by several books which, upon examination 
 appear to have been but once bound.” 1 
 
 The common cover for early printed works doubt- 
 less remained, as for MSS. in monastic times, a kind 
 of parchment or forrel. But for the books of the 
 noble and rich, as has been shown, a considerable 
 degree of elegance had been adopted. Velvet was 
 the most usual, and in this degree of luxurv the 
 poorer classes of readers now also indulged. Chaucer, 
 in describing the “ Clerke of Oxenforde,” says — - 
 
 “ AFot f)gm bias leucr to f)abe at ijijs bcblrrs tjcrtr 
 ffitoenty hoofers clafefee togth hlarfer or mtr.” k 
 
 And in "An inventory of English Books, of John 
 
 Paston, made the 5th day of November, in the 
 
 year of the reign of Edward IV. ”we find particularized : 
 
 ftpm A black book with the Legend of ... . Lady saivs 
 Merci. 
 
 Item — A red book, that Percival llobsart gave me of the 
 Meeds of the Mass. 1 
 
 1 Casley’s Preface to Cat. of Royal Library, xv. k Pro- 
 logue to Canterbury laics, edition 1542. 1 Burnett’s Speci- 
 
 mens of English Prose Writers, i. 157. 
 
70 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 It is, however, in the notices left of the above 
 monarch that we shall find the most ample record of 
 the early use of velvet and silk in the bindings of 
 books. In his Wardrobe Accounts, A.D. 1480, kept by 
 Piers Courtneys,™ we have many particulars of the 
 cost of bindings, materials used, &c. “ To Alice 
 
 Claver for the making of xvj laces and xvj tasshels 
 for the garnysshing of divers of the Kinges bookes, 
 ij s. viij d ; and to Robert Boillett for blac papir and 
 nailles for closyng and fastenyng of divers cofyns of 
 fyrre wherein the Kinges books were conveyed and 
 caried from the Kinges grete Warderobe in London 
 unto Eltham aforesaid v d. ; Piers Bauduyn stacioner 
 for bynding, gilding, and dressing of a booke called 
 Titus Livius xx s. ; for binding, gilding, and dressing 
 of a booke of the Holy Trinite xvj s. ; for binding, 
 gilding, and dressing of a booke called Frossard xvj s. ; 
 for binding, gilding, and dressing of a booke called 
 the Bible xvj s. ; for binding, gilding, and dressing of 
 a booke called Le Gouvernement of Kinges and 
 Princes xvj s. ; for binding and dressing of thre smalle 
 books of Tranche price in grete vj s. viij d. ; for the 
 dressing of two bookes whereof oon is called La For- 
 teresse de Fov, and the other called the Book of 
 Josephus iij s.iiij d.; and for binding, gilding, and dress- 
 ing of a booke called the Bible Historial xx s.” 
 
 For the binding of these books another entry is 
 made of the materials used ; from which it appears 
 
 Edited by Sir H. N. Nicolas, 12d.-G. 
 
■FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 71 
 
 that, as in the case of apparel, &c., worn bv our kings 
 and nobles, they procured the materials and employed 
 workmen to execute the article wanted. “ Delyvered 
 for the covervng and garnysshyng 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 vj tl,e called Frossard. 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 myddelle, ij 
 paire grete with the Kynges Armes uppon them ; 
 bolions coper and gilt, lxx ; nailes gilt, ccc.”“ 
 
 And again, “ To Alice Claver sylkwoman for an 
 unce of sowing silk xiv d. for “ ij yerds di’ and a 
 naille corse of blue silk, weying an unce iij quarters 
 di’ price the unce ij s viij d. v s. ; for iiij yerds di” of 
 quarter corse of blac silk weying iij unces price the 
 unce ij s iiij d. vijs.; for vj unces and iij quarters of 
 silk to the laces and tassels for garnvssliing of diverse 
 Books price the unce xiiij d. vij s. xd. ob. ; for the 
 making of xvj laces and xvj tassels made of the 
 said vj unces and iij quarters of silke price in grete 
 
 Wardrobe Accounts, &c, 152. 
 
72 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS 
 
 ij s viijd. and for xvj botons of blue silk and gold price 
 in grete iiij s.” 
 
 “ For the copersmythe for iij paire of claspes of 
 cooper and gilt with roses uppon them price of every 
 paire iij s. for two paire of claspes of coper and gilt with 
 the Kings Armes upon them price the pair v s. and 
 for lxx bolyons of coper and gilt xlvj s. viij d.”° 
 
 The “ velvet cremvsyn figured with white,” cost 
 the king viij s per yard. 1 ' The bolions named were a 
 smaller sort of button used as fastenings of books, &c. 
 — made of copper and gilt, and cost about eighteen- 
 pence each. q At this time the wages of various work- 
 men were from fourpence to sixpence a dav. r 
 
 By the above account it is evident that the books 
 belonging to the king’s library were adorned with all 
 the splendour the best materials, and state of the 
 art could give to their exteriors. Successive mo- 
 narchs of this country were not less interested in 
 the appearance of their libraries, and velvet con- 
 tinued for some time to be a favourite and the prin- 
 cipal cover for at least such works as were consi- 
 dered valuable. In the Privy Purse expenses of Henrv 
 VIII. s we find the following entries from the year 
 1530 to 1532. “ Paied to Westby clerk of king’s 
 closet for vj masse books. And for vellute for to cov r 
 them iij 1. xj s. To Rasmus one of the Armerars for 
 
 o Wardrobe A counts, 117, 1 19. P Wardrobe Accts. Edward 
 
 TV. 1 l(i. 'i Notes to do. by Nicolas. r Nicolas’s Remarks 
 
 m do ii. “ Edited by Nicolas, Svo. Pickering. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 73 
 
 garnisshing of boles and div’s necessaryes for the 
 same by the king’s comaundment, xj 1. v s. vjj d. To 
 Peter Scryvener for hying vellum and other stuf for 
 the king’s books, iiij 1. To the boke-bynder, for 
 bringing of boks fro hamptonco’te to yorke place, 
 iiij s. viij. d. To Asmus the armerer, for the garnissh- 
 ing of iiij -xx. vj. boks as apperith by his bille. xxxiiij 1 . 
 x s. And paied for sending of certeyne boks to the 
 king’s bokebynder, ij s. 
 
 And in an Inventory of the same monarch’s Guarde- 
 robe, &c. made by virtue of a commission under 
 the great seal of England, dated at Westminster, 
 September the 14th, 1547, 1 the following notices 
 occur : — “A Massebooke covered with black velvet, 
 a lytle booke of parchement with prayers covered with 
 crymsen velvet. Also in one deske xxxj bookes 
 covered with redde ; and in another deske, xvj bookes 
 covered with redde.” 
 
 The privy purse expenses of Henry’s daughter/ 
 afterwards Queen Mary, also furnish us with further 
 evidence: — In January 1542 — 3, “ was paied to the 
 boke bynder for a boke lymmed w l golde, the 
 same geuen to the p’nce g’ce for a newyer’ gifte, 
 xxix s. In the following year, to my ladye Herbert, 
 a boke cou’ed w l silv’ and gylt, vij s. vj d. ; and in 
 1537, was paid for a claspe for a boke, vj s.” 
 
 These accounts prove that a degree of splendour 
 was lavished on the exterior coating of books almost 
 
 1 MSS. British Museum, No. 1419. A and B. “Edited 
 
 by F. Madden, Esq. F.S.A. Svo. Pickering. 
 
 H 
 
74 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 unknown to our day ; for without the cost of what is 
 properly the binding, it is seen that Rasmus, or As- 
 mus, who doubtless was the same person, is paid on 
 one occasion, for garnishing of divers books, eleven 
 pounds, five shillings, and seven pence ; and on ano- 
 ther no less than thirty-four pounds, ten shillings, 
 for garnishing eighty-six books, about eight shillings 
 each for the mere embellishment alone of them, 
 which we take to mean fixing the clasps, bosses, &c. 
 to the sides. The splendour of some of these early 
 bindings may be gathered from the poet laureat'' of 
 this period, who, speaking of a book, and enraptured 
 with the appearance of it, breaks out in verse : — - 
 
 “ 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 flowres, 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 every other line,” &c. 
 
 To return, however, it appears also from the ex- 
 tracts before quoted, that there was then such a ser- 
 vant of the court as the King’s Bookbinder. They 
 go far too to clear the eighth Harry from the 
 charge of knowing nothing of, and caring less for 
 fine books. That his predecessor Henry VII. col- 
 
 v 'Skelton 40. 
 
FROM THK INVENTION OF PRINTING. 75 
 
 lected a magnificent library, the various splendid 
 specimens that still exist, hearing his arms on the 
 bindings, is full evidence ; but there can he no doubt 
 it was considerably augmented by his son, under the 
 skilful direction of the great antiquary, Leland, 
 whom Henry had appointed his librarian, and who, 
 in his visit to the various monasteries, must have 
 become possessed of many rare manuscripts and 
 fine books. This is borne out by Heutzner, a Ger- 
 man traveller, who, describing the royal library of 
 the kings of England, originally in the old palace at 
 Westminster, but now in the British Museum, which 
 he saw at Whitehall in 1598, 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. w 
 
 Among those originally belonging to Henry VII. 
 is a very curious book of Indentures in the British 
 Museum. It is dated July 10, in the nineteenth 
 year of his reign, and made between him and the 
 abbot and convent of St. Peter’s, Westminster, for 
 the celebration of certain masses, &c. to be per- 
 formed in Henry VII. ’s chapel, then intended to be 
 built. It is indeed a most noble and curious book, 
 the cover is of crimson Genoese velvet, edged with 
 crimson silk and gold thread, and with tassels of the 
 
 ' v Warton’s Eng. Poetry, iii. 272. 
 
 H 2 
 
76 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 same material at each corner. The inside is lined 
 with crimson damask. On each side of the cover are 
 five bosses, made of silver, wrought and gilt ; those 
 in the middle have the arms and supporters of Henrv 
 VII., with his crown and supporters of silver, gilt and 
 enamelled ; in the others, at each corner, are so many 
 portcullises, also gilt and enamelled. It is fastened 
 by two hasps, made of silver, and splendidly enamel- 
 led with the red rose of the house of Lancaster. 
 The counterpart of these indentures, bound and deco- 
 rated in all respects like the original, is preserved in 
 the Record Office in the Chapter House, at West- 
 minster.* 
 
 In the British Museum, also, among the roval 
 MSS., is the Old Testament, Psalter, Hymns, &c. 
 (2 B. vii.), formerly belonging to Queen Mary, 
 bound in a truly regal style. It has thick boards 
 covered with crimson velvet, richly embroidered 
 with large flowers in coloured silks and gold twist. 
 It is further embellished with gilt brass bosses and 
 clasps, on the latter of which are engraved the arms 
 of England. 
 
 Several other specimens of velvet binding are still 
 in existence in our public libraries. This style con- 
 tinued in use till at least the end of the sixteenth 
 century : Queen Elizabeth, on her visit to Cambridge, 
 in 157 8, was presented by the vice-chancellor with 
 “a Newe Testament in Greek, of Robertus Stephanus, 
 
 s Horne's Int. i. J30J. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 77 
 
 his first printing in folio, bound in redd velvett, and 
 lymed with gould ; the armes of England sett upon 
 eche side of the booke, vearey faire.” y 
 
 A custom of perfuming books at this period is 
 shown in the instructions relative to presents to the 
 queen, sent by the Lord Treasurer Burghley to the 
 vice-chancellor of the university on this occasion. 
 He says “ Present a book well bound,” and charges 
 them “ to regard that the book had no savour of spike, 
 which commonly bookbinders did seek to add, to 
 make their books savour well.” z 
 
 Every thing tends to show that Elizabeth was 
 profuse in the embellishment of the bindings of her 
 books ; and this doubtless influenced many to present 
 her works in a costume she would be likely to ap- 
 prove. Among the new year’s gifts, sent her in the 
 twenty- seventh year of her reign, was a Bible from 
 Absolon, master of the Savoy, bound in cloth of 
 gold, garnished with silver and gilt, with two plates 
 of the royal arms.' 1 
 
 Of the labour and expense incurred we have an 
 illustration in the copy of archbishop Parker’s “ De 
 Antiquitate Ecclesise Britannicae,” in the royal library 
 in the British Museum, presented to her by the 
 archbishop. It is a small folio of the date 1572, 
 covered with green velvet, and the front or first side 
 embroidered with coloured silks and silver thread, in 
 
 y Hartshorne’s Book Rarities of Cambridge, 5. 2 Niohol’» 
 
 Progresses oi Elizabeth, ii. 1. » Ibid. Preface, xxvi. 
 
78 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 deep relief, as accurately shown in the annexed 
 plate. It is conjectured that the learned churchman 
 intended the design as a reference to his name of 
 Parker. It represents a park inclosed by railings, 
 having in the centre a large rose tree, and deer in 
 various positions. The reverse of the binding has a 
 similar design, but the interior occupied by five 
 deer, one in the centre reposing, the other four 
 like those described, being transposed ; two snakes 
 and various small shrubs are disposed in the space 
 between. The back is divided into five compart- 
 ments, by embroidered lines, having a red rose with 
 buds and branches between each, except the second 
 from the head, on which has, at some subsequent 
 period, been placed the title on a piece of leather, 
 thus : — 
 
 PARKERUS 
 DE ANT 
 EC. BRIT. 
 
 BOND. 1572. 
 
 The bottom one hears on a small piece of leather, 
 fixed on the embroidery — 
 
 * fgf 
 
 EL. R. 
 
 The book has been rebound in green morocco, but 
 the sides and back as above described, placed over 
 the morocco in a very creditable manner. It is now 
 
Xee c* 
 
 FAC-SIMILE 
 
 OF THE EMBROIDERED VELVET BINDING OF ARCHBISHOP 
 
 parker’s de antiquitate ecclesi.* britannic^e, 
 
 FORMERLY UKI.OJIC1VO TO QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
 
PROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 79 
 
 properly preserved in a red basin cover, and further 
 protected by being placed in a box. 
 
 Another book of Elizabeth’s, also in the British 
 Museum, merits especial notice from its binding. It 
 is the “ Historia Ecclesia,” printed at Louvain, 
 in 1569, bound in green velvet, with the shield 
 of the royal arms embroidered with coloured 
 silks, and silver and gold thread on crimson silk, in 
 the centre of each side. The remaining spaces are 
 filled up with roses, foliage, &c. formed of the same 
 materials, and some of the flowers composed of small 
 pearls, many of which are lost. The back is similar 
 to the last described, and bears the queen’s initials. 
 
 Her successor, the first James, appears also to 
 have been partial to a velvet exterior. Specimens 
 maybe cited among others, the “ Panciroli Not 
 Dignit,” Lugduni, 1 608, in light blue velvet, richly 
 gilt, and having worked gilt edges on a red ground, 
 partly left blank as ornament. But the most splen- 
 did specimen, and perhaps the most perfect, of early 
 embroidery on books, is to be found in the British 
 Museum, in the “ Acta Synodi Dort,” printed at 
 the same place, in 1620, also once the property of 
 James 1. No engraving could give a proper idea of 
 its splendour. It is a folio in crimson velvet, the 
 arms of England being embroidered on both sides with 
 gold thread, yellow silk forming the groundwork, but 
 which is entirely hid by the gold, which is embroidered 
 considerably in relief. The initial I surmounted by 
 a crown is worked above, and R similarly below, as 
 
80 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 are the rose and thistle in opposite corners. The 
 bands on the back are formed with the like material, 
 and the rose and thistle alternately between each. 
 It is lettered on leather, the head-bands and gilt 
 edges neatly executed, and the boards tied together 
 in front with scarlet riband. Altogether the work- 
 manship and material are of the first quality, and 
 constitute it a regal book in every particular. 
 
 But velvet was not the only cover for books during 
 this period ; silk and damask were also in general 
 use for that purpose. Alexander Barclay, in his 
 “ Ship of Fooles,” (1500 — 1552) speaking of the 
 company, has the following lines, relative to the 
 student or bookworm, whom he rather inconsistently 
 places as the first fool in the vessel : — 
 
 “ But yet I have them in great reverence, 
 
 And honour, saving them from filth and ordure ; 
 
 By often brusshing, and much diligence, 
 
 Full goodly bounde in pleasaunt coverture 
 Of damas, sattin, or els of velvet pure : 
 
 I keep them sure, fearing least they should be lost, 
 
 For in them is the cunning wherein I me boast.” b 
 
 The various extracts above cited, prove that 
 velvet, silk, or damask were the principal covering 
 made use of for the best bindings, up to the end of 
 the fifteenth century, and continued to be partially 
 used for books belonging to the royal library, a cen- 
 tury after. In addition, it has been shown that they 
 were lavishly ornamented with all the skill that in- 
 
 Warton, iii. 77. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 81 
 
 genuity could devise. Nor did the highest and the 
 fairest consider it beneath their dignity to exert their 
 skill in this service, by adding to the covers the em- 
 broidered ornament before described. This is called 
 1 ambour binding, and a Psalter, bound with a large 
 dower, worked in tambour upon one side of it, is in 
 the British Museum, which flower is considered, by 
 Dr. Dibdin, 6 to be the work of Queen Mary. Be this 
 conjecture or not, it is certain that ladies at this 
 period were more conversant with this style of book 
 ornament than a mere inspection would imply. 
 Lady Jane Grey, in an exhortation written to her 
 sister, the night before her execution, thus expresses 
 herself : — “ I have here sent you, my dear sister Ka- 
 therine, a hook, which although it be not outwardly 
 trimmed with gold, or the curious embroidery of the 
 artfullest needles, yet inwardly it is more wmrth than 
 all the precious mines which the vast world can 
 boast of,” &c. d A copy of this letter in the British 
 Museum, 6 varies a little from the above : — “ 1 haue 
 sent yo good sust r K. a boke wh although it be not 
 outwardly rimid with gold,” &c. 
 
 From this, and the great love of books which Lady 
 Jane Grey is known to have had, it may he pro- 
 nounced all but certain that she was accustomed to 
 employ some of the leisure she possessed in the em- 
 broidery of the covers of them. In the Bodleian 
 
 c Bibliograp. Decameron, i. 99. d Nicolas’s Lady Jane 
 
 Grey, 41.- u llarl. MSS. 2J70. 
 
82 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 library, at Oxford, is an English translation of St. 
 Paul’s Epistles, in a binding of this description exe- 
 cuted by the princess Elizabeth, afterwards queen, 
 while imprisoned at Woodstock, during the reign of 
 her sister queen Mary. The cover is of black silk, 
 curiously embroidered with mottos and devices. 
 Round the extreme border of the upper side is worked 
 
 *' CCELUM PATRICE . SCOPUS VITyE XPVS. 
 CHRISTO VIVE.” 
 
 In the centre a heart, and about it, 
 
 “ ELEVA COR SURSUM IBI UBI E. C.”* 
 
 On the other side 
 
 “BEATUS QUI DIVITIAS SCRIPTURE LE- 
 GENS VERBA VERTIT IN OPERA.” 
 
 And in the centre, round a star, 
 
 “VICIT OMNIA PERTINAX VIRTUS E. C.”f 
 
 A volume of prayers bound in crimson velvet, 
 among the royal MSS. in the British Museum, claims 
 the same distinction as the preceding work. On each 
 side is embroidered with silver thread a monogram, 
 apparently composed of the letters R. H. Iv. N. A. and 
 E. in high relief, with the letter H. above and below, 
 and a rose at the four corners/ 
 
 From what has been previously stated it is evident 
 
 Gent’s. Mag. New Series, i. 63. 
 
 * Ext Chriftux •• + Elizabeth* Caplivse, or Etizabc/ha Caytiva.— 
 
 Nichols’ P roc. r esses, preface. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 83 
 
 that Elizabeth was a great lover of books, and a 
 munificent patron of all concerned in their embel- 
 lishment. But she displayed her taste in this 
 particular further than we have yet shown, by causing 
 the binding to be composed entirely of silver or 
 gold. Of this description is the “ Golden Manual of 
 Prayers. It is bound in solid gold, and she is said 
 to have always carried it about with her, hang- 
 ing by a gold chain. The subject on one of the 
 sides represents the judgment of Solomon, whose 
 sentence appears round the margin ; on the other side 
 is delineated the brazen serpent, with the wounded 
 Israelites looking at it : the motto round the margin is 
 the divine command given to Moses, relative to the 
 making of this serpent. It has been engraved in the 
 Gentleman’s Magazine, and Mr. Horne’s Introduction 
 to Bibliography. In the inventory of Queen Eliza- 
 beth’s jewels, plate, &c. , made in the sixteenth year 
 of her reign, several ornamental books are also des- 
 cribed : amongst others, “ Oone Gospel! booke, 
 covered with tissue and garnished on th’ onside with 
 the ciucifix and the Queenes badges of silver guilt, 
 poiz with wodde, leaves, and all, cxij oz.” And 
 ‘ Oone booke of the Gospelles plated with silver, 
 and guilt 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.” e 
 ? Archteologia, xiii. 221. 
 
84 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 We have been led by the richness of these bind- 
 ings to a comparatively recent period, and must now 
 return to the beginning of the fifteenth century, and 
 to the consideration of two other kinds of early 
 binding, vellum and calf. We have before stated 
 that a common forrel was the first cover for books in 
 the monastic ages of this country. Several specimens 
 of this description maybe met with. The oldest still 
 preserved is considered by Dr. Dibdin to be a copy of 
 the “ Turrecremata of Alric Han,” 1467, the rarest 
 book in earl Spencer’s library, and still in good 
 preservation. This description of binding was fre- 
 quently so constructed as to leave a portion of the 
 forrel or parchment projecting from the boards and 
 wrapping over the foreedge so as to meet nearly in 
 the centre of it, and more effectually preserve the book 
 from injury. Vellum appears to have been introduced 
 for binding in the early part of the fifteenth century, 
 but at first was quite plain. At the same period or 
 earlier, a covering of leather was made use of, but 
 which species of binding having continued in general 
 use up to the present time, we shall proceed with the 
 description of vellum binding first. It cannot be 
 positively stated in what year vellum began to be 
 stamped, but we shall not be far wrong in fixing the 
 introduction of this embellishment about the end of 
 the fifteenth, or the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. It is evident the art was known in 1467, as 
 David Casley, before referred to, describes the bind- 
 
PROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 85 
 
 ing of a MS. of the Epistles of St. Jerome, as bearing 
 the following inscription : — “ Liber ligatus erat 
 Oxonii, in Catstrete, ad instantiam Reuerendi Domini 
 Thome Wybarun, in sacra theologiaBacalarii Monachi 
 Roffensis, Anno Domini, 1467/’ h This is the earliest 
 date known to have existed on the cover of a book, 
 but it unfortunately has been replaced by a modern 
 binding, and the original lost for ever. 
 
 Of these vellum stamped bindings innumerable 
 specimens exist in various libraries, particularly the 
 Basil books of the sixteenth century. Nothing can 
 exceed the delicacy and beauty of the execution of 
 some of them, and for sharpness, brilliancy, and pro- 
 portion, no ornamental decoration of modern days 
 has yet been introduced that can fairly take precedence 
 of these works of the binders of early times. 
 Whether the talented artists who executed many of 
 these were natives or settlers in London, Oxford, or 
 Cambridge, or of other towns on the continent where 
 printing had made greater progress, cannot now be 
 stated, though from what will hereafter be advanced 
 it is reasonable to suppose many of them were pro- 
 duced in this country, for the race of bookbinders in 
 1553, was sufficiently numerous in England, and of 
 such consideration, as to be expressly protected by 
 an act of parliament against their foreign competi- 
 tors.* Some of the most costly are impressed with a 
 
 h MSS. Reg. 6. D. II.— SeeDibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 449. 
 
 'See Act 25 Henry VIII* 1533. 
 
86 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 design nearly the fall space of the hoards ; others are 
 ornamented with portraits, arms, mottos, or elaborate 
 devices ; and the year in which the book was bound 
 was frequently impressed in large figures on its 
 covers. 
 
 When the art of impressing these designs on the 
 side was first introduced cannot be ascertained. It 
 will be seen that it had been employed on leather 
 previously to vellum, but it must have been a work of 
 some time to bring it to that perfection which we 
 witness on some early covers. In the absence of 
 earlier data, the most reasonable conjecture appears 
 to be that the effects produced by the printing press, 
 suggested to the minds of the early practisers of that 
 art, the idea of giving, by means of impression from 
 wooden blocks, an additional beauty to the side covers 
 of their books, and that it speedily followed the in- 
 vention of printing in 1438. But if, by any existing 
 specimens of binding of this character, it could be 
 proved to have preceded that era, it might become a 
 matter of much speculation, how far the result had an 
 influence in the first essays in block printing bv Gut- 
 tenburg and others. 
 
 Specimens of this stamped vellum covering may be 
 seen in the British Museum, as well as the libraries 
 of the curious, and among the splendid stocks of the 
 principal old booksellers of the day ; some executed 
 with a finish not yet in modern times equalled, and 
 some bearing a confused mass of ornament too close 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 87 
 
 to produce any effect. The portrait of Luther is from 
 
 the cover of a hook bound in 1569, which hears a 
 similar one of Calvin on the reverse. It was in the 
 possession of Dr. Dibdin, who describes the portraits 
 as being executed with great spirit and accuracy, and 
 surrounded with ornamental borders of much taste 
 and richness. 14 As this subject will be more fully 
 discussed under the head of Stamped Leather Bind- 
 ings, specimens of which are much more numerous. 
 
 k Bibliomania, 158. 
 
88 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 we shall defer further mention of this style here. 
 But it may be stated that from a passage in “The 
 Devil’s Law Case,” a drama by John Webster, first 
 published in 1623, it is very evident that gold orna- 
 ment had been long familiarly known as applied to 
 vellum binding, at that period. He says 
 “ There’s in my closet 
 
 A prayer-book that is covered with gilt vellum. 
 
 Fetch it.” 1 
 
 Of the early use of leather, Montfaucon mentions 
 several specimens of calf-skin glued boards and 
 Robert Copeland, in his poetical prefix to Chaucer’s 
 Assembly of Fools, 1530, says 
 
 “ Chaucer is dede, the which this pamphlete wrate 
 So ben his heyres in all such besynesse 
 And gone is also the famous clerke Lydgate 
 And so is youge Hawes, god theye soules addresse 
 Many were the volumes that they made more or lesse 
 Theyr bokes ye lay up tyll that the lether moules.” 
 
 This extract from Copeland proves leather to have 
 been the common material for the covers of general 
 works previous to, and in his time. But a stamped 
 leather binding on oaken hoards, as before referred 
 to, was, in a period earlier, peculiar in the style of 
 bookbinding. Dr. Dibdin has given several engraved 
 specimens in his Bibliographer’s Decameron, and in 
 citing his description of them, we have pleasure in 
 acknowledging the handsome manner in which per- 
 mission has been granted to copy some of the engrav- 
 ings in illustration of the present work. 
 
 1 Webster’s Dram. Works, ii. 128. Pickering, 1830. 
 
 111 Dibdin’s Typ. Antiq. ii. 279. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 89 
 
 He first speaks of a copy of the Spira Livy, of 
 1470, in the collection of the Right Honourable 
 Thomas Grenville, as an “ extremely perfect and 
 magnificent specimen of this oak-covered leather 
 binding,” and of a Mazarin Bible, of the supposed 
 date of 1455, in the possession of the late Mr. George 
 Nicol, bookseller to the king, the latter of which 
 “ exhibits the central and corner bosses upon the 
 stamped-calf covered boards, into which it was 
 originally put ; possibly under the superintendence 
 of old Fust himself.” Neither of these, he considers, 
 can he later than the year 1472, but the latter pro- 
 bably full twelve years earlier. An old cover of 
 a MS. of Claudian of the thirteenth century, in the 
 British Museum, is a very early specimen of this style. 
 The leather is of a dark colour, having the interior 
 cover of vellum attached to it. The ornaments are 
 displayed with taste and much diversified, being 
 representations of birds, animals, and the human 
 figure, some of them with inscriptions, as 
 
 “ PAVLVS ” “A. GNVSDEI.” 
 
 “ I will now continue” says the Doctor, “ the 
 history of this characteristic stamped-calf binding. 
 Portraits or small historical subjects are however 
 rarely seen before the year 1480 : as arabesque were 
 the prevailing ornaments during the fifteenth century. 
 They began pretty early in the sixteenth century with 
 these portraits or small historical subjects. About 
 a dozen years later (1526), as I conceive, is the com- 
 i 3 
 
90 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 position of the Vision of Augustus, exhibited upon 
 the same kind of binding. The plate represents the 
 subject. It was taken from an old cover, like that of 
 Claudian, which was lent to me by Mr. Buckman, 
 who had considered it to be an object of some little 
 curiosity. Do the initials below designate the name 
 of the artist who achieved this wonderful deed ?”" 
 
 As it will be found that several of the early printers 
 usually impressed their monogram or typographical 
 device on the sides of their books, we shall not be 
 hazarding much on the above, in according the initials 
 and designs at the bottom, to some early professor of 
 the art, particularly when it is found that even the 
 names of many were impressed in full, either round 
 the borders or at the foot, as thus 
 
 LVDOVICVS * BLOC * OB * LAVDEM * 
 NPRISTI* LIBRVM* HVNC* RECTE* LlGAVI 
 
 A small folio missal of the latter end of the fifteenth 
 century, the property of the late Mr. Henry Broadiey, 
 of Ferrily near Hull, presented in the centre of a 
 stamped calf binding in four compartments the name 
 of Johannes Gvilebekt as the binder. In the col- 
 lection of the late Mr. Douce, now in the Bodleian 
 library, Oxford, is a specimen with this inscription : 
 
 “ Joins de Gaitere me ltgavitin Gandavo 
 
 OMNES SA.NCTI ANGELI ET ARCHANGELI DEI 
 ORATE TRO NOBIS.” 
 
 Another cover bears the name of “ Jehan Norius.” 
 " Bib. Decameron, ii. 466. 
 

FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 91 
 
 Initial letters and names in full length may be met 
 with on many of the specimens of early workman- 
 ship. On others inscriptions only, as 
 
 which occurs on the side covers of a work printed at 
 Strasburgh, in 1527.° But a much earlier specimen is 
 found in the facsimile of the stamped-leather cover of 
 a MS. Biblia Sacra, on vellum, with an illumination of 
 theMadonna and child, from the fine collection of Mr. 
 James Bohn, Bookseller, London. It is very boldlv 
 impressed on the leather, which forms the cover of 
 the MS. without any addition of boards,, being simply 
 attached to the back. The design fills the whole 
 space on the sides. 
 
 The Anthologia Grcecse, of 1494, in the Cracherode 
 collection in the British Museum, is a very early 
 specimen of stamped binding,— most probably of 
 the same period, the year being dated on the 
 back. It is also of a very curious character, pre- 
 senting some features requiring particular notice. 
 The book is covered with a deep red basin, and to 
 the eye of the unpractised would be taken for an 
 inferior kind of morocco. This leather is worked 
 into a groove formed deep on the edges, so as to 
 
 0 Dibdin’s Eib. Decameron, ii. 1G8. 
 
92 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 present the appearance of a double board. No orna- 
 ment is seen on any part except the centre of the 
 boards, which have been hollowed out in the form of 
 a circle so as to admit the portraits. These poitiaits 
 consist of cameo heads of Philip and Alexandei , the 
 latter being inscribed. Whether they were impressed 
 previous to the cover being fixed, admits of a ques 
 tion ; certain it is they could not have been executed 
 after covering unless the dies were shaped so as to fit 
 the cavity formed in the board. The cameos are 
 plain ; a gold zig-zag pattern is worked round the 
 circle of the indentations. The hook has gilt edges, 
 and worked worsted headbands. This description of 
 binding is rare. Earl Spenser possesses a Sidonius 
 Apollinaris, printed at Basil in 1542, in this cha- 
 racteristic cameo binding. The ornament, in hollow, 
 represents Pegasus on a rock, with a charioteer 
 driving two horses towards it, with an inscription of 
 
 OP0P-2 KAI MH AOSmS. p 
 
 Of this binding with cameo heads, the side cover of 
 a Petrarca Opera, printed at Basil, two years after 
 the Sidonius last named, is a very elaborate and beau- 
 tiful specimen. It is in the British Museum, (3 DL.) 
 The whole of the ornament is worked in gold, in a 
 clear, distinct, and superior manner. The book has 
 been rebound ; but the sides of the original binding, 
 which measure thirteen inches by eight, are preserved 
 and fixed on the modern with much judgment. The 
 
 p Dibdiu’s bib. Decameron, ii. 469. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 93 
 
 illustration displays the subject sufficiently clear to 
 require no further explanation, and with it we close 
 the account of early stamped bindings. 
 
 As books became more numerous from the progress 
 the art of printing slowly but steadily made, the 
 degree of labour and expense shown to have been 
 lavished on early bindings, was only adopted for rare 
 specimens of the works of ancient writers, or the 
 books of the noble and wealthy. In the edition of 
 the Philobiblon of Richard of Bury, printed in 1599, 
 the altered condition from their splendour is thus ex- 
 pressed : — “ Qui (libri) olium purpura vestiebantur 
 et lysso, nunc in cinere et cilicio recubantes,” &c. 
 
 Several books in the British Museum, but particu- 
 larly those once the property of archbishop Cranmer, 
 evidence the truth of the above quotation. The latter 
 are bound in a plain brown calf, with the simple ad- 
 dition of a mitre, gilt on the back, in an extremely 
 uneven and careless manner. The frontispiece by 
 Hans Holbein, to Cranmer’s Bible, which represents 
 Henry VIII. distributing copies of it to the various 
 estates of the realm, displays the binding of all to be 
 of a humble character with clasps. Many presenta- 
 tion copies would be bound in a superior manner, but 
 this shows that the generality of bindings were at 
 that time without much ornament. Stamped calf 
 bindings gave place to almost as great a variety of 
 styles in calf as are common in the present day ; and 
 some of the superior kind still remain to attest the 
 skill of the artists employed, when the cost necessary 
 
94 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 for the execution of good binding, was allowed. A folio 
 in the library of the lateMr. Heber formerly belonging 
 to Henry VIII. displayed a great variety of ornament, 
 with the portrait of the monarch painted in the centre 
 of each side, all in good keeping and well executed. 
 A very similar binding remains on a French Bible, 
 printed at Lyons by Sebastian Honorati, A.D. 1566, 
 once the property of queen Elizabeth, and now in 
 the British Museum. By the date, 1567, on the 
 binding, it appears to have been purposely executed 
 for her. The book has been rebound, but the whole, 
 or greater part of the ornament on the sides, ingeni- 
 ously cut out, and fixed to those of the new cover. 
 The original binding was in calf, and the outline of 
 the design strongly impressed, worked with gold, and 
 coloured with white, scarlet, purple, and green, some- 
 thing like the illuminated bindings of the present day. 
 The general outline is of a most elaborate nature, 
 scrolls and ornamental detail being worked in a uni- 
 form manner round an oval in the centre, and termi- 
 nating in elegant corners, &c. The oval in the front, 
 which measures three inches long, contains a minia- 
 ture portrait of Elizabeth, with a sceptre, but now 
 much defaced. Round it, on the garter, is impressed 
 in gilt letters 
 
 ELIZABETH. DEL GRATIA. ANG. FRAN. ET. 
 
 HIB. REGINA. 
 
 The other side is equally ornamented, but having in 
 the centre the royal arms, and inscribed round, 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OP PRINTING. 
 
 95 
 
 POSVI. DEVM. ADIVTOREM. MEVM. 
 
 One of the compartments, under the portrait of the 
 queen, is filled up with the following design, worked 
 in gold. 
 
 The hook is seventeen inches long, and near eleven 
 wide. The edges are gilt upon red, with minute 
 dotted scroll-work added. 
 
 Another hook of Elizabeth’s, in the British Museum, 
 “Petri Bembi Cardinalis Historic Venetiae, lib.xii.,” 
 a folio printed at Venice in 1551, is a curious speci- 
 men of binding. The book has no back, but has been 
 cut like the edges and stabbed through, a piece of 
 gilt paper being pasted over. The boards are fastened 
 to the leaves and project over on all sides, similar to 
 the Ceylonese style, which will be seen further on. 
 The boards are covered with brown calf, and a scroll 
 pattern in gold worked on them. The inside of the 
 scrolls are stained black, and the gilding is not well 
 executed. In one circle formed on the side is lettered 
 
96 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 Diev 
 
 Et Mon 
 Droyt 
 
 and in a corresponding one lower down, the year in 
 which it was bound. 
 
 M. D. L. II. 
 
 In two smaller circles are placed the queen’s initials, 
 thus : — 
 
 E — E 
 
 surmounted by the crown. 
 
 In the British Museum, is also a “ Ciceronis Ora- 
 tiones,” 2 vols. 12mo. Aldine 1540, in another curious 
 style of binding of this period. It is in calf, the or- 
 nament painted on the sides with a variety of colours. 
 This consists of a series of scroll-work, surrounding 
 a crest of a dog. The binding is rather clumsy. 
 
 These specimens will be sufficient, establishing, as 
 they do, that the binders of this period had introduced 
 a variety of styles in the bindings of books, and were 
 still lavish of ornament. That they continued so to 
 do in the reign of James I. there will shortly be occa- 
 sion to show, where some additional facts will also be 
 produced, in descanting on another material for the 
 covers of books, adopted at a later date, and from 
 its quality and durability, ever since preferred for the 
 best bindings. 
 
 Some light is derived relative to the materials used 
 for covers during the period we have been illustrating, 
 from a letter of the High Commissioners in Elizabeth’s 
 reign, concerning superstitious books belonging to 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 97 
 
 All Soul’s College, Oxford, in 1567, which are de- 
 scribed as— “ A Psalter covered with skin ; a prick- 
 song book covered with a hart’s skin ; five other of 
 paper bound in parchment ; and the Founder’s Mass 
 book in parchment, bound in board. ” q 
 
 The introduction of morocco, as a covering for 
 books, must be dated at a later period than vellum or 
 calf, and the merit of its application given to the 
 binders of the continent, to whose workmanship and 
 this species of binding we shall, in a subsequent chap- 
 ter, more particularly devote our attention ; though 
 some early specimens in this style exist in our libra- 
 ries, the works of English binders of no mean merit. 
 One, the celebrated Charter, erroneously attributed 
 to king Edgar, in the British Museum/ is splendidly 
 hound in red morocco, and lettered, “Carta Regis 
 Eadgari : Marium Brit, Domini.” This book is 
 placed on a green silk cushion in a case lined with 
 green velvet, and covered with a large plate of glass. 
 
 When this hook was bound cannot now be ascer- 
 tained ; but at a much later period than the execution 
 of the text. To James I. must be accorded the merit 
 of introducing morocco as a general cover for the 
 binding of his books. Specimens in velvet belonging 
 to him have been before described as remaining in 
 the British Museum. In the same national depository 
 are several morocco bindings hearing his initials and 
 
 n Nichol’s Progresses of Queen Eliz. i. 107. r Harl. MSS. 
 
 7513. 
 
 K 
 
98 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 the royal arms, and such a profusion of gilt ornament 
 as to nearly cover the sides. The “ Thevet Hommes 
 Illustres,” large folio, Paris, 1584, is in green m> 
 rocco, the royal arms in the centre, surrounded by 
 scroll and ornamental work. Another, the “ Csere- 
 moniaile Episcoporum,” folio, Rome, 1600, bears the 
 shield of the royal arms in the centre, and the remain- 
 ing space completely studded with the rose, thistle, 
 &c. The like ornament is also found on another folio, 
 bearing the initials of Charles I. 
 
 But James VI., of Scotland, who, by the death of 
 Elizabeth, became the first of England, had long been 
 a patron of bookbinders. A great lover of literature, 
 like many of his royal predecessors, he transferred to 
 the covers of his books some idea of his estimation of 
 their contents. A document found by Mr. Thomson, 
 of the Record Office, Edinburgh, and published by 
 the Bannatyne Club, 8 not only gives an account of 
 this monarch’s books, but many notices of the sums 
 paid to, and transactions with booksellers, printers, 
 and binders. Our subject relates to the latter, and for- 
 tunately many items occur which throw considerable 
 light on the sort of bindings and prices paid in the 
 northern capital about the year 1580. 
 
 We have seen that there was the “king’s book- 
 binder” in the time of Henry VIII., and here we 
 have an appointment of John Gibson, under the privy 
 seal, dated at Dalkeith, 29th July, 1581, to the like 
 office under James VI. 
 
 * The Library of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI. 4to. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 99 
 
 “ Ane letter maid to Johne Gibsoun bukebinder, 
 makand him Our Soverane Lordis Buikbinder, and 
 gevand to him the office thairof for all the dayis of 
 his lyfetyme, &c. &c. For using and exercing 
 quhairof his heines gevis grantis and assignis to the 
 said Johne yeirlie the sowme of tuentie pundis usuall 
 money of this realme, to be payit to him yierlie.” 
 
 In the previous year a long account of this John 
 Gibson,’s,for work done for the king, presents, among 
 fifty-nine different books, the following items selected 
 according to sizes to show the variation in price. 
 
 Johne Gibsonis Buikbinders Precept. 
 
 Zanthig [Zanchius] de tribus elohim fol. gvlt, 
 
 pryce . . . . . . xx s 
 
 Harmonia Stanhursti fo. in vellene, pryce . x s 
 Dictionarium in latino grseco et gallico ser- 
 mone 4“ gylt, pryce . . . xx s 
 
 Budseus de contemptu rerum fortuitarum 4° in 
 
 vellene vj s viij d 
 
 Commentaria in Suetonium 8° gylt, pryce . x s 
 Thesaurus pauperum 8° In vellene . .vs 
 
 Petronius Arbiter 8° In parchment . . iij s 
 
 Orationes clarorum virorum 1 6° gylt, pryce x s 
 
 P. Yowng. 
 
 Surama of this compt is 
 xvij li. iiij s iiij d. 
 
 On the back of this account is an order upon the 
 treasurer, subscribed by the king, and the abbots 
 of Dunfermline and Cambuskenneth, as follows : — 
 k 2 
 
 * 
 
100 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 REX. 
 
 Thesauraire we greit yow weill IT is our will and 
 we charge yow that ye Incontinent efter the sycht 
 heirof ansuer our louit Johnne gipsoun buikbindar of 
 the sowme ofsevintene pundis iiij s iiij d within men- 
 tionat To be thankefullie allowit to yow in your 
 comptis keping this our precept together with the 
 said Johnne his acquittance thairvpoun for your war- 
 rand Subscryuit with our hand At Halyrudelfous the 
 first day of October 1580. 
 
 JAMES R. 
 
 R Dunfermline A Cambuskknneth 
 
 Here we have also further Gibson’s receipt : — ■ 
 
 “ I Johnne Gihsoun he the tennor heirof grant me 
 to liaue ressauit fra Robert coluill of cleishe in name 
 of my lord thesaurar the sowme of sevintene punde 
 iiijs iiijd conforme to yis compt and precept within 
 writtin off ye qlk sowme I hald me weill qtent and 
 payit and discharge him hereof for euir Be thir 
 p’nte suhscyuit with my hand At Edr the xv day of 
 november 1580. 
 
 Johnegvbsone wt my hand. 
 
 Whether Gibson came to England with James can- 
 not be determined, or if any of the specimens we have 
 before described are to be attributed to him must 
 alike remain in doubt. The sums paid him were for 
 such work as was at the time adopted for the general 
 bindings of the possessors of libraries at that period : 
 
PROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 101 
 
 Gylt price referring to a superior binding in leather, 
 perhaps morocco, as it is seen that about double the 
 price of that paid for vellene is charged. Vellum graced 
 the general class of reading books, and parchment af- 
 forded a protection for the least valued. 
 
 James, on coming to the English throne, continued, 
 and most probably extended his patronage of the art. 
 The specimens described at page 79, show him to 
 have been lavish of ornament, and of his regard for 
 literature an instance may be cited from a speech de- 
 livered on the occasion of his visit to the Bodleian 
 Library at Oxford, wherein he stated, “ if he were 
 not a king, he would desire to have no other prison, 
 and to be chained together with so many good 
 authors.” 1 
 
 The various styles previously described continued 
 to be practised to the end of the seventeenth century 
 by a few, but the general character of bookbinding 
 for some time before and up to the close of that pe- 
 riod, had become much depreciated, as there will be 
 occasion to show. The materials adopted by Sir 
 Thomas Bodley were principally leather and vellum, 
 and occasionally velvet, as in the princes’ (afterwards 
 Charles I.) books, u which he had presented to the 
 library. The statutes which he left, and now in the 
 library, show that where it could be conveniently 
 done, he preferred leather to vellum as a cover for his 
 books. 
 
 ‘ Hearne’s Reliquae Bodlcianae, 1703. — Introduction. — — 
 ".Hearne’s Rcl. Bodl. 217. 
 
102 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 “ Statuimus etiam, ut libri in posterum de novo 
 ligandi aut compingendi, sint omnes si commode fieri 
 possit coriacei non membranacei.” v 
 
 The styles and colours he adopted were various. 
 He directs that care be taken in the appointment of 
 “the scholarsto transmit the books from the packages, 
 that none be embezzled by reason of the fine binding 
 of some of the volumes.”"' And again, “ I pray you 
 continue your purpose for colouring such books as 
 you fancy most.”* Others he orders to be guilded, 
 and gives directions in almost every letter, relative to 
 some department of binding and ornamenting the 
 books. 
 
 During some portion of the period we have been 
 treating, the binders of the universities of Oxford and 
 Cambridge were celebrated for their skill in the art. 
 In the year 1588, we find Dr. James, the first ap- 
 pointed librarian of the Bodleian Library at Oxford, 
 had complained to his patron of the London binding, 
 and Sir Thomas Bodley replying, “ Would to God 
 you had signified wherein the abuses of our London 
 binding did consist. ” y And again, wishing to know 
 for what price “ Dominick and Mills,” two Oxford 
 binders, would execute an ordinary volume in folio/ 
 He afterwards appears to have employed these or 
 other artists, for in another letter to the librarian, he 
 says, “ I pray you put as many to binding of the 
 
 v Appendix Statutorum, 24. Hearne’s Rel. Bodl. 274. 
 
 * Ibid. 218. y Ibid. 159. ' Ibid. 185. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 103 
 
 books, as you shall think convenient, of which I would 
 have some dozen of the better paper, to be trimmed 
 with guilding and strings ;” a and sends, at another 
 time, “ money for their bindings, chainings, plac- 
 ings,” b &c. 
 
 The establishment of the Bodleian gave a stimulus 
 to every thing connected with books in Oxford, which 
 though in some repute as respected binding, still must 
 have been limited in extent, as the libraries there 
 were not previously remarkable for superiority. And 
 according to Sir Thomas Bodlev, Cambridge was less 
 so, as he remarks after his visit to that university, 
 “ the libraries are meanly stored, and Trinity College 
 worst of all.” 0 
 
 The bindings of Cambridge, however, enjoyed an 
 equal reputation with Oxford. A decree of the univer- 
 sity several years before (A.D. 1523), provided “that 
 every bookbinder, bookseller, and stationer, should 
 stand severally bound to the university in the sum of 
 £40, and that they should from time to time provide 
 sufficient store of all manner of books fit and requisite 
 for the furnishing of students ; and that all the books 
 should be well bound, and be sold at all times upon 
 reasonable prices. ” d The binders in Cambridge at 
 this period exercised also the trades of booksellers, 
 printers, and stationers.” 6 Roger Ascham mentions 
 one Garrett “ our booke-bynder,” as being resident 
 here about the year 1544. 1 
 
 a Hearne’s Rel Bodl. 342. 11 Ibid. 363. c Ibid. 195. 
 
 d I lari. MSS. 7050. e Gent.’s Mag. 1781,409. 
 
 f Ascham’s Eng. Works, 77. 
 
104 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 The universities appear to have kept up the repu- 
 tation of their bindings during and after the troubled 
 times of the middle of the seventeenth century. The 
 opposite fac- simile of the decorative part of the side 
 covers of a large folio Bible, printed at Cambridge, 
 by John Field, 1659, and evidently the work of the 
 same period, displays a degree of taste not often met 
 with in the general volumes of the time. The cover 
 is of black basin, the back full gilt, as well as the 
 squares and edges of the boards. The edges are gilt 
 in a superior manner, and the binding altogether well 
 executed. This book is now in the possession of Ed- 
 ward Finch Hatton, Esq., of London. At the com- 
 mencement of the last century a distinguished binder 
 of the name of Dawson, resided in Cambridge. & 
 
 During the period we have been treating of, several 
 valuable libraries were formed in this country. In the 
 reign of Henry VI. the library of duke Humphrey 
 was collected at Oxford. Edward IV. and Henry 
 
 VII. , by their encouragement of printing, and pur- 
 chases of works printed on the continent, considerably 
 promoted the cause of learning in England. The 
 foundation of the royal library, from which so many 
 specimens have been produced in illustration of the 
 previous pages, may justly be attributed to Henry 
 
 VIII. , enriched as it was by MSS. collected by Le- 
 land. h And, in conclusion, it may be stated that, from 
 
 E Hartshornes’ Book Rarities of Cambridge, 18. h Aitle’* 
 
 Writing, xx. 
 
V-art, 
 
 MOROCCO BINDING OF A FOLIO CAMBRIDGE BIBLE, 
 A. D. 1659. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 105 
 
 the invention of printing to the close of the seven- 
 teenth century, as in monastic times, the churchmen 
 and lovers of books exercised not only considerable 
 influence in the style and mode of binding, but were 
 also well acquainted with the minute details of its 
 practice. Some instances have been cited, and many 
 other notices fully establish the fact. 
 
 Myles Coverdale, in a letter to Thomas lord 
 Cromwell, relative to his translation of the Bible, 
 says, A. D. 1538, “As concernyng y e New Testa- 
 ment in English, y e copy whereof vo r good lord- 
 shippe receaved lately a boke by v r servant Sebastian 
 y e coke. I besech y r L. to consydre y e grenesse 
 thereof, which (for lack of tvme,) can not as yet be 
 so apte to be bounde as it should be.” 1 Archbishop 
 Parker, of whom we have before made mention, 
 maintained in Lambeth Palace, printers, limners, 
 woodcutters, and bookbinders, k and unquestionably 
 understood something of their various arts. But Sir 
 Thomas Bodley displays a perfect knowledge of every- 
 thing connected with the subject. In his various 
 letters to Dr. James, he is continually giving direc- 
 tions relative to the bindings of the books in vellum 
 and leather ; ordering them to be rubbed by the 
 keeper with clean cloths, as a precaution against 
 mould and worms ; and making provision for a pro- 
 per supply of bars, locks, hasps, grates, clasps, wire, 
 
 1 Smith’s Facsimiles, plate 17. k Gent.’s Mag. N. Series, i. 
 
 63. 
 
106 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, &C, 
 
 chains, and gimnios of iron, “-belonging to the fasten- 
 ing and rivetting of the books .” 1 Bodley’s great con- 
 temporary, Sir Robert Cotton, was also, doubtless, 
 equally well versed in the details of binding. Sir 
 Matthew Hale, in bequeathing a collection of MSS. 
 to the library of Lincoln’s Inn, says, “They are fit 
 to be bound in leather, and chained, and kept in ar- 
 chives. Cosen, bishop of Durham, who will be 
 more particularly referred to in the next division of 
 the work, appears to have not been less versed in the 
 art than those who preceded him. His directions 
 are as minute as to the paring of the leather, letter- 
 ing the books &c., as any professed artist could give, 
 and his secretary expressly directs that the silver 
 plates for some of the books should be of proper 
 thickness, and enters into many other particulars, 
 which will be detailed in the investigation of some 
 peculiarities in bindings connected with the period 
 we have so far investigated. 
 
 1 Hearn’s Rel. Bodleianae. Appendix to Report on Pub- 
 
 lic Records. 
 
107 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, FROM THE INVEN- 
 TION OF PRINTING TO THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, 
 IN REFERENCE TO THE STYLES OF WORKMANSHIP, 
 AND SOME OTHER INCIDENTAL PECULIARITIES. 
 
 In tracing the history of English bookbinding, as 
 more particularly connected with the materials used 
 and style adopted by the successive races of 
 bookbinders, other facts illustrative of the art, 
 during the period embraced in the previous chapter, 
 have been introduced, but many others remain to be 
 recorded. We shall, therefore, in now taking a 
 view of the peculiarities, manner, and execution of 
 bindings m two periods, viz. the sixteenth and 
 seventeenth centuries, introduce such records as have 
 been met with further illustrative of the subject. 
 
 The influence of circumstances is seen in the ex- 
 terior of early printed books and manuscripts, bound 
 after the invention of printing. Luxury and splen- 
 dour were studied by the great, and a considerable 
 degree of elegance by all classes of scholars, which 
 
108 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 arose from the limited number of copiesprinted, andthe 
 consequent value of them to the possessors. The folio 
 and the quarto were the usual sizes, which from their 
 breadth afforded ample room for the display of what- 
 ever taste the ingenuity of the hinder might suggest ; 
 and from the specimens which have been given of 
 the embellishment of their side covers, it is evident 
 that they were no mean artists. The multiplication 
 of books, it has been seen, led to a less expensive 
 mode of binding, though still retaining much orna- 
 mental beauty. This may be pronounced the style 
 peculiar to the sixteenth century. In the whole of 
 the bindings of this period, a minute care attended 
 every operation required. The workmen, or perhaps 
 the printers, whom it has been shown, were also the 
 binders of their works, appear to have been desirous 
 to thus preserve them to posterity. They are folded 
 with an anxious care for the evenness and integrity 
 of the margins, and it is rare that any transpositions 
 of sheets are found. To guard against this, in the 
 infancy of printing, they had a Registrum Chartarum, 
 for the convenience of the binder, of the signatures 
 and first words of the sheets. About 1469 — 70, al- 
 phabetical tables of the first words of each chapter 
 were also introduced as a guide to the binder. The 
 name and place of the inventor of signatures is not 
 known; they appear in an edition of Terence, printed 
 at Milan, in 1470, and were introduced by Caxton in 
 1480. The Abb6 Reve ascribes the discovery to 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 109 
 
 John Koelhof, at Cologne, in 1472. a There is a 
 solidity about these hooks, which testifies no little 
 labour in the heating and pressing of the sheets 
 when folded. They continued the use of a slip of 
 parchment round the end-papers, and first and last 
 sheets of many, to preserve the backs from injury, 
 and to strengthen the joint. The last leaf is also 
 strengthened with the addition of other paper, and 
 in this position the fragments of some printed 
 works and prints, previously unknown, have been 
 discovered. 
 
 They are sewn on a series of strong slips of white 
 leather, placed at equal distances from each other, so 
 as to form the division of the back when covered. 
 Sometimes, double bands, arranged close together, 
 are seen, the thread tightly and firmly drawn round 
 in the sewing. These double bands are very 
 distinguishable on the cover, a line being run across 
 in the small grove between them. The solidity of 
 this portion of the bindings of the sixteenth century, 
 coupled with the formation of the back, is seen in 
 many books which still remain perfectly firm after the 
 cover has been worn away, nothing but damp appear- 
 ing to affect them. 
 
 The boards are generally of oak, but planed thinner 
 than those of the period preceding. Some of them 
 are beviled off to a fine edge, slanting from the leaves 
 of the book. The bands or thongs of leather are laced 
 into the board in a similar manner to the present 
 a JoLnson’s Typograpliia, i. G8. 
 
110 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 mode, but part of the wood cut away to make room 
 for them. 
 
 The edges, which are generally cut very true, are 
 sometimes plain, but the best works gilt. The latter 
 are exceedingly well executed, being, with the excep- 
 tion of a little tarnish, still very perfect, brilliant, and 
 of a yellow tint, mellowed by age. Some are also 
 blind- tooled after the first gilding, giving a very rich 
 effect. The headbands are sometimes worked in a 
 similar manner to those of modern days, sometimes 
 composed of a round plaited twist, fastened at each 
 end, and at others of strips of coloured leather worked 
 one over the other. 
 
 The oaken boards are found covered with vellum 
 and calf. The covers appear to have been stretched 
 tightly over, the arabesque and ornamental tooling 
 being executed afterwards. Manual labour and ma- 
 chinery seem to have jointly assisted in this branch 
 of the art, it being evident a high degree of pressure, 
 and quickness of execution, was necessary to give the 
 peculiar finish and sharpness many of the designs 
 exhibit. There is scarcely any end to the variety of 
 the embellishments; portraits, flowers, mottos, scrolls, 
 and elaborate designs, are profusely spread over the 
 sides, with the greatest propriety of style and good 
 taste ; while the backs are frequently covered with 
 small ornament of a pleasing character. The 
 artists who executed them never lost sight of the 
 effect of true proportion; and the spirit of all their 
 ornamenatal decoration is a reflection on the taste of 
 
from thk invention of printing. 1 11 
 
 tlieir successors of the seventeenth century, and even 
 of many sons of the craft of times near the present. 
 
 The early printers incorporated their typographical 
 device with the designs on the covers. Richard Pvn- 
 son caused many pretty devices to be stamped on the 
 covers of the books he printed. And Reynes, who 
 lived in St. Paul’s Church Yard about the year 1527, 
 embossed his monogram on the books he bound for 
 himself and others. He introduced this in a large 
 design which he embossed, on the covers of his books, 
 consisting of what are usually called “ the arms of 
 Christ.” This design is formed of a parallelogram, 
 surrounded by double lines, and borders of scroll and 
 ornamental work, shaped like an arch within, under 
 which is placed a shield, charged with the emblems of 
 Christ’s passion, as the cross, inscription, and crown 
 of thorns ; the hammer, nails, and pincers ; the 
 spears, sponge, and dice; the garment, money, lan- 
 thorn, sepulchre, &c. The escutcheon is supported 
 by two unicorns, which stand upon a scroll, bearing 
 the motto, 
 
 “ Redemptoris Mvndi Armi,” 
 in rude Saxon capitals. Above the shield is a rich 
 full-faced black helmet, surrounded by mantling, and 
 surmounted by the pillar, scourges, and cock, as a 
 crest. On each side of the crest are the two shields 
 above mentioned. These religious emblems are found 
 on a great number of Missals, Offices, and Hours of 
 Devotion, both manuscript and printed. b 
 
 b Johnson’s Typographia, i. 503. 
 
 L 2 
 
112 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 The gilding of this period is good, a cleanness and 
 distinctness of ornament being generally found. The 
 titles of the books were not lettered on the backs, such 
 as have them are the additions of a more recent 
 period. The custom was to letter them on the fore- 
 edges of the books with ink, as seen in the engraving, 
 page 116. On others they wrote or printed the name 
 on the sides. Sometimes these titles were covered 
 with horn, as has been before shown, and may be 
 seen in a copy of the Hebrew Pentateuch, in four 
 large folio volumes, in the library of Merton College, 
 Oxford. 
 
 A curious specimen of binding of this period is 
 mentioned by Scaliger, as being on a printed Psalter 
 his mother possessed. He says the cover was two 
 inches thick, and in the inside was a kind of cup- 
 board, wherein was a small silver crucifix, and behind 
 it the name of Berenica Codronia de la Scala. c This 
 kind of binding was not unusual on small books 
 of devotion, containing, like the above, some small 
 subject of adoration, or relic of a saint. Mr. Han- 
 sard speaks of a book he had seen with a recess for a 
 relic, and the relic a human toe. d 
 
 The larger volumes of this period are further pro- 
 tected by the addition of metal clasps, corners, bosses, 
 and bands. The clasps are sometimes attached to 
 strips of strong leather, fastened to the boards with 
 rivets, in which way the catch is also secured, Others 
 are of a more elaborate workmanship and finish, being 
 
 K Palmer’s History of Printing, 9G. d Tvpograpliia, 105. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 113 
 
 jointed to a piece of the same material, firmly rivetted 
 to the sides. The hoards are further protected by 
 corners of brass, frequently much ornamented, and 
 extending a considerable way on the cover. On others, 
 a plain piece of brass, wrapping only a small space 
 over, and others simply protected by brass bands 
 rivetted to the edges of the boards. The centres of 
 the boards often present a large plate or boss of brass, 
 similar in character to the clasps and corners. 
 
 Notices of the earlier use of bosses, clasps, and 
 corners, have before been given. Wood’s MS., in 
 the Bodleian library at Oxford, was once very su- 
 perbly bound and embossed. Much of its beauty is 
 now defaced ; but on the bosses at each corner is still 
 discernible Ave Maria gratia plenjE. The colo- 
 phon states it to have been finished in 1558.® A folio 
 Bible, printed by Barker, in archbishop Whitgift’s 
 hospital at Croydon, Surrey, given by Abraham Hart- 
 well, secretary to the archbishop, in 1559, presents 
 a verv good specimen of the bindings of the period. 
 It has a very curiously ornamented cover, protected 
 by large brass bosses and clasps. In the library at 
 Lambeth Palace, is a characteristic binding of the pe- 
 riod, richly covered with gilt ornament, on a copy 
 of archbishop Parker’s edition of the Psalms, 4to. 
 1570. 
 
 To prevent the books being abstracted from their 
 libraries, the worthies of this period were accustomed 
 
 c Warton, 136. 
 l 3 
 
114 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 to chain them to the shelves. Of this peculi- 
 arity an early notice occurs relative to tire books 
 left by Richard de Bury, to (Durham) Trinity college, 
 Oxford, in 1345. After the college became possessed 
 of them, they were for many years kept in chests 
 under the custody of several scholars deputed for that 
 purpose, and a library being built in the reign of king 
 Henry IV., these books were put into pews or studies, 
 and chained to them. They continued in this manner 
 till the college was dissolved by HenryVIII., when they 
 were conveyed away, some to DukeHumphrey’s library/ 
 Leland, (1538) speaking of Wressil Castle, Yorkshire, 
 says, “One thingllikid excedinglyyn one of the towers, 
 that was a Study, caullid Paradise; wherwasa closet 
 in the midle, of 8 Squares latised aboute, and at the 
 Toppe of every Square was a Desk ledgid to set 
 Bookes on Cofers withyn them, and these semid as 
 yoinid hard to the Toppe of the Closet ; and yet by 
 pulling, one or al wold cum downe briste higlie in 
 rabettes, and serve for Deskes to lay Bookes on.” 
 
 In an old account book of St. John’s College, 
 Cambridge, is this entry : — 
 
 “ Anno 1556. For chains for the books in this 
 library, 3s. Anno 1560. For chaining the books in. 
 the library, 4s.” And among the articles for keeping 
 the Universitie Librarie, Maie 1582 — “ If any 
 ohaine, clasps, rope, or such like decay happen to be, 
 the sayd keeper to signify the same unto the v. chan- 
 
 i King’s Munimenta Antiqua, 152, and Warton. 8 Itinerary, 
 
PROM THE INVENTION OP PRINTING. 115 
 
 cellour within three days after he shall spy such 
 default, to the ende the same maybe amended.” 
 That books were frequently chained to desks, we 
 learn from Wood, who, in speaking of “ Foulis’s 
 History of the Plots and Conspiracies of our pretended. 
 Saints the Presbyterians,” says, “ this hook hath 
 been so pleasing to the royalists, that they have 
 chained it to desks in public places for the vulgar to 
 read.” 
 
 Fox’s Book of Martyrs was very generally chained 
 in the churches ; and long prior to its publication 
 many other books were in like manner secured. Sir 
 Thomas Lyttleton, knight, bequeathed, A. D. 1481, 
 “ to the abbot and convent of Hales-Owen, a boke 
 wherein is contaigned the Constitutions Provincial 
 and De Gestis Romanorum, and other treatis therein, 
 which I wull be laid and bounded with an vron 
 chayne in some convenient parte within the saide 
 church, at my costs, so that all preests and others 
 may se and rede it whenne it pleasetli them.” 1 
 
 In the church of Grantham, Lincolnshire, was a 
 library remarkable for being one of the very few 
 remaining that had its volumes chained to the 
 shelves. k The hooks here are now fast going to decay 
 from neglect. There are about two hundred volumes, 
 principally divinity, in various bindings of calf and 
 vellum, with wooden boards or strong pasteboard. 
 
 1 Nicolas’s Test. Vetusta, i. 367. k Hartshorne’s Book 
 
 Rarities of Cambridge, 17. 
 
The greater portion have a chain attached, as is seen by 
 the sketch of one of the books in this library ; which 
 also displays the early custom before referred to of 
 
 lettering the titles on the fore-edge of the leaves.- 
 These books were formerly fixed to strong desks or 
 benches, the ring at the end of the chain being at- 
 tached to a bolt fastened to the shelves. It is sup- 
 posed that this library was first neglected about one 
 hundred and seventy years ago, when, from a great 
 fire that took place in the town, a number of the suf- 
 ferers were allowed to take refuge in it, until better 
 accommodation could be provided for them ; to the 
 great injury of the books, and their total neglect ever 
 after. 
 
 This custom of chaining books appears to have 
 been very generally adopted in all public libraries. 
 In the first draft of the statutes Sir Thomas Bodley 
 drew r up for his library, he observes, “ As it mav be 
 lawful and free for all comei's in, to peruse any 
 volumes that are chained to the desks, in the body of 
 the library, not forgetting to fasten their clasps and 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 117 
 
 strings, to untangle tlieir chains,” 1 &c. He speaks 
 in one of his letters of their being “ chained to pre- 
 vent embezzlement,” 1 " and that they had better be 
 clasped after they are chained. His orders for chains 
 are very frequent and very extensive ; on one occa- 
 sion for a thousand. He wishes to know what fault 
 is found with them, “ for I know they will catch, but 
 yet less than any I have seen,” and requests “ Mr. 
 Haidocke to procure clasps for Mr. Vice Chancellor's 
 two great volumes, so that they may be chained, and 
 stand as a fair ornament.” He also speaks of the 
 chains being so disposed “ that they may not take 
 away the sight and show of the hooks; — of John 
 Smith, the maker of the chains ; — the chain- 
 man,”" &c. 
 
 To the year 1711, at least, did this precaution 
 against pilfering partially continue. A paper found 
 in a copy of “ Lock on the Epistles,” of this period, 
 thus enters into the subject. “ Since, to the great 
 reproach of the nation, and a much greater one of 
 our holy religion, the thievish disposition of some 
 that enter into libraries to learn no good there, hath 
 made it necessary to secure the innocent books, and 
 even the sacred volumes themselves, with chains — 
 which are better deserved by those ill persons, who 
 have too much learning to be hanged, and too little 
 to be honest, care should be taken hereafter, that as 
 additions shall be made to this library, of which there 
 
 1 Hearne’s Rel. Bocll. 26. 111 Ibid. 102 
 
 ■*67. 152. 167. &c. 
 
 11 Ibid. 123. 
 
118 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 is a hopeful expectation, the chain should neither be 
 longer, nor more clumsy, than the use of them 
 requires : and that the loops, 'whereby they are 
 fastened to the books, may be rivetted on such a part 
 of the cover, and so smoothly, as not to gall or raze 
 the books, while they are removed from or to their 
 respective places. Till a better may be devised, a 
 pattern is given in the three volumes of the Centur 
 Magdeburg, lately given and set up. And foras- 
 much as the latter, and much more convenient man- 
 ner of placing hooks in libraryes, is to turn their backs 
 outwards, with the titles and other decent ornaments 
 in gilt-work, which ought not to be hidden, as in this 
 library, by a contrary position, the beauty of the 
 fairest volumes is ; — therefore, to prevent this for the 
 future, and to remedy that which is past, if it shall 
 be thought worth the pains, this new method of 
 fixing the chain to the back of the book is recom- 
 mended, till one more suitable shall be contrived.” 0 
 This period had not only introduced great variety 
 in the styles of binding, but, from the increase in 
 the number of books, and the consequent greater 
 employment, a host of craftsmen also ; — so numerous 
 and important a body, as, in connection with the prin- 
 ters, to have influence enough to obtain the following 
 Act of Parliament for their protection in the twenty- 
 fifth year of Henry VIII. (A. D. 1533), which was 
 not repealed till the twelfth of George II. 
 
 8 Papers on the Dark Ages, Br. Mag. x. 391. 
 
FROM TIIR INVENTION OF PRINTING. 119 
 
 “ Whereas by the provision of a statute made in 
 the first year of the reign of king Richard III., it 
 was provided in the same act, that all strangers re- 
 pairing unto this realm might lawfully bring into 
 the said realm, printed and written books, to sell at 
 their liberty and pleasure. By force of which pro- 
 vision there hath come into this realm, sithen the 
 making of the same, a marvelous number of printed 
 books, and daily doth ; and the cause of making of 
 the same provision seemeth to be, for that there 
 were but few books and few printers, within this 
 realm at that time, which could well exercise and 
 occupy the said science and craft of printing ; never- 
 theless, sithen the making of the said provision, 
 many of this realm, being the king’s natural subjects, 
 have given themselves so diligently to learn and exer- 
 cise the said craft of printing, that at this day there 
 be within this realm a great number of cunning and 
 expert in the said science or craft of printing : as 
 able to exercise the said craft in all points, as any 
 stranger in any other realm or country. And fur- 
 thermore, where there be a great number of the 
 king’s subjects within this realm, which live by the 
 craft and mystery of binding of books, and that there 
 be a great multitude well expert in the same, yet all 
 this notwithstanding there are divers persons, that 
 bring from beyond the sea great plenty of printed 
 books, not only in the Latin tongue, but also in our 
 maternal English tongue, some bound in boards, 
 some in leather, and some in parchment, and them 
 
120 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 sell by retail, whereby many of the king’s subjects, 
 being binders of books, and having no other faculty 
 wherewith to get their living, be destitute of work, 
 and like to be undone, except some reformation be 
 herein had. Be it therefore enacted by the king our 
 sovereigne lord, the lords spiritual and temporal, and 
 the commons in this present parliament assembled, 
 and by authority of the same, that the said proviso, 
 made in the first year of the said king Richard the 
 Third, that from the feast of the nativity of our Lord 
 God next coming, shall be void and of none effect. 
 
 “ And further, he it enacted by the authority afore- 
 said, that no persons, resiant, or inhabitant, within 
 this realm, after the said feast of Christmas next 
 coming, shal buy to sell again, any printed books, 
 brought from any parts out of the king’s obeysance, 
 ready bound in boards, leather or parchment, upon 
 pain to lose and forfeit for every book bound out of 
 the said king’s obeysance, and brought into this realm, 
 and brought by any person or persons within the 
 same to sell again contrary to this act, six shillings 
 and eight pence. 
 
 “ And be it further enacted, by the authority 
 aforesaid, that no person or persons, inhabitant, or 
 resiant, within this realm, after the said feast of 
 Christmas, shall buy within this realm, of any 
 stranger bourn out of the king’s obeysance, other 
 then of denizens, any manner of printed hooks, 
 brought from any the parts beyond the sea, except 
 only by engross, and not by retail, upon pain of for- 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 121 
 
 feiture of six shillings and eight pence, for every book 
 so bought by retail, contrary to the form and effect 
 of this estatute. The said forfeitures to be always 
 levied of the buyers of any such books contrary to 
 this act, the one half of the said forfeitures to be to 
 the use of our sovereign lord the king, and the other 
 moiety to be to the party that will seize, or sue for 
 the same in any of the king’s courts, to be by bill, 
 plaint, or information, wherein the defendant shall not 
 be admitted to wage his law, nor no protection, ne- 
 essoin shall be unto him allowed. 
 
 “ Provided always, and be it enacted by the 
 authority before said, that if any of the said printers, 
 or sellers of printed books, inhabited within this 
 realm, at any time hereafter, happen in such wise to- 
 enhance, or encrease the prices of any such printed 
 books in sale or binding, at too high and unreason- 
 able prices, in such wise as complaint be made there- 
 of unto the king’s highness, or unto the lord chan- 
 cellor, lord treasurer, or any of the chief justices of 
 the one bench or the other, that then the same 
 lord chancellor, lord treasurer, and two chief jus- 
 tices, or two of any of them, shall have power and 
 authority to enquire thereof, as well by the oaths of 
 twelve honest and discreet persons, as otherwise by 
 due examination by their discression. And after the 
 same enhauncing and encreasing of the said prices of 
 the said books and binding, shall be so found by the 
 said twelve men, or otherwise, by examination of the 
 said lord chancellor, lord treasurer and justices, or 
 
 M 
 
122 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 two of them at the least, that then the same lord 
 chancellor, lord treasurer, and justices, or two 
 of them at the least, from time to come, shall 
 have power and authority to reform and redress such 
 enhauncing of the prices of printed books from time 
 to time by their discressions, and to limit prices as 
 well of the books, as for the binding of them. And 
 over that, the offender or offenders thereof being 
 convict by examination of the same lord chancellor, 
 lord treasurer, or two justices, or two of them, or 
 otherwise, shall lose and forfeit for every hook by 
 them sold, whereof the price shall be enhanced for 
 the book, or binding thereof, three-shillings and four- 
 pence, the one half thereof shall be to the king’s 
 highness, and the other half to the parties grieved, 
 that will complain upon the same, in manner and 
 form before rehearsed.” 
 
 That the prices were thus fixed, will appear by the 
 following extracts, which will also cast some light on 
 the sums then charged for books and binding. A pro- 
 clamation of Henry VIII.’s in May, 1540, relative to 
 Grafton’s Bible, then recently printed, sets the price at 
 ten shillings unbound, and not above twelve shillings 
 well bound and clasped. p At the end of the “ Booke 
 of the Common Prayer,” printed by Richard Grafton 
 in folio, A. D. 1549, is this monition: — “the king’s 
 maiestie by the aduice of his most dere vncle the lord 
 protector, and other his highnes counsail, straightly 
 chargeth, and commaundeth that no manner of per- 
 p Lewis’s Translations of tlie Bible, 137. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 123 
 
 sone shall sell this present book unbound aboue the 
 price of two shyllynges and two pence. And the 
 same bounde in paste or in bordes in calues lether 
 not aboue the price of four shillynges the pece. God 
 saue the Kyng.” Strype relates, that “ Sir William 
 Cecil, principal Secretary of State to king Edward, 
 procured for Seres, a printer in St. Paul’s Church 
 Yard, in 1569, a licence to print all manner of private 
 prayers, called Primers, as should be agreeable to the 
 Common Prayer, established in the Court of Par- 
 liament, and that none other should print the same. 
 And when printed, that by the lords of the Privy 
 Council, or by the lord Chancellor, &c. the reason- 
 able price thereof be set, as well in the leaves, as 
 being bound in paste or board, in like manner as 
 was expressed in the end of the Book of Common 
 Prayer. q 
 
 It may not be irrelevant here to notice the charge, 
 as we think unjustly, against the early bookbinders, 
 of wanton destruction of many choice and splendid 
 MSS. Portions have frequently been found under 
 the end-papers, on the backs, and even forming the 
 whole of the interior lining or covers of early printed 
 works, which has led to the accusation of the artists 
 of that day having much to answer for on this head. 
 How they became possessed of them has been shown 
 at the period of the Reformation. That the book- 
 binder’s share of the spoil was large is doubtless true, 
 but we may reasonably suppose, that however ex- 
 q Johnson’s Typographic, i. 543. 
 
 2 M 
 
124 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 tensive, it did not consist of perfect works ; but all 
 more or less mutilated prior to their sale or grant. 
 And even admitting them to have been so, the penal- 
 ties attached to their diversion from any other pur- 
 pose than total destruction, would, we apprehend, 
 act upon their minds, and present an effectual bar to 
 the books being even secretly disposed of. 
 
 We now proceed to the consideration of the Art in 
 the seventeenth century, and are compelled at the 
 commencement of it to state, that the manner of 
 execution, and style of finish, had altered much for 
 the worse. The old folios of this period possess 
 none of the compactness and beauty observed in the 
 bindings of the previous century. How far this may 
 be attributed to the unsettled state of the country 
 during the civil wars of Charles the First, the stern 
 morality of the Puritans, and the reckless profligacy 
 of the second Charles’ reign, cannot for certainty be 
 determined. That these circumstances had much 
 influence cannot be doubted ; for bookbinders, like 
 other artists, lacking the patronage of the wealthy, 
 have not much to stimulate them to greater exertion 
 than the necessity of procuring the means of exist- 
 ence may demand. This state of the art continued 
 throughout the whole of this century. The pon- 
 derous volumes of the old nonconformist divines, 
 present little or no variety, being principally -covered 
 with an uniform brown calf, without ornamental ex- 
 terior. Several bindings, however, of this period 
 
125 
 
 FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 
 
 are thickly studded with gilt ornament on the back. 
 Oaken boards had entirely disappeared, and a thick 
 but flimsy pasteboard substituted, the bands, which 
 were of hempen cord being laced in holes pierced 
 through them. A gilt ornament is sometimes seen 
 on the sides : it is of a peculiar character, generally a 
 diamond-shaped tool in the centre, and sometimes 
 smaller ones in each corner. They are badly exe- 
 cuted, being dull impressions of an ornament, dis- 
 playing no taste, and having none of the sharpness of 
 finish necessary to give a good effect. 
 
 They continued to beat their books, as in the pre- 
 vious century, in order to produce as much solidity as 
 possible. Of this peculiarity, a poet, Clement Barks- 
 dale, 8 has left us the following evidence in his ad- 
 dress 
 
 “TO THE BOOK-BINDER. 
 
 Has my muse made a fault ? Friend, I entreat, 
 
 Before you bind lier up, you would her beat. 
 
 Though She’s not wanton, I can tell 
 Unlesse you beat her, you’l not bind her well.” 
 
 This characteristic of their bindings is also further 
 shown in the annexed engraving of an ancient book- 
 binder, from an old print ; who, though seated and 
 taking his ease more than is now the practice, appeal s 
 to be hammering away at the book on the stone with 
 a firm determination of doing justice to this depart- 
 
 s Nympha Lihethris, or the Cotswold Muse, 95. 
 
 M 3 
 
126 
 
 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS* 
 
 ment. The operation of sewing is also here displayed, 
 as also in the foliage introduced into the print, the 
 appearance of the books of the period. The justice 
 of attention to the sewing and backing of their books 
 must, however, be given to the craftsmen of this 
 century, as may be seen in some of the volumes in St. 
 Paul’s Cathedra] library, London, which, where pre- 
 served from damp, are as firm in this particular as the 
 day they were executed. 
 
 But, in speaking generally, we must not detract 
 from the merits of a few of the more talented artists 
 -of this degenerated period of our history ; establish- 
 ing the opinion before expressed, that where patrons 
 were found, workmen would not be wanting equal to 
 the task of executing binding in a superior manner. 
 It is evident that in a few instances a considerable 
 degree of splendour was bestowed, and vast wealth 
 expended on the exterior of the books of some of the 
 lovers of literature. One of these, bishop Cosin, not 
 only lavished great treasure on, but perfectly under- 
 stood the various manipulations required in the exe- 
 cution of binding. On October 18, 1670, he expressly 
 enjoins that “ the bookes should be all rubbed once a 
 fortnight before the fire to prevent moulding.” In 
 another letter, in the year 1671, to his secretary, 
 Stapylton, he says, “ You spend a greate deale of 
 time and many letters about Hugh Hutchinson, and 
 the (trm.es he is to set upon my bookes. Where the 
 backs are all gilded over, there must bee of necessity 
 a piece of crimson leather set on to receive the stamp, 
 
Prom the invention of printing. 12? 
 
 and upon all paper and parchment bookes besides. 
 The like course must be taken with such bookes as 
 are rude and greasy, and not apt to receive the stamp. 
 The impression will he taken the better if Hutchinson 
 shaves the leather thinner" With such knowledge 
 of the practice of bookbinding, we cannot be surprised 
 at the bishops love of luxury in the coverings of the 
 choicest works, which the following document attests. 
 
 To the Right Rev. Ffather in God, John Ld. 
 
 Bp. of Durham. 
 
 For one booke of Acts hd. in white lether 0 2 6 
 
 For binding the Bible and Comon Prayer 
 and double gilding and other trouble in 
 
 fitting them 300 
 
 Pd. for ruleing the Comon Prayer, ..080 
 
 The Totall 3 10 6 
 
 This, taking into consideration the value of money 
 at the time, appears to have been the very height of 
 luxury and extravagance ; but is nothing when com- 
 pared with the other ornament lavished on the above 
 Bible and Prayer. 
 
 “ Receivd the 31 of January, 1662, of the Right 
 Reverend Father in God, John, Lord Bishop of Dur- 
 ham, by the hands of Myles Stapvlton, the summe 
 of one hundred pounds, being in part of payment for 
 the plate and workmanship of the covers of a Bible 
 and Common Praier Booke. I say received by me, 
 M. S, Houser, Goldsmith, 100/.” 
 
128 ENGLISH BINDING AND BINDERS. 
 
 This munificent patron of the art does not appear 
 to have confined his endeavours to the embellishment 
 of his own library, and the books of the church over 
 which he presided, but to have influenced by his 
 example the patronage of others. In a letter bearing 
 the date of Dec. 8, 1662, from Mr. Arden to the 
 bishop’s secretary, Myles Stapylton, is this passage. 
 “My Lord desires you to bespeake black leather 
 cases, lined with green, for the silver and gilt bookes, 
 for the countess of Clarendon to carrie and keepe 
 them in.” 1 
 
 With support such as this, though the art degene- 
 rated so far as the general bindings of the country 
 may be taken into account, a degree of splendour and 
 taste was preserved by a few, which still kept up the 
 remembrance of the talent of previous workmen, with 
 many of their valuable receipts and directions ; all 
 which, tended ultimately to the production of a gene- 
 rally improved taste in the eighteenth, and, ultimately, 
 to the perfection of the nineteenth century. To the 
 consideration of this important result, we shall, in the 
 seventh chapter, devote our attention. 
 
 1 Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 503. 
 
129 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, FROM THE INVEN- 
 TION OF PRINTING, TO THE INTRODUCTION OF 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 The invention of tlie Art of Printing appears to 
 liave taken place at that happy period, when, from 
 circumstances, it became of more inestimable value to 
 posterity by preserving many of the noblest produc- 
 tions of past ages, than perhaps a century later it 
 would have been possible for it to have achieved. 
 For, while in its infancy, the fall of Constantinople, 
 and consequent dispersion of the extensive and mag- 
 nificent library of the Byzantine emperors, in afford- 
 ing great facilities to the early printers of the 
 continent, multiplied the most important classic 
 treasures, many of which existed in single copies, 
 and of which the accident of a moment might have 
 deprived the world for ever. Of the one hundred 
 and twenty thousand manuscripts which are said to 
 have disappeared, 1 a valuable portion of them being 
 
 Gibbon’s Home. 
 
130 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 deposited in Italy, thus successively issued from the 
 presses of the early professors of the art, and are 
 preserved to our times by the sturdy integrity and 
 firm workmanship of contemporary bookbinders. 
 
 The greater extent of printing on the continent, 
 which rapidly spread to the principal cities of 
 Germany and France, afforded the utmost facility to 
 foreign bookbinders, who consequently increased in 
 number as the commerce in hooks became extended ; 
 and eventually spread themselves over most other 
 countries, many of them permanently settling in 
 England. b In commenting on the workmanship of 
 these early settlers, we have, in the previous chapter, 
 also entered into the detail of the bindings of the 
 continent also. A repetition of those facts here 
 becomes unnecessary. We shall, therefore, confine 
 our remarks to what is exclusively continental, during 
 the same period. 
 
 In the public libraries of the continent, German, 
 French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, &c. many early 
 specimens of binding, richly studded with gems, or 
 ornamented with silver and gold, still exist, and in 
 the less pretending ones of the monasteries, the 
 oaken hoards of the fourteenth century covered with 
 vellum, are found attached to a great number of the 
 hooks, and still in a good state of preservation. 0 
 
 It is, however, on the continent, as in our own 
 
 b See Act. Richard III. c. ix. sect. xii. c Dibdin’s Bibl. 
 
 Tour. 3 Vols. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 131 
 
 country, to the patronage of the wealthy and lovers 
 of books, that we have to attribute the successful 
 operation of the best workmen. And in the history 
 of their libraries, and the specimens remaining, can 
 we alone trace the progress of the art. To Corvinus, 
 king of Hungary, who died, A. D. 1490, must be 
 assigned the honour of the rank, as first patron of the 
 period of which we are now treating. His library con- 
 sisted of not less than fifty- thousand MSS. andbooks, d 
 preserved in the most costly bindings, and embel- 
 lished with all that ingenuity could suggest or 
 wealth procure. This splendid collection was pre- 
 served in a vaulted gallery. The books were chiefly 
 bound in brocade, protected by bosses and clasps of 
 silver, or other precious metals. Bonfinius, referring 
 to them, says, ‘ cultus librorum luxuriosissimus.’ The 
 destruction of the library took place in 1526, when 
 Solyman II. laid siege to Buda. The city was taken by 
 assault, and the library with all its exquisite appurte- 
 nances, became a prey to the rapacity of the Turkish 
 soldiers. The bindings torn from the books, which 
 they protected, were stripped of the costly ornaments 
 with which they were enriched.® Obsopaeus relates, 
 that a MS. of the Ethiopics of Heliodorus, was 
 brought to him by an Hungarian soldier, which he 
 had acquired with many others in the pillage, and 
 had preserved as a prize, from the cover retaining 
 
 d Warton’s Eng. Poetry, ili. 243 e Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 
 
 4G1. 
 
132 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 some marks of gold and silver workmanship. Car- 
 dinal Bozmanni offered for the redemption of this ines- 
 timable collection, two hundred thousand pieces of the 
 imperial money, but without effect/ The MSS. 
 were either burnt or torn to pieces, and of the whole 
 collection, scarcely three hundred are now known to 
 exist. Several of these are still preserved in the 
 imperial library of Vienna, but of their original 
 splendour little remains. The public library at 
 Stuttgart, also possesses a MS. St. Austin on the 
 Psalms, covered with leather, and the original orna- 
 ments of the time of Corvinus, if not belonging to 
 his library. It is much faded, but the fore edges 
 preserve their former gilt stamped ornaments. g There 
 are also in the public library of Brussels, two magni- 
 ficent MSS. which once graced the library of Corvinus. 
 The first is a Latin Evangelistarium, written in letters 
 of gold upon the most beautiful vellum, and not 
 inaptly called The Goiden Book. It had become 
 the property of Philip II. of Spain, who kept it in 
 the Escurial library, under lock and key ; and it is 
 said to have been formerly shown to strangers with 
 great ceremony, and by torch light ! However this 
 may be, ’tis a precious morceau, and of finished 
 execution. h Gibbon awards nearly the same honour 
 to a copy of the Pandects of Justinian, taken at Pisa, 
 in the year 1406, by the Florentines, and still pre- 
 
 f Warton, iii. 243. S Dibdin’s Eib. Tour. ii. 34. 
 
 h Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. iii. 157. 
 
PROM THE INVENTION OP PRINTING. 133 
 
 served as a relic in the ancient palace of the republic. 
 According to Brenckman, they were new bound in 
 purple, deposited in a rich casket, and shown to 
 curious travellers by the monks and magistrates, 
 bare-headed, and with lighted tapers.' 
 
 While the art thus flourished in Hungary, it was 
 equally successful in Italy, and found in those dis- 
 tinguished patrons of literature, the Medici family, 
 steady supporters, and liberal aid. The specimens of 
 binding still existing, show that no expense was 
 Spared by the Italians of the fifteenth century, in the 
 embellishment of their books. The manuscripts, &c. 
 collected by Piero de Medici, are highly ornamented 
 with miniatures, gilding, and other decorations, and 
 are distinguished by the fleur de lis. Such as were 
 acquired by Lorenzo, called the father of literature, 
 are also finished with great attention to elegance. 
 They are not only stamped with the Medicean arms, 
 but with a laurel branch, in allusion to his name, and 
 the motto, semper.*' 
 
 To the above liberal patrons of literature, may be 
 added many of the nobles and clergy of Italy, who 
 were profuse in their love of embellishment ; but 
 none more so than the celebrated Cardinal Mazarin. 
 His library in his palace on the Quirinal hill, at 
 Rome, consisted of 5000 well selected volumes, 
 
 bound by artists who came express from Paris.” 
 
 1 Gibbon’s Rome, v. 381. k Roscoe’s Lorenzo de Medici, 
 
 ii. 59. 1 Dibdin’s Rib. Uec.ii. 495. 
 
 N 
 
134 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 Angelus Roccha, in his Appendix to the Biblia Aposto- 
 lica Vaticani, 1599, speaking of the library of cardinal 
 Launcellot, says, it was “ celebrated as well on ac- 
 count of the quantity of books, (for there are se- 
 ven thousand volumes), as for the beautiful bind- 
 ing, their admirable order, and magnificent orna- 
 ments.” Cardinal Bonelli’s library was also celebrated 
 as being “ illustrious for the richest bindings of 
 books.” 1 " 
 
 There is every reason to believe that a great por- 
 tion of these bindings, as in the case of the books of 
 cardinal Mazarin, were executed by workmen of other 
 countries. The Italians, though furnishing the greater 
 part of the designs, seen in most ornamental works 
 of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, do not appear 
 to have ever done much for the art of bookbinding. 
 
 The libraries of Germany are particularly rich in 
 bindings of almost every age and description. Some 
 specimens have been referred to in a previous chapter, 
 and others, of which we shall hereafter speak, attest the 
 patronage bestowed on the art. But though we have 
 no name, on record, as being, par excellence, lovers 
 of book embellishment, the numerous specimens of 
 early binding still preserved in Austria, Bavaria, 
 &c., sufficiently attest a long list of patrons in the 
 successive rulers of the various kingdoms and states. 
 In the Imperial library of Vienna, an early specimen 
 exists on a fine “ Evangelistarium.” The binding is 
 
 Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 492. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 135 
 
 of the time of Frederick III. (the middle of the four- 
 teenth century.) The ornaments consist of a lion’s 
 head in the centre of the board, surrounded by golden 
 rays, and having a lion’s head in each corner of the 
 square. An arabesque border surrounds the whole, 
 giving an effect both splendid and tasteful." Other 
 specimens might be given to a great extent, both in 
 this, and the Emperor’s private library, in all the 
 varieties of silver, velvet, silk, calf, and vellum. 
 
 A MS. office of the Virgin, in the public library at 
 Munich, bears witness to the custom of binding books 
 in silver, with coloured inlaid ornaments, up to the 
 year 1574, which date it bears. This library con- 
 tains also four splendid folio volumes, the text of the 
 “ Seven Penitential Psalms,” which exhibit extraor- 
 dinary proof of the skill of the writer, musician, 
 painter, and bookbinder. Of each of these artists, 
 there is a portrait. The name of the binder is Gaspar 
 Ritter. The books are bound in red morocco, varie- 
 gated with colours, and secured with clasps. Every 
 thing about them is square, firm, and complete, and 
 stamps Gaspar Ritter as one of the most skilful 
 artists of the sixteenth century. 0 
 
 In the public libraries of Augsbourg, Stuttgart, 
 Landshut, &c., similar specimens, clothed in every 
 variety of material, might be adduced in further 
 illustration. In the University library at Levden, 
 celebrated throughout Europe, most of the books are 
 
 “ Dibdin’s Bib. 'J our, iii. 274. ° Ibid. 
 
 N 2 
 
136 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 bound in fine white vellum, and decorated with con- 
 siderable taste and splendour. p 
 
 Germany, on the invention of printing, presented 
 a wide field for the binder ; and the artists of that 
 time do not appear to have neglected the opportunity 
 presented them. It is more than probable that they 
 were also the inventors of the stamped calf and 
 vellum bindings, which have been fully discussed in 
 an earlier portion of the work. That they would not 
 be slow in applying the knowledge of impression 
 printing had more particularly brought to notice, may 
 be inferred, and the covers of many of the volumes 
 printed in Germany at the commencement of the fif- 
 teenth century, by the beautiful stamped devices with 
 which they are embellished, strongly establishes the 
 fact. Further than this, the German binding possesses 
 no peculiarity, and up to the present time, the artists 
 of that country have never formed what can be called 
 a national binding. 
 
 From the great extent of country, they have, how- 
 ever, always been numerous. They had at a very 
 early period laws for their guidance, and the tax, or 
 price for binding books, in sheep-skin, vellum, &c-, 
 settled by the magistrates. Throughout the electorate 
 of Saxony, the prices in sheep were, for large folios, 
 one guilder or florin, three grosses ; common folio, 
 one florin ; large quarto, twelve grosses ; common 
 ^quarto, eight grosses ; large octavo, five grosses; 
 
 Savage’s Librarian, i. 89. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 137 
 
 common octavo, four grosses ; duodecimo, three 
 grosses .* 1 
 
 These facts, although not presenting us with any 
 particular feature in the history of the art of book* 
 binding, are interesting as showing the general spread 
 of talented artists at an early period over the several 
 countries of Europe, and that it was very successfully 
 practised during the fifteenth century admits of no 
 doubt. This will be more fully confirmed by the 
 account of French bookbinding, to which we shall 
 now direct our attention. 
 
 To the steady and continued support of her kings 
 and wealthy men may be attributed the high position 
 the binders of France for a long period occupied, over 
 those of England or any other country. During 
 the sixteenth century, their superiority was so gene- 
 rally acknowledged that they were sent to most parts 
 of Europe ; in the libraries of which, many of their 
 works still remain to prove the judgment of their 
 employers and the skill of the workmen. Of these 
 early French artists, Gascon, Desseuil, Pasdaloup, 
 and Derome, occupy the first rank. 
 
 Gascon is considered to have been the workman 
 who bound a considerable part of the libraries of 
 Henry II., and Jean Grolier, of which we shall soon 
 speak, and which will attest the merit of the work- 
 man. Desseuil equally excelled in the fineness of 
 his binding, and the elegance of his finishing. Pasde- 
 loup and Derome were contemporaries, and fully bore 
 
 1 Fritsch’s Dissertation on Bookbinders. 
 
 N 3 
 
138 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 ■out the reputation of their predecessors. The esti- 
 mation the bindings of the above artists are held in, 
 is fully shown by the prices given for many works of 
 small value from their being coated by them. Of the 
 latter, may be cited the notice upon Goutard, wherein 
 the editor explains himself thus, “ The books de- 
 scribed in this Catalogue are in part bound by the 
 celebrated Derome, the phoenix of binders.”* And we 
 may evidence a copy of “Geyler’sNavicula Fatuorum,” 
 sold by auction in London, for 42/. from being coated 
 in a Grolier binding/ which book may be bought for 
 a ducat on the continent. 
 
 The royal library at Paris contains innumerable 
 specimens of the bindings of the period we have above 
 alluded to. Previous to the reign of Francis I., the 
 greater portion of the books were covered with velvet, 
 brocade, &c., of various colours and patterns. Some 
 still remain, among which, a MS. Ptolemseus, in blue 
 velvet with a running yellow pattern, now nearly 
 worn away. Here, also, may be seen many of the 
 old monastic bindings in ivory, gilt, or brass, studded 
 with cameos and precious stones, and covered with 
 figures of all characters and ages/ Many of the 
 books of Francis I. were bound in leather in a plain 
 manner, differing only according to the tastes of the 
 countries in which they were bound. With the excep- 
 tion of presents and a few favourite works, all his 
 Latin, Italian, and French MSS. were bound with 
 
 r La Reliure, parLesne, 113. s Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 115. 
 
 1 Dibdin’s Bib. Tour, ii. 59. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 139 
 
 "black leather. His Greek manuscripts were partly 
 bound in the oriental style, and partly in various 
 coloured moroccos, with smooth backs and no bands. 
 They are distinguished by the arms of France, and 
 the insignia of the monarch (a Salamander and the 
 letter F) stamped in gold or silver. Some of the books 
 have dolphins added, which indicate the book to have 
 been bound in the time of Francis, not for the king, 
 but for the dauphin. u 
 
 Under the reign of Henry II. it is that we must 
 look for the celebrated bindings of France in the six- 
 teenth century. The books bound for this prince are 
 also distinguished by his insignia, or by his initial H, 
 interwoven with that of his mistress, Diana of Poi- 
 tiers, HX We have stated that Gascon was the 
 probable binder of a portion of Henry II. ’s books, of 
 which about eight hundred volumes now remain in 
 the royal library, bound in a similar manner. But 
 the credit of the advances the art made at this period 
 must be attributed to Jean Grolier, born at Lyons, in 
 1479, Chevalier, Viscount d’Aguisi, and one of the 
 four treasurers of France. This learned and distin- 
 guished man was a zealous protector of the arts, and 
 possessed the most beautiful library, in respect to 
 size, condition, and binding, at that time known. 
 Though a kind of leather called morocco had been 
 in use in the time of Francis I., it is very doubtful 
 whether the skin dressed as we now see it was applied 
 as a cover for books previous to its introduction by 
 ii Essai Historique sur la Bibliolhcquc du Roi, 24. 
 
140 
 
 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 Grolier. Many of his books exist in the libraries in 
 France and this country, and the estimation in which 
 they are held has been noticed. The beauty, delicacy, 
 and excellent taste of the ornaments are well known 
 and acknowledged. Vigneul de Malville, a says, “ The 
 books were gilt with a delicacy unknown to the hin- 
 ders of his time; he was so much the amateur of 
 good editions, that he possessed all those given by 
 the Alduses, of whom he was the friend : he had 
 them bound in his own house, under his own eyes, 
 and he disdained not at times to put his own hand to 
 them.” 
 
 Of Grolier’s books many are to be found in Mr. 
 Cracherode’s collection in the British Museum. They 
 are well and firmly hound. The simplicity of the 
 ornamental work is their great charm. A succession 
 of plain lines forming divers compartments executed 
 with much precision, and attention to proportion, 
 appears nearly on the whole. These designs he is 
 said to have composed himself in moments of leisure 
 when he forsook the more serious cares of his office. 
 They all bear the inscription — 
 
 A. J. Grolier et Amicorum, 
 
 showing that he wished his books to he used by his 
 friends as well as himself. Of the care his friends 
 took of them, the still perfect state of the bindings 
 amply testifies. Nor must we omit the meed of praise 
 to Gascon or whatever other binders he employed, 
 
 v Melanges de Litterature. 
 
SPECIMEN OF THE STYLE OF BINDING OF THE BOOKS 
 OF THE CHEVALIER GUOLIER. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING, 141 
 
 ■for bindings evidencing a greater care for the in- 
 tegrity of a good margin, and beauty of finish, of no 
 time or country, are to be met with. Subjoined is a 
 specimen of the ornamental side cover of a folio 
 “ Chronicle of Freculphus,” 1539, from the collection 
 of the late Mr. Heber. It is in brown calf. The 
 author’s name occupies the centre. 
 
 Grolier is considered to be the introducer of letter- 
 ing pieces between the bands of the back. 
 
 How far the taste of Grolier may have influenced, 
 or whether he had any direction in the binding of 
 the books of Henry II. to which we must now re- 
 turn, is not satisfactorily determined. The most 
 splendid portion of the bindings of Henry, are those 
 from the fine library at Anet, erected by Diana of 
 Poitiers, distinguished by the interlaced H’s andD’s. 
 If not directed by Grolier, she appears to have been 
 influenced by the splendour of his library ; and with 
 her unbounded love for books, the wealth she could 
 bestow, and her influence over the monarch, we need 
 not wonder at the beauty of the bindings belonging 
 to her library. The embellishments are in good 
 taste, being, like Groliers, principally composed of 
 lines, interwoven with the initials before referred to, 
 bows, quivers, arrows, and the crescent, emblems of 
 the goddess Diana, whose name she bore. 
 
 Of the elegance of some of her books, the binding 
 of a copy of the French version of the “ Cosmography 
 of Sebastian Munster,” in the public library at Caen, 
 in Normandy, remains as evidence. It is as splendid 
 
142 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS* 
 
 as it is carious. It contains two portraits of Ilenry 
 II. and four of Holofernes on each side of the binding. 
 In the centre of the sides are the usual ornaments 
 above referred to, but on the back are five portraits 
 of Diana, in gilt, each within the bands. Two of 
 them are faced by portraits of Henry. There are 
 also on the sides two pretty medallions of a winged 
 figure blowing a trumpet, and standing upon a 
 chariot drawn by four horses, with the date 1553. w 
 
 It is believed Diana suggested that one copy of 
 every book to which the royal privilege extended, 
 should be printed upon vellum and handsomely 
 bound, as ordered by an edict of Henry II. in 1556. 
 Of this date the binding of a “MS. L’Historie Ro- 
 maine,” No. 6984, in the royal library, is of extreme 
 beauty. The lines in all directions, principally cir- 
 cular, are almost innumerable, and well executed. 
 The date 1556, is impressed on the outside. 34 
 
 Contemporary with Grolier, another patron, of the 
 name of Maioli, is well known, from his bindings, 
 though of his personal history no traces are left. 
 The decoration of his bindings also consists of designs 
 in compartments, and bear his name like Grolier’s, 
 thus — 
 
 Tho Maioli Amicorvm. 
 
 An Italian edition of the “ Psalms of David,” 4to. 
 1534, once belonging to the library of Maioli, for- 
 merly possessed by Mr. Singer, bears on the reverse 
 side of the binding the following motto — 
 
 w Dibdin’s Bib. Tour, vol. i. 339 x Ibid. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 143 
 
 “INIMICI. MEL MEA. MICHI. NON. ME. 
 MICHI.” y 
 
 The royal library of France exhibits but few bind- 
 ings of the time of Francis II. They are marked 
 with an F. and II. Some of them have the addi- 
 tion of the initials of Charles IX. from which circum- 
 stance it appears likely the books were only partly 
 finished at the death of Francis. Those marked with 
 the cipher Charles IX. are more numerous, impressed 
 with two C’s reversed, and interwoven, sometimes 
 •with K. surmounted by a crown. 2 
 
 Under the reign of Henry IV., the celebrated his- 
 torian and 'bibliographer, James Augustus De Thou, 
 was master of the royal collection. Under his direc- 
 tion many of the books were bound, principally in red 
 morocco, and impressed with the royal arms of France, 
 and the initials of the king. On some we read the 
 following inscription — 
 
 ■“ HENRICI IIII. PATRIS PATRLE VIRTU- 
 TUM RESTITUTORIS.” 
 as on the MS. Bible of Charles the Bald, which is 
 highly ornamented with fleur de lis of gold, crowns, 
 &c. a 
 
 De Thou also collected a large library of his own, 
 sparing no expense in procuring copies of the most 
 celebrated works of the learned. Jacob 1 ’ says his 
 library contained more than eight thousand very rare 
 
 - v T)ibdin s Bib. Dec. ii. 476. 2 Horne’s Tnt. i. 299. 
 
 a Hist, sur la Bibliotheque du ltoi, 35. ^ Traite de Biblio- 
 
 tbequc, 519. 
 
144 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 the binding of which, according to Bullialdus, cost 
 20,000 crowns. De Thou’s favourite colour was red, 
 principally morocco. The monogram he adopted was 
 composed of the initials ADT interwoven. Others 
 represent an A between two G’s as in the Cracherode 
 copy of theLibanius of 1606, in the British Museum, 
 which has on the sides the arms of De Thou and those 
 of some other person. 0 This connection of arms ap- 
 pears on several of his books. His bindings in general 
 are not so ornamented as those of Grolier, but when 
 they are found, on some of his better books they will 
 hear comparison with those of that illustrious collector. 
 Earl Spenser possesses some fine specimens ; and 
 their estimation by collectors may be gathered from 
 the sale of “Salvianus on Fishes” for £30 10s, on the 
 disposal of the late Mr. Edward’s library, a book bv no- 
 means scarce. d The engraving is from an arabesque- 
 binding of a “ Stephens Greek Testament,” in the 
 library of Earl Spencer. 
 
 To these distinguished patrons of binding we may 
 add the names of Colbert and Hoyen, of La Valliere 
 and Lainoignon. The two great bibliographers of the 
 time were Jerome Bignon and Gabriel Naude : the 
 former, librarian to the king, the other to Cardinal 
 Onagarius. The Cardinal’s library was next to the 
 royal collection, in extent and magnificence. Jacob 
 says it was open every Thursday, from morn till 
 and curious volumes, all bound in morocco or calf gilt ; 
 
 c Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron ii. 483. d Ibid. ii. 484. 
 
RINDING OF A STEPHENS’ GREEK TESTAMENT, 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE PRESIDENT DE THOU. 
 
FROM THE INVENTION OF PRINTING. 145 
 
 night. In his time there were about 400 MSS. in 
 folio, bound in virgin morocco and covered with 
 borders of gold. The president Longueil could 
 boast, in Jacob’s time, of an admirable collection of 
 books, which he was increasing every day, and the 
 library of Nicolas Chevalier formed the basement and 
 first stories. “ This library,” says Jacob, “ is one of 
 the most excellent in Paris for the binding, which is 
 all in calf, covered with fleur de lis, and gilt upon the 
 edges. There is also some MSS. very rare, covered 
 with velvet.” He tells us that in the library of Claude 
 d'Urfe, in the castle of Abbatie, there were more 
 than 4600 vols. and among which were 200 MSS. 
 upon vellum, covered with green velvet. In the 
 royal library are several works from this collection, 
 bearing his arms, and splendidly attired. The library 
 of the Arsenal also contains some. Many other 
 libraries existed. Guy Patin had 6000 volumes. 
 The Du Puys about 8000 volumes. Jacques Ribier 
 nearly 10,000. Cardinal Seve had his 6000. The 
 duke de la Valliere, a little beyond the middle of the 
 seventeenth century, had already 20,000 vols.® From 
 the time of Louis XIII. the books in the royal 
 library ceased to be distinguished by the different 
 reigns. 
 
 In France, as we have shown was the case in this 
 country, the early printers exercised the art of book- 
 binding also. Chevallier, in his “ History of Printing,” 
 states, that Eustace, Eve, and P. le Noir, each styled 
 
 « Dibdin s Bib Dec. ii. 494. 
 o 
 
146 FOREIGN BINDING AND BINDERS, 
 
 themselves binders to the university, or the king. 
 Jean Canivet also styled himself, in the year 1566, 
 Relegai o) Univevsitcitis Louis XIV., by an edict 
 in 1686, separated the corporation of binders from 
 the printers of books in the university of Paris ; but 
 by the same edict, the binders were always rated and 
 reputed of the number of the agents of the univer- 
 sity, and enjoyed in this quality the same privileges 
 they had done before. Two French binders, named 
 Galliard and Portier, were celebrated for improve- 
 ments about the end of the sixteenth century. 
 
 Were further proof of the distinguished talent of 
 the eaily French bookbinders necessary, manv other 
 specimens might be produced. Sufficient has been 
 done to substantiate this point ; but frankly as we 
 have admitted the superiority of the French book- 
 binders over all others, during the period we have 
 been treating of, it will be seen that in the fol- 
 lowing century they began to retrograde, and their 
 bindings to possess no distinctive character. They 
 neglected the illustrious example set before them by 
 their predecessors, whilst the binders of another 
 country, profiting by it, bestirred themselves in the 
 acquisition of the true principles of the art, which, 
 though progressing slowly for a time, eventually led 
 to that degree of excellence now exhibited in English 
 binding, which for some years was not, if now, 
 equalled, certainly not surpassed, by any other coun- 
 try in the world. 
 
 f Dibdin’s Bib. Dec. ii. 432. 
 
CHAPTER VI L 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 For some years no sensible progression or im- 
 provement in bookbinding succeeded the period em- 
 braced in the three previous chapters of our inquiry. 
 The art, if not retrograding further, still made no 
 advances, and no names, either as patrons or practi- 
 tioners, in this country or France, occur to redeem the 
 end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth 
 century from being characterized a dark portion of 
 its history. But a new and brilliant era was about 
 commencing, that was to give a stimulus to the efforts 
 of the English binders, and, by the influence of exam- 
 ple, to considerably increase the number of patrons of 
 the art. A taste for the collection and establishment 
 of large and valuable libraries began to develope itself 
 soon after the commencement of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. This materially influenced the sale of books, 
 and incidentally every branch connected with them. 
 New works more frequently appeared, and, from the 
 o 2 
 
148 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 increased demand, in the course of some years, old 
 ones, that had lain dormant in small collections, or 
 the secluded libraries of convents on the continent, 
 were submitted to public competition. As a conse- 
 quence, from the greater number of books, binding 
 began to revive, and by the successive efforts of many 
 intelligent and talented professors of the art, attained 
 a perfection in Great Britain, not equalled by the 
 most splendid efforts of the best days of French book- 
 binding. 
 
 The first and most distinguished of the collectors 
 of the eighteenth century, was Harley, earl of Ox- 
 ford, whose fine library, now in the British Museum, 
 attests his spirit as a collector, and his munificent 
 patronage of every thing connected with literature. 
 And when we consider the numerous other patrons of 
 the book-trade, at this time forming collections, we 
 need not feel surprise that the eighteenth century, 
 presenting, as it did, so extensive a field for the talent 
 and energy of the British bookbinder, was productive 
 of the most satisfactory results. 
 
 The books in the Harleian collection are princi- 
 pally bound in red morocco, presenting but little 
 variety in the style of finish. They are what is termed 
 respectably and soundly bound, with a broad border 
 of gold round the sides, some with the addition of a 
 centre ornament ; the fore edges of the leaves are left 
 plain, and the end-papers are Dutch marble. The 
 artist by whom they were bound is not known. 
 
 This description furnishes a fair specimen of the 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 149 
 
 general style of binding till near the close of the 
 eighteenth century. Materials, of course, differed, 
 but morocco, russia, and brown calf, were the prin- 
 cipal substances. The art may be said to have pro- 
 gressed more in the forwarding, or early stages, than 
 in the finishing, for it must be confessed, that the selec- 
 tion of their tools for gilding were not often chosen 
 with the best taste ; birds, trees, ships, &c., being 
 indiscriminately applied to the backs of books, whose 
 contents were frequently diametrically opposite to 
 what the ornament selected would lead any one to 
 imply. But we must except a few of the bindings of 
 the period, which evidence better taste. The late Mr. 
 Hollis had his books decorated in a singular manner. 
 He employed the celebrated artist Pingo to cut a 
 number of emblematical devices, as the caduceus 
 of Mercury, the wand of iEsculapius, the cap of 
 liberty, owls, &c. With these the backs, and some- 
 times the sides of his books, were ornamented. When 
 patriotism animated a work, he adorned it with caps 
 of liberty, and the pugio or short sword used by the 
 Roman soldiers ; when wisdom filled the page, the 
 owl’s majestic gravity indicated the contents ; the 
 caduceus pointed out eloquence ; and the wand of 
 vEsculapius was the signal for good medicines. 9 
 
 The bindings of Oxford and Cambridge, about a 
 century ago, continued to be celebrated for their supe- 
 rior workmanship, and are held in high estimation by 
 
 a Horne’s Int. ii. 30(3 . 
 
modern bookbinding. 
 
 15*0 
 
 several modern collectors. The characteristics of the 
 bindings of which we are now speaking, are a pecu- 
 liar firmness and improved taste of finish. They are 
 in plain calf, with bands, and marbled edges, tire 
 spaces between being filled up with gilt tooling. 
 
 The middle of the eighteenth century witnessed the 
 introduction of the sawn back, whereby the bands on 
 which the book is sewn, were let into the backs of the 
 sheets, and thus no projection appears, as is seen in 
 all bindings of a previous date. Where it was first 
 used is not known, but it is considered the Dutch 
 binding first gave the idea. Although it was adopted 
 by many of the English and French binders with 
 repugnance, it became fashionable. Bands, or raised 
 cords, were soon only used for school books, which 
 species of binding is now universally known as sheep 
 bands. The general kind of binding now, up to the 
 end of the eighteenth century, was what is termed 
 calf gilt, being done almost all to one pattern, the 
 sides marbled, b the backs being brown, with coloured 
 lettering pieces, and full gilt. Open backs had been 
 little introduced, and the backs of the books were 
 made remarkably stiff, to prevent the leather from 
 wrinkling when they were opened. 
 
 The artists of the earlier part of the period of which 
 we have been treating must have been numerous, but 
 few are known. Two German binders, of the name of 
 
 b On the invention of this process great caution was used to 
 keep it secret, and books were obliged to be sent to the inventor 
 to be marbled at a high price. 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 151 
 
 Baumgarten and Benedict, were of considerable note, 
 and in extensive employment in London during the early 
 part of this century.® Who the distinguished parties 
 at Oxford were has not been recorded, but a person of 
 the name of Dawson, then living at Cambridge, has 
 the reputation of being a clever artist, d and may be 
 pronounced as the binder of many of the substantial 
 volumes still possessing the distinctive binding we 
 have before referred to. Baumgarten and Benedict 
 would, doubtless, be employed in every style of bind- 
 ing of their day, but the chief characteristics of their 
 efforts, are good substantial volumes in russia, with 
 marhled edges. 
 
 A later artist, and one to whom, perhaps, may be 
 attributed the first impulse given to the improvements 
 which have been introduced into bindings, was Mr. 
 John Mackinlay, one of the largest and most creditable 
 binders in London of the period of which we are now 
 treating. Several specimens of his, in public and 
 private libraries, remain to justify the character given 
 of him ; and of the numerous artists that his office 
 produced, many have, in later days, given good proof 
 that the lessons they received were of a high character. 
 
 This century introduced a total change in the aspect 
 of hookbinding, and, by the taste, ingenuity, and 
 efforts of one man, Roger Payne, saw realized all the 
 beautv of the French binding of the times of Grolier 
 and De Thou. This individual, after passing his early 
 
 c Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron, ii. d Hartshorne’s Book Ra- 
 
 rities of Cambridge, 18. 
 
152 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 years at Eton with Pote the bookseller, came to Lon- 
 don, and was, sometime about the years 1766 — 70, 
 fixed as a binder near Leicester Square, by the late 
 Mr. Thomas Payne, the eminent bookseller, then 
 living at the Mews Gate. His great taste in the choice 
 of ornaments, and judicious application of them, soon 
 procured him numerous patrons among the noble and 
 wealthy; and had his conduct been equal to his abi- 
 lity, great as were his achievements in the art, it is 
 hazardous to conjecture how much further he might 
 have benefitted it, as well as himself. His books are 
 not so well forwarded as it has been the fortune of the 
 present day to witness. His favourite colour appears 
 to have been olive, which he called Venetian. His 
 ornaments were the great boast of his bindings. They 
 were chaste, beautiful, classical, and most correctly 
 executed ; the sides being the field in which he shone 
 most conspicuously. The ornaments of his backs, and 
 his mode of managing bands, were peculiarly his own, 
 and books executed by him are quickly discovered by 
 these characteristic marks. A Glasgow Aeschylus, 
 folio, 1795, in earl Spenser’s library, which contains 
 many specimens of his binding, is considered to be 
 the clief d’ouvre of his workmanship. Of the style 
 and quantity of work employed, the following bill, 
 delivered with it, will show, and also exhibit a curious 
 specimen of his style. 
 
 “ Aeschylus Glasguae, MDCCXCV Flaxman Illustravit. Bound 
 in the very best manner, sew’d with strong Silk, every Sheet 
 round every Band, not false Bands; The Back lined with 
 Russia Leather, Cut Exceeding large ; Finished in the most 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 153 
 
 magnificent manner. Em-border’d with ERMINE expressive 
 of The High Rank of The Noble Patroness of The Designs, 
 The other Parts Finished in the most elegant Taste with small 
 Tool Gold Borders Studded with Gold ; and small Tool Panes 
 of the most exact Work. Measured with the Compasses. It 
 takes a great deal of Time, making out the different Measure- 
 ments ; preparing the Tools ; and making out New Patterns. 
 The Back Finished in Compartments with parts of Gold 
 studded Work, and open Work to Relieve the Rich close 
 studded Work. All the Tools except Studded points, are obliged 
 to be Workt off plain first — and afterwards the Gold laid on and 
 Worked off again. And this Gold Work requires Double Gold, 
 being on Rough Grain’d Morocco. The Impressions of the 
 Tools must be fitted and cover’d at the bottom with Gold to 
 
 prevent flaws, and cracks . 12 12 0 
 
 Fine Drawing Paper for Inlaying The Designs 
 5s fid. Finest Pickt Lawn Paper for Interleaving 
 The Designs Is fid. | 1 yd & a half of silk 10s fid. 
 
 Inlaying the Designs at 8’d each — 32 DESIGNS 
 
 1, 1. 1 19 0 
 
 Mr. Morton adding Borders to the Drawings 116 0 
 
 Jglfi 7 0 
 
 He continued, with varied success, arising from 
 his habits of intemperance, which will be more par- 
 ticularly referred to in the biographical chapter, till 
 the year 17 97, on the 20th of November, in which 
 he breathed his last. 6 
 
 Though Roger Payne’s career had not been suc- 
 cessful, so far as he was personally concerned, it had 
 the effect of benefitting the whole race of English 
 bookbinders. A new stimulus had been given to 
 the trade, and a new and chastened style introduced 
 among the more talented artists of the metropolis. 
 The unmeaning ornaments we have before alluded to 
 
 Dibdin's Bib. Decameron, ii. 511. 
 
154 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 were discarded, and a series of classical, geome- 
 trical, and highly-finished designs adopted. The 
 contemporaries of Roger, Kalthoeber, Staggemier, 
 Walther, Hering, Falkner, &c. exerted themselves 
 with a generous rivalry to execute the most 
 approved bindings, and the efforts of succeeding 
 artists in the persons of Charles Lewis, Clarke, 
 Fairbairn, Smith, &c. have brought the art to the 
 degree of perfection we now see exhibited upon 
 almost every book having any pretension to good 
 binding. The nineteenth century thus witnessed the 
 advance of the art in elegance and elasticity, which 
 no other period previously had developed. What- 
 ever was good in the workmanship of early times 
 was now sought to be revived, and every thing that 
 could be made available, both as regarded variety 
 and superior execution, embraced. Solidity, so 
 much estimated in old bindings, was combined with 
 an elasticity and freedom by means of the open back, 
 which the works of the ancients do not possess. 
 And when to this we add the elegance which mo- 
 dern binding displays, without disparagement to 
 their talent, the palm must be accorded to the 
 modern bookbinder. 
 
 A taste, also, for the revival of binding in mate- 
 rials used in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries 
 soon developed itself. Velvet and silk were reintro- 
 duced ; the former, from the difficulty experienced in 
 lettering properly, has not been so general as the 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 155 
 
 latter, which is now very extensively adopted for a 
 certain class of books. Modern velvet bindings, 
 however, have been introduced into many libraries, 
 among which may he named the collection of his 
 late Majesty George III., the library of York Min- 
 ster, earl Spenser, &c. 
 
 A style called the Etruscan was also invented by 
 Mr. John Whittaker, and successfully practised by 
 him. This consisted of the execution of designs on 
 the books in tints instead of a series of gold orna- 
 ment. Castles, churches, tented fields, gothic and 
 arabesque compartments, were executed in their pro- 
 per colours, and a very unique effect produced. The 
 library of earl Spenser contains a copy of Wynkyn 
 de Worde’s “ Art and Craft of Living and Dying 
 Well,” folio, 1503, bound in this style. The sides 
 are embossed by the device of the printer, projecting 
 to nearly one quarter of an inch. The coat is russia, 
 with a diamond-striped russia leather lining. But 
 the marquis of Bath probably possesses the best 
 specimen of Whittaker’s talents as a binder. It con- 
 sists of a copy of Caxton’s “ Recuyell of the Historyes 
 of Troye,” bound in russia. The back represents a 
 tower, in imitation of stone. On the battlements of 
 it is a flag, upon the folds of which the lettering is 
 introduced, in t, character precisely similar to that of 
 the text. On a projection of the tower the name of 
 the printer is impressed. On the outsides of the 
 cover are Trojui and Grecian armour, in relief, 
 
156 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 round which is a raised impression of the reeded 
 axe. The edges of the leaves of this curious volume 
 are a gold ground, on which are painted various 
 Grecian devices. On the insides of the covers 
 (which are likewise russia) is a drawing in India 
 ink, of Andromache imploring Hector not to go out 
 to fight ; and on the recto is the death of Hector. f 
 
 Messrs. Edwards, booksellers of Halifax, in York- 
 shire, successfully pursued this branch, and several 
 bindings of theirs exhibit borders of Greek and 
 Etruscan vases, executed in a superior manner. 
 
 Mr. J. Hering revived stamped calf binding, but 
 though practised for some time, for the want of a 
 power of compression, they did not exhibit that 
 sharpness we see on the impressed bindings of 
 former times. But this was a step towards the 
 attainment of the object in view. To our neigh- 
 bours, the French, must be accorded the merit of 
 the invention of the modern arabesque, and for its 
 speedy introduction into, and successful operation in 
 this country, to Messrs. Remnant and Edmunds, of 
 Lovel’s Court, Paternoster Row, London. The 
 first specimen executed by them is here faithfully 
 represented. The extent to which this branch 
 has in a few years been carried, is almost un- 
 paralleled; for, from’ the ease and quickness with 
 which some of the most extensive designs are pro- 
 duced, the economy is so great, that they have been 
 
 1 Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron, ii. 526. 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 157 
 
 applied to almost every kind of fancy work required 
 in the book trade. 
 
 The French also invented a species of illuminated 
 binding, in imitation of some of the interior embel- 
 lishments of ancient missals. This was for some 
 time kept secret : but one of our enterprising coun- 
 trvmen, Mr. Evans of Berwick Street, Soho, Lon- 
 don, after much expense, introduced it into this 
 country. It is a binding of the utmost magnificence, 
 uniting the varied beauties of the arabesque and gilt 
 ornament, with the illuminated decorations of MSS. 
 before the invention of printing. Nothing can ex- 
 ceed the beauty of the whole coup d ceil, rivalling as 
 it does the most elaborately finished design of the 
 painter.* From the costly nature of this style of or- 
 nament, it must ever be confined to the embellish - 
 pient of the finest treasures of literature. 
 
 Landscapes have also been painted on the sides as 
 well as the edges of books ; engraved portraits 
 impressed on, and other designs transferred to, tfye 
 the sides. Indeed, nothing that could tend to the 
 embellishment and variety of modern bookbinding, 
 appears to have been neglected ; and a superiority in 
 the execution of whatever has been attempted is a 
 distinguishing feature of the times. 
 
 A peculiarity in a few bindings must not be ovei- 
 looked. This is, in the coincidence of the cover and 
 the nature of the book. Whittaker bound a copy of 
 “ Tuberville on Hunting.” in deer-skin, on the cover of 
 which was placed a stag in silver. Jeffery, the book- 
 * See frontispiece to the fine edition. 
 
158 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 seller, bound Mr. Fox’s historical work in fox’s skin. 
 And it is related that Dr. Askew had a book 
 bound in human skin, for the payment of which his 
 binder prosecuted him. g 
 
 That the English binders became superior to the 
 French, is evidenced by the fact of many of the best 
 bindings of France being executed in London pre . 
 vious to the time of Bozeraine. But at this period 
 the French binders began to bestir themselves, and 
 in the productions of the two Bozeraines, Thouvenin, 
 and Simier, a reputation highly creditable to the 
 French school is apparent ; and the French biblio- 
 poles have not been backward in claiming an equal 
 degree of talent and ability for their countrymen 
 which is accorded to our own. 
 
 The nineteenth century, witnessing as it has the 
 collection of many, and augmentation of other libra- 
 ries, tended much to this result in both countries. 
 In England, the art can boast a long list of patrons 
 m the Dukes of Devonshire, Sutherland, Marlbo- 
 rough, and Buccleuch, the Marquises of Lansdowne 
 andBath, Earls Spenser, Cawdor, Clare, and Burling- 
 ton, Lords Vernon and Acheson, the Honourable 
 Thomas Grenville, Sir F. Freeling, Sir R. Colt Hoare, 
 bart., Sir MarkSykes, Baron Bolland, Mr. Heber, Dr. 
 Dibdin, Mr. Hibbert, Mr. Dent, Mr. Bernal, Mr. 
 Drury, Mi. Petit, and a host of others, who have con- 
 tributed much to the successful progress of the art. 
 
 The increased employment is shown by the num- 
 
 s Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron, ii. 451. 
 
MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 159 
 
 ber of master binders in London, A. D. 1812. At a 
 general meeting in December of that year, no less 
 than one hundred and fifty-nine subscribed their 
 names to the regulations of prices, &c. adopted. Of 
 these many were first-rate artists, and several still 
 continue to execute bindings in the first style of the 
 art. Doubtless, some are foremost in their profes- 
 sion; but where so many now excel, it would be 
 invidious to particularize, were it not from a desire 
 to prevent the names of those who are now eminent 
 as binders, sinking into that entire oblivion, so far 
 as the public are concerned, which it has been fre- 
 quently our lot to deplore, during the investigation 
 of the subject of the present work. Without pas- 
 sing any judgment on their respective merits, or 
 peculiarities of workmanship, we shall therefore, 
 in addition to those before introduced, simply record, 
 as the leading London bookbinders of the present 
 day, the names of Adlard, Bird, Burn, Clarke, Fair- 
 bairn, Hering, Heydey, Leightons, Lidden, Mac- 
 farlane, "Mackenzie, Smith, Westley, Wickwar, and 
 Wright. The modern binders of France are Cour- 
 teval, Lefebre, the Bozeraines, Thouvenin, Simier, 
 Lemoinier, Basin, Lesne, Matifa, Berthe, Coty, Du- 
 rand, Bisonare, & c. 
 
 The successful operation of some of the processes 
 we have before referred to, may be attributable to 
 the great improvements in machinery used in the 
 art, produced of late years. The hydraulic press, 
 the rolling machine, and the arming or embossing 
 
160 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDING. 
 
 press, have done much for the rapid progress of the 
 work, and its more perfect execution. The study of 
 the antique in the ornaments used for finishing, and 
 the superior engraving of the tools, became general. 
 And with the ability to execute, on the part of the 
 workman, a taste for the exterior decoration of 
 books rapidly spread throughout the country. To 
 what greater perfection bookbinding may come it 
 would be hazardous to give an opinion, seeing that 
 now it appears scarcely capable of progressing much 
 further. In the elasticity, solidity, freedom, propor- 
 tion of binding, and style of finish, it has not in any 
 previous time been equalled, and the British binders 
 generally of the present day may be pronounced, 
 without egotism, as the first in their profession. The 
 patronage and encouragement the art has received 
 from all quarters has tended to cause a generous 
 emulation among the modern sons of the craft, and 
 with the most happy results ; for bookbinding has 
 fully participated in the advantages which these 
 favourable circumstances have imparted. 
 
161 
 
 CHAPTER VIII- 
 
 foreign bindings possessing peculiarities no I 
 
 BEFORE DESCRIBED. 
 
 The advance made by a nation in civilization, the 
 facilities offered for the cultivation of literature, and 
 the natural productions of, or readiness with which 
 substances whereon to write could be obtained, must 
 have ever had a very powerful effect on the modes 
 adopted to preserve the written documents of various 
 countries. Throughout Europe, as has been shown, a 
 great similarity in the manner now exists, however 
 great may be the difference in the beauty of appear- 
 ance, and the style of finish. This being the case, 
 the few peculiarities that are still found in European 
 bindings will alone require description. 
 
 THE FRENCH, 
 
 have a style which they call Indorsing . Its peculiarity 
 consists in a slip of parchment being applied over the 
 back, between each band, the projecting ends being 
 p 3 
 
1G2 
 
 foueign Bindings 
 
 pasted inside of each board. It is done in the press, 
 where the back being grated to make the paste take 
 hold, the parchment is fixed, and glue added to 
 further strengthen the back. 
 
 THE ITALIANS, 
 
 possess a feature peculiar To their bindings, which 
 they call binding alia rustica. It is merely covering 
 the book with a coarse thick paper, and if wished a 
 degree neater, applying a cover of fancy paper over. 
 This proceeding, from the speedy destruction of the 
 paper, is of very great inconvenience. 
 
 THE DUTCH, 
 
 whose bindings may be classed as the most elastic 
 and solid, generally use slips of parchment, instead of 
 packthread, for the sewing of their books. 
 
 THE GERMANS. 
 
 A peculiar feature in the German bindings, has 
 acquired some celebrity from its preservation of the 
 large margins, so sought after by the Bibliographer. 
 It is called, a la Bradel. The sheets are cut to the 
 same size before sewing, either single with the 
 shears, or together in the cutting press. When 
 sewed and boarded, the book is headbanded, and the 
 head, tail, and covers covered with parchment. The 
 
not before described. 1 63 
 
 back is afterwards covered with leather, like a half- 
 bound book, or wholly with fancy paper ; most com- 
 monly, the latter. This style has been executed in 
 France, and a volume, the first done in Paris, was 
 presented to Charles X., in a beautiful binding of this 
 description. It was entirely covered with gold paper, 
 the edges gilt, the sides and back richly ornamented, 
 and the letters of the title executed in silver. The 
 binding was from the hands of M. Berthe, senior. 
 No. 10, Rue Hautefeuille, Parish 
 
 The bindings differing totally in appearance to 
 those before described, are the Eastern, and may 
 be classed under three heads : the Indian, the Chinese,, 
 and the Turkish. 
 
 THE INDIAN. . 
 
 The Indian books are usually written on the leaver 
 of plants or trees, generally the palmyra, on which 
 the letters are engraved with a stylus. The Sloane 
 library contains several of these MSS. written on 
 leaves in the Sanscrit, Burman, Peguan, Ceylonese, 
 and other languages. b The Ceylonese appear to 
 prefer the leaf of the Talipot tree, on account of its 
 superior breadth and thickness. From these leaves 
 they cut out slips from a foot to a foot and a half 
 long, and about two inches broad. These slips being 
 smoothed, and all excrescences pared off with the 
 
 a La Relieur, par Le Normand, 213. b Ayscough s 
 
 Catalogue, 904, 906. 
 
164 
 
 FOREIGN BINDINGS 
 
 knife, they are ready for use without any other pre- 
 paration. After the characters have been formed on 
 the leaf, they rub them over with a preparation of oil 
 and charcoal, which not only renders them more 
 distinct, but so permanent, that they can never be 
 effaced. When one slip is insufficient to contain the 
 whole of a subject, the Ceylonese string several toge- 
 ther by passing a piece of twine through them, and 
 attach them to a board, similar to our manner of 
 filing newspapers. 0 But a greater regard for their 
 preservation is shown for their more extended per- 
 formances, or for such works as are held in estima- 
 tion by them, as is displayed in the annexed sketch 
 of a Ceylonese book. 
 
 The leaves are laid one over the other. They are 
 not sewed as in European bindings, but kept together 
 by two strings, as before referred to. These are laced 
 thi ougli two holes made in each of the leaves, 
 which are fastened to the upper covering of the book 
 by two knobs, formed of some expensive article, 
 sometimes of crystal. The boards which confine the 
 
 c Pereival’s Ceylon, 205 . 
 
NOT BEFORE DESCRIBED. 
 
 165 
 
 leaves together, are made of hard wood, generally the 
 jack tree, and are often beautifully ornamented and 
 painted. 
 
 The Birmans and Hindoos form and compose their 
 books in the same manner, and of like material . 11 A 
 writer in the Asiatic Researches , 6 says, the Burmans, 
 in their more elegant books, write on sheets of ivory, 
 or on very fine white palmyra leaves : the ivory is 
 stained black, and the margins are ornamented with 
 gilding, while the characters are enamelled or gilt. 
 On the palmyra leaves the characters are in general 
 of black enamel, and the leaves and margin painted 
 with flowers in various bright colours. They are 
 bound as before described. In the finer binding the 
 boards are lacquered, the edges of the leaves cut 
 smooth and gilt, and the title written on the upper 
 board. The more elegant books are in general 
 wrapped up in silk cloth, and bound round by a 
 garter, in which the natives ingeniously contrive to 
 weave the title of the book. 
 
 The East India Company’s library contains a very 
 elegant Burman MSS. in the Pali, or sacred cha- 
 racter, presented hy colonel Clifford. It is covered 
 with coloured paper, with grotesque coloured figures. 
 Another specimen has the edges partly gilt. This 
 library also contains a very curious specimen of Batta 
 writing, the production of, and presented by, a canni- 
 bal chief, Munto Panei. It is bound with plain wood 
 
 cl Symes’s Embassy to Ava, ii. 409. — e Vol. iv. 306. 
 
166 
 
 FOREIGN BINDINGS 
 
 covers. There is also another covered with leather, 
 dressed with the hair on. 
 
 THE CHINESE. 
 
 The Chinese first made use of bamboo, cut very 
 thin, for the formation of their books, afterwards silk 
 or cotton, from these they subsequently manu- 
 factured paper, of which latter material their paper is 
 still generally made. From the fineness of its texture, 
 only one side can be written or printed on. f This 
 cii cumstance causes a distinct characteristic in the 
 binding of the Chinese. Two pages are printed upon 
 one leaf, usually from the top to the bottom, as seen 
 in the engraving. The paper is then folded, and sewn 
 up in the open part, while the close side composes 
 the outer margin. The blank half of the leaf being 
 thus joined, the printed part only is visible, which, 
 from the thinness of the paper, appears as if on oppo- 
 site sides of a single leaf. The cover is not glued to 
 the leaves ; it is a case wrapped round them, in some 
 paits double, and secured by a fastening of silk and 
 bone. W hen this is loosened, and the boards un- 
 folded, there appears within from four to six or seven 
 slightly stitched livraisons, about the size of one of our 
 magazines, which can be taken out and replaced at 
 pleasure/ The cover or case of the Chinese bindings 
 
 tD 9 
 
 f Morrison’s Miscellany, 33, 34. g Astley’s Collection, 
 
 iv. 162-3. 
 
NOT BEFORE DESCRIBED. 
 
 1(57 
 
 here represented, is formed of a brown paste- 
 board, made of a species of smooth and strong 
 paper. For their common books an addition of 
 a cover of fancy paper is adopted ; but for those in 
 greater repute, they employ silk, or a species of 
 taffeta with flowers, which they use almost solely for 
 this purpose. Some of their books are covered with red 
 brocade, ornamented with flowers of gold and silver. 
 The title, written or printed on a slip of paper, is 
 generally pasted upon a corner of a cover. Several 
 of these Chinese books may be seen in the library of 
 the East India Company. 
 
 THE TURKISH. 
 
 The early sovereigns of Turkey established Kitab 
 Khanes, or public libraries, in the great cities of their 
 empire. In Constantinople alone, there are now 
 thirty-five, containing from one to five thousand 
 manuscripts each. The followers of Mahomet have 
 
168 
 
 FOREIGN BINDINGS 
 
 a peculiar mode of binding their books. It resembles 
 that of Europe in the manner of sewing and head- 
 banding, but the back is left flat, instead of being 
 rounded, as we are accustomed to form it. The 
 books are usually covered with red, green, or black 
 morocco, one of the sides being lengthened out, so 
 as to fold over the fore edge, and fasten on the 
 other side like the flap of a portfolio, of which the 
 engraving will give a just idea. 
 
 Sometimes this projection is lodged between the 
 board and leaves. The covers are enriched with 
 ornaments, in gold and silver, or blank, as in our 
 own country. The title of the book is marked upon 
 the edges of the leaves, and also on the edge of the 
 outer covering. This covering is a case of similar 
 material to the binding, in which the latter is placed, 
 to protect it from dust and injury. The books in the 
 Turkish libraries, are placed in cases with glass or 
 wire- work fronts, resting on their sides, one above 
 another. 
 
169 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SKETCHES AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, 
 AMATEUR FROFESSORS, AND OTHERS, CONNECTED 
 WITH THE ART. 
 
 To trace, with anything like distinctness, the lives 
 of many distinguished professors of the Bibliopegistic 
 art, is a task that cannot be accomplished, many 
 being known only by the talent and skill of their 
 workmanship. Connected only with their works, 
 their names passed among their friends and contem- 
 poraries, as so distinguished, but with them sunk 
 into oblivion, without other note or record. Though 
 during life, thus keeping the even tenor of their way, 
 there are many reasons for placing on record in this 
 work what is known of such persons, who, from 
 living in early times, or distinguished for superior 
 talent in modern, command a degree of interest 
 beyond those of less notoriety. The most important, 
 perhaps, is the stimulus to those of the present, and 
 coming days, to look forward to the like approbation 
 Q 
 
170 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OP BINDERS, &C. 
 
 of, and success in, the world, which a diligent atten- 
 tion may, and will certainly lead to. And warned by 
 the failures and errors of others, to avoid the tempta- 
 tions they are liable to be led into, and eventually 
 forfeit a character for talent and integrity, no other- 
 ways to be obtained. But not less important is the 
 record of their names with the History of the Art, 
 with which their work, or their endeavours to effect 
 improvements in its various branches, are connected, 
 embodying, as the narrative must do, many facts, and 
 notices not possible to introduce in the previous 
 chapters. Alike interesting become the few parti- 
 culars known of such amateur professors, as have 
 devoted their time and study towards the acquisition 
 of a knowledge of the Art, for to the patronage of 
 many, and the assistance of others, it owes a debt of 
 gratitude, for benefits conferred, which in a record of 
 its History, it is but due to acknowledge. 
 
 The earliest professors of the Art, whose names have 
 come down to us, are what may be distinguished as 
 
 MONASTIC BINDERS, 
 
 and those known are but few in number, when we 
 consider that in every abbey, possessing the smallest 
 library, means were always in requisition for the 
 increasing of their MSS., and properly binding them 
 under their own roofs. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 171 
 
 DAGALUS, 
 
 an Irish monk of the early part of the sixth century, 
 is the earliest practitioner known, connected with the 
 Art of binding books. He is celebrated as a skilful 
 illuminator of their interiors, and not less so of the 
 embellishment of their exteriors, binding and orna- 
 menting the covers with gold, silver, and precious 
 stones. a 
 
 BILFRID, 
 
 a monk of the abbey of Durham, who lived about 
 A. D. 720, is the first binder in England whose 
 name has reached our time. He is stated to have 
 pre-eminently excelled in the binding and orna- 
 menting of hoolcs, b and as being “ aurificii arte prse- 
 cipuus.” c Of his skill and workmanship, a record 
 has been preserved in the binding of the MSS. in the 
 British Museum, described at page 46 of this work. 
 
 HERMAN, 
 
 bishop of Salisbury, about the year 1080, according 
 to the Monasticon Anglicanum, d was well versed in 
 the binding of books, as well as the writing and 
 illuminating of them. 
 
 a 0‘Conor’s lierum Hibernicarum, clxxvii — - — b "W arton s 
 
 Eng. Poetry, i. cxliv. dissertation 2. Simeon Dunhelm, 
 
 Hist. Eccl. Dunhelm. 117. d Vol. iii- 275. 
 
 Q 2 
 
172 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 HENRY, 
 
 a monk of the Benedictine abbey of Hyde, near 
 Winchester, is celebrated for his skill in the binding 
 of books. A copy of Terence, Boetius, &c. which he 
 had transcribed, is stated not only to have been 
 bound by him, but that he also formed the brazen 
 bosses of the covers with his own hands.® 
 
 BINDERS AFTER THE INVENTION OF 
 PRINTING. 
 
 Of the numerous artists that sprung into notoriety 
 after the invention of printing, little has been re- 
 corded, and of many of them, whether resident of 
 England, it is not known with certainty. When 
 printing was in its infancy, many English merchants 
 found it to their account to import books from the 
 continent, which, from their scarcity here, readily 
 found purchasers. These, as was the custom at that 
 time, were bound previous to leaving the printer, 
 who had executed under his own roof, every depart- 
 ment, from the casting of the letter, to the binding of 
 the complete volume. Two of the names are known 
 to be foreign artists, and some of the others which 
 we shall have to record, though existing on bindings 
 in this country, may belong to the artists of another. 
 
 e Wart on, i. cxliv. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &.C. 173 
 
 CORNELIUS, 
 
 the bookbinder, as he is called in the evidence brought 
 forward in proof of Lawrence Coster, of Haarlem, 
 being the inventor of printing, appears to have been 
 an assistant of Coster, in his youth/ He lived there 
 in the year 1440, and doubtless was an artist of some 
 practice and talent at that period. 
 
 PIERS BAUDUYN, 
 
 Stationer and Bookbinder, appears to have been 
 much employed by Edward IV. in binding and 
 ornamenting the books for his library/ The silk 
 tassels, clasps, and other ornament, were previously 
 prepared by the silkwoman, coppersmith, & c. and 
 the binding executed by Bauduyn, who perhaps 
 may have been appointed the king’s bookbinder, 
 as it will be seen such an office existed in another 
 reign. 
 
 RASMUS, OR ASMUS, 
 
 living in 1531, and 1532, in which years he was 
 paid considerable sums for the embellishment of the 
 books, belonging to Henry VIII. h He is described 
 as being the armourer, but from the loose manner in 
 which accounts were kept, it is not unlikely but that 
 he was the party who not only ornamented, but 
 
 f Johnson’s Typographia, i. 6. s Wardrobe’s Account 
 
 of Edward IV. 125-6. h Privy Purse Expenses of Henry 
 
 VIII. 123, &c. 
 
174 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 bound the books too. In the same accounts, mention 
 is made of the king’s bokebynder, but whether this 
 applies to Rasmus cannot now be ascertained. 
 
 NOWEL. 
 
 A bookbinder who dwelt in Shoe Lane, Fleet 
 Street ; was most probably a small binder for the 
 printers of the day in which he lived, about A. D. 
 1530. It is almost certain, that he was latterly 
 wholly employed by Wynkyn de Worde, and with 
 satisfaction, as we find that he left Nowel in his will, 
 dated June 5, 1534, twenty shillings in books. 4 
 
 ALARD. 
 
 The name of this early binder is known only 
 through the will of Wynkyn de Worde, above re- 
 ferred to, as “to Alard, bookbinder , my servant, six 
 pounds, fifteen shillings, and fourpence.” b 
 
 L. BLOC. 
 
 This is one of four bibliopegistic heroes whose 
 names have been perpetuated by the goodness of 
 their bindings, — or the care the possessors have 
 bestowed on them. Of their personal history, or 
 the locality of their daily labours, nothing is known. 
 We can, therefore, do no more than record their 
 names as they have been met with. Bloc’s exists 
 
 a Ames’ Typographical Antiquities, i. 120. b Ibid. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 17^ 
 
 round the border of a stamped calf cover, of the 
 latter end of the fifteenth century, thus : — 
 
 LUDOVICVS BLOC OB LAVDEM XPRISTI LIBRVM HVNC 
 RECTE LIGAVI. 0 
 
 john"guilebert. 
 
 Is known only from a similar impression on a 
 small folio of the same period, where he is desig- 
 nated as “ Johannes Gvilebert.” The style of 
 binding and ornament of these two latter persons 
 appear much alike. 
 
 J. DE GAITERE. 
 
 Conjectured to be of Ghent, in Belgium, from the 
 inscription, which is introduced at page 90, ante. 
 
 J. NORRIS, 
 
 The last of the above referred to, impressed his 
 name, “ Jehan Norris,” on the books he bound. 
 The whole of these persons must have been men 
 celebrated in their day, and probably contemporaries. 
 The sums necessary to be disbursed for the designs 
 on the books, whereon their names appear, could not 
 have been the case had they not been men of some 
 note in their profession ; and though positively no- 
 thing can be pronounced, still it is not an unfair 
 presumption to consider them as first-rate artists of 
 the times in which they flourished. 
 
 Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron, ii, 467. 
 
176 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 JOHN REYNES. 
 
 This person was an eminent Bookseller and Binder, 
 residing at the George in St. Paul’s Church-yard, 
 about A.D. 1527. Many books of this period have 
 his marks and devices impressed on their covers, as 
 he bound many books for other dealers beside him- 
 self. His devices were two small shields, with his 
 initials and his monogram. These he usually intro- 
 duced in a large design, which he embossed on the 
 covers of his books. It is not known in what 
 year he died, but it is supposed about 1544. The 
 Stationers’ company formerly possessed a portrait of 
 him. d 
 
 MICHAEL LOBLEY, 
 
 one of the original members of the Stationers’ 
 company, united the branches of Bookseller, Printer, 
 and Bookbinder, at the St. Michael, in St. Paul’s 
 church-yard. He filled several offices in the Sta- 
 tioners’ company, but in the latter part of his life 
 appears to have been so much reduced, as not to have 
 been able to discharge his note for ll. which he stood 
 indebted to the company; for having paid 31. 
 “ the rest was forgiven him by the hole table.” e 
 He carried on business from A.D. 1531, to 1563. 
 
 JOHN TOYE. 
 
 Little further is known of this person, than his 
 being engaged with John Day, the celebrated printer, 
 
 <> Ames’ Typog. Antiq. i. 120. e Ibid ii. 756. 
 
biographical notices of binders, &c. 177 
 
 a pursuivant and other officers, by order of the bench 
 of bishops, in search for a work called, “The Puri- 
 tanic Admonition to the Parliament,” wherein the 
 government of the English church was attacked with 
 great severity. This was about 1566. It is more 
 than probable that this is the same person, as the 
 John Toye, living at the sign of St. Nicholas, in St. 
 Paul’s church-yard, which appears on a “ Gradus 
 comparationum cum verbis,” &c. 4to. printed in 
 1531/ 
 
 WILLIAM HILL. 
 
 Originally a printer, who lived at the sign of the 
 Hill, in St. Paul’s church-yard. The books bear- 
 ins; his name are dated 1548 and 1549. He is 
 considered to have left off printing, and devoted his 
 attention to bookbinding. He was fined in 1556, 
 for binding primers in parchment, contrary to the 
 Company’s orders.® 
 
 JOHN GIBSON, 
 
 Bookbinder to James VI. of Scotland, being ap- 
 pointed to that office in the year 1581. He appears 
 to have been an artist of some celebrity, as seen in 
 the account of his work, and other particulars referred 
 to, at page 99. Gibson had been employed by 
 James, previous to his appointment, as shown by the 
 following entries in the accounts of the High Trea- 
 surer of Scotland : — 
 
 f Ames, i. 56 >. 
 
 •- Ibid. ii. 756. 
 
178 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 Maii 1580. 
 
 Item be the Kingis Majesteis precept to Johnne 
 Gibsoun buikbinder, for certane builds furnist to his 
 hienes, conforme to his particular compt, as the 
 samyn with the said precept and his acquittance 
 schewin upoun compt beris, xlj lib. vj s. 
 
 October 1580. 
 
 Item be the Kingis Majesteis precept to Johnne 
 Gibsoune buikbindar, ffor certane builds maid be him 
 to his hienes, conforme to the particular compt gevin 
 in therupoun, as the samin with the said precept and 
 his acquittance schewin upoun compt beiris, xx li. 
 
 Januare 1582. 
 
 Item be his Majesties precept to Johnne Gibsoun 
 buikbindare, for sindrie volumes bund to his hienes, 
 as the precept with his acquittance producit upoun 
 compt beris, v lj. xvj s. viij d. 
 
 Marche 1582. 
 
 Item for binding of the New Testament to his Majestie 
 be Johne Gibsoun buikbindare, xiiij s. b 
 
 ANDREW HART. 
 
 A Scotch bookbinder in the time of James VI., 
 of whom nothing is known except his having bound 
 some books for the above monarch. In the accounts 
 above referred to is the following entry : — 
 
 ll The Library of Mary Queen of Scots, and James VI. 4to. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 179 
 
 Aprile 1602. 
 
 Item pay it to Andro Hart Buik binder, for certane 
 buikis quhilkis wer gevin to Mr Adam Newtoun for 
 the Prince his use, as the said Mr Adamis ressait 
 thairof producit testifeis, xxx j li- ^ x s> 
 
 GARRET. 
 
 a bookbinder at Cambridge, about 1544. The bindeis 
 here at that period were considered superior work- 
 men, but of the personal history of this man, nothing 
 is known. Roger Ascham, speaking of Erasmus’ 
 custom of riding on horseback for exercise, after “he 
 had been sore at his booke,” says, “ as Garrett, our 
 booke-bynder, verye oft told me. k 
 
 DOMINICK AND MILLS. 
 
 Two Oxford binders of good reputation about the 
 year 1597 ; and considered by the Oxonians of that 
 period superior to those of London. In answer to a 
 complaint from Dr. James, the first keeper of the 
 Bodleian library, we find Sir Thomas Bodley writing, 
 “ I am sorry to hear of those abuses of my binder. 
 Send me word at what price your binders will bind 
 an ordinary book in folio.” And again, would to 
 God you had signified wherein the imperfections of 
 our London binding did consist.”' He also promises, 
 
 k Ascliam’s English Works, 77. 1 Hearne’s Itelqua? 
 
 Bodlcianae, 159 and 185. 
 
180 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 if the Oxford price “ is reasonable, I will send 
 sufficient work for Dominick and Mills, pr some 
 other for a month or two.” 
 
 MODERN BOOKBINDERS. 
 
 In proceeding to give a few notices of the modern 
 sons of the craft, the name that claims priority, as 
 being the greatest binder England had, up to his 
 day, produced, is that of 
 
 ROGER PAYNE. 
 
 The personal history of Roger Payne is one, among 
 the many, of the ability of a man being rendered 
 nearly useless by the dissoluteness of his habits. He 
 stands an example to the young, of mere talent, 
 unattended with perseverance and industry, never 
 leading to distinction, — of great ability, clouded by 
 intemperance and consequent indiscretion, causing 
 the world only to regret how much may have been 
 lost, that might have been developed, had the in- 
 dividual’s course been different, and his excellences 
 directed so as to have produced the best results. 
 
 Roger Payne was a native of Windsor Forest, and 
 first became initiated in the rudiments of the art he 
 afterwards became so distinguished a professor of, 
 under the auspices of Mr. Pote, bookseller to Eton 
 college. From this place he came to London, where 
 he was first employed by Mr Thomas Osborne, the 
 
BIOGrRAPHTCAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 181 
 
 bookseller, of Holborn, London. Disagreeing on 
 some matters, he subsequently obtained employment 
 from Mr. Thomas Payne, of the King’s Mews, St. 
 Martin’s, who ever after proved a friend to him. Mr. 
 Payne established him in business near Leicester- 
 square, about the year 1766-1770, and the encourage- 
 ment he received from his patron, and many wealthy 
 possessors of libraries, was such that the happiest 
 results, and a long career of prosperity, might have 
 been anticipated. His talents as an artist, particu- 
 larly in the finishing department, were of the first 
 order, and such as, up to his time, had not been de- 
 veloped by any other of his countrymen. He adopted 
 a style peculiarly his own, uniting a classical taste in 
 the formation of his designs, and much judgment in 
 the selection of such ornament as was applicable to 
 the nature of the work it was to embellish. Many of 
 these he made himself of iron, and some are yet 
 preserved as curiosities, and specimens of the skill of 
 the man. To this occupation he may have been at 
 times driven, from lack of money to procure them 
 from the tool-cutters ; but it cannot be Set down as 
 being generally so, for in the formation of the 
 designs in which he so much excelled, it is but 
 reasonable to suppose, arguing upon the practice of 
 some others in later times, he found it readier and 
 more expedient to manufacture certain lines, curves, 
 &c. on the occasion. Be this as it may, he succeeded, 
 in executing binding in so superior a manner as 
 to have no rival, and to command the admiration of 
 
 R 
 
182 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 the most fastidious book-lover of his time. He had 
 
 full employment from the noble and wealthy, and the 
 estimation his bindings are still held in, is a sufficient 
 proof of the satisfaction he gave his employers. His 
 best work has before been described, as being in earl 
 Spenser’s library. The following bill relates to an 
 ancient edition of Petrarch in the same collection. 
 
 The paper was very weak, especialy at ye Back 
 of this Book. I was obliged to use new paper in ye 
 ^ ashing to keep the Book from being tom or 
 
 broken. To paper for Washing, 
 
 To Washing their was a great deal of Writing 
 Ink and the bad stains, it required several washings 
 to make the paper of the Book quite safe, for, tho 
 the Book with one or two washings would look as 
 well at present, it will not stand the test of Time 
 without repeated washings. Carefully and quite 
 
 Honestly done, 
 
 To Sise-ing very carefuly and Strong, 
 
 1 o Sise to Sise the Book, 
 
 T o mending every Leaf in the Book, for every 
 Leaf wanted it thro’ the whole Book, especialy in 
 yf hack Margins. I have sett down y e number of 
 
 pieces to each Leaf,* 
 
 Cleaning the whole Book, 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 9 0 
 7 6 
 
 1 6 
 
 10 6 
 4 O' 
 
 The Book had been very badly folded and the 1 14 6 
 
 Leaves very much out of square ; I was obliged to 
 Compass every leaf single, and mark the irregular 
 parts, and take them off without parting the sise of 
 
 the Copy, very carefully, and Honestly done, 3 0 
 
 The Book being all Single Leaves, I was obliged 
 to stich it with silk fine and white, to prepare it 
 for sewing done in the Best manner and uncommon, 2 6 
 
 The copy of the Book was in very bad Condition 
 when I received it. The most Antiq. Edition I 
 think I have ever seen. I have done the very 
 best; I spared no time to make as good and fair a 
 
 * At foot of the bill is an enumeration of the pieces. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 183 
 
 Copy as is in my power to do for any Book, that 
 ever did, or ever will, or ever can be done by 
 another workman ; thinking it a very fine unique 
 edition. Bound in the very best manner in Venetian 
 Coloured morocco leather, sewed with silk, the 
 Back lined with a Russia Leather. Finished in the 
 Antiq. Taste, very Correctly lettered, and very 
 fine small Tool Work, neat Morocco joints, F'ine 
 Drawing Paper inside to suite the colour of the 
 Original paper of the Book. The Outside Finished 
 in a True Scientific ornamental Taste magnificent. 
 
 The Book finished in the Antiq. Taste, very cor- 
 rectly letter’d in Work. The Whole finished in the 
 very Best manner for preservation and elegant 
 Taste, 4 7 0 
 
 Here we have the whole minutia of the mode of 
 proceeding, and this appears to have been a pecu- 
 liarity in all his bills, each book of his binding 
 being accompanied by a written description of the 
 ornaments in a like precise and curious style. Here 
 is another relative to a book bound for Dr. Moseley; 
 which also exhibits a little jealousy of his brethren of 
 the craft, or a due appreciation of his own talent, by 
 the contemptuous manner he refers to them. 
 
 Versalii Humani Corporis fabrica. The title Washed, Cleaned 
 and very neatly Mended, The opposite Leaf Ditto. The Por- 
 trate Margins Cleaned and the opposite Leaf Ditto. Fine 
 Drawing Paper inside, exceedingly neat and strong mo- 
 rocco joints. Fine purple paper inside very neat. The Outsides 
 Finished with Double Panes and Corner Tools agreable to the 
 Book. The Back finished in a very elegant manner with small 
 Tools, the Boards required Peice-ing with Strong Boards and 
 strong Glue to prevent future Damage to the Corners of the 
 Book. 2 Cutts new Guarded. The former Book-binder had 
 .-'wended it very badly as usial. I have done the very Best 
 Work in my Power according to Orders, took up a great deal of 
 Time. Oh 15s. 0 cl. 
 
 In another Bill he says, ‘The Back coverd with Russia 
 
 R 2 
 
184 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 Leather, before the outside cover was put on. N 13. The 
 Common practice of Book-binders is to line their Books with 
 Brown or Cartridge Paper, the paper Lining splits and parts 
 from the Backs and will not last for Time and much reading. 
 
 These are only a few of the curious and character- 
 istic specimens of the bills of our artist, but they are 
 sufficient to attest the superiority of his workmanship 
 over the living binders of the day, and the justness of 
 its appreciation by the most distinguished bibliopo- 
 lists. But his reputation as an artist of the greatest 
 merit, was obscured, and eventually nearly lost/ by 
 his intemperate habits. He loved drink better than 
 meat. Of this propensity an anecdote is related of a 
 memorandum of money spent by, and kept by him- 
 self, which run thus : — 
 
 For Bacon, - 1 half-penny. 
 
 For Liquor, - 1 shilling. 
 
 No wonder then, with habits like these, that the efforts 
 of his patron, in fixing him, were rendered of no avail. 
 Instead of rising to that station his great talent would 
 have led to, he fell by his dissolute conduct to the 
 lowest depth of misery and wretchedness. Of his 
 squallid appearance, an idea may be formed by the 
 annexed engraving. It is taken from a print, which 
 Mr. Payne caused to be executed after his death, at 
 his own expense, and exhibits the man in his 
 wretched working-room, as in life he daily appeared. 
 Here, however, was executed the splendid specimens 
 of binding we have before referred to ; and here on 
 the same shelf were mixed together^ old shoes and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 185 
 
 precious leaves — bread and cbeese, with the most 
 ' valuable and costly of MSS., or early printed books. 
 
 That he was characteristic or eccentric may be 
 judged by what has been related of him. He 
 appears to have also been a poet on the subject of 
 his unfortunate propensity, as the following extract 
 from a copy of verses, sent with a bill to Mr. Evans, 
 for binding <f Barry on the Wines of the Ancients,” 
 proves. 
 
 “ Homer the bard, who sung in highest strains 
 The festive gift, a goblet, for his pains ; 
 
 Falernian gave Horace, Virgil fire, 
 
 And Barley Wine my British Muse inspire. 
 
 Barley Wine, first from Egypt’s learned shore ; 
 
 And this the gift to nie of Calvert’s store.” 
 
 He commenced ' business in partnership with his 
 brother Thomas Payne, and subsequently was in like 
 manner connected with one Richard Wier, but did 
 •hot long agree with either, so that separation speedily 
 took place. He afterwards worked under the roof of 
 Mr. Mackinlay, but his later efforts showed that he 
 had lost much of that ability he had been so largely 
 endowed with. Pressed down with poverty and 
 disease, he breathed his last in Duke s Court, St- 
 Martin’s Lane, on the 20th of November, 1797. His 
 remains were interred in the burying-ground of St. 
 Martin’s in the Fields, at the expense of Mr. Thos. 
 Payne, who, as before stated, had been his early 
 friend, and who, for the last eight years of his life, 
 had rendered him a regular pecuniary assistance 
 r 3 
 
186 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OP BINDERS, &Cr 
 
 both for the support of hia body and the performance 
 of his work. 3 
 
 Of the excellencies and defects of his binding's, a 
 party well qualified to judge, and to whose researches 
 we are indebted for greater part of this memoir, has 
 thus recorded his opinion, and with which we shall 
 close our account : — 
 
 “ The great merit of Roger Payne lay in his taste 
 — in his choice of ornaments, and especially in the 
 working of them. It is impossible to excel him in 
 these two particulars. His favourite colour was that 
 of olive, which he called Venetian. In his lining, joints, 
 and inside ornaments, our hero generally, and some- 
 times melancholily failed. He was fond of what he 
 called purple paper, the colour of which was as vio- 
 lent as its texture was coarse. It was liable also to 
 change and become spotty ; and as a harmonizing 
 colour with olive, it was odiously discordant. The 
 joints of his books were generally disjointed, uneven, 
 carelessly tooled, and having a very unfinished ap- 
 pearance. His backs are boasted of for their firm- 
 ness. His work excellently forwarded — every sheet 
 fairly and bona fide stitched into the back, which was 
 afterwards usually coated in russia ; but his minor 
 volumes did not open well in consequence. He was 
 too fond of thin boards ; which in folios produces 
 an uncomfortable effect, from fear of their being 
 inadequate to sustain the weight of the envelope. b 
 
 . a Nichols’s Literary Anecdotes, iii. 736. b Dibdin’s Bib, 
 
 Dec. ii. 508. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 187 
 
 RICHARD WIER. 
 
 A partner of Roger Payne’s, and one not a whit 
 less dissolute than himself. Previous to this, he and 
 his wife,* viz. in 1774, were employed at Toulouse, in 
 binding and repairing the books in count Macarthy’s 
 library. The connexion between Wier and Roger, 
 which took place during the latter part of Payne’s 
 career, as might be expected from both of their 
 habits, was of short duration. They were generally 
 quarrelling, and Wier, being a man of strong mus- 
 cular power, used sometimes to proceed to thrashing 
 his less powerful coadjutor. Payne is said to have 
 composed a sort of Memoir of the Civil War between 
 them. After their separation, Wier went abroad ; and 
 being taken prisoner by a privateer, he is said to have 
 threatened to demolish half the crew if they did not 
 liberate him. Like his partner, he worked the latter 
 part of his life with Mr. Mackinlay. e 
 
 BAUMGARTEN, 
 
 was a German binder of some note in London, in 
 the early part of the eighteenth century, but of 
 whose personal history nothing has been left on 
 record. 
 
 c Dibdin’s Bib. Decameron ii. 567. 
 
 * Mrs. Wier, celebratedas the most complete book-restorer 
 that ever lived. She was for a long time employed by Roger 
 Payne ; and her skill in mending defective leaves was such, 
 that, unless held up to the light, the renovation was impercep- 
 tible. On her return from France, she went to Edinburgh to 
 repair the books in the-Record Office in that city. 
 
188 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 BENEDICT. 
 
 Contemporary with Baumgarten, but alike situ- 
 ated, having no other record left of his ,life and 
 labours than has been recorded at the one hundred 
 and fifty-second page of this work. 
 
 JOHN MACKINLAY, 
 
 for many years one of the most substantial and cre- 
 ditable binders of the British metropolis. His bind- 
 ings in general are not so much celebrated for their 
 splendour as for the general goodness of the work- 
 manship. But he sometimes appears lavish of orna- 
 ment, of which specimens exist in earl Spenser’s and 
 other libraries. 
 
 He has the credit of being the instructor 'of many 
 of the most celebrated binders that have since his day 
 sprung into notoriety. 
 
 Mr. M., during his latter years, was unfortunate 
 in having his office destroyed by fire. 
 
 KALTHffiBER. 
 
 A reputable binder of the same period as Mackin- 
 lay. He was noted for his russia bindings, and 
 latterly worked in the premises of Mr. Otridge, the 
 bookseller. 
 
 STAGGEMIER, 
 
 in business at the same period as the above, was a 
 binder of reputation and taste. The Royal Institu- 
 tion possessed the best specimen of Staggemier’s 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 189 
 
 skill, in the binding of the “ Didot Horace,” of 
 1799, presented by Mr. Thomas Hope. It is in blue 
 morocco, and embellished with ornaments cut after 
 the antique models. 
 
 WALTHER, 
 
 a binder bearing the character of executing his work 
 in a “ good, substantial, honest manner.” He had 
 no pretensions for any style peculiar to himself, but 
 .gained the character bestowed upon him from the 
 excellent manner every part was performed. In his 
 office the celebrated Charles Lewis gained the first 
 rudiments of the art he afterwards so much ex- 
 celled in. 
 
 HENRY FALKNER, 
 
 Celebrated as a honest, industrious, and excel- 
 lent bookbinder, who, in his mode of rebinding an- 
 cient books, was not only scrupulously particular in 
 the preservation of that important part of a volume, 
 the margin : but in his ornaments of tooling, was at 
 once tasteful and exact.' 1 Faulkner, after thus 
 giving satisfaction to his patrons, and biddnig fair 
 to be the first binder of his day, died of a consump- 
 tion in 1812, leaving a large family, which, it is but 
 justice to state, were materially assisted by those 
 who had employed and respected their father. 
 
 CHARLES HERING. 
 
 After the death of Roger Payne, Hering, for about 
 twelve years, was considered the head of the craft. 
 
 d Dibdin’s Bibliomania, 264. 
 
190 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, 3iC. 
 
 He was an extremely skilful binder, and a remark- 
 ably industrious man. His bindings exhibit a 
 strength and squareness, with a good style of finish, 
 which renders his work of much value, and esta- 
 blishes the reputation accorded to him. His faults 
 were a too great fondness for double headbands, and 
 the use of brown paper linings, with a little inclina- 
 tion to the German taste. Possessing the reputation 
 he did, the principal libraries of this country contain 
 many of his bindings. The business is still con- 
 ducted by his brother with success. 
 
 JOHN WHITTAKER, 
 
 was celebrated as the restorer of deficient portions of 
 works printed by Caxton, &c. by the use of brass 
 type ; and the inventor of gold printing, now 
 become nearly general. He introduced a new style 
 of binding, to which the name of Etruscan has been 
 given. This style he employed for the binding of many 
 of the copies of the Magna Charta, printed by himself in 
 gold. The description of this mode of binding has 
 been given in a previous chapter, and many speci- 
 mens of other works exist in the libraries of the 
 wealthy and curious. The binding of the copy of 
 Magna Charta belonging to his late Majesty George 
 IV„ is of a magnificent description. The covers are 
 nearly a complete mass of gold ornament, appro- 
 priate to the times of king John. It is lined with 
 crimson silk, richly gilt. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 191 
 
 CHARLES LEWIS, 
 
 one of the most eminent binders the British capital 
 has produced, and by several considered as being the 
 first in his day, was born in London in the year 
 1786 ; and at the age of fourteen became apprentice 
 to Mr. Walther, of whom we have given a brief 
 record. After serving the full period of his appren- 
 ticeship, and working as a journeyman in several 
 shops in the metropolis, he commenced business on 
 his own account in Scotland Yard. At this place, and 
 subsequently in Denmark Court, Strand, and Duke 
 Street, Picadilly, he displayed as much perseverance 
 and attention in the management of his business, as 
 skill and energy in the pursuit of the art, he 
 appears from his first introduction to it at Mr. 
 Walther’s to have been passionately devoted to. His 
 bindings are to be found in nearly all the libraries of 
 the modern patrons of the book trade we have before 
 enumerated, for some of whom he worked very 
 extensively, and to the satisfaction of his employers. 
 On the character of his binding. Dr. Dibdin has thus 
 enlarged : — “ The particular talent of Lewis consists 
 ' in uniting the taste of Roger Payne with a freedom of 
 forwarding and squareness of finishing peculiarly his 
 own. His books appear to move on silken hinges. 
 His joints are beautifully squared, and wrought upon 
 with studded gold ; and in' his inside decorations he 
 stands without a compeer. Neither loaf-sugar paper, 
 nor brown, nor pink, nor poppy-coloured paper are 
 
192 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 therein discovered : but a subdued orange, or buff, 
 harmonizing with russia; a slate or French grey, 
 harmonizing with morocco ; or an antique or deep 
 crimson tint, harmonizing with sprightly calf: these 
 are the surfaces, or ground colours, to accord pictu- 
 resquely, with which Charles Lewis brings his leather 
 and tooling into play ! To particularize would be end- 
 less ; but I cannot help just noticing, that, in his 
 orange and Venetian moroccos, from the sturdy folio 
 to the pliant duodecimo— to say nothing of his ma- 
 nagement of what he is pleased facetiously to call 
 binding a la mode Francaise, he has struck out a 
 line, or fashion, or style, not only exclusively his 
 own, as an English artist, but, modelled upon the 
 ornaments of the Grolier and De Thou volumes, infi- 
 nitely beyond what has yet been achieved in the same 
 bibliopegist department. It is due to state, that in his 
 book restorations he equals even the union of skill in 
 Roger Payne and Mrs. Weir. We may say— 
 
 And what was Roger once, is Lewis now.* 99 e 
 
 After a very successful career, and in the enjoy- 
 ment of an extended business, he was seized with 
 apoplexy in the month of December, 1835, from 
 which lie never recovered, expiring on the eighth 
 day of January, 1836. His eldest son now carries 
 on the business. 
 
 e Dibdin’s Bib. Dec . ii. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 193 
 
 FRENCH BOOKBINDERS. 
 
 The reputation of the hinders of France, as we 
 | have before stated, at one time far exceeded that of 
 any other country. The names of the principal 
 operators, therefore, claim a distinguished place in 
 this chapter. And it will not be irrevelant here to 
 introduce a brief notice of the principal binders of 
 the French capital of the present day. 
 
 GASCON. 
 
 This person is considered to be the first who intro- 
 duced an elaborate style of gilt and other ornament 
 on books into France. He lived in the time of 
 Henrv II., and is conjectured to have bound part of 
 that monarch’s library, as well as that of the che- 
 valier Grolier, who doubtless contributed much to 
 their proper execution by the taste and knowledge of 
 the subject he possessed. 
 
 DU SUEIL 
 
 threw more of solidity into his work than his prede- 
 cessor Gascon, while he did not neglect the finish 
 given to his volumes. His reputation stands high 
 among the lovers of books for the goodness of his 
 work, as is attested by the remarks in book cata- 
 logues, where any of his bindings are named. A 
 very fine collection of the Abba's handy works were 
 contained in the collection of the count of Brienne,, 
 
194 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 which was to be sold very cheap at James Wood- 
 man’s and David Lyon’s shop, in Russell Street, 
 Covent Garden, on Tuesday, the 28th day of April, 
 1724. This library was as select (it had been chiefly 
 collected by the famous Father Simon, the best 
 critic in books in his time) as it was magnificent ; 
 the advertisement telling us that “ several hundred 
 of the books had been new covered in morocco by 
 Monsieur L’Abbe Du Sueil.” Accordingly, we read j 
 perpetually “ cerio turcico compactem per Abbatem 
 de Sueil or “ relie en maroquin per l’Abbe du 
 Sueil;” or “bound by A. de S., gilt, and marbled 
 on the leaves or “ nicely covered in morocco by 
 the A. du S.” Pope, in the fourth epistle of his 
 “ Moral Essays,” has contributed to the popularity 
 of the Abbe du Sueil. He was fond of a variety of 
 colours on his morocco covers, and worked solidly 
 and elegantly in the taste of his day. 
 
 PASDALOUP 
 
 was also celebrated for the strength and beauty of 
 his workmanship. He was fond of red morocco 
 covers and linings, with a fillet or border of gold 
 upon each. He sometimes formed his fly-leaf of 
 gold paper. His work is also often cited in sale 
 catalogues, and, like the above, will perhaps be so 
 for many years, as the substantial manner in which 
 it is executed appears to be capable of lasting for 
 centuries. 
 
biographical notices of binders, & c. 195 
 
 DE ROME. 
 
 This person has been styled the Phoenix of 
 Binders. He was a contemporary of Pasdaloup, and 
 appears to have worked much in the same style, 
 throwing great solidity into the forwarding of his 
 books, and much elegance into the finishing. His 
 bindings, consequently, are as much sought after, 
 and as highly prized by the possessors. 
 
 DE LORME. 
 
 A good binder of the same period as Pasdeloup 
 and De Rome, but not so celebrated. His country- 
 men charge him with the imitation of some of the 
 bad English binding . 
 
 COURTEVAL, 
 
 an artist of modern times, presented a new feature 
 in his bindings by the union of elasticity and solidity, 
 now so much and rightly estimated. He appears to 
 have been a man of talent as well as taste, in estimat- 
 ing and adopting the improvements of other nations, 
 and rejecting their errors along with those of his own. 
 Very few workmen of his day united in an equal 
 degree the grace, solidity, elegance, and proportion, 
 that is found in the bindings that came from his 
 hands. Very little, if any, fault can be found in 
 them. 
 
 LEFEBRE, 
 
 another binder of modern times, who, rejecting the 
 prejudices of custom, adopted the improvements in- 
 s 2 
 
196 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 troduced, and, by increased success, justified the 
 expectations he may have formed. His bindings 
 possess no other peculiarity. 
 
 
 BOZKRAINE, SEN. 
 
 The elder Bozeraine may be said to have reintro- 
 duced the good taste of forpaer days into France. He \ 
 studied the style of his celebrated countrymen of the 
 fifteenth century, and adopted all the judicious im- 1 
 provements that had been introduced elsewhere, j 
 carrying it towards that success his brother after- 
 wards accomplished. By his efforts, many distin- 
 guished collectors ceased to have their books bound 
 in England; where, from the low state to which the 
 art had sunk in France, they had for some time 
 previous been accustomed to send their best binding. 
 
 BOZERAINE, JUN. 
 
 The younger Bozeraine was considered the first 
 bookbinder in France, and his work consequently 
 held in great repute by the Parisian collectors. He 
 appears to have been ardently attached to his art, and 
 pursued it progressively to the successful issue of 
 being, by his own countrymen at least, considered 
 the first artist in the world. He is said to have 
 been a long time in overcoming the prejudices of 
 many workmen ; but he possessed courage to perse- 
 vere in his endeavours, and finally triumph. It is 
 saying much for his reputation, independent of his 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 197 
 
 workmanship, that his contemporaries admit, nearly 
 all the good workmen have come from his establish- 
 ment. No wonder, then, that the biblical Parisians 
 make a grand crack about him, and place him in 
 rivalry with Charles Lewis. English book-collectors, 
 however, have not accorded that degree of celebrity 
 to Bozeraine, which his countrymen have freely and 
 lavishly done. His bindings are well known in 
 London. They are considered to be forwarded too 
 expeditiously, and beaten too much. His love of 
 finery, of satinizing, of red ruling, and of gorgeous 
 and flimsy ornament, do not accord with the idea of 
 true propriety and chasteness here so distinguishable 
 on the best bindings. 
 
 THOUVENIN, 
 
 Unlike Bozeraine, jun. Thouvenin became cele- 
 brated as an artist on his first establishment, and his 
 first performances are as much valued as any of his 
 subsequent efforts. Being a pupil of Bozeraine s, he 
 had availed himself of ah the good lessons of that 
 distinguished workman, who, as it has been seen, 
 had opened a way for the introduction of the style of 
 binding so much renowned in former centuries. 
 Thouvenin thus had the advantage of being known to 
 all the principal book- collectors, who, on his establish- 
 ment, entrusted him with many of their rare books, 
 and they were not mistaken in their ideas of his talent, 
 and ability. He imitated the English gildings, and 
 s 3 
 
198 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OP BINDERS, &C. 
 
 produced several specimens of a Gothic character. 
 
 In all his work he reflected an honour on his teacher, 
 Bozeraine. He unquestionably was a binder of cele- 
 brity ; but whether deserving of the following highly, 
 coloured encomium of one of his contemporaries & may 
 admit of a doubt : — 
 
 “ Thouvenin is one of those extraordinary men, 
 who, similar to that luminous body, a comet, appear 
 but once in a century. If more ambitious of glory ! 
 than of fortune, he continues to watch ; if less work- 
 man than artist, he occupies himself without inter- 
 mission in the perfection of binding ; it will be an 
 epoch in his art, as distinguished as those of the 
 great men that we have admired in the epoch of 
 literature. ” f 
 
 SIMIER, 
 
 another modern artist, and relier du roi, as the backs 
 of some of his bindings testify. He, like some of 
 the above, contributed to the introduction of a better 
 style and taste into France. His bindings, some of 
 which are in this country, are very creditable per- 
 formances. 
 
 lesne, 
 
 a Parisian artist of not much note in his business 
 but as having written a poem, in six cantos, on the 
 Art of Bookbinding, which he published in 1820. 
 
 f La Relieure, par Leslie ; 117 
 
'biographical notices of binders, &c. HI# 
 
 This he dedicated to his son. He appears to be 
 enthusiastic on his subject, and handles it with 
 much spirit and cleverness. He suggested some 
 improvements in the manner of sewing books, which 
 should give to them greater freedom, elasticity, and 
 solidity ; and in furtherance of his object, presented 
 a “ Memoire” to the Society d’ Encouragement, in 
 1818 , which met with a favourable report. 
 
 Subsequently, in consequence of some remarks on 
 the Parisian binders, made by Dr. Dibdin, in his 
 Bibliographical Tour, Lesne again figured in a pam- 
 phlet in reply, taking up the matter for his biblio- 
 pegistic brethren, in rather hastier temper than the 
 occasion demanded or warranted. 
 
 AMATEUR PROFESSORS. 
 
 The number of noble and distinguished persons 
 who have occupied their leisure in the pursuit of the 
 art of bookbinding, is doubtless considerable; but 
 the record of their acts, and the proof of their work- 
 manship, have alike been lost or overlooked. We 
 have referred to some who possessed considerable 
 knowledge of the various processes necessary in 
 binding a book. The account of the Ferrars family, 
 the Hon. Roger North, and the celebrated William 
 Hutton, furnish us with more important details. 
 
 THE FERRARS FAMILY. 
 
 This family lived at Little Gedding, in the county 
 of Hertford, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. 
 
200 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 They were distinguished for their piety and industry. 
 The greater part of the family, male and female, 
 appear to have understood and practised the art of 
 bookbinding in all its varieties, Wordsworth s has 
 given several details of the work they executed. 
 
 HONOURABLE ROGER NORTH. 
 
 This distinguished man of his time was, in his 
 younger days, passionately fond of the art bibliope- 
 gistic, and pursued it with creditable success. His 
 relative, in his biography, thus speaks of this pecu- 
 liarity of his character : — 
 
 “ The young gentleman took a fancy to the 
 binding of books, and having procured a stitching- 
 board, press, and cutter, fell to work, and bound up 
 books of account for himself, and divers for his 
 friends, in a very decent manner.” 11 
 
 WILLIAM HUTTON, 
 
 who, from being a stocking-weaver, in the most 
 abject state of poverty, raised himself to affluence, 
 and the respect and regard of the learned and wealthy, 
 was originally an amateur bookbinder. To this cir- 
 cumstance the success of his career may, without 
 cavil, be principally attributed. It is curious to trace 
 his progress, as he has recounted in his Life. He 
 was fond of books and music, and, in 1746, he says, 
 “ an inclination for books began to expand, but here, 
 
 * Eccl. Biography, v. 172—178, 216, 220, 257.- » North’s 
 
 Life of Sir Dudley North. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 201 
 
 as in music and dress, money was wanting. The 
 first articles of purchase were three volumes of the 
 Gentleman’s Magazine, 1742, 3, and 4. As I could 
 not afford to pay for binding, I fastened them toge- 
 ther in a most cobbling style. These afforded me a 
 treat. 
 
 “ I could only raise books of small value, and 
 these in worn-out bindings. I learnt to patch, 
 procuring paste, varnish, &c., and brought them into 
 tolerable order, erected shelves, and arranged them 
 in the best manner I was able. 
 
 “ If 1 purchased shabby books, it is no wonder 
 that I dealt with a shabby bookseller, who kept his 
 working apparatus in his shop. It is no wonder, 
 too, if by repeated visits I became acquainted with 
 this shabby bookseller, and often saw him at work ; 
 but it is a wonder, and a fact, that I never saw him 
 perform one act but I could perform it myself ; so 
 strong was the desire to attain the art. 
 
 “ I made no secret of my progress, and the book- 
 seller rather encouraged me, and that for two rea- 
 sons : I bought such rubbish as nobody else would ; 
 and he had often an opportunity of selling me a 
 cast-off tool for a shilling, not worth a penny. As I 
 was below every degree of opposition, a rivalship 
 was out of the question. 
 
 “ The first book I bound was a very small one — 
 Shakspeare’s Venus and Adonis. I showed it to the 
 bookseller. He seemed surprised. I could see 
 jealousy in his eye. However, he recovered in a 
 
202 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OP BINDERS, &C. 
 
 moment, and observed, that though he had sold me 
 the books and tools remarkably cheap, he could not 
 think of giving so much for them again. He had no 
 doubt but I should break. 
 
 “ He offered me a worn-down press for two shil- 
 lings, which no man could use, and which was laid 
 by for the fire. I considered the nature of its con- 
 struction, bought it, and paid the two shillings. I 
 then asked him to favour me with a hammer and a 
 pin, which he brought with half a conquering smile 
 and half a sneer. I drove out the garter pin, which, 
 being galled, prevented the press from working, and 
 turned another square, which perfectly cured the 
 press. He said in anger, ‘ If I had known, you 
 should not have had it ! This proved for forty-two 
 years my best binding press.’ ” 1 
 
 From an amateur, Hutton soon became a professed 
 bookbinder: for we find him, in 1748, thus express 
 himself : — “ Every soul who knew me scoffed at the 
 idea of my turning bookbinder, except my sister, 
 who encouraged and aided me, otherwise I must 
 have sunk under it. I hated stocking-making, but not 
 bookbinding. I still pursued the two trades. Hurt 
 to see my three vols of Magazines in so degraded a 
 state, I took them to pieces, and clothed them in a 
 superior dress.” And again in 1 749. “ A bookbinder, 
 fostered by the stocking frame, was such a novelty, that 
 many people gave me a book to bind. Hitherto I had 
 
 1 Hutton’s Life, 130 — 2. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 203 
 
 onlv used the wretched tools, and the materials for 
 binding, which my bookseller chose to sell me ; but 
 I found there were many things wanting, which 
 were only to be had in London ; besides, I wished 
 to fix a correspondence for what I wanted, without 
 purchasing at second hand. There was a necessity 
 to take this journey; but an obstacle arose, — I had 
 no money.” 
 
 This journey took him nine days, walking to Lon- 
 don and back again, and of his extraordinary 
 economy, his expenses during that time are a proof, 
 having expended no more than eight shillings and 
 fourpence. He says, “ I only wanted three alpha- 
 bets, a set of figures, and some ornamental tools for 
 gilding books ; with leather and boards for binding.” 
 He fixed at Southwell, in Nottinghamshire, “ took a 
 shop at the rate of twenty shillings a year, sent a 
 few boards for shelves, a few tools, and about two 
 cwt. of trash, and became the most eminent book- 
 seller in the place.” 1 * His subsequent life is well 
 known. 
 
 The last name in our biographical notices, is one 
 now become celebrated as of the most distinguished 
 chemist of the day, viz. 
 
 MICHAEL FARADAY. 
 
 This eminent person was the son of a humble 
 blacksmith, who apprenticed him to a small book- 
 
 k Hutton’s Life, 137, 138, 145. 
 
204 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF BINDERS, &C. 
 
 bindei in Rlandford Street, when only nine years of 
 age, and in which occupation he continued till he was 
 twenty-two. The circumstances [that occasioned his 
 exchanging the work-room of the binder for the 
 laboratory of the chemist, have been thus forcibly 
 related. Ned Magrath, now secretary to the Athe- 
 naeum, happening five and twenty years ago to enter 
 the shop of Ribeau, observed one of the bucks of 
 the paper bonnet zealously studying a book he ought 
 to have been binding. He approached' — it was a 
 volume of the old Britannica, open at electricity. 
 He entered into talk with the greasy journeyman, 
 and was astonished to find in him a self-taught 
 chemist of no slender pretensions. He presented 
 him with a set of tickets for Davy s lectures at the 
 Royal Institution; and daily thereafter might the 
 nondescript be seen perched, pen in hand, and his 
 eyes starting out of his head, just over the clock 
 opposite the chair. At last the course terminated ; but 
 Faraday s spirit had received a new impulse, which 
 nothing but dire necessity could have restrained; 
 and from that he was saved by the promptitude with 
 which, on his forwarding a modest outline of his 
 history, with the notes he had made of these lectures 
 to Davy, that great and good man rushed to the 
 rescue of kindred genius. Sir Humphrey imme- 
 diately appointed him an assistant in the laboratory ; 
 and, after two or three years had passed, he found 
 Faraday qualified to act as his secretary . 1 
 
 1 Frazer’s Mag, xiii. 224. 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 205 
 
 His career has been successful, and he now 
 stands at the head of his profession. He ranks as 
 one of the first lecturers of the day, and has pub- 
 lished several works highly and deservedly popular. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Our endeavours to illustrate the rise and progress 
 of the art of writing and composing books, and the 
 successive improvements in bookbinding, are now 
 brought to a termination. The simple records of 
 the earliest people; the rolls of the Greeks and 
 Romans ; the massy and costly books of the monas- 
 teries and churches ; the elaborately ornamented 
 volumes of a later period, 
 
 “ Firmly clasp’d in oak, and velvet bound 
 
 and the highly-finished works of modern days ; with 
 other incidental matter, have been enlarged upon. 
 With what degree of success, it is for others now to 
 arbitrate. We close, therefore, our account with the 
 description of the Art in the well-known Poem, 
 “ The Press,” by Mr. M'Creery. 
 
 “ Embodied thought enjoys a splendid rest 
 
 On guardian shelves, in emblem costume drest ; 
 
 Like gems that sparkle in the parent mine, 
 
 Through crystal mediums the rich coverings shine ; 
 Morocco flames in scarlet, blue, and green, 
 
 Impress’d with burnish'd gold, of dazzling sheen; 
 
 Arms deep emboss'd the owner’s state declare, 
 
 Test of their worth — their age — and his kind care ; 
 
206 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Embalm’d in russia stands a valued pile, 
 
 That time impairs not, nor foul worms defile ; 
 Russia, exhaling from its scented pores 
 Its saving power to these thrice-valued stores. 
 
 In order fair arranged the volumes stand, 
 
 Gay with the skill of many a modern hand ; 
 
 At the expense of sinew and of bone, 
 
 The fine papyrian leaves are firm as stone : 
 
 Here all is square as by masonic rule, 
 
 And bright the impression of the burnished tool. 
 
 On some the tawny calf a coat bestows, 
 
 Where flowers and fillets beauteous forms compose ; 
 Others in pride the virgin vellum wear, 
 
 Beaded with gold — as breast of Venus fair ; 
 
 On either end the silken head-bands twine, 
 Wrought by some maid with skilful fingers fine — 
 The yielding back falls loose, the hinges play, 
 
 And the rich page lies open to the day. 
 
 Where science traces the unerring line, 
 
 Tn brilliant tints the forms of beauty shine ; 
 
 These, in our works, as in a casket laid, 
 
 Increase the splendour by their powerful aid.” 
 
 THE FRONTISPIECE. 
 
 The engraved frontispiece is designed to embody Various specimens I 
 of ancient art. The one on the stand, to the left, is a representation of I 
 the binding of an Aldine Cicero of the sixteenth century, now in King’s I 
 library, Cambridge. By the side of it, on the right, is shown the back and 
 side of the “Manual of Prayers, ’’belonging to queen Elizabeth, described I 
 at page 83. Below, on the left, is a sketch of the binding of the “ Acta 1 
 Synodi Dort,” in the British Museum, referred to at the seventy-ninth I 
 page; and to the right a specimen of the baass -bound volumes of the I 
 fifteenth century, from Lincoln cathedral. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Act of 'Parliament for protection 
 of English Bookbinders, 85, 118 
 TEsehylus, Glasguse, in earl Spen- 
 ser’s library, bound by Roger 
 Payne, 152 
 
 Alexandrian library, 39 
 Amateur Bookbinders, &c. 199; 
 the Ferrar’s family, 200; Hon. 
 Roger North, 200 ; William 
 Hutton, of Birmingham, 200; 
 Michael Faraday, 204 
 Ancients, profuse in embellish- 
 ment, 39 
 
 Antediluvians, the, well versed in 
 most of the arts of life, 3 
 Aquilla, testimony of, relative to 
 the form of early writings, 24 
 Arabesque, rare specimens of an- 
 cient, 89, 91 ; probable mode of 
 execution, 110; invented in 
 Germany, 136; revived modern 
 specimens of, 156 
 Arms of owners of books engraved 
 on the clasps, 57 
 
 Arts, the, of the first ages, enve- 
 loped in obscurity, 1; earliest 
 notices of, 2 
 
 Athenians, the, erected a statue to 
 the memory of the inventor of 
 glue, 16 
 
 Babylonian bricks and pillars, 5 
 Bark of trees, used for the covers 
 of books, 12, 20, 27 
 Basil books of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, very generally in stamped 
 bindings, 85 
 
 Beating, custom of hard, poeti- 
 cally referred to, 125 
 Bedford Missal, the, described, 57 
 Bibliopegi, or Bookbinder of the 
 Romans, 17, 41 
 
 Bibliopola, or Bookseller of the 
 ditto, 17 
 
 Bilfrid, a monk of Durham, a 
 binder of books, 46, 171 
 Binding to printing, whatprinting 
 became to other arts, 67 
 
 T 
 
 Bindings, conjectures as to the 
 first, 8, 9; Egyptian, 16; Greek 
 and Roman, the roll, 19, 25; 
 invention of the square form, 
 32; few existing specimens of 
 any executed before the inven- 
 tion of printing, 61 ; varieties of, 
 in monastic times, 64; altered 
 condition of in 1599, 93; decline 
 in splendour, 101 ; great care in 
 execution, 108; of the sixteenth 
 century, 109 ; of the seven- 
 teenth, 124; curious, 112, 132; 
 continental, 129 ; modern, 147; 
 of the eighteenth century, 150 
 
 , prices paid for, in the 
 
 time of Edward IV., 70; of 
 Henry VIII., 73, 74, 122 ; of 
 James I., 99; of Edward VI., 
 123, in the electorate of Saxony, 
 136 
 
 Biographical Notices of Book- 
 binders, ancient and modern, 169 
 Boards, for the sides of books, 
 formed of the root of the papy- 
 rus and wood, 33 
 Bodleian Library, at Oxford, the, 
 founded, 81 ; visit of James I. 
 to, 101; statutes of, 102, 116; 
 Wood’s MSS. in, 113 
 Bodley’s great care and knowledge 
 of books, 102, 105 
 Book of the Law, its original form, 
 9; copy of, sent to Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus, 16 
 
 Book, ancient brass-bound, from 
 illuminated MS., 60 ; splendour 
 of an ancient, as described by 
 the poet Skelton, 74; of Inden- 
 tures belonging to Henry VII. 75 
 Books, first step towards the for- 
 mation of, 5 ; various substances 
 used for, 7, 12 — 14: the roll, 19 ; 
 the square form, 32; very early 
 an article of commerce, 40; 
 scarcity of, in the dark ages, 44 ; 
 silver gilt, 56 ; gold enamelled, 
 57 ; destruction of, at the Re- 
 
 9 
 
208 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 formation, 58 ; left by will, 62, 
 fi3, 115; bound in velvet, 63; 
 in cloth, 64; increase of, on the 
 invention of printing, 66 ; at first 
 folios and quartos, 67 ; prices of, 
 fixed by orders in council, 122; 
 splendid, belonging to Durham 
 Cathedral, 127 
 
 Bookbinders, connected with early 
 printers, 68 ; the king’s, 73, 74, 
 119; numerous in 1553, 85, 118; 
 of Cambridge, bound in sums of 
 £'40 to the university, 103; 
 charge of destruction of ancient 
 MSS. brought against, consi- 
 dered, 123 ; ancient, 125; French, 
 137, 161 ; talent of French, 193 ; 
 number of, in London, in 1811 
 159 
 
 , Monastic, — Bilfrid, 
 
 Dagaeus, Henry of Hyde Abbey, 
 and Herman, Bishop of Salis- 
 bury, 46, 47, 171, 172 
 
 , ancient, — Bloc, 174; 
 
 Gaitere, Guilebert, and Norris. 
 175 
 
 7 , British, — Alard, 68, 
 
 174; Piers Banduyn, 70, 173 
 Baumgarten and Benedict, 151 
 187; Dawson, 104, 151; Domi 
 nick, 102, 179; Edwards, 156 
 Falkner, 154, 189; Garret, 103 
 179; Gibson, 98, 177; Hart, 178 
 Hering, 154, 156, 189; Hill, 68 
 177; Kalthoeber, 154, 188 
 
 Lewis, 154, 191 ; Lobley, 68, 176, 
 Mackinlay, 151, 185: Mills, 102, 
 1/9; Novvel, 68, 174; Roger 
 Payne, 151, 180 ; Thomas Payne, 
 
 185 ; Rasmus, 73, 173; Reyncs, 
 68, 176; Staggemier, 154, 188; 
 Toye, 68, 176; Walther, 154, 
 189; Whittaker, 155, 190; Wier, 
 
 186 
 
 , English modern, 
 
 154, 159, 160. 180 
 
 -, French,— Berths, 
 
 163; Bozeraines, the, 158, 196; 
 Canivet, 146; Courteval, 195 ; De 
 Lorme, 195; DeRome, 137, 1-95; 
 Du Sueil, 137, 193; Eustace and 
 Eve, 145; Galliard, 146 ; Gas- 
 con, 137, 193; Lefebre, 195; Le 
 Noir, 145; Lesne, 198; Pasda- 
 loup, 137, 194; Portier, 146; 
 Simier, 158, 198; Thouvenln. 
 158, 197 
 
 -, French modern, 159 
 
 Bookbinding, Mr. M'Creery’s po- 
 etical description of, 205 
 Booksellers’ shopsandBook stalls 
 among the Romans, 41 
 Bookworm, the, described by 
 Alexander Barclay, 80 
 Bosses — See Umbilicus ; brass, 47, 
 60, 112, 113 
 
 British Museum, books, bindings, 
 &c., referred to, existing in, 16, 
 24, 75, 76, 77, 82, 86, 89, 91—97, 
 140 
 
 Bruce’s, the African traveller, no - 
 tices of early books, 1 4, 33 
 Burmese books and bindings, 105 
 Burton, James, Esq., his collec- 
 tions in Egypt, now in the Bri- 
 tish Museum, &c., 24 
 
 Calf Bindings, of every style and 
 variety, introduced, 93 ' 
 
 Calmuc Tartars, library found 
 among the, 12 
 
 Cambridge bindings, 103, 149 
 
 - — Bible, specimen of 
 
 binding of a, 104 
 
 Cameos, impressed on sides of 
 books, 91 
 
 Carved figures, &c. on diptychs 
 and books, 36 
 
 Cases for writings, of wood, stone, 
 and earthenware, 9, 27, 29 
 Catullus, passages from, relative 
 to the books and bindings of the 
 ancients, 16, 22, 29, 31, 40 
 Caxton, sets up his printing-press 
 in Westminster Abbey, 67 
 Cedar oil, used by the ancients for 
 the preservation of their books, 
 20, 28 
 
 Ceylonese writings, 12 ; books and 
 bindings, 164 
 
 Chaining of books, early custom 
 of, 101, 103, 114; various me- 
 thods of, 117, 118 
 Chains, cost of, 114 
 Charles I., book of, in the British 
 Museum, 98 
 
 Charles IX. of France, his books, 
 143 
 
 Chinese books and binding, 166 
 Chronicle of France and other 
 works belonging to Elenor, 
 Duchess of Gloucester, 57 
 Chrysostom, St., testimony rela- 
 tive to the form of ancient 
 books, 23 
 
 Churchmen, the, after the Refor- 
 
INDEX. 
 
 •209 
 
 Tnation, influenced, and well 
 versed in, the styles of bindings, 
 105 
 
 Cicero, references to, on the books 
 of the Romans, 18, 24, 40, 41 
 Clasps of books, engraved with the 
 owner’s arms, 57, 63, 71 ; very 
 general, 93, 1 12 
 
 Constantinople, the celebrated li- 
 brary at, 39, 129 
 
 Copland’s, Robert, the poet, de- 
 scription of books in 1530, 88 
 Coppersmith, the, employed on 
 the embellishment of books in 
 the reign of Edward IV., 71 
 Coptic MS. discovered at Thebes, 
 34 
 
 Cornelius, the bookbinder, em- 
 ployed by Coster the printer, 173 
 Corvinus, King of Hungary, his 
 splendid library and bindings, 
 131 ; destruction of it at the 
 siege of Buda, 131 ; remains of, 
 still existing, 132 
 
 Cosin, Bishop of Durham, his 
 books and intimate knowledge 
 of binding, 106, 126 
 Cotton, Sir Robert, 106 
 Coverdale, Miles, his acquaint- 
 ance with the details of book- 
 binding, 105 
 
 Covers of the books of the Ro- 
 mans, 18, 20, 22, 33; destruction 
 of, 58 ; covers of parchment, 62, 
 69, 84 ; deer skin, 48 ; velvet, 
 63/69; cloth, 64; silk, 70 ; da- 
 mask, 80; vellum, 84, 88; calf, 
 84; morocco, 97 ; of many old 
 books, curiosities, 69 
 Cranmer’s books in the British 
 Museum, 93 
 
 Dagseus, a monkish binder of the 
 sixth century, 46, 171 
 Davy, Sir H., his experiments re- 
 lative to the rolls found at Her- 
 culaneum, 26 ; his patronage of 
 Faraday, 205 
 
 Deer-skin bindings, monastic, 48 ; 
 modern, 157 
 
 De Thou, the President, his libra- 
 ry and bindings, with speci- 
 mens, 144 
 
 Devices on the sides of books, va- 
 rious, 86 
 
 Diana of Poitiers, her books and 
 elegant bindings, 139, 141 ; spe- 
 cimens in existence described, 1 42 
 
 Diptych, the profane, 35 — 38 ; the 
 sacred, 50—53 ; acts of the con- 
 suls and religious rulers regis- 
 tered in them, 53; various, de- 
 scribed, 36, 37, 38, 52 
 Dutch bindings, 150, 162 
 
 Earliest date on the cover of a 
 book, 85 
 
 Edward IV„ books of, and bind- 
 ings, 70 ; encouragement of 
 learning by, 104 
 Edward VI., 122 
 
 Egypt early versed in the arts of 
 life, 8 ; the peculiar arts and 
 trades of, confined to families or 
 classes, 10 
 
 Egyptian Bookbinding, 16, 25, 33; 
 rolls discovered at Thebes, 24 ; 
 book of gnostic figures, 33 
 Elizabeth, Queen, her books, 76, 
 77, 79; profuse in embellish- 
 ment, 77; embroidered bindings 
 executed by, in the Bodleian 
 Library and the British Mu- 
 seum, 82; her Manual of Pray- 
 ers, in gold, 83 ; French Bible, 
 and other books, in the British 
 Museum, belonging to, 94, 95 
 Emeralds, rubies, and other pre- 
 cious stones, attached to the co- 
 vers of books, 57 
 
 English Binding and Binders from 
 the invention of printing, 66 — 
 136; modern, 150 
 Engraving or sculpture the first 
 mode of writing, 4 
 Etruscan style, invented by Whit- 
 taker, 155 
 
 Eumenes, King of Pergamus, the 
 Inventor of parchment, 14 : of 
 the square form in books, 32 
 
 Fastolfe, Sir John, books belong- 
 ing to, 57 
 
 Foreign Bindings, 161 
 
 and Binders 
 
 after the invention of Printing, 
 129 
 
 Foulis’s Plots and Conspiracies of 
 the Presbyterians, chained in 
 public places, 1 15 
 Fox’s skin, book bound in, 158 
 Fox’s Book of Martyrs, chained in 
 the churches, 1 15 
 Francis I. of France, his library, 
 138 
 
 Francis II., his books 143 
 
210 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 German bindings, 134, 162 
 George IV., his interest in the 
 discoveries at Herculaneum, 26 
 Gilding of books, very early prac- 
 tised, 25 
 
 Glue invented by Philatius, an 
 Athenian, 16, 18 
 
 Glutinatores, the, among the Ro- 
 mans, 41 
 
 Gold ornaments affixed to books, 
 36, 39 
 
 Golden Manual of Prayers, be- 
 longing to Queen Elizabeth, de- 
 scribed, 83 
 
 Gospels, book of the — (see Mis- 
 sals ) — in the British Museum, 
 ornamented with carved ivory, 
 56 ; silver and gilt, 56 
 Greek books and binding, 16, 38 ; 
 specimen discovered at Thebes, 
 33 
 
 Grey, Lady Jane, her love of 
 books, and apparent knowledge 
 of embroidered bindings, 81 
 Grolier, Chevalier, his extensive 
 library and acquaintance with 
 bookbinding, 139 ; specimen of 
 his book embellishment, 141 
 
 Hale, Sir Matthew, his books in 
 Lincoln’s Inn Library, 106 
 Harley, Earl of Oxford, his library 
 in the British Museum, 148 
 Henry of Hyde Abbey, a skilful 
 binder of books, 47, 172 
 Henry VII. collects a large libra- 
 ry, 72, 104 
 
 Henry VIII., his books and bind- 
 ings, 72, 94 ; foundation of the 
 Royal Library by, 104 
 Henry II. of France, his library 
 and decorations ofhis books, 139 
 Henry IV. ofFrance, his bindings, 
 and inscriptions on several, 143 
 Herculaneum, various rolls, books, 
 &c. found there, described, 19, 
 26, 27, 29, 31 
 
 Herman, Bishop of Salisbury, a 
 skilful binder, 47, 171 
 Hindoo books and bindings, 165 
 Historical subjects impressed on 
 the sides of books, 89 
 Hollis, Mr., peculiar decoration of 
 his books, 149 
 
 Homer, his allusion to the books 
 of the ancients, 32 ; Iliad of, 
 written on a dragon’s gut, 40 
 Horace, testimony of, relative to 
 
 ancient writings and mode of 
 preservation, 16, 21, 41 
 Human skin, book said to have 
 been bound in, 158 
 Hungary — See Corvinus. 
 
 Illuminated bindings invented, 157 
 Impression, the art of, practised 
 by the ancients, 25 ; by the early 
 printers, 86 
 
 Indian books and bindings, 163 
 Inscriptions, on pillars, &c., 4; on 
 books, 85, 90, 91 
 
 Involucrum, the, a cover for the 
 rolls of the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, 18 
 
 Italy and Italian bindings, 133, 
 134, 162 
 
 James I., his books and bindings, 
 79, 98; his library in Edin- 
 burgh, 98 
 
 Jason’s Golden Fleece, a book 
 bound in sheep-skin, 36 
 Jerom, St., his account of splendid 
 Missals, &c. ofhis time, 53 
 Job, the book of, 2; his testimony 
 to the early knowledge of writ- 
 ten characters, 30 
 
 Large paper copies of works 
 among the Romans, 39 
 Landscapes and portraits on the 
 side of books, 157 
 Lead, books composed of, 30 
 Leather used for the covers of 
 books by the ancients, 25, 34, 
 39; in monastic times, 84; 
 stamped or figured, 88; plain, 123 
 Leland appointed librarian to 
 Henry VIII., 75 
 
 Librarii, the, or transcriber of 
 MSS. among the Romans, 17 
 Librarioli, or illustrator of ditto, 
 17, 18 
 
 Libraries, of the ancients, 20 ; 
 public, 39, 40 ; private, 40 ; 
 splendour of, 40 ; destruction of, 
 42, 45, 60 ; in Rome in the six- 
 teenth century, 133 ; in France, 
 145; in England, 147 
 Library found among the Calmuc 
 Tartars, 12; of L. Piso, disco- 
 vered at Herculaneum, 26; of 
 an Oxford scholar in the time of 
 Chaucer, and a gentleman in the 
 reign of Edward IV., 69 ; the 
 royal, in London, 80, 104; the 
 
INDEX. 
 
 royal, in Paris, 138 — 145; the 
 imperial, at Vienna, 134; the 
 public, at Munich, 135 ; at Ley- 
 den, 135; of Duke Humphrey, 
 114; of Easl Spenser, 165, 167 ; 
 of the East India Company, 166, 
 167; of Grolier, 139; ofDianaof 
 Poitiers, at Anet, 141 ; in Gran- 
 tham Church, Lincolnshire, 115; 
 in St. Paul’s, London, 126 
 Luther, portrait of, from a vellum 
 cover, 87 
 
 Machinery, effects great improve- 
 ment in various processes of 
 bookbinding, 159 
 
 Maioli, a French collector, his 
 books and bindings, 142 
 Manuscripts, great destruction of, 
 at the Reformation, 123 
 Martial, his frequent mention of 
 the books and bindings of his 
 time, 16, 20, 32, 41 
 Mary, Queen, her books, 73, 76; 
 Psalter, in tambour binding, be- 
 longing to, 81 
 
 Mazarin, Cardinal, his splendid 
 library and elegant bindings, at 
 Rome, 1 33 
 
 Medici Family ; — Piero and Lo- 
 renzo de Medici, 133 
 Metallic books, 30 
 Missals and Gospels, splendidly 
 bound, belonging to the early 
 churches and religious commu- 
 nities, 53 
 
 Monasteries, the, became the de- 
 positories of the sciences and 
 arts in the dark ages, 45 ; writing 
 and binding of books almost 
 solely confined to them, 49 
 Monastic bindings, 43, 138; bind- 
 ers, 170 
 
 Monks and students, many of 
 them binders, 45 — 49 
 Morocco, introduced as a cover, 97 
 Moses, his knowledge of writing, 
 See., 7, 16 
 
 Numa’s books preserved under 
 ground several centuries, 28 
 
 Ovid, extracts from, and testimo- 
 nies of, relative to ancient 
 books, 16, 19, 21 
 
 Oxford bindings and binders, 102, 
 149 
 
 Oxford, superstitious books in All 
 
 Soul’s College in the reign of 
 Elizabeth, 97 
 
 Papyri found at Herculaneum, 19, 
 26 
 
 Papyrus and its manufacture, 13,44 
 
 — root used for the boards 
 
 of books, 33 
 
 Parchment invented, 14 
 Parker, Archbishop, his present to 
 Queen Elizabeth, 77 ; his know- 
 
 " ledge of binding, printing, &c.l0o 
 Payne, Roger, introduces great 
 improvements in modern book- 
 binding, 151 ; curious bills of, 
 152, 182, 183; his life and cha- 
 racter, 180 
 
 Perfuming of books, common jn 
 the time of Queen Elizabeth, /, 
 Phillatius, an Athenian, invents 
 glue for the binding of books, 16 
 Pillars, engraved, an early mode of 
 writing, 4 — 7 
 
 Piso, L., his library discovered at 
 Herculaneum, 26 
 
 Pliny, his frequent mention of 
 books and writings, 14,16,28, 
 30,32, 40,41 
 
 Portraits, impressed on the sides 
 of books, 87, 89; painted minia- 
 tures, 94 
 
 Printers, early, binders of then- 
 books also, 108, 145 ; impressed 
 their typographical device on 
 the sides, 111 
 
 Printing, invented, 50, 6G ; intro- 
 duced into England, 67 
 Psalter, the, on which the corona- 
 tion oath was taken from the 
 time of Henrv I. to Edward VI., 
 55; with clasps of gold ena- 
 melled, 57 
 
 Pugillaria of the Greeks and Ro- 
 mans, 30 ; various, described, 31 
 Pumice, as connected with writ- 
 ings, its use among the ancients, 
 18,20, 21, 22, 39 
 
 Records of the earliest people, 
 1—10 
 
 Reformation, great destruction ol 
 MSS. at the, 58 
 
 Relics of saints, preserved in co- 
 vers of books, 112 
 Ritter, Gaspar, a German binder, 
 135 
 
 Roll, the Law of Moses from its 
 first writing, in the shape of a, 9, 
 
212 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 its first formation, 15; extraor- 
 dinary one in the British Mu- 
 seum, 16 
 
 Rolls of the Romans, 19 ; found 
 at Thebes, 24 ; complete, 25 ; 
 found at Herculaneum, 26 ; 
 house of the, at Babylon, 39 
 Roman hooks and bindings, 17, 39 
 
 Sacrist’s, the, of monasteries, his 
 ^ duty to clasp the books, 45 
 Scarcity of books in the dark 
 ages, 44 
 
 Scrinium, a case for the preserva- 
 tion of the rolls, 29 
 Scriptorium, in monasteries, used 
 for writing and binding, 47; 
 estates left for the support of, 48 
 Sheets of the rolls, first joined by 
 strings, 17; improvements, 17 
 Sheep-skin, as a cover, early no- 
 tice of, 35 
 
 Silk covers, ancient, 70; modern, 
 
 Silk woman, employed on the em- 
 bellishment of books, in the 
 reign of Edward IV. 70, 71 
 Silver book of Ulphilus, 53; va- 
 rious others, 54; and gilt books 
 of the Countess of Clarendon, 
 128 
 
 Skelton, the poet, his description 
 of a splendid book and bind- 
 ing, 74 
 
 Square form first invented, 32 
 Students in monasteries — See 
 Monks. 
 
 Table books of the ancients, 30 
 Tambour, or embroidered bind- 
 ings, 77, 81 
 
 Textus Sanctus Cuthberti, the, in 
 
 the British Museum, 45 ; legend 
 relative to, 46 
 
 Thebes, discoveries of ancient 
 books at, 33, 44 
 
 Tibullus, his notice of ancient 
 writings, & c., 19, 21, 22 
 
 Titles of works, lettered on covers 
 of the rolls, 23; specimen, 24; 
 on the edges of books, 112 ; on 
 the sides, and covered with horn, 
 112; on the backs, 141 
 
 Turkish libraries, books, and 
 bindings, 167 
 
 Ultan, an early monkish writer 
 and decorator of books, 47 
 
 Umbilicus, the, of the ancient 
 roll, 19; variously ornamented, 
 19, 20, 23 
 
 Vellum covers, 84; stamped, 84- 
 gilt, 88 ’ 
 
 Velvet bindings, ancient specimen 
 and notices of, 63, 69, 73 ; mo- 
 dern, 154 
 
 Virgil, his notice of brands for 
 marking, 25 
 
 Vision of Augustus, splendid im- 
 pression of the legend of, on 
 side of a book, 90 
 
 Wier, Mrs., a celebrated book-re- 
 storer, 187 
 
 Wood covers of books, among the 
 Ethiopians,33; the Romans, 39; 
 on monastic bindings, 50; on 
 early-printed works, 88, 109 
 
 Writing, the art of, known before 
 the time of Moses, 7 ; writings 
 of some extent in his time, 9; 
 buried in the earth, 29 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 hciulon : G. H. Davidson, Printer, Tudor Street, 
 Iilaculriais’ Bridge. 
 
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