/£?4$Sk / Strictly limited to an edition of 500 copies of which this is No.. /IX FOREIGN BOOKBINDINGS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM ■ ■ * ' WITH FOREIGN BOOKBINDINGS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM ILLUSTRATIONS OF SIXTY-THREE EXAMPLES SELECTED ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR BEAUTY OR HISTORICAL INTEREST WITH INTRODUCTION AND DESCRIPTIONS BY WILLIAM YOUNGER FLETCHER F.S.A, LATE ASSISTANT KEEPER DEPARTMENT OF PRINTED BOOKS, BRITISH MUSEUM THE PLATES PRINTED IN FACSIMILE BY W. GRIGGS CHROMO-LITHOGRAPHER TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN LONDON KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER AND COMPANY, LIMITED 1896 Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable, Printers to Her Majesty PREFACE HIS work, which contains sixty-five illustrations of the most beautiful and interesting foreign bindings preserved in the Library of the British Museum, is intended to form a companion volume to English Bookbindings in the British Museum , published last year. The bindings have been selected by permission of the Trustees, and serve not only to show the wealth of our national library in these beautiful works of art, but also to illustrate the history of book¬ binding on the Continent from the beginning of the eleventh century to the end of the eighteenth. As in the volume of English bindings, each Plate is accompanied by a description of the binding represented, and, whenever possible, by some account of the binder, as well as of the person or persons to whom the book once belonged, together with any other circumstances which give a special interest to the volume. This arrangement has been found to be convenient, as it enables the reader to obtain the requisite information with greater facility than when it has to be sought for in a long and elaborate Introduction. The Plates are the work of Mr. William Griggs, Chromo-lithographer to the Queen, whose representations of the English bindings exhibited such rare skill and accuracy,—qualities which are equally conspicuous in the illustrations of the present volume. I have again to express my very grateful acknowledgments of the ready aid in obtaining photographs of the bindings which has been afforded me by Sir Edward Maunde Thompson, K.C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., Principal Librarian of the British Museum, Mr. R. Garnett, C.B., LL.D., Keeper of the Depart- vii ment of Printed Books, and Mr. E. J. L. Scott, Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts; and I have also to repeat my warm thanks to my friends and late colleagues, Mr. G. F. Warner, F.S.A., Assistant Keeper of the Department of Manuscripts, Mr. R. E. Graves, Assistant Keeper, Department of Printed Books, Mr. C. J. Davenport, F.S.A., and Mr. A. W. Pollard, of the same Department, for the kind and valuable help they have so willingly rendered me in the preparation of this second series of Museum Bindings. W. Y. F. vm INTRODUCTION LTHOUGH, as might be expected, the Collection of Foreign Bookbindings in the British Museum is not so complete as the English Series, it is a very fine one, and not unworthy of the great library in which it is preserved. Some beautiful examples of early bindings in silver and in ivory, several of which are enriched with precious stones, are to be found in it, as well as many excellent specimens of the stamped and cut leather-work of the German craftsmen of the fifteenth century. It is also particularly rich in the splendid productions of the great Italian and French binders. Many of these bindings have been purchased by the Trustees as oppor¬ tunities offered, but by far the greater number of them belong to the noble collections bequeathed to the Museum by the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode in 1799, and the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville in 1846. Mr. Felix Slade left several foreign bindings of great beauty and interest to the Museum in 1868, and a few also are preserved in the library of King George 111., acquired by the nation in 1823. In the collection of Mr. Cracherode, who had been able to take full advantage of the great dispersion of valuable books consequent upon the French Revolution, these interesting works of art are especially numerous, and comprise examples from the libraries of Grolier, Maioli, Henry 11. of France and Diana of Poitiers, Katharine de’ Medici, Henry 111. of France, De Thou, Longepierre, Von Hoym, and other great collectors; many of the bindings being executed by such eminent craftsmen as Nicolas and Clovis Eve, Le Gascon, Padeloup, Derome, and Monnier. During the Middle Ages the more valuable manuscripts, especially those of the Holy Scriptures and the Service-Books of the Church, were frequently encased in covers of the precious metals, copper-gilt, enamel, or ivory, which were often enriched with gems or crystals. The fine binding of copper-gilt studded with crystals, of the end of the b IX tenth or beginning of the eleventh century (Plate i.), and the exquisitely carved ivory Byzantine one, jewelled with rubies and turquoises, of the twelfth century (Plate n.) are excellent and characteristic examples of this style of ornamentation, and are also probably the earliest bindings in the Museum collection, although there is little doubt that, like most of these metal and ivory bindings, they have been repeatedly repaired, and probably rebound, but all, or the greater part of the original materials, have been retained. When manuscripts became more common these costly bindings were to some extent superseded by those composed of materials of lesser value, such as velvet or stamped leather, but they were not altogether discontinued, as will be seen by the fine silver one, probably executed in Germany, of the fourteenth century, figured in Plate iv. About the end of the fifteenth century a great revolution took place in the style of the decoration of bindings by the introduction into Europe of the art of tooling in gold. This method of ornamentation was brought from the East, where it appears to have flourished for a considerable time, for it is said to have been used in Syria as early as the thirteenth century. The manner and exact date of its introduction into Europe are unknown, and the credit of having first practised it is claimed both for Italy and for Germany. There is no doubt that traces of gold are to be seen on the bindings of Anton Koberger, the great Nuremberg printer and binder, as early as the beginning of the last quarter of the fifteenth century, but the gold is evidently painted with a brush, and not impressed upon the leather by means of stamps, as we find it on the Venetian bindings. Prior to the introduction of gold tooling the Italian bindings were often ornamented with little roundels, into which were stamped thin metal discs, sometimes of gold, but more frequently of copper. It has been suggested that the art of gold tooling may have been brought to Italy by some of the many Greeks who flocked into that country after the fall of Constantinople in 1453; but as the art does not appear to have been practised in Italy until quite the end of the fifteenth century, it is more probable that a knowledge of it was acquired by the Venetians in the course of their commerce with the Levant. The influence of Eastern art on Venetian binding was very great, and lasted for a considerable period, for as late as the second half of the six¬ teenth century many bindings were decorated in a style which closely resembles that which is still found on the covers of Oriental books. (See Plates xxix. and xxx.) Although the date and manner of the introduction of the art of gold tooling into Italy are so obscure, there is little doubt but that this kind of ornamentation was first generally employed on the bindings of the books which issued from the press of Aldus Manutius at Venice. These bindings are believed to have been executed in the workshops of this famous printer and his successors, many of them being specially prepared for the great collector Jean Grolier, to whose patronage the development of the art both in Italy and France was largely due. About thirty volumes from his library are preserved in the Museum, and representations of the bindings of four of them are given in this volume. An account of him and his books accompanies the description of Plate xi. During the sixteenth century many beautiful bindings were executed in Italy for Tommaso Maioli, Demetrio Canevari, Apollonio Filareto, Cardinal Bonelli, the members of the Medici family, and other collectors; but towards its close a very distinct deterioration of the art of bookbinding took place in that country, and although in the succeeding century some pretty and attractive work was done, especially in the fan style (see Plate li.), it was evident that the genius and ability which had enabled the artists and craftsmen to achieve the earlier bindings no longer existed. In France it was very different. The binders of that country quickly learnt the new art of tooling from the Italian workmen, and soon not only excelled them and all others in the beauty and quality of their work, but maintained also a degree of excellence which has never been surpassed. They doubtless possessed many advantages. The kings and queens of France were always great admirers of fine bindings, and readily gave every en¬ couragement and assistance to the artists engaged in designing and executing them. The numerous collectors of the country vied, too, with each other in clothing their books in sumptuous attire. To the influence of the Guild of St. Jean, which was founded in Paris in 1401, the superiority of French binding may also to a considerable extent be attributed. This community embraced and controlled all persons who took part in the production and sale of books, and included binders as well as scribes, illuminators, printers, and booksellers. While, as we have already stated, it is conjectured that Grolier’s copies of works printed by Aldus and his successors were also bound by them, or under their immediate superintendence, nothing is known of the workmen he is said to have brought with him from Italy on his return to France, and who* are believed to have bound his books there; but we are more fortunate with regard to those who worked for Francis 1., who was a generous patron of the xi fine arts, and was especially fond of handsome bindings. His binders were Etienne Roffet, called Le Faucheur, and Philippe Le Noir, and it is believed that some of his books were bound also by the famous writer, artist, and printer, Geoffroy Tory, an example of whose binding is figured in Plate xvi., accompanied by a short account of his life. Henry il, the successor of Francis, rivalled his father in his love for fine bindings, and during his reign their ornamentation assumed an exceptional importance. In the Louvre is exhibited a little coffer covered with leather, which bears in the midst of the tooling with which it is embellished the inscriptions anno 1556 • rex me fecit • omnia vincit amor, showing that the King himself did not disdain to occupy his leisure hours with work of this nature. The bindings executed for him and his mistress, Diana of Poitiers, are of singular beauty, and are also interesting on account of the devices and cyphers with which they are adorned, especially the monogram, which is believed to be composed of the initials of Henry and Diana, and which has long been a puzzle to the antiquary. It is thought by some, who consider it improbable that the King would have allowed his initial to be thus associated with that of his mistress, that the letters forming it are not the initials of Henry and Diana, but those of the King and his consort, Katharine de’ Medici. This, however, is not the case, as the monogram consisting of the letters H and C, which frequently occurs on the bindings of the Queen, differs considerably from the one in question. Others are of opinion that it stands for Henri Deux, but the objection to this supposition is that it is never crowned, as it undoubtedly would be if it applied only to the King. Henry’s initial when alone is always ensigned with a crown. The monogram occurs also, accompanied by both the arms of the King and those of his mistress, on the architectural decorations of the residence of the latter, the beautiful chateau of Anet, where she kept her library. In addition to this, Giovanni Capello, the Venetian ambassador to the Court of France, describing in a letter the first audience given to him by Henry 11., states that the King had publicly assumed this cypher, in which both the crescent moon and the double D could be traced, in honour of his mistress. These facts would appear sufficient to decide the controversy, but, on the other hand, on an enamel by Leonard Limousin, Katharine is represented wearing a necklace in which the monogram occurs, and what is perhaps stranger still is the circumstance that on the last leaf of the Catalogue of books censured by the Faculty of Theology of the University of Paris, and published by the Court of Parliament in the year 1551, are printed the arms of France, accompanied by the interlaced crescents, one of the devices used by Diana, and this perplexing cypher. Many of the letters of Henry to his mistress also are Xll signed with it, as well as some verses addressed to her by the King, in which he styles her his ‘ seule prinsesei On a few of the bindings of Henry’s books, his motto, donec totum impleat orbem, occupies the place of his arms, and others have his portrait, with a crowned H on each side of it, stamped in gold. A fine example with this decoration on the covers is figured in Plate xxiv. The book—a copy of the Coustumes du Bailliage de Sens , printed at that place in 1556—was the property of the King, who has made a note to that effect on the back of the title-page. It is impossible to say who were the artists who designed, and the skilful craftsmen who executed, the splendid bindings which adorned the libraries of Henry 11., Katharine de’ Medici, and Diana of Poitiers. Etienne Roffet was probably binder to Henry as well as to his father, and Claude Picques, binder to Charles ix., worked for Katharine de’ Medici, but we are not able to connect their names with any of the bindings executed for these sovereigns. It is thought that the decorations may have been carried out by the professional gilders upon leather, but this is only conjecture. Jehan Foulcault and Jehan Louvet were, according to Edouard Fournier, the two most celebrated gilders of this period, and, although the former is known to have been employed by Katharine de’ Medici, there is no evidence that either of them exercised their craft in the ornamentation of bindings. Katharine de’ Medici fully shared the love of her husband for beautiful bindings, and it was inherited by all their children. The eldest son, Francis 11., lived too short a time to form a library, but he possessed a small number of books. Those bound for him before he became king have impressed upon their sides a gold dolphin, which is sometimes ensigned with a crown. Guigard, in his Armorial du Bibliophile , mentions a copy of Les Ordonnances royaux sur le faict de la justice , printed in 1539, which appears to have been the joint property of Francis and his wife, Mary Stuart, as the covers are stamped with two crowned dolphins with a fleur-de-lis and a thistle between them. When Francis ascended the throne the arms of France were substituted for the dolphin, the covers being also ornamented with crowned Fs and fleurs- de-lis. Of Charles ix. more bindings are in existence. A very pretty one, on a copy of a Selection of the Psalms set to music by the King’s organist, Thomas Champion, is figured in Plate xxxi. With the accession of Henry in. to the crown a new style of decoration, with which is associated the name of Nicolas Eve, came into very general use. The bindings ornamented in this manner are beautifully and elaborately tooled with very elegant spirals, laurel and palm branches, small flowers and other ornaments. Two remarkably fine examples are given in Plates xxxvn. and xxxvm. The first was bound for Xlll De Thou, the celebrated historian and collector, some account of whose life and library accompanies the description of the Plate. These charming works of art are known as fanfare bindings, and owe their designation to a book entitled Les Fanfares et Coiirvees Abbadesques des Roule - Bontemps de la haute et basse Coquaigne , et dependances , which Thouvenin, one of the most celebrated of modern French binders, bound in this style for Charles Nodier, the eminent collector. We are not able to ascribe these bindings with absolute certainty to Nicolas Eve, but he was binder to Henry hi., for whom some of them were undoubtedly executed, as they bear the royal arms, and it is therefore highly probable that they are his work, or were done in his workshops under his immediate superintendence; for it should be remembered that Eve, like most or all of the earlier French binders, was a bookseller as well as a binder, and the beautiful ornamentation on these bindings may really be due to the genius and skill of some unknown gilder employed by him. It was not until the commencement of the seven¬ teenth century that the business of the bookseller was separated from that of the binder. The binding of the Livre des Statuts de l'Or dre du Sainct Esprit , represented in Plate xxxv., is known to have been executed by Nicolas Eve, as the order for the payment of forty-seven and a half crowns to him for binding that and forty-one other copies of the Statutes of the Order occurs in the household accounts of Henry hi., now preserved in the Biblioth£que Nationale. Another copy, similarly bound to that in the Museum, forms one of the treasures of that institution. Many of the bindings executed for Henry hi. are stamped with a representation of the Annunciation, or the Crucifixion, the implements of the Passion, a death’s-head, and other religious or lugubrious emblems, accompanied by the motto spes mea deus, or memento mori ; and others have a semis of tears. Some of these devices are believed to have been used by him, when Duke of Anjou, as evidences of the deep grief he felt at the sudden demise of Mary of Cleves, Princess of Conde, to whom he was greatly attached. On one binding is stamped a monogram formed of the initials of the Princess enclosed with two wreaths, and on the back of the volume is a death’s-head between two tears, accom¬ panied by the inscription mort m’est vie. The bindings executed for Henry subsequent to his succession to the throne are generally stamped with the arms of France and of Poland, and are also often decorated with a semis of fleurs-de-lis. After his marriage with Louise of Lorraine a monogram formed of the letters H A A (Henri, Louise, Lorraine) was frequently added to the ornamentation of the volumes. xiv The greater number of the books which belonged to Henry iv. are bound in morocco, the sides and backs being usually embellished with fleurs-de-lis and the crowned initial of the King, which has frequently the number mi beneath it. In the centre of the covers are impressed the arms of France and of Navarre, ensigned with the royal crown, and surrounded by the Orders of St. Michel and the Saint-Esprit. (See Plate xli.) Some of the books of this sovereign are bound in vellum exquisitely tooled, of which a good example is figured in Plate xlii. Clovis Eve, who is believed to have been the brother of Nicolas, was Henry iv.’s binder, and it is therefore probable that these volumes were bound by him. Both Marguerite de Valois and Mary de’ Medici, the first and second wives of Henry iv., were ardent admirers of sumptuous bindings, and possessed a considerable number of handsomely bound books. Many of the bindings of Louis xm. and his queen, Anne of Austria, are of great beauty. Before Louis succeeded to the throne his books bear his arms as Dauphin, the covers being frequently ornamented with dolphins and fleurs-de-lis, arranged in alternate rows, a double lambda being placed at each of the four corners. When he became king they were decorated with a semis of fleurs-de-lis and crowned Ls. He used the same arms as his father, the initial which accompanied them alone being changed. Some charming bindings with very elegant and delicate tooling, bearing the crowned initials of himself and his consort, are generally ascribed to Macd Ruette, who succeeded Clovis Eve as the royal binder, but it is quite possible they may be the early work of Le Gascon, for some of the stamps used in their decoration greatly resemble those employed by him. (See Plate xlvii.) Examples of binding by this famous craftsman, ornamented with exquisite pointilld tooling, are given in Plates xlviii., xlix., and l., and the little which is known about his life, together with some account of his work, accompanies the description of the first-named Plate. Le Gascon was greatly copied in his own country, and his influence extended to England, Italy, Germany, and Holland. Badier of Paris and Magnus of Amsterdam were the most successful of his imitators, but they failed to attain to the perfection of finish which distinguishes his tooling. During the seventeenth century the number of collectors in France greatly increased, and binders of repute became correspondingly numerous. Among the most celebrated of the collectors were Gaston, Duke of Orleans, Peiresc, Habert de Montmor, Sir Kenelm Digby, Cardinal Mazarin, Colbert, Seguier, and Fouquet. The Baron de Longepierre, who commemorated the success of his play Mddde by stamping the emblem of the Golden Fleece on the covers of his books, also belongs mainly to this century, though he did not die xv until 1721. The most noted of the binders of this time, in addition to those already named, were Antoine Ruette, Claude Le Mire, and Luc Antoine Boyet. The bindings attributed to Boyet belong to both the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. They are usually simply decorated, but are distinguished by the finish and excellence of the forwarding. He became the royal binder in 1698, and held the post for thirty-five years. He bound for Louis xiv. and his Queen, Maria Theresa of Austria, and is believed also to have worked for Colbert, Flechier (Bishop of Nismes), Phely- peaux, Longepierre, Madame de Chamillart, and Count von Hoym. The library of the last-named collector, who represented the kingdom of Saxony and Poland at the Court of France from 1720 to 1729, was especially remark¬ able for the number of choice volumes which it contained, and the beauty of the bindings. Some account of its owner is given with Plates lv. and lvi. Augustin Du Seuil was another binder of the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. He was binder to Louis xv., and a craftsman greatly esteemed in his day, but unfortunately we are unable to connect his name with any particular binding, and can therefore only con¬ jecture what his style may have been. That which is usually attributed to him—a double framework of gold lines, with a small floral ornament at the angles of the inner frame—was in general use half a century before his birth, which took place in 1673. He died in 1746, and was succeeded in his post of binder to the King by Pierre Anguerrand. Of the famous binders Antoine Michel Padeloup, Nicolas Denis Derome, and Jean Charles Henri Le Monnier, notices will be found accompanying the descriptions of the illustrations of their bindings. Other binders of the eighteenth century worthy of mention are Louis Douceur, Pierre Paul Dubuisson, Pierre Antoine Lafertd, Pierre Vente, and Jean Pierre Jubert. The number of femmes bibliophiles who flourished during the eighteenth century is very remarkable; the Countess de Verrue, Madame de Maintenon, the daughters of Louis xv., Madame de Pompadour, and many others, possessed fine collections of books. Even Madame Du Barry, who read and wrote with difficulty, considered that it was proper that a person of her importance should have a library. Queen Marie Antoinette was a sincere lover of books, and formed two collections,—one at the Tuileries, and the other at the Petit Trianon. They were confiscated at the Revolution, and the greater number of the volumes passed into the Bibliotfffique Nationale, where they are still preserved. The Revolution was as fatal to artistic binding as it was to the other decorative arts, and for a time the traditions of good workmanship appeared to xvi be lost, but under the Empire a certain amount of revival took place, and the brothers Bozdrian produced some work which, although deficient in taste, is not altogether without merit. Thouvenin, who died in 1834, was the first to restore the art of binding in France to something like its old excellence, and he was succeeded by Bauzonnet, Trautz, Cuzin, Capd, Niedrde, Duru, Lortic, Chambolle, and other eminent binders. They were all masters of their art, and although their bindings are wanting in originality, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to surpass the delicacy and finish of the tooling with which they are adorned. Gold tooling never became as popular in Germany as in Italy, France, and England; and long after the introduction of the art into Europe the German binders continued to decorate their work with stamps in blind. Some of the bindings executed by them in the fifteenth century are remark¬ able for their elegance and finish. A very fine example by Johann Hagmayer of Ulm is figured in Plate vi., and two singularly beautiful and interesting bindings, ornamented with designs cut in outline, and brought into low relief by stippling the background, are depicted in Plates v. and vn. In addition to Hagmayer, other notable German binders of the time were Conrad of Strassburg, Johann Richenbach of Geislingen, Anton Koberger of Nuremberg, Johann Zulczpach, and Johann Fogel. The last-named binder used, among other stamps, a somewhat remarkable one of a half-length figure playing on a lute. Two copies of the Gutenberg Bible which have survived to our times were bound by him. Examples of two German bindings ornamented with gold tooling are given in Plates xxxm. and liii. One is of the middle of the sixteenth century, and the other of the end of the seventeenth. They are not destitute of merit, but they are distinctly wanting in refinement. A fine binding by Magnus of Amsterdam, the best of the Dutch binders of his time, is depicted in Plate lii., and a richly tooled .Spanish one of the beginning of the seventeenth century in Plate xliii. c XVI1 LIST OF PLATES 1. The Four Gospels in Latin. Copper-gilt binding with crystals, pro¬ bably German, of the end of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century. 2. The Psalter in Latin. Byzantine ivory binding of the twelfth century. 3. The Four Gospels, etc., in Greek. Byzantine silver-gilt binding, probably of the twelfth century. 4. Evangelia Quatuor. Silver binding with gems, probably German, of the fourteenth century. 5. Thome: Ebendorffer de Haselbach Directorium Historicum. German binding of the middle of the fifteenth century; with the arms of the Emperor Frederick in. 6. Postilla Fratris Thome de Aquino in Iob. 1474. German stamped binding of the second half of the fifteenth century, by Johann Hagmayer. 7. Rainerius de Pisis. Pantheologia. Basle, about 1475. German binding of the second half of the fifteenth century. 8. Arati Phenomena. Italian binding of the end of the fifteenth century. 9. Cornelius Celsus. Venetiis, 1497. Italian binding of the end of the fifteenth century; with medallions representing Curtius leaping into the abyss in the Forum at Rome, and Horatius Codes defending the Sublician bridge. 10. C. Suetonii Tranquilli xii Czesares. Venetiis, 1521. French binding of the first half of the sixteenth century; with the arms of Francis 1. xix . 11. Silii Italici de Bello Punico Secundo xvii Libri. Venetiis, 1523. Italian binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. 12. De gli Asolani di M. Pietro Bembo. Vinegia, 1530. Italian binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. 13. Il Prencipe di Nicolo Machiavelli. Vinegia, 1540. French binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. 14. AiNE^E VlCI IN VETERA IMPERATORUM RoMANORUM NuMISMATA CoM- mentarii. Venetiis, 1560. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. 15. Anthologia Gr^eca. Florentiae, 1494. Italian binding of the first half of the sixteenth century; with medallions of the heads of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great. 16. Opere del Petrarcha. Vinegia, 1525. French binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, by Geoffroy Tory. 17. Epistole Ovidii. Lugduni, 1528. French stamped binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, by Jehan Norins. 18. C. Julii Cesaris Commentarii. Rome, 1469. Italian binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Tommaso Maioli. 19. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Venetiis, 1499. Italian binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Tommaso Maioli. 20. Le Chappellet de Ihesus et de la Vierge Marie. Binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Anna, wife of the Emperor Ferdinand. 21. C. Ptolem^i Geographic^ Enarrationis Libri Octo. Viennae, 1541. Italian binding of the middle of the sixteenth century, executed for Apollonio Filareto. 22. M. Moschopuli de ratione examinand^e: orationis libellus. Greek. Lutetiae, 1545. French binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; with the arms of Henry il, etc. xx 23. Petri Bembi Cardinalis Historia Veneta. Venetiis, 1551. French binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; with the arms of Henry 11., etc. 24. Coustumes du Bailliage de Sens. Sens, 1556. French binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; with medallion of Henry 11. 25. Hystoria de los Cavalleros Don Cristalian de Espana y del Infante Luzescanio. Valladolid, 1545. French, probably Lyonnese, binding of the middle of the sixteenth century. 26. Polydori Vergilii Anglic^e Historic Libri xxvi. Basileae, 1534. Italian binding of the middle of the sixteenth century, from the library of Demetrio Canevari. 27. Petrarchze Opera. Basileae, 1554. French binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; with medallions of Cato and Cicero. 28. Hor^e in laudem Virginis Marle. Parisiis, 1549. Italian painted binding of the middle of the sixteenth century. 29. Il Fiore della Retorica di Messer Girolamo Mascher. Vinegia, 1560. Italian (Venetian) binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for presentation to Elizabeth, Queen of England. 30. Della Institutione Morale di M. Alessandro Piccolomini Libri xii. Venetia, 1560. Italian (Venetian) binding of the second half of the sixteenth century. 31. PSEAUMES DE DAVID, MIS EN MUSIQUE PAR T. CHAMPION. Paris, 1561. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Charles ix. 32. Dionysii Areopagiee Opera qu^e extant, Greece. Parisiis, 1562. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Katharine de’ Medici. 33. Der Stat Nurmberg verneute Reformation. Niirmberg, 1564. German binding of the second half of the sixteenth century. 34. Qu^estiones disputat^e S. Thom,e Aquinatis. Lugduni, 1557. Italian binding of the second half of the sixteenth century; with the arms of Cardinal Michele Bonelli. xxi 35- Le Livre des Statuts de l’Ordre du Sainct Esprit. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, by Nicolas Eve. 36. Histoire des Faicts des Roys, etc., de France. Par Paul ^Emyle. Paris, 1581. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve for Henry 111. 37. Valerii Maximi Dictorum Factorumque Memorabilium Libri ix. Antverpiae, 1574. French binding of the second half of the six¬ teenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve for De Thou. 38. Breviarium Romanum. Paris, 1588. French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve for the Abbey of Marmoutiers. 39. Xenophontis Omnia, quje extant. Greek. Venetiis, 1525. Italian binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Marcus Lauweryn, Heer van Watervliet. 40. Pauli ^Emylii de Rebus gestis Francorum Libri x. Lutetiae Pari- siorum, 1577. French binding of the end of the sixteenth century, executed for Marguerite de Valois. 41. J. A. Thuani Historiarum Sui Temporis Pars Prima. Parisiis, 1604. French binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century; with the arms of Henry iv. 42. Floriacensis Vetus Bibliotheca, etc. Lugduni, 1605. French binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century, executed for Henry iv. 43. Decree granting the ‘Hidalguia’ to Pedro Perez de Urizar. 1604. Spanish binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century. 44. De Successionibus Testati ac Intestati Opus. Auctore D. F. de Barry. Lugduni, 1617. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed for presentation to James 1., King of England. 45. CEuvres Spirituelles du P. Estienne Binet. Rouen, 1620. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed for Mary de’ Medici. XXII 46. C. Jul. Gesaris Commentarii. Parisiis, 1564. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, probably by Clovis Eve. 47. Voyages et Conquestes du Capitaine Ferdinand Courtois. Paris, 1588. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed for Louis xiii. and Anne of Austria. 48. Historia utriusque Belli Dacici a Trajano C^esare gesti, etc. Auctore F. Alfonso Ciacono. Romae, 1616. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, by Le Gascon. 49. Liber Ordinis Pontificalis. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed by Le Gascon for Dominique Sdguier, Bishop of Meaux. 50. Novum Testamentum Greece. Amsterdami, 1633. French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, by Le Gascon. 51. J. Ripamontii Historic Patrle Libri x. Mediolani, 1641-48. Italian binding of the middle of the seventeenth century. 52. Missale Romanum. Antverpiae, 1663. Dutch binding of the second half of the seventeenth century, by Magnus of Amsterdam. 53. Braun. Historia Augusta. Augusts Vindel. & Diling^e, 1698. German binding of the end of the seventeenth century. 54. Cl. Claudiani QUJE exstant. Lugduni Batavorum, 1650. French binding of the first half of the eighteenth century, executed for the Baron de Longepierre. 55. 56. M. Fabii Quintiliani Institutionum Oratoriarum Libri xii. Parisiis, 1538. French binding of the first half of the eighteenth century, executed by Padeloup for Count von Hoym. 57, 58. Office de la Semaine Sainte. Paris, 1712. French binding of the first half of the eighteenth century, executed by Padeloup for Fran^oise Marie, wife of Philippe, Duke of Orleans. 59. Uffizio della Settimana Santa. Roma, 1758. Italian binding of the middle of the eighteenth century; with the arms of Pope Clement xiii. 60. Les grans croniques de France. Paris [1493]. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, by Derome. XXlll 6 1. Caii Cornelii Taciti Opera. Venice, about 1470. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, by Derome. 62. La Sainte Bible. Cologne, 1739. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, by Le Monnier. 63. L'Art de se connoitre Soi-Mesme. La Haye, 1749. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed for Madame Adelaide, eldest daughter of Louis xv. 64. L’Anti-Lucrece. Par M. le Cardinal de Polignac. Paris, 1754. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed for Madame Victoire, second daughter of Louis xv. 65. Histoire du Monde. Par M. Chevreau. Paris, 1717. French binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed for Madame Sophie, third daughter of Louis xv. xxiv PLATES AND DESCRIPTIONS PLATE I. THE FOUR GOSPELS. THE LATIN VULGATE VERSION. PROBABLY WRITTEN IN NORTH-WESTERN GERMANY LATE IN THE TENTH CENTURY. Additional MS. 21,921. INDING, probably German, of the end of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century. The covers consist of thick wooden boards covered with leather. On the upper cover is a sunk panel, which, together with the surrounding frame, is overlaid with plates of copper-gilt; the frame is also studded with crystals, a large one being placed at each corner. The metal in the panel is ornamented with a scale pattern repousse, the sunk edges being covered with small leaves, etc. In the centre, in high relief, is a seated figure of Christ crowned, the right hand raised in the act of blessing, and the left holding a book, the eyes of the figure being formed by two black beads. At the four corners of the panel are small squares of champlevd enamel, in blue, green, and red, added not earlier than the fourteenth century. The lower cover is of stamped leather of the fifteenth century. Purchased in 1857. sun ‘ !'>.a sc;*-. :v-S t i v - PLATE I. THE FOUR GOSPELS IN LATIN. Actual size . I ■ . ' ( ■■ - ■ / D PLATE II. THE PSALTER IN LATIN. WRITTEN AND ILLUMINATED FOR MELISSENDA, DAUGHTER OF BALDWIN, KING OF JERUSALEM FROM A.D. I I l8 TO A.D. II3I, AND WIFE OF FULKE, COUNT OF ANJOU, AND KING OF JERUSALEM FROM A.D. II3I TO A.D. II44. Eger ton MS. 1139. REMARKABLY fine Byzantine binding of the twelfth century. The covers consist of wood, in which are inserted two plaques of ivory beautifully carved. On the upper cover are six scenes from the life of David, enclosed within circles, the intervening spaces being filled with figures symbolizing the triumph of the Virtues over the Vices; the whole surrounded by a very elegant interlaced and foliated border. The lower cover, the general design of which is similar to that of the upper, is carved with six scenes representing the works of Mercy; figures of birds and beasts being also introduced. At the top of this cover is the name Herodius, probably that of the artist. Both covers are ornamented with small rubies and turquoises. The volume once possessed clasps, but these are now wanting. It is stated by Du Sommerard, in his work Les Arts au Moyen Age , that the book formerly belonged to the monastery of La Grande Chartreuse at Grenoble, and subsequently to Dr. Commarmont of Lyons. It was purchased by the Museum in 1845. ' . OF ' : tnviN, > ivifk of V :V‘ ‘ r figur * » n n,bic ■ now V . | :juentl> t 1845. PLATE II. THE PSALTER IN LATIN. Actual size. I • :■ ■ w $* . ' i * L * PLATE III. THE FOUR GOSPELS, THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, THE CATHOLIC EPISTLES, AND THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS, CORINTHIANS, AND GALATIANS, IN GREEK. WRITTEN IN THE TENTH CENTURY, WITH A COLOURED HEAD-PIECE TO EACH BOOK, THE TITLES IN LETTERS OF GOLD, ORNAMENTED INITIALS, AND MINIATURES OF THE EVANGELISTS BEFORE THE GOSPELS OF ST. LUKE AND ST. JOHN, AND THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Additional MS. 28,815. YZANTINE binding, probably of the twelfth century. It is composed of thick wooden boards, covered at a later period with crimson velvet, now much faded, and lined with fine canvas richly embroidered in coloured silks. Round the upper cover are nailed thin plates of silver-gilt, with figures in relief, most likely of the twelfth century. These plates along the top and bottom contain half-length figures of the Four Evangelists, St. Peter, and St. Paul, with their names. The plates on the sides apparently represent the overthrow of the heresiarchs Nestor and Noetus, in three designs, with inscriptions. A central plate of later work represents Christ between the Virgin and St. John, all with enamelled nimbi. The edges of the leaves are decorated with a design in black, which Mr. Cyril Davenport, in his article on the ‘ Decoration of Book-Edges,’ in the second volume of Bibliographic a, suggests may have been painted in the fourteenth century. Purchased of Lord Wimborne in 1871. . i > V oos* APOSTLES, THE ^’S, IN GREEK. ■ repres< PLATE III. THE FOUR GOSPELS IN GREEK Actual size. ■ PLATE IV. EVANGELIA QUATUOR, VERSIONIS VULGATE, CUM PROLOGO ET ARGUMENTIS S. HIERONYMI ET TABULIS CAPITULORUM. PREFIXED ARE THE EPISTLES OF ST. JEROME TO DAMASUS, AND OF EUSEBIUS TO CARPIANUS, WITH THE CANONS, WRITTEN WITHIN ORNAMENTAL ARCHES OF VARIOUS COLOURS, AND AT THE END OF THE VOLUME IS ADDED A TABLE OF THE GOSPELS READ THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. FINELY WRITTEN IN THE CARLOVINGIAN MINUSCULE LETTER, WITH PAINTINGS OF THE EVANGELISTS, COARSELY EXECUTED. THE INITIAL LETTERS ARE BY ANOTHER HAND, AND IN A BETTER STYLE OF ART. WRITTEN PROBABLY IN WESTERN GERMANY IN THE NINTH CENTURY. Additional MS. 11,848. INDING, probably German, of the fourteenth century. It is composed of wooden boards, covered with silver plates, showing traces of gilding. On a sunk panel in the centre of the upper cover is a figure of Christ, seated on a throne, the right hand raised in the act of blessing, and the left holding a book. On the inner side of the cover, beneath the figure, which is in high relief, is a hollow filled with relics. The border which encloses the panel is ornamented with a floriated pattern repoussd, and, as well as the panel, is set with gems, which were renewed by Messrs. Rundell and Bridge in 1838 for Dr. Butler, Bishop of Lichfield. Attached to the two outer corners are tablets which have the symbols of St. Luke and St. John, set in translucent enamel of deep blue, the nimbi green ; the tablets of the other two Evangelists have been lost, and have been replaced by metal plaques. The sunk panel on the lower cover has a very Q u - T OLOGO ET -S ;hd arv • ■ ?! >(, t-i With 5 . ,v • ,jk panel holding a . : PLATE IV'. KVANGKLIA QUATUOK. 12i in. by 9 A in. elegant ivy-leaf pattern repousse, with an embossed and gilt Agnus Dei in the centre; the border is similar to that on the upper cover, but without the gems and enamels. The silver clasps are modern. It has been thought preferable to give an illustration of the lower cover, the work on which is very fine, instead of one of the upper cover, where, as already stated, the gems have been renewed. This manuscript was bought by Bishop Butler at the sale of Lord Strang- ford’s library at Sotheby’s in August 1831 for one hundred pounds. It was purchased for the Museum in 1841. 1 PLATE V. TH01VLE EBENDORFFER DE HASELBACH DIRECTORIUM HISTORICUM. A COMPENDIUM OF THE HISTORY OF THE EMPERORS OF THE WEST, PRECEDED BY A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE FOUR MONARCHIES. WRITTEN FOR FREDERICK III., EMPEROR OF GERMANY, IN 1450, BY HIS CHAPLAIN, THOMAS EBENDORFFER, OF HASELBACH, IN LOWER AUSTRIA, CANON OF ST. STEPHEN’S, VIENNA, AND PASTOR OF BERTHOLDSDORF. Additional MS. 22,273. ERMAN binding of the middle of the fifteenth century. Dark brown calf, ornamented with designs cut in outline and brought into low relief by stippling the background. On the upper cover are the arms of the Emperor Frederick 111. (the eagle painted black), with the inscription ‘ Fridericus rex, etc., 1451,’ and below, his motto AEIOV ( i.e . Austriae est imperare orbi universo); the whole surrounded by grace¬ fully curving branches of foliage. At the foot of the cover occurs the name of the binder, ‘ Petrus ligator.’ On the lower cover is a very beautiful design of foliage, with a shield charged with a griffin having the head of an ox. The binding has brass bosses, corner-pieces, and clasps. Purchased in 1858. BEK DO EL i*C > .: TTORHjM tten foi PLATE V. THOM/E EBENDORFFER DE HASELBACH DIR ECTOR IUM HISTORICUM. r 45 °- A dual size. . : ■ PLATE VI. POSTILLA FRATRIS THOME DE AQVINO IN IOB. COLOPHON: EXPLICIT POSTILLA IN IOB FRATRIS THOME DE AQVINO ANNO MILLESIMOQVADRINGENTESIMOSEPTVAGESIMOQRTO PER DIS- CRETVM CON RAD VM FYNER D’GERHVSZEN ARTIS IMPRESSORIE MAGISTRVM. VERY remarkable and beautiful German stamped binding of the second half of the fifteenth century, executed by Johann Hagmayer of Ulm. Brown calf, having upon both covers borders consisting of a framework of a double set of intersecting two-line fillets. Between the lines of the border at the top and bottom of the upper cover are stamps with a floral device, representations of wyverns occupying the sides, while at the angles are impressed circular medallions containing the Holy Lamb with cross and banner. This border encloses a panel decorated with various quadrupeds, an ape and a dragon; interlaced with branches of foliage with acorns. The panel on the lower cover is ornamented with fourteen birds of different kinds and a dragon; the border surrounding it having stamps with floral designs between the lines at the top and bottom, figures of swans at the sides, and an angel holding a book at each corner. The volume once possessed clasps, portions of which still remain. Mr. Weale states that the representations of animals on this binding are copied from those on the playing-cards engraved by the master E. S. of 1466. The book was formerly in the library of Dr. Georg Kloss of Frankfort-on-the-Main. Purchased in 1844. QVINO !M JOB. y r • the i i pc* >1 animals * i bind by the *> J S. os ; v in 1 / PLATE VI. POSTILLA FRATRIS THOME DE AQUINO IN JOB. ESSLINGEN, 14/4- 12A in. bv 8A in. " , , ■ . . . ■ . PLATE VII . RAINERIVS DE PISIS. PANTHEOLOGIA. PRINTED BY BERTOLDUS AT BASLE, ABOUT 1475- REMARKABLY fine German binding of the second half of the fifteenth century. Brown leather, probably goat¬ skin. On a panel in the centre of the upper cover, cut in outline, partly stamped and partly drawn by a fine tool, is a representation of a man apparently lecturing, attired in gown and cap, and seated on a chair before a desk with an open book upon it. Above the chair is seen a pot with a flower in it, and behind the desk is another flower; while at the left hand upper corner of the panel is a shield charged with a pair of compasses, inverted, and opened at an angle of forty-five degrees. This panel is surrounded by a border, the upper and lower portions of which consist of large and small lozenge-shaped stamps, the larger containing a crowned double-headed eagle, and the smaller a floral device; the sides of the border are formed of lozenge¬ shaped ornamental stamps and roses, which are repeated on the panels of the back. The panel on the lower cover is decorated with stamps of roses, pots containing flowers, deer, and dogs; and has in the centre a brass boss bearing the inscription ‘Ave maria mder himel o maria’ in Gothic letters. The top and bottom of the border on this cover consist of lozenge-shaped stamps; the sides are the same as those of the upper cover. Both covers have ornamental brass corners, and the volume once possessed clasps. Purchased in 1852. ' ' ■ ■ 1 < a flora* ■ * l ■ ■ PLATE VII. RAINERIUS DE PISIS. PANTHEOLOGIA. BASLE, ABOUT I 47 5 . 1 6 in. by 11 A in. PLATE VIII . ARATI PHENOMENA. THIS MANUSCRIPT, WRITTEN IN ITALY TOWARDS THE END OF TLE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, FORMERLY BELONGED TO FRANCESCO, SON OF TOMMASO SASSETTI, OF FLORENCE, AND ON THE FIRST PAGE IS A SMALL SHIELD BEARING THE ARMS OF THE SASSETTI FAMILY. Additional MS. 15,819. TALIAN binding of the end of the fifteenth century. The leather used is brown morocco, tooled in blind. On each cover is a border and panel of interlaced cable pattern, the interstices being decorated with bead-like dots and minute roundels, the latter being filled with some metal, probably copper, and covered with a red varnish. Occupying the centre of the panel is a star within a circle, both thickly beaded. The volume formerly possessed clasps at the front, top, and bottom, but only one of these now remains. Purchased in 1846. . ■ ■ ' M AN { - ‘ ; , ' ' ’ ' * roun Vi ' '! !.e 0‘ . : 1 • • vy V ' \ v" V N '- V _ * v, • N : v w v; s v - 1 ! ■ ' ' V s - W s - f .v > " J'' • ' ‘ C v' .. - V • V '»■ ■- i- ■ v V \* \ - \ • .. V > \ f ■ a . f ' \ '■ / '■ { , / .. '" ' ; f / /. /;/ /rV..',A/ ■ / ' ' ' fi f. ' >"■! ' ' ■ / / V . '• •• ■ / / / r n < t J f . . / ■ w/, ■ : . • f, . f ■ r ■ •• r- ' / , t " t : PLATE VIII. A RATI PHENOMENA. Actual size. * I* . \ ’ 1 7 * . ' • : ■ ■ ■ i »fe PLATE IX. CORNELIVS CELSVS. COLOPHON: IMPRESSVM VENETIIS PER PHILIPPVM PINZI. SVMPTIBVS DNI BENEDICTI FONTANA. ANNO DNI M. CCCC. XCVII. DIE VI. MAI. VERY fine and interesting Italian binding of the end of the fifteenth century; the leather is a dark olive brown morocco, having in the centre of the upper cover an embossed medallion representing Curtius leaping into the abyss in the forum at Rome, and on the lower cover a similar medallion of Horatius Codes defending the Sublician bridge against the Etruscan army under Lars Porsena, of which an illustration will be found in vol. i. of Bibliographic a. Each medallion is surrounded by a green margin, and this is enclosed by a triple border of blind tooling, extending to the edge of the cover; the inter¬ vening space being filled by very elegant interlaced ornamental work, impressed in blind, and painted, in which rings washed with gold are introduced, and which is also interspersed with gold and red roundels. The gold roundels, which also occur in the inner border and at the corners of the covers, are formed of thin disks of that metal. The material of the medallions, which are gilt and painted, consists of vellum, pressed in a damp state upon the die, some com¬ position having been used to fill up the cavities and preserve the shape of the figures. The moulds from which these medallions were made were used for the purpose of casting plaques for the ornamentation of sword panels; and a bronze plaque representing Curtius leaping into the abyss, evidently produced from the same matrix as the medallion on this binding, is exhibited in the Depart¬ ment of British and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnology in the British Museum. A similar one of Horatius defending the bridge is preserved in the Museum at Berlin. : : ' i inted, -a ;> the n ■ PLATE IX. CELSUS. T)F. MEDICINA. VENETIIS, 1 497. 12 \ in. by in. I ■ These plaques were designed and executed by Giovanni delle Corniole, so named on account of his skill in cutting carnelians, who was born at Pisa soon after 1470, but who resided during the greater part of his life at Florence, where he is believed to have died in 1516. He was the son of Lorenzo, and grandson of Pietro, members of a family termed Delle Opere, because some individuals of it were manufacturers of silk fabrics brocaded with ornamental designs and figures (seta ad opera). Giovanni delle Corniole was much patronised by the great collectors of his time, especially Lorenzo de’ Medici, for whom his most beautiful works were executed. The book was once the property of Grolier, who has written on the lining of the lower cover the inscription :—Est mei jo. gvoliev lugd & amicorum. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. PLATE X. IN HOC VOLVMINE HAEC CONTINENTVR. C. SVETONII TRANQVILLI XII C^ESARES. SEXTI AVRELII VICTORIS A D. OESARE AVGVSTO VSQVE AD THEODOSIVM EXCERPTA. EVTROPII DE GESTIS ROMANORVM LIB. X., ETC. COLOPHON: VENETIIS IN AEDIBVS ALDI, ET ANDREAE SOCERI MENSE MAIO MDXXI. RENCH binding of the first half of the sixteenth century; brown calf, each cover bearing the arms of Francis i., King of France, surrounded by the Order of St. Michel, and ensigned with the royal crown. Below the arms is a salamander, the device of the King, and on either side of them a crowned F. The volume has been rebound, the original sides being inlaid. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. Francis i. was a great lover of literature and the fine arts, and he particu¬ larly delighted in beautiful bindings. It is said of him by Angelo Boccha, in the notice of his library, that he was ‘ non minus litteris, quam armis clarus.’ The bindings executed for him are ornamented with various designs. Some are decorated in the Grolier style, others are studded with a crowned F. and the fleur-de-lis. They almost always bear the arms of the King, together with his badge, a salamander in the midst of flames, which is occasionally accom¬ panied by the legend ‘ Nutrio et extinguo.’ This device was chosen for him when young by his tutor, Arthus de Gouffier Boisy, Comte d’Estampes, and he used it throughout his life. Etienne Roffet, called Le Faucheur, was the King’s binder, but some of his books are believed to have been bound by Philippe Le Noir and Geoffroy Tory. ;• ■ . ' • ' • ■ ; • . ■ ' r ***' • V ' • ' , . . ‘ ■ ' ■ ... '• ! • J r '■ • ir ’ « . . *■:' ■. - . . ; • • • ■ • . , i ■ ■ ■ | ' ■ 1 •, ' ; ■ f . ' v • . . ■ • - : •* ■ * . ■ • i ■ ’ . * J > £■' r ' jf* « 4 ■ ’> . ■■ ' I : , • . ■ ' " ; ! ; ■ " i- : : • ; . .• * • • . ■ " ; ■ • ' . \ : ' V "" • »’• ■ ‘ *'• -A •. . • / - . , • • . J . • /. ... •••• •. / ; s ' - • ;• i . . ■ • * ■ .. s' • •• •$ j C.\ CUte< or Y:- < U t . tutor, An ELATE X. C. SUETONII TKANQUILLI XII C.ESARES. VENETIIS, I 52 I. A dual size. . ■ •• . p jj I '•/ ■, ' PLATE XL SILII ITALICI DE BELLO PVNICO SECVNDO XVII LIBRI NVPER DILIGENTISSIME CASTIGATI. COLOPHON: VENETIIS IN AEDIBVS ALDI, ET ANDREAE ASVLANI SOCERI MENSE IVLIO M. D. XXIII. ALIAN binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier; citron morocco, each side having an interlaced geometrical border, within which is a panel formed of ornamental tooling, enclosing on the upper cover the name of the author of the book, and on the lower the usual motto used by Grolier:— portio mea domine sit in terra viventivm. At the foot of the upper cover are the words io. grolierii et amicorvm. This book appears to have been purchased at the sale of Grolier’s library in 1676 by Jacques Auguste de Thou, the third son of the historian, who has inscribed his name at the beginning and end of the volume; afterwards it passed into the collection of the Marquis de Menars, whose monogram and coronet have been added on the panels of the back. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. Jean Grolier, Vicomte d’Aguisy, the famous statesman, scholar, and collector, was the son of Etienne Grolier and Antoinette Esbarde. He was born at Lyons in 1479. In 1510 he succeeded his father in the office of Treasurer of the Duchy of Milan, and in 1516 he married Anne Bri^onnet, by whom he had five children. He resided in Italy, with the exception of some visits to France, until 1529, when the French troops were withdrawn from that country. In 1524 Grolier was sent by Francis 1. on an embassy to Pope Clement vii., and in 1545 he obtained the reversion of the office of Treasurer-General of France, to which he succeeded on the death of Charles Du Plessis in 1547. This post he held until his death, which took place at Paris on the 22nd of October 1565 at his r' * . . , ■ , "• , ! v ' ■ ' < « ■ . .• . I ■: .• ' i ; rove, >n of i I I ■ ; il of to w Jcl ( PLATE XI. SILII ITALICI DE BELLO PUNICO SECUNDO LIBRI XVII. VENETIIS, I523. Actual size. residence, the Hotel de Lyon, near the Porte de Buci, where he kept his mag¬ nificent library, which consisted of more than three thousand volumes, about three hundred and fifty of which are known still to exist. Grolier’s books are generally bound in morocco, fine skins of which he procured from the Levant, but they are sometimes covered with calf. The bindings are most frequently tooled in gold with a geometrical pattern com¬ bined with arabesques, either solid, azured, or in outline only, the ornamentation being occasionally coloured. Sometimes the geometrical design occurs without the arabesque work, or the arabesque work without the geometrical design. In rare instances we find the entire side, with the exception of the ornamental panels, covered with exceedingly graceful arabesque tooling. (See Plate xiv.) With very few exceptions, the covers of all the books bound for Grolier bear his liberal and well-known motto, io. grolierii et amicorvm, and he placed it too on the covers of those which were already bound when he acquired them, if he could do so without damaging or disfiguring the binding. He also wrote it with numerous slight variations—as many as thirteen are known—in the interior of the volumes. This inscription almost always occurs on the upper cover, while the legend portio mea domine sit in terra viventivm, adapted from the fifth verse of the one hundred and forty-second Psalm, is generally found on the lower. Grolier did not, however, confine himself to this legend. tanqvam ventvs est vita mea, from the seventh verse of the seventh chapter of the Book of Job; cvstodit dominvs omnes diligenter se, et omnes impios disperdet, a portion of verse twenty of the one hundred and forty-fifth Psalm; and qvisqve svos patimvr manes, a part of the seven hundred and forty-third line of the sixth book of the Aineid , were occasionally used. Some¬ times his arms:—az., three bezants or in point, with three stars arg. in chief— are stamped upon the covers of his books. On a few of his volumes occurs a device of a hand entwined with a scroll bearing the words ^eqve difficvlter, coming out of a cloud, and striving to pull an iron bar from the ground on the top of the highest of a group of mountains, probably the Alps. This is found only on his earlier bindings, and is believed to refer to some special event of his life. It is not always easy to determine which of these fine bindings were executed in Italy, and which in France. During Grolier’s stay in the former country he made the acquaintance of Aldus Manutius, the ‘scholar printer’ of Venice, and assisted both him and his successors with money in the production of the beautiful volumes which issued from their press. In recognition of this aid special copies of these books, several of which were dedicated to him, were printed for his library, and there is little doubt but that those of the volumes which appeared during Grolier’s residence in Italy were also bound for him in the workshops of Aldus and his family, for their bindings possess all the characteristics of Italian work of the time. The present Plate is a good example of these bindings. A great number of the books which Grolier added to his collection after his return to France bear evident marks of having been bound there; the arabesque tooling being azured instead of solid like that generally found on the Italian bindings (see Plates xm. and xiv.); but there is some difficulty with regard to many of the later Aldine books which belonged to Grolier, printed after he left Italy, as their covers are ornamented with precisely the same stamps as those used on the earlier volumes, and it is therefore doubtful whether bound copies of these works were sent to him direct from the printer, or whether they were bound by the workmen said to have been brought by Grolier to France on his return to that country, and adorned with stamps which they took with them. After Grolier s death his books were divided among his heirs, the greater number, partly by heritage, and partly by purchase, becoming the property of his son-in-law, Mdry de Vic, Keeper of the Seals under Louis xm. They lemained in possession of the family until 1676, when they were sold by public auction. PLATE XII. DE GLI ASOLANI DI M. PIETRO BEMBO NE QVALI SI RAGIONA D’AMORE PRIMO (-TERZO) LIBRO. COLOPHON: STAMPATI IN VINEGIA PER GIOVANANTONIO & I FRATELLI DA SABBIO. MDXXX. ALIAN binding of the first half of the sixteenth century. The leather is a reddish brown morocco, the sides being decorated with a geometrical design combined with scroll¬ work. The inscription io. grolierii et amicorvm is impressed at the foot of the upper cover, and the legend PORTIO MEA domine sit in terra viventivm in the centre of the lower one. The back, which is without bands, is tooled with a fish-scale pattern. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. . ' 4 - ’ PLATE XII. DE GLI ASOLANI DI M. PIETRO BEMBO. VINEGIA, I 53O. Actual size. ! , : PLATE XIII. IL PRENCIPE DI NICOLO MACHIAVELLI, AL MAGNIFICO LORENZO DI PIERO DE MEDICI. LA VITA DI CASTRVCCIO CASTRACANI DA LVCCA. IL MODO, CHE TENNE IL DVCA VALENTINO PER AMMAZZARE VITELLOZZO VITELLI, OLIVEROTTO DA FERMO, IL S. PAVLO, & IL DVCA DI GRAVINA. I RITRATTI DELLE COSE DELLA FRANCIA, & DELL* ALAMAGNA. ALDVS. M. D. XL. COLOPHON: IN VINEGIA, NELL* ANNO M. D. XL. IN CASA DE’ FIGLIVOLI DI ALDO. RENCH binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. The leather is brown morocco; the sides being ornamented with a geometrical design, coloured red and blue, and interlaced with arabesques, portions of which are painted red and green. At the foot of the upper cover is the motto io. grolierii et amicorvm, and in the centre of the lower cover the legend portio mea domine sit in terra viventivm. The panels of the back are stamped with a small Aldine ornament. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. ■ it. : t: cipe m * ' VGNIFICO ! ORENZO IAZZA VT? T'Ll.Q/ZO DVC < KA IN A- •• PLATE XIII. IL PRENCIPE DI NICOLO MACHIAVELLI. VINF.GTA, 154O. A dual size. . . ' PLATE XIV. EX LIBRIS XXIII COMMENTARIORVM IN VETERA IMPERATORVM ROMANORVM NVMISMATA AENEAE VICI LIBER PRIMVS. ALDVS: VENETIIS. MDLX. CVM PRIVILEGIIS. BEAUTIFUL example of French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Grolier. The leather is morocco, which appears once to have been olive, but has since changed to a rich brown. In the centre of each side is a large oval panel, which is left blank on the upper cover, but that on the lower cover contains the legend PORTIO MEA DOMINE SIT IN TERRA VIVENTIVM. In a Small ornamental tablet at the foot of the upper cover is Grolier’s motto: io. grolierii et amicorvm. With the exception of the space occupied by the panels, the sides are covered with a particularly graceful arabesque design. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. # * m oi the second j ie mental tablet at the f< >t With the PLATE XIV. /KNK.K VIOI IN VETERA IMPERATORUM ROMANORUM NUMISMATA COM M E N TAR 11 . VENETIIS, 1560. Actual size. * ■ - . . ' PLATE XV. AN0OAOriA AIA^OPQN EnirPAMMATGN ’APXAI0I2 2TNTE0EIMENGN SO$Ol2. IMPRESSVM FLORENTIAE PER LAVRENTIVM FRANCISCI DE ALOPA VENETVM. III. IDVS AVGVSTI. M. CCCC. LXXXXIII. TALIAN binding, probably Florentine, of the first half of the sixteenth century; red morocco, each side ornamented with an outer border of corded pattern, impressed in gold, and an inner one of blind tooling; an Aldine stamp being placed at the angles of the sides and at those of the borders. In the centre of the upper cover is a sunken medallion of the head of Philip, King of Macedon, and in that of the lower cover one of Alexander the Great. The volume has clasps of plaited leather thongs, and the edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. m ' PLATE XV. ANTIIOLOGIA GRAiCA. FLORENTINE, I 494. Actual size. PLATE XVI. LE VOLGARI OPERE DEL PETRARCHA CON LE ESPOSITIONE DI ALESSANDRO VELLVTELLO DA LVCCA. MDXXV. COLOPHON: QVI FINISCONO LE OPERE VOLGARI DEL PETRARCHA, STAM- PATE IN VINEGIA PER GIOVANNIANTONIO & FRATELLI DA SABBIO DEL MESE D’AGOSTO l’aNNO DEL SIGNORE MILLE CINOVECENTO VENTICINQVE. RENCH binding of the first half of the sixteenth century; brown morocco, having on each cover a handsome border, enclosing a panel filled with ornamental work of an arabesque pattern, in which is introduced the pot cassd, the device of Geoffroy Tory, by whom the book was bound. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Purchased in i860. Geoffroy Tory, who was a writer, artist, engraver, and printer, as well as a bookbinder, was born at Bourges about the year 1480. At an early age he went to Paris for the purpose of improving his education, but after a short residence there he left for Rome, and joined the classes at the Sapienza College in that city, where he specially devoted himself to the study of the arts of design and engraving. Returning to France about 1505, he fixed his domicile in Paris, and was appointed professor of literature and philosophy in several colleges. In 1518 he commenced business as a bookseller, and also set up a printing- press, from whence he brought out editions of the works of some of the Greek and Latin authors, translated and annotated by himself. He also published several Books of Hours, beautifully adorned with engravings, arabesque designs, and ornamental letters. His principal work is entitled Champfleury , a book t < • IONE Di , ■ VEN TICINO V . . u ' Geoffrey Tory, who '.'iy, whec v: specially ci 4 . from whence he bro PLATE XVI. OPERE DEL PETRARCHA. VINEGIA, I 525. Actual size. treating of the art and science of the due and true proportion of letters. In 1530 he was appointed printer to Francis 1. He died in 1533. Tory used for the decoration of his bindings two stamps of very elegant arabesque work, in which his device the pot cassd forms part of the ornament. These stamps are in the Italian style, and are of different sizes; the larger one has the pot cassd pierced with a wimble or auger (toret), the smaller one has the vase without it. Tory was employed by Grolier to design some letters for him, which it is possible may be those used on his bindings. PLATE XVII. EPISTOLE OVIDII CV COMETO. ij COLOPHON: PVBLII OVIDII NASONIS POETE CLARISSIMI HEROIDES EPISTO- LAS, ET RELIQVA EIVSDEM VATIS HOC IN OPERE CONTENTA CVDEBAT IOANNES DAVID ALIAS LA MOVCHE LVGDVNI ANNO POST PARTVM VIRGINIS MCCCCCXXVIII. MESIS MAII DIE XXII. VERY beautiful example of French stamped binding of the first half of the sixteenth century. The leather is brown calf. On the upper cover is a large panel stamp of the Vision of the Emperor Augustus (Ara Coeli). On the left is seen the Emperor kneeling, attended by a courtier, and in front of him stands the Sibyl, who, magnificently attired and accom¬ panied by an attendant, points to the sky, where, encircled with rays of light, appears the Madonna, crowned, and holding the infant Saviour in her arms. On each side of her are three fleurs-de-lis, and on her right is a candlestick with a lighted taper in it. The whole is enclosed by a very elegant border, in which, amid wreaths of foliage, shepherds and shepherdesses and various animals are very artistically introduced. In the lower portion of the border, between two woodhouses or wild men engaged in combat, is a shield bearing the initials of the binder, Jehan Norins. The lower cover is divided by vertical lines into three compartments. In the central compartment is a figure of St. Bernard kneeling, and looking towards heaven. Above, surrounded by stars, is seen the Virgin Mary, holding the infant Christ, who stretches out his arms towards the saint. With her right hand the Madonna presses her breast, the milk from which flows to the lips of St. Bernard, from whose mouth proceeds a scroll bearing the words ‘ Mostra te ee matr ’ (Monstra te esse matrem). Beneath the figure of the saint is impressed his name. Each of the side compartments is divided into three partitions; that on the left containing figures of David with a harp, Elepontia, holding a tau- •V •< 1 ' • ■ ■ '■ - . WW ■ ‘ :« h ■ ■: : ■ ■ ' ’ : . ■ . ■ Y- i'-h ■ .■ from ■ x:. ■]• ■ ' nt -av.'aur ", v which, amid the • . •>> s -' • ;y. ■■ PLATE XVII. ' \ EPISTOLE OVIDII. LUGDUN'I, 1528. Actual size. ■ shaped cross, and Ballam (Balaam); that on the right, Europa, Daniel, and Libica, the two Sibyls having each a sword. The volume once possessed clasps, of which fragments only now remain. Bequeathed by Felix Slade, Esq. Very little is known respecting the binder, Jehan Norins. He is believed to have worked in Paris, but even this is quite uncertain. His name in full occurs on a small panel stamp with an acorn pattern which he occasionally used. PLATE XVIII. DICTATORIS C. IVLII CESARIS BELLI GALLICI COMMENTARII, ETC. COLOPHON: ANNO CHRISTI M. CCCC. LXIX. DIE VERO XII. MENSIS MAIL PAVLO FLORENTE II. ANNO EIVS V. ROME IN DOMO PETRI DE MAXIMIS. FIRST EDITION, PRINTED BY CONRAD SWEYNHEIM AND ARNOLD PANNARTZ. TALIAN binding of the first half of the sixteenth century, executed for the collector Tommaso Maioli. The leather is brown morocco, with borders consisting of an elegant arabesque design, the ground being covered with gold dots. In the centre of each cover is an ornamental tablet; that on the upper cover bearing the title of the book, and that on the lower a monogram which appears to be composed of the letters D. T. M. At the foot of the upper cover occurs the inscription : tho • maioli • et • amicor. The back, which is without bands, is tooled with a pattern somewhat similar to that of the borders. The volume once belonged to Paul Girardot de Prdfond, whose ex libris is pasted on the inside of the upper cover. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. Second only in interest and beauty to the bindings executed for Grolier are those which bear the name of Tommaso Maioli. It is not known when this collector was born, where he resided, or in what year he died; his books form the only record of his existence, and from the date of the printing of one of the volumes which he possessed, we learn that he was still living in the year 1555. He is thought to have been a relative, possibly a nephew, of Lorenzo Maioli, a learned Genoese, who, according to Aldus, who in 1497 ' once belonged | ; . ; of t ic ■ ' r '* ' ’ only in \r- mi *» / record oi a nephew, of * PLATE XVIII. C. JULII CESAR IS COMM ENT ARIL ROME, I 469. 12 ^ in. by 9 in. ' : ■ * published two works written by him, was a professor of philosophy at Ferrara. Maioli is also believed to have been a friend of Grolier, as two books preserved in the Public Library at Lyons have the name and legend of Maioli on the covers, and the signature of Grolier in the interior of the volumes, but these may have been acquired by Grolier after the death of their earlier possessor. M. Aimd Vingtrinier, in a tract entitled Maioli et sa famille , printed at Paris in 1891, suggests that Maioli may be an Italianised form of Mayol, the name of an illustrious Provencal family, but he advances little in support of his proposition. Occasionally the motto inimici mei mea michi non me michi, which may be rendered ‘ My enemies are able to take that which is mine from me, but not me from myself,’ is stamped upon Maioli’s bindings, and on a few the legend ingratis servare nephas. The elaborate cypher which occurs on the lower cover of the binding of which the upper cover is represented in Plate xix. is thought by M. Guigard, in his Nouvel Armorial du Bibliophile , to be com¬ posed of the letters A. E. H. I. L. M. O. P. S. T., forming the name E. P. Thomas Maioli, but the explanation is far from satisfactory, and the meaning of the monogram still remains to be deciphered. PLATE XIX. HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI, VBI HVMANA OMNIA NON NISI SOMNIVM ESSE DOCET, ATQVE OBITER PLVRIMA SCITV SANE QVAM DIGNA COMMEMORAT. COLOPHON: VENETIIS MENSE DECEMBRI M.ID. IN ^EDIBVS ALDI MANVTII, ACCVRATISSIME. NOTHER fine Italian binding executed for Tommaso Maioli; dark olive morocco, each cover being ornamented with a handsome arabesque border, portions of which are stained black, while other parts of the pattern are studded with gold dots. On the upper cover this border encloses a panel of inlaid morocco of a light olive colour, in the centre of which is a cartouche of architectural design containing the title of the book. At the foot of the cover is Maioli s motto: tho. maioli et amicorum. The panel on the lower cover, which is not inlaid, has a similar cartouche to that on the upper cover, in which is impressed a monogram, which has not yet been satisfactorily deciphered. The back, which is without bands, is decorated with arabesque tooling. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. NON N1- 50MNIV ' motto: tiio. m 4ioi ; - ! i mono;, a ’*< i n is m; which i? withojl i« PLATE XIX. HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPIIILI. VENETIIS, I499. I2.J in. by 8^ in. « . , 1 s ' - ' t PLATE XX. LE CHAPPELLET DE IHESVS ET DE LA VIERGE MARIE. A METRICAL LIFE OF CHRIST, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST, THE ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN, AND PRAYERS TO THE SAME ; ILLUSTRATED BY A SERIES OF FINE MINIATURES. EXECUTED FOR ANNA, WIFE [152I-I547] OF FERDINAND, KING OF THE ROMANS, AFTERWARDS EMPEROR. AT A LATER PERIOD THE VOLUME CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF MARGARET TUDOR, WIFE OF JAMES IV., KING OF SCOTLAND. Additional MS. 25,693. BEAUTIFUL binding, probably executed in the Nether¬ lands, of the first half of the sixteenth century. The material employed is green velvet, having clasps of silver, with the letters of anna on the sides, and I.H.S. and MA. on the fronts ; the letters being gilt. On the covers are ten silver-gilt bosses in the form of Tudor roses, each bearing one of the letters of the name marguerite, in silver. The covers are lined with red silk, and are edged with gold cord. Presented in 1864 by the Earl of Home. • ' riff! SAMP. the Nether- ;itury. The ; .w ;)s ol ilver. * % * 4 PLATE XX. LE CHAPPELLET DE IHESUS ET DE LA VIERGE MARIE A dual size. | • . ' . * PLATE XXL CLAVDII PTOLEM®I ALEXANDRINI GEOGRAPHIC® ENARRATIONIS LIBRI OCTO. EX BILIBALDI PIRCKEYMHERI TRALATIONE, SED AD GR/ECA & PRISCA EXEMPLARIA A MICHAELE VILLANOVANO SECVNDO RECOGNITI, & LOCIS INNVMERIS DENVO CASTIGATI. ADIECTA INSVPER AB EODEM SCHOLIA, QVIBVS & DIFFICILIS ILLE PRIMVS LIBER NVNC PRIMVM EXPLICATVR, & EXOLETA VRBIVM NOMINA AD NOSTRI SECVLI MOREM EXPONVNTVR. QVINQVAGINTA ILLA2 QVOQVE CVM VETERVM TVM RECENTIVM TABVL^ ADNECTVNTVR, VARIIQVE INCOLENTIVM RITVS & MORES EXPLICANTVR. ACCEDIT INDEX LOCVPLETISSIMVS HACTENVS NON VISVS. PROSTANT LVGDVNI APVD HVGONEM A PORTA M. D. XLI. COLOPHON: EXCVDEBAT GASPAR TRECHSEL, VIENNA, M. D. XLI. VERY fine Italian binding of the middle of the sixteenth century. The leather is brown morocco, each cover having a handsome gilt border enclosing an ornamental panel com¬ posed of beautiful geometrical and arabesque tooling. In the centre of the panel on the upper cover is a medallion stamped in gold, in which are represented an eagle soaring upwards, rocks, and the sea with fish swimming in it; the whole being surrounded by a band bearing the motto este procul ; at the top of the same side are stamped the words cosmographia ptolemaei. The panel on the lower cover has an oval tablet, upon which is inscribed the name APLLONII PHILARETI. Bequeathed by Felix Slade, Esq. Apollonio Filareto was the Secretary of Pierluigi Farnese, a natural son of Pope Paul hi., whom his father created Duke of Castro in 1537, and ■IM1 OfTC * EXJEMPLARIA N . $ ■ • . SCHOLIA, gvili RECENTIV? t r \ colo \ jo. : . . vi. ■ ■ ■ ,v . century. \KHQVL IHCO' b ■: rown .!)r a harsdscv ■ sing ; •i t >} lower* co •; h?: si ; the Ca 1537, and PLATE XXI. CLAUDII PTOLEM.EI GEOGRAPHICAL ENARRATIONIS LIBRI OCTO. VIENN/E, 154I. 17.$ in. by I I ^ in. ■ : Duke of Parma and Piacenza in 1545. On the death of the Duke, who was assassinated in 1547, Filareto was imprisoned in the Castle of Milan, where he remained for a long period. He was finally liberated, and went to Rome, where he embraced a religious life. Filareto devoted himself to the study of literature, and especially of the Italian language and poetry. Two sonnets by him are given in Atanagi’s Rime di Diversi Nobili Poeti Toscani , printed at Venice in 1565. PLATE XXI1. TOT SO£2TATOT RAI AOIT{2TATOT MANOTHAOT TOT MOSXOnOTAOT nEPI SXEA12N. MANVELIS MOSCHOPVLI DE RATIONE EXAMINAND^E ORATIONIS LIBELLVS. EX BIBLIOTHECA REGIA. LVTETIAE, EX OFFICINA ROBERTI STEPHANI TYPOGRAPHI REGII. M. D. XLV. CVM PRIVILEGIO REGIS. BEAUTIFUL and interesting French binding of the middle of the sixteenth century. The leather is citron morocco; each cover bearing in the centre of a panel, formed by a border of a corded pattern, the arms of Henry 11., King of France, surrounded by the Order of St. Michel, and accom¬ panied by his initial and a crescent; the whole enclosed by four bows tied together with ribbons; the bows and the crescent being painted white. On the upper cover the border of the panel is stamped in dark, and the arms in light-coloured gold; on the lower the colours are reversed. The sides are also ornamented with a monogram, which is believed to be that of Henry and his mistress, Diana of Poitiers, Duchess of Valentinois, and with fleurs-de-lis and interlaced crescents. The title of the work occurs at the top of the upper cover. The back, which is without bands, is decorated with crowned H’s in light, and fleurs-de-lis in dark-coloured gold; and the edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred; the initial of the King, the monogram of Diana, and the interlaced crescents being also impressed upon them. The book formerly possessed bosses and clasps, but these are now wanting. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. KW TOT MANVELIS W ■ crown d H : edge oi the leave . , | # jsW* : the King, the •»vv wanting. €. M. Cracherode. PLATE XXII. M. MOSCHOPULI I)E RATIONE EXAM I NAN D/E ORATIONIS LIBELLUS. GR/ECE. LUTETI/E, I 545. Actual size. The bindings of the books which belonged to Henry il, King of France, and of those which he presented to his beautiful and accomplished mistress, Diana of Poitiers, Duchess of Valentinois, are some of the finest in existence. It is not always easy to distinguish between the volumes which were the property of the King and those which formed the library of the Duchess, for in many instances the bindings of both are alike decorated with the royal arms and the initial of Henry, as well as the interlaced crescents and the bows and arrows—devices used by Diana. There is also but little doubt that the King carried with him to Anet, the chateau where the Duchess kept her books, volumes from the royal library, which were never returned. On almost all the bindings is found the monogram which is usually considered to be composed of the initials of the King and his mistress. Diane de Poitiers, who was born on the 3rd of September 1499, was the daughter of Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Vallier, and was married at an early age to Louis de Breze, Count of Maulevrier, who died in 1531. When her lover, Henry 11., succeeded to the throne of France he created her Duchess of Valentinois. On his death she retired to her chateau of Anet, which she had built with money given her by the King, and died there on the 23rd of April 1566. Her books were kept in the chateau until 1723, when they were sold by auction. PLATE XXIII. PETRI BEMBI CARDINALIS HISTORIAE VENETAE LIBRI XII. CVM PRIVILEGIIS. VENETIIS M. D. LI. COLOPHON: VENETIIS, APVD ALDI FILIOS. M. D. LI. RENCH binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; brown morocco, each cover having on an oval inlay of olive morocco, in the centre of a panel formed by an ornamental border in light gold, the arms of Henry n., King of France, surrounded by the Order of St. Michel, and accompanied by his initial and a crescent; the whole being enclosed by bows tied together with ribbons. The arms are in dark gold on the upper cover, and in blind on the lower. The sides are also decorated with interlaced crescents, a crowned H., fleurs-de-lis, and the monogram of the King and his mistress, Diana of Poitiers. The title of the book is impressed at the top of the upper cover; and the back, which is without bands, is ornamented with fleurs-de-lis in dark, and crowned H’s in light gold. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred, fleurs-de-lis and the crowned initial of the King being introduced into the design. The volume has lost the bosses and clasps which it once possessed. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. f I . on the upper o aft ** r ■ •i br :u t. i < ■ "ranee, PLATE XXIII. PETRI BEMBI CARDINALIS HISTORIA VENETA. VENF.TIIS, I 55 I. I 2\ in. by 8^ in. . I • PLATE XXIV. COVSTVMES DV BAILLIAGE DE SENS 8c ANCIES RESSORTS D’ICELVY, REDIGEES, 8c ARESTEES AV MOIS DE NOVEMBRE, L’AN MIL CINQ CENTS CINQVANTE CINQ, PAR ORDONNANCE DV ROY. A SENS, DE L’lMPRIMERIE DE GILLES RICHEBOYS, M. D. LVI. AVEC PRIVILEGE DV ROY. ON THE BACK OF THE TITLE-PAGE IS WRITTEN ‘ CE LIVRE EST A MOY LAN DE NRE REGNE LE DIXIESME. HENRY.’ RENCH binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; brown calf; the sides ornamented with a handsome scroll design, decorated with black, white and pink paint, portions of which still remain. The spaces enclosed by the pattern are studded with gold dots, arranged in groups of three. In the centre of each cover is a sunk medallion of Henry n., King of France, stamped in gold; his crowned initial being placed on each side of the head. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred, and the volume once possessed clasps. Purchased in 1846. PLATE XXIV. COUSTUMES DU BAILLIAGE DE SENS. Actual size. SENS, 1556. PLATE XXV. COMIEN£A LA HYSTORIA DE LOS INVITOS Y MAGNANIMOS CAVALLEROS DON CRISTALIAN DE ESPANA PRINCIPE DE TRAPISONDA, Y DEL INFANTE LVZESCANIO SV HERMANO: CORRIGEDA Y EMENDADA DE LOS ANTIQVOS ORIGINALES, POR VNA SENORA NATVRAL DE LA NOBLE Y MAS LEAL VILLA DE VALLADOLID (BEATRIZ BERNAL). VALLADOLID. 1 545. CON PRIVILEGIO IMPERIAL. RENCH, probably Lyonnese, binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; light brown calf; the sides decorated with a very handsome geometrical design interlaced with arabesques, partly stained black, and partly painted with silver; the interspaces being thickly powdered with gold dots. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. V . *QA LA H C WALLER05 MAGKAN1M0S 1 OR VN/ S'.. • m 1 AL VILLA DE V ■ •ie si corated PLATE XXV. HYSTORIA DE LOS CAVALLEROS DON CRISTALIAN DE ESPANA V DEL INFANTE LUZESCANIO. VALLADOLID, I 545- 12 in. by 8 ^ in. PLATE XXVI. POLYDORI VERGILII VRBINATIS ANGLICAE HISTORIAE LIBRI XXVI. INDICES RERVM SINGVLARVM COPIOSOS & VSVI EGREGIO FVTVROS, ADIECIMVS. CVM GRATIA & PRIVILEGED CAESAREO. BASILEAE, APVD 10. BIBELIVM ANNO M. D. XXXIIII. VERY fine Italian binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; dark olive brown morocco, with handsome borders consisting of a geometrical design combined with arab¬ esques, and having in the centre of each cover an oval medallion representing what is generally believed to be Pegasus standing on Mount Helicon, with Helios driving his chariot towards him. The portions of paint and gilding which still remain on the stamp show that the figure of Helios was painted flesh-colour, his helmet and robe being gilt. The chariot also is gilt, with silver wheels; one of the horses attached to it having been painted white, the other black, both having gold trappings. Pegasus appears to have been covered with silver, and the clouds in the sky are similarly treated. The ground is painted green and gold. Around the medallion is the motto OP0X1S KAI MH AOSiXiS (straight forward and not obliquely). The title of the work occurs on an ornamental tablet on the upper cover, and also on the top panel of the back, the other panels being stamped with a small flower. Books with bindings decorated in this manner are generally considered to have belonged to Demetrio Canevari, physician to Pope Urban vn. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. Demetrio Canevari, who was born at Genoa in 1559, early established himself as a medical man at Rome, where he practised with much success - ' • ■ • // ' . • i er 1 ; one of th i :v,. . - , : ■ . * ■ * >.*• * ■ work .) s on an orna wuh bindings - x : M0, ■ • • Ix'c:: . motto < : ;• ' • . • : i.fis! • • ’ *' * . 4 > • . v? • ' • 1 •• • . ' ..... • -y ^OLYDORVSI VERGILI VS DE'HISTORIA i\A-NGLI CATS ELATE XXVI. POLVDORI VERGILII ANGLICAi HISTORIC LIBRI XXVI. BASILE/E, I 534 . 13 ^ in. by 9 in. for upwards of forty years. Urban vn. appointed him his physician, and he was probably the medical adviser of other Popes, including Urban vm., for his brother, Ottaviano, in a short biographical notice which he attached to a posthumous work by Demetrio, entitled De Primis Rerum Natura Factorum Principiis Commentarius, printed at Genoa in 1626, speaks of him as having been greatly esteemed by many of the Roman pontiffs. Canevari, who acquired a considerable reputation for his knowledge of medicine, languages, and letters, possessed a fine library, and is generally be¬ lieved to have been the owner of the books with the beautiful bindings bearing the medallion which has been described. It is not probable, however, that these books were actually bound for Canevari, for almost all of them were printed before he was born, and none of them later than a few years after his birth. They also appear to have been bound between the years 1540 and 1560. He may possibly have inherited them from his father, who was a Genoese gentleman. PLATE XXVII. 4 FRANCISCI PETRARCHS FLORENTINI, PHILOSOPHI, ORATORIS, & POET^E CLARISSIMI, REFLORESCENTIS LITERATVR^ LATIN.EQVE LINGVO, ALIQVOT SECVLIS HORRENDA BAR- BARIE INQVINAT^E AC PENE SEPVLT-E, ASSERTORIS & INSTAVRATORIS, OPERA QVE EXTANT OMNIA. BASILED EXCVDEBAT HENRICHVS PETRI. 1554- RENCH binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; brown calf, each cover being decorated with a border of gold tooling, enclosing a panel, in the centre of which is impressed a large oval arabesque ornament, having a medallion in gold, either of Marcus Cato, or of Marcus Tullius Cicero, placed at the top and bottom and on either side of it; the panel has ornamental corners, and is studded with dots, arranged in groups of three; six small roses are also stamped on each cover. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. From the Old Royal Collection. - ; ' ■W' : V INSl'Al ' ,7 BAfi V Ri ■ t; i' arrai s r ' f 1 ■ ; - '■% ’vi;.:*: ' < v;"C ■ '• '' > • . ' v . '■ - , : V ; •• ‘ * * -• V;c . t'ri .*’ . . • • • *r* . : ■: j . t it . i . 1 ' . : * 1 •• PLATE XXVII. PETRARCH/E OPERA. BASILE/E, I 554. 13 in. by 85 - in. PLATE XXPHI. HOR IE IN LAVDEM BEATISSIIVLE VIRGINIS MARIAE, AD VSVM ROMANVM. PARISHS. EX OFFICINA REGINALDI CALDERII & CLAVDII EIVS FILII. 1 549 . ITALIAN binding of the middle of the sixteenth century; brown calf, the sides ornamented with a handsome geometrical and arabesque design, painted red, green, black, and white. The back is decorated with arabesques, and the edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. The volume once possessed clasps. Purchased in 1838. PLATE XXVIII. HOR/E IN LAUDEM VIRGINIS MARI/E. PARISIIS, I 549 . A dual size. . ' . PLATE XXIX. *N. IL FIORE DELLA RETORICA DI MESSER GIROLAMO MASCHER MANTOVANO, IN QVATTRO LIBRI; NE’ QVALI SI COM- PRENDONO I PRECETTI VTILI E NECESSARII A CIASCVN BVON’ ORATORE, E MASSIMAMENTE DI PALAZZO SECONDO L’VSO DE’ MODERNI TEMPI. CON GRATIA, & PRIVILEGIO. IN VINEGIA PER GIOVANNI BARILETTO, M. D. LX. TALIAN (Venetian) binding of the second half of the six¬ teenth century; executed for presentation to Elizabeth, Queen of England, to whom the book is dedicated. The leather is red morocco, the covers having at each corner a gilt sunken panel, decorated with a black floral ornament in relief. In the centre of the covers are three similar panels, the large middle one containing the arms of the Queen painted in gold and colours. The name elisabetta is also painted in gold upon the sides. From the Old Royal Collection. * . : :her PLATE XXIX. MASCHER. IL FIORE DELLA RETORICA. VINEGIA, I 560. Actual size . PLATE XXX. DELLA INSTITVTIONE MORALE DI M. ALESSANDRO PICCOLOMINI LIBRI XII. CON PRIVILEGIO. IN VENETIA, APPRESSO GIORDANO ZILETTI, M. D. LX. TALIAN (Venetian) binding of the second half of the six¬ teenth century. Red morocco, with sunken panels decorated with Oriental designs stamped in slight relief upon a gold ground. The panels of the back are tooled with converging gold lines, and the edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Bequeathed by Felix Slade, Esq. Venetian bindings decorated in this style show very distinctly the influence of Eastern Art. They were not uncommon in Venice during the sixteenth century, many of the bindings of the ‘ Ducali ’ of the Republic being treated in this manner. The South Kensington Museum possesses a collection of stamps and tools used by Eastern craftsmen in the production of bindings of this description. ► , ’ - > ■ v ■ . ’ • • > • -• •> • - , •» ; ' ■r ■ , .... * ■- . r. t,.. /y . ^ - , v . . •_ • r • * . ’ • • ' ~ -.M i- .* i • i; V- • • " - V • 1 ■ ■ - . . * •' ■■■■ ’ V. .• •• ■ ■■ ; ■ ■ * " -i . v..-; N • ’ V « # l ' • .* f > ‘ *. ^ r 1 * ■> ' . • *' ' « . •• • V *•; ’V * % _ -• . * ‘ ■ ' ' * \ ;• '■ ‘ st ;rn At. / ■ h Tested PLATE XXX. PICCOLOMINI. DELLA INSTITUTIONE MORALE LIBRI XII. VENETIA, 1560. Actual size. ' ■ h.' ■ < ■ ■ ■ - - . . PLATE XXXI. PREMIER LIVRE CONTENANT SOIXANTE PSEAVMES DE DAVID, MIS EN MVSIQVE PAR THOMAS CHAMPION, DIT MITHOV, ORGANISTE DE LA CHAMBRE DV ROY. TENOR. A PARIS, CHEZ FRANCOIS TREPEAV, EN LA RVE S. VICTOR, DEVANT LE COLLEGE DV CARDINAL LE MOINE. 1 56 1. AVEC PRIVILEGE DV ROY. DEDICATED TO CHARLES IX., KING OF FRANCE. VERY charming specimen of French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, probably executed by Claude Picques. The leather is brown calf, and each cover bears the arms of Charles ix. on a shield of inlaid blue leather, surrounded by the Order of St. Michel, and surmounted with the royal crown; the covers are also very beautifully ornamented with arabesque tooling. The panels of the back are decorated with small fleurs-de-lis, and the edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Purchased in 1851. Charles ix. was a collector of books, antiquities, and coins, and he delighted to clothe the volumes of his library with sumptuous bindings, of which a considerable number have survived to our time. They generally bear on the upper cover his arms, accompanied by two C’s, interlaced and crowned; and on the lower, his device of two columns entwined with a scroll inscribed with the legend pietate ET IVSTITIA. IS E t i HAMPION, dit mithov, A PARIS, CH>Z ;• .If ■' " v ■; - - ' ; : T « ' ; ■ : . ••• • • •' " - ' •' ■ ,h‘‘ • •• was < ■ i .ns accompanied by two ■ ! e.r, his < ;\ ice of two col ' n i PLATE XXXI. PSEAUMES DE DAVID. PARIS, I 561. Actual size. Jg * PLATE XXXII . DIONYSII AREOPAGIT^E OPERA QVIE EXTANT. GRIECE. IN EADEM MAXIMI SCHOLIA. GEORGII PACHYMERES PARAPHRASIS. MICHAELIS SYNGELI ENCOMIVM. LATINE OMNIA MOX EDENDA. PARISHS, M. D. LXII. APVD GVIL. MORELIVM, IN GReECIS TYPOGRAPHVM REGIVM. RENCH binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed for Katharine de’ Medici; olive brown morocco, having the sides decorated with a coloured geometrical design, outlined in gold, and combined with arabesques. In the centre of each cover are painted the arms of the Queen, ensigned with the royal crown, and surrounded by the cordelUre des veuves. Four of the panels of the back bear a crowned K. The edges of the leaves are gilt and elegantly gauffred. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. Queen Katharine de’ Medici from her earliest years manifested a love for choice books and beautiful bindings. This love, which she inherited from the Princes of the House of Medici, and which she shared with her father-in-law, Franc s i., and her husband, Henry n., has been sung by Ronsard in the following verses:— Ceste royne d’honneur de telle race [ i.e . Medici] issue ***** Pour ne degenerer de ses premiers ayeux, Soigneuse, a fait chercher les livres les plus vieux, Hebreux, grecs et latins traduits et a traduire; Et par noble despense elle en a fait reliure Son chasteau de Sainct Maur, a fin que sans danger Le Frangois fust vainqueur du sgavoir estranger. 1 - * ' A JT. GREECE. ' •: dcd by :' 'he back « « /or Queen Katharine dv M Franc ; i. m< ber .uisbee PLATE XXXII. DIONYSII AREOPAGITPE OPERA, GR/ECE. PARISIIS, I 562. Actual size. ■ - ■ The Queen’s library, which she kept in her chateaux of Chenonceaux, in Tourraine, and St. Maur, near Paris, was a very fine and important one, and contained more than four thousand printed books, as well as a large number of rare and valuable manuscripts. A considerable portion of these once belonged to the collection of Marshal Strozzi, who was killed at the siege of Thionville in 1558. On his death, Katharine took possession of his books, which were valued at more than fifteen thousand crowns, assuring his son that she would pay him for them some day, but this promise she failed to fulfil. When the Queen died in 1588 she was deeply in debt, and her books were in peril of being seized by her creditors and sold. This danger was averted by the exertions of Jean Baptiste Benciveni, Abbd de Bellebranche, the Queen’s chaplain, who managed to get possession of them and retain them until De Thou, the famous historian, who in 1591 had been appointed librarian to Henry iv., obtained letters patent, which enabled him, after the lapse of some time, to place them in the King’s library. When they were deposited there in 1599 the volumes were mostly rebound, and stamped with the royal arms as a sign that from henceforth they belonged to the Crown. This probably accounts for the com¬ paratively few bindings now in existence bearing the arms of this Queen. The bindings of Katharine’s books are generally very elaborately ornamented, and they are evidently the work of the best artists of her time. A great variety of design is found on them, but for the most part they bear the arms of France, accompanied by a monogram formed of two C’s, or of an H and two C’s, and occasionally of one consisting of two M’s, all ensigned with a crown. A crowned K also frequently occurs on them, particularly on the panels of the back. After the death of her husband, her books have her arms—the arms of France and the Medici—encircled by the cordelikre des veuves stamped or painted on the covers. She also used on some of her later bindings a symbolic emblem expressive of her feelings—a heap of quicklime on which drops of rain are falling, accompanied by the legend ardorem extincta testantur vivere flamma, which may thus be rendered, they [raindrops, signifying tears] show that the heat [of love] lives, though the flame be extinguished; for water poured upon lime causes heat without flame. Hilarion de Coste, in his Eloges sur les Vies des Reines , des Princesses et des Dames Illustres , printed at Paris in 1647, states that she also adopted a broken lance for her device, with the motto lacrim^e hinc, hinc dolor. A few of her bindings have a semis of tears. It is impossible to say with any certainty who were the Queen’s binders. PLATE XXXIII. DER STAT NVRMBERG VERNEVTE REFORMATION. 1564. NVRMBERG. 1564- FINE and characteristic German binding of the second half of the sixteenth century; brown calf, having on each cover a handsome gilt border, enclosing a sunken panel, decorated with a centre-piece and ornamental corners, tooled in gold and silver, and painted in colours. On each panel also are impressed two small medallions in gold; those on the upper cover representing Justice and Faith, and those on the lower, Charity and Prudence. The back is elaborately tooled and painted; and the edges of the leaves, which are gilt and beautifully gauffred, have stamped and painted upon them the arms of the Emperor Maximilian 11. and the earlier and later arms of the city of Nuremberg. The volume has green silk ribbons. Bequeathed by Felix Slade, Esq. . * 1 : ; :• . ui thi sari: • inc Ute^ ach v luffrtd, « K ; .:"ne has msa ilH !cmum nn 1 kjrfi‘H WJW gg -^■^-- > -^ L - •■^^— i —■■— Minium tow it / PLATE XXXIII. DER STAT NURMBERG VERNEUTE REFORMATION. NURMBERG, I 564. 12f in. by 8 in. PLATE XXXIV. QVAESTIONES DISPVTATAE S. THOMAE AQVINATIS DOCTORIS ANGELICI, DE POTENTIA DEI, DE MALO, DE SPIRITVALIBVS CREATVRIS, DE ANIMA, DE DAEMONIBVS, DE ANGELIS, DE VERITATE, ET PLVRIBVS ALUS QVAESTIONIBVS, VT IN TABVLA CONTINETVR. LVGDVNI, 1557. TALIAN binding of the second half of the sixteenth cen¬ tury; red morocco, having on each cover a handsome border enclosing a panel bearing the arms of Cardinal Michele Bonelli. The title of the work is stamped above the arms on the upper cover, and the name of the author above those on the lower; while the name of the Cardinal occurs below the arms on both covers. The volume has clasps, and the back is elaborately tooled with a pattern similar to that of the border. The edges of the leaves are gilt, gauffred and painted; the title of the book being written on the fore-edges. Purchased in i860. Cardinal Bonelli was born in 1541, created a cardinal by Pope Pius v. in 1566, and died in 1598. TIONES DISFV andsome Mi . npcd above I above * *** the Card rml sps, and the back is o' . atr , :• ; * ° 1 K order, The edges of 1 v | • I : ’ ot PLATE XXXIV. QILESTIONES DISPUTATyE S. TIIOM.E AQUINATIS. LUGDUNI, I 55 /. I3i in., by 8A in. ■ , ■ . PLATE XXXV. LE LIVRE DES STATVTS ET ORDONNANCES DE L’ORDRE DV BENOIST SAINCT ESPRIT, ESTABLY PAR LE TRES-CHRES- TIEN ROY DE FRANCE & DE POLOGNE HENRY TROISIESME DE CE NOM. THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTION OCCURS ON THE TITLE-PAGE:—CE LIVRE APPARTIENT A ANNE FRILLES DE NOAILLES DUC ET PAIR ET MARESCHAL DE FRANCE. VERY interesting French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve. The leather was once an orange morocco, which is now faded to a rich brown. On both covers is a semis of fleurs-de-lis and ‘tongues of fire’ arranged in alternate rows; a crowned monogram of Henry hi., King of France, and his Queen, Louise of Lorraine, being placed at each corner. In the centre of the upper cover are impressed the arms of France and Poland, having beneath them two laurel branches and the crowned initial of the King, the whole being surrounded by the collar of the Order of the Saint-Esprit, and sur¬ mounted by the royal crown, which bears on its band the motto, manet ultima oelo ; above and below and on each side of the arms occurs the dove, the emblem of the Holy Ghost. The lower cover bears the arms of France with¬ out those of Poland. The back is decorated with fleur-de-lis, and the volume once possessed orange and blue ribbons, but these no longer remain. This volume is one of forty-two copies of the Statutes of the Order of the Saint-Esprit which were bound by Nicolas Eve for Henry in. in 1579. I n the household accounts of that King occurs an entry of the payment to Eve of forty-seven and a half crowns for executing this work:— ‘A Nicolas Eve, laveur et relieur des livres et libraire du Roy, 47 escus et demy, pour avoir lavd, dord et regie sur tranche 42 livres des Statuts et ordonnances de l’ordre, reliez et couverts de maroquin orenge du Levant, enrichis d’un cost6, des armoiries de Sa Majeste • V . ■ ■ v A . ■ ■> , t . • ... ' • 4 'r ;*>* •* * . i • -■ : . . . ' . : • ;-.C\S " •d\C • < TREfc-CHE DK CE MO iv . .1 / ■ : DUC KT ’.faaeti 'a • 1 !■’:> , ' ■ •f^vnr.d ■ ■’’v s he >ppi >>< ' . <1 n a. . d, having . ■ii t • m 1 • - vhols .d surrouii i • '• fit-; i r u.r- .• ‘ 'i ft the Of tier the pour relie?. PLATE XXXV. STATUTS I)E LORDRE DU SAINCT ESPRIT. I 5 78. Actual size. > . pleines dorees, de l’autre de France et de Pologne, et aux quatre coins de chiffres, et le reste de flammes avec leurs fermoirs de ruban orenge et bleu, suivant l’ordonnance de M. le Chancelier du 26 et quittance du 27 decembre 1579, cy xlvii escus et demy. (Bibliotheque Nationale, MS. Clairambault , 1231, fol. 91 et 108.) The sum charged by Eve for binding these volumes enables us to form an estimate of the remuneration then paid to binders for their work, as the dcu of France in 1579 was equivalent to seven shillings English money of the same period, and probably worth fifty or sixty shillings of the present time. Presented by Lady Banks. Nicolas Eve was the royal binder during the reign of Henry 111., and it is also possible that he held the office for a short period at the close of the reign of Charles ix., and at the beginning of that of Henry iv. The date of his death is not known, but it was probably earlier than 1592, for in that year we find George Drobet styling himself ‘ Relieur du Roy ’ in several books published by him. PLATE XXXPI. L’HISTOIRE DES FAICTS, GESTES, ET CONQVESTES DES ROYS, PRINCES, SEIGNEVRS ET PEVPLE DE FRANCE, DESCRIPTE EN X LIVRES, & COMPOSEE PREMIEREMENT EN LATIN PAR NOBLE & SgAVANT PERSONNAGE PAVL iEMYLE VERO- NOIS. ET DEPVIS MISE EN FRANCOIS PAR JEAN REGNART GENTILHOME ANGEVIN, EN SON VIVANT SEIGNEVR DE LA MICTIERE. AVEC LA SVYTE DE LADICTE HISTOIRE TIREE DV LATIN DE FEV M. ARNOLD LE FERRON CONSEILLER DV ROY A BOVRDEAVX, & AVTRES BONS AVTEVRS I & TABLE TRESAMPLE DV CONTENV EN ICELLE. A PARIS, PAR FREDERIC MOREL, IMPRIMEVR DV ROY, M. D. LXXXI. AVEC PRIVILEGE DVDICT SEIGNEVR. HIS beautiful French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century may also safely be considered to be the work of Nicolas Eve, as both the semis of fleurs-de-lis which decorates the field of the covers, and the foliage which occurs at their corners, are in the two different styles attributed to him. The leather is brown morocco, bearing in the centre of each side the arms of Henry m., King of France—the arms of France and Poland,—having beneath them two laurel branches, and the crowned initial of the King, for whom the book was bound; the whole being encircled by the Order of the Saint-Esprit, and ensigned with a crown bearing the motto, manet vltima oelo. Above and below and on each side of the arms is impressed one of the monograms from the collar of the Order of the Saint-Esprit, which is also repeated three times on the back of the book. The sides have also ornamental corners, and are, together with the back, thickly studded with fleurs-de-lis. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. : ■ . ■ KM X LIVRES. . ■ OIK ' KT 1 • VW ■? s .!• £j| : • • n t , ■ . S h ARNOLD L: ' f K ' ■ ■ ■ w ■ 1 ••• be -t if; . ; the ■ i which decorate | v> • CO, • n the centre • die v hoi- being encircled by ;e Or [' > ti ■ m. . ; >■ ,- ; hi. h ck, thickly studdc with llllSl! - PLATE XXXVI. IirSTOIRE DES FAICTS DES ROYS, ETC., DE FRANCE PARIS, 1^8 I. PAR PAUL /F.MYLK PLATE XXXPII. VALERII MAXIMI DICTORVM FACTORVMQVE MEMORABILIVM LIBRI IX. INFINITIS MENDIS EX VETERVM EXEMPLARIVM FIDE REPVRGATI, ATQVE IN MELIOREM ORDINEM RESTITVTI PER STEPHANVM PIGIVM, CAM- PENSEM. ACCEDVNT IN FINE EIVSDEM ANNOTATIONES IN LOCA PLVSQVAM DCCC. ITEM HAC ALTERA RECOGNITIONE FRAGMENTVM DE PR^ENOMINIBVS ANTI- QVVM INCERTI AVCTORIS ; QVOD DECIMI LIBRI LOCVM IN MVLTIS EXEMPLARIBVS OCCVPAT. ANTVERPLE, EX OFFICINA CHRISTOPHORI PLANTINI ARCHITYPOGRAPHI REGII. M. D. LXXIIII. RENCH binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve. Red morocco, the sides and back beautifully ornamented with elaborate gold tooling in the fanfare manner. In the centre of each cover are impressed the arms of Jacques Auguste de Thou, for whom the book was bound. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. Jacques Auguste de Thou, the celebrated historian and collector, was the third son of Christophe de Thou, First President of the Parliament of Paris, and his wife Jacqueline Tuleu de Cdli. He was born in Paris on the 8th of October 1553, and was originally intended for the Church, but on the death of his eldest brother, in compliance with the wish of his family, he changed the ecclesiastical for a civil career, and took a leading part in all the principal transactions of the time, holding various offices under Henry 111. and Henry iv. . ?• ' ' • . "■ • '■ • ■ / - f ' ... , :; .. . • . ' ; / ■ » ■ ’ • . • • . - ■ ■: • . ;■ • , , ■ •• >■ . •• 4 ' • • ■ ■ , • ■ 1 '■ •• •• , ' • * • : • ' - ' } • / '. ... i \■ am "■ ■ - 1 ' . . • . s . k . rode. .4 -• - ‘ ' October 553. and was oi> ■■a. t 1 ' ■ PLATE XXXVII. VALERII MAXIMI DICTORUM EACTORUMQUE MEMORABILIUM LIBRI IX. ANTVERPI/E, 1574. Actual size. In 1591 the last-named King bestowed on him the post of Keeper of the Royal Library. He died on the 7th of May 1617. De Thou tells us that it was with much reluctance that he engaged in public affairs, and that he greatly preferred the cultivation of literature and the society of his books, of which he possessed a magnificent collection. His uncle, Adrian de Thou, who died in 1570, bequeathed to him a considerable number of books, and these, together with the fine collection which he inherited from his father, formed the basis of Jacques Auguste de Thou’s library, which finally contained not less than a thousand manuscripts and eight thousand printed volumes. Some of their bindings, like the present one, are very beautifully ornamented with elaborate tooling in the fanfare style, but by far the greater number are covered with plain morocco, vellum or calf, with the De Thou arms impressed on the sides, and his cypher on the panels of the back. As De Thou was twice married his arms varied considerably. When a bachelor they were:—Argent, a chevron sable, between three gadflies of the same. A cherub’s head is generally placed above the escutcheon, and his name occurs on a scroll beneath it; the whole being enclosed by two branches of laurel. Later, he added a monogram composed of the letters I. A.D. T. (Jacques Auguste de Thou). These arms and cypher he used until his marriage with Marie Barban^on, daughter of Francois, Seigneur de Cani, which took place in the year 1587, when he added his wife’s arms—gules, three lions crowned argent—to his own, and formed a cypher of the letters I. A. M. 0 . (Jacques, Auguste, Marie, Thou). Marie died in 1601, and in the following year De Thou married Gasparde, daughter of Gaspard de La Chastre, Comte de Nan^ay, Captain of the Bodyguard of the King, when the arms of the first wife were replaced by those of the second, and the monogram was changed to one consisting of the letters I. A. T. 0 . (Jacques, Auguste, Gasparde, Thou). De Thou left his books in perpetuity to his family, and his eldest son, Francois Auguste, Keeper of the Royal Library, took charge of them until he was beheaded at Lyons with Cinq-Mars in 1642. The books added to the library during the time he possessed it bear on their sides the De Thou arms, and on the panels of the back the monogram of the initials of his father and those of his mother Gasparde, De Thou’s second wife, who died in 1616. The second son, Achille Auguste, having died in 1635, the third son of the historian, whose Christian names were the same as those of his father, succeeded to the library, which he enriched with a large number of choice and rare works, and especially augmented it with the fine collection of his father-in-law, Hughes Picardet, a distinguished bibliophile. In 1660 De Thou received the title of Baron de Meslay. On his death in 1677, Jacques Auguste de Thou, Abbd de Samer-aux-Bois et de Souillac, became the owner of all these literary treasures, but soon afterwards, in consequence of heavy losses experienced by the family, he was compelled to part with them to Jean Jacques Charron, Marquis de Menars, who purchased the whole of the collection, with the exception of some of the manuscripts, which were acquired for the royal library. In 1706 the Marquis sold it to the Cardinal de Rohan, Bishop of Strasburg, for the sum of 40,000 livres, who bequeathed it to his nephew, the Prince de Soubise, who died in 1787, and in 1788 it was sold, together with the other books of the Prince, by public auction. PLATE XXXPIII. BREVIARIVM ROMANVM, EX DECRETO SACROSANCTI CONCILII TRIDENTINI RESTITVTVM PII V. PONT. MAX. IVSSV EDITVM. CVM KALENDARIO GREGORIANO, A S.D.N. SIXTO P.P.V. ALIQVOT SANCTORVM FESTIS AVCTO. AVEC LES RVBRIQVES TRADVITES EN FRANCOIS, PAR LE COMMANDEMENT EXPRES DV ROY, POVR L’VSAGE DE SES RELIGIEVSES CONGREGATIONS. A PARIS, CHEZ IAMET METTAYER, IMPRIMEVR DV ROY. M.D.LXXXVIII. NOBLE example of French binding of the second half of the sixteenth century, executed by Nicolas Eve. The leather is red morocco; the sides and back being beauti¬ fully and richly decorated in the fanfare style. In a panel at the top of the back occurs the title of the book, and at the foot, in a similar panel, are the words o • domine • salvm • me • fac ♦, while in the centre, within an oval panel, are impressed the arms of the Abbey of Marmoutiers, to which institution the volume formerly belonged. Purchased in 1838. # ■ concIm . i m, p, EXPRES J>V ROY, ; COMMANDEMHJN » PARIS, CHE NOIv Kathc 1 ■' o«;i back being bea^k fully if; /■ style. In a pai a it th ■ v: book, and ai oval pan are impressed th« arn;:., ; volume formerly beloo c i PLATE XXXVIII. BREVIARIUM ROMANUM. PARIS, I 588. i6i in. by in. - •w 4 PLATE XXXIX. HEN0■ i. ed clasps . . PLATE XXXIX. XENOPIIONTIS OMNIA QUAi EXTANT. VENETIIS, I 525. 12 ^ in. by 8 in. PLATE XL. PAVLI AEMYLII VERONENSIS, HISTORICI CLARISS. DE REBVS GESTIS FRANCORVM LIBRI X. ARNOLDI FERRONI BVRDIGALENSIS REGII CONSILIARII, DE REBVS ITEM GESTIS GALLORVM LIBRI NOVEM. HISTORIA PERDVCTA A PHARAMVNDO PRIMO FRANCORVM REGE, VSQVE AD HENRICVM SECVNDVM GALLIARVM REGEM. LVTETI^E PARISIORVM EX OFFICINA VASCOSANI. M. D. LXXVII. CVM PRIVILEGIO REGIS. RENCH binding of the end of the sixteenth century, executed for Marguerite de Valois, first wife of Henry iv., King of France. Brown calf, the sides and back deco¬ rated with branches of palm and olive. Marguerites and fleurs-de-lis are also used in the ornamentation. The volume once possessed ribbons, but these no longer exist. Nicolas Eve was probably the binder. Purchased in i860. Marguerite de Valois, the third daughter of Henry 11., King of France, and Katharine de’ Medici, and first wife of Henry iv., inherited from her parents an ardent love of books. Her library contained a large number of choice volumes, which are generally bound in morocco, but occasionally in calf. They are frequently adorned with a semis of marguerites enclosed in little oval compartments formed of olive or laurel branches; while others, like the present example, are ornamented in the fanfare style, marguerites being introduced in the decoration. Occasionally her motto: spes mea, is added. Some of the bindings of her books were probably executed by Nicolas, and others by Clovis Eve. * dav- 5 enry n., c l ranee, ; white others, like the present ' being introduced in PLATE XL. PAULI .KMYLII DE REBUS GESTIS 1- RANCORL M LIBRI X. LUTETI/E PARISIORUM, I 577- 13 i in. by g in. PLATE XLI. IAC. AVGVSTI THVANI HISTORIARVM SVI TEMPORIS PARS PRIM A. PARISHS, APVD VIDVAM MAMERTI PATISSONII TYPOGRAPHI REGII. IN OFFICINA ROBERTI STEPHANI. M. DC. IIII. s RENCH binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century; red morocco, bearing on each cover, within a filleted panel with crowned fleurs-de-lis at the angles, the arms of Henry iv., King of France and of Navarre, ensigned with the royal crown, and surrounded by the Orders of St. Michel and the Saint-Esprit; a large crowned fleur-de-lis is also stamped above and below the arms, a smaller one being placed on each side. The space between the border and the panel is ornamented with two large and two small H’s, the larger ones having in addition the numeral mi. The back is decorated alternately with the initial of the King and a fleur-de-lis, each surmounted with a crown. Clovis Eve was probably the binder. From the Old Royal Collection. This fine copy of the first eighteen books of De Thou’s Histovia Sui Tempons is believed to be the identical one presented by the author to James i., King of England. In a letter which accompanied the book, De Thou, in begging the King to accept his work, states that it will be presented to him by the French ambassador, and that he has not offered it to His Majesty without the express permission and command of his own Sovereign. This is probably the reason why the binding bears the arms and initial of the French monarch. Henry may have allowed the book to be specially bound for James, or he may possibly have permitted De Thou to take a copy from the royal library, of which he was the Keeper. The French ambassador, who was a son of the President ■ /• PLATE XLI. J. A. THUANI HISTORIA SUI TEMPORIS. 17 in. hy tof in. PARISIIS, 1604. ' . De Harlay, by a sister of De Thou, sent the following letter to his uncle, giving him an account of the presentation of his book:— Sir, I have presented your letter, with your book, to the King, who received it with such marks of esteem for the author, and has since spoken so highly of it in public, that you have every reason to be satisfied with his approbation, and to console and fortify yourself by his testimony against the attacks of envy and calumny by which I understand you have been assaulted from various quarters. The King promised me that he would answer your letter, with the style of which he was extremely pleased. He has perused your dedication of your History to His Majesty King Henry, and said that it was one of the finest pieces of writing he had ever read, not excepting the works of antiquity; and sincerely, for my own part, the more I read it the more I find my admiration of its beauties increased. You have undertaken a great work, as worthy of your free and courageous spirit as the slavery of the age in which we live is unworthy of it. I think you will do well for the present to defer printing your materials down to the year 90 [1590], for I should fear you would not be able to resist the opposition of those who are chagrined to see their fathers marked with disgrace. King James is about to send a gentleman to the Court of France, upon the death of Madame de Bar. I will endeavour that he shall carry His Majesty’s thanks and a letter to you. I now humbly kiss your hands, and shall pray God, sir, to grant you, with health, a long and happy life.—Your obedient nephew and servant, De Harlay ‘London, March 10, 1604.’ The following is an extract from the letter written by King James to De Thou :— With respect to your book, we have not as yet had leisure to read more than half of it, and that cursorily; but we have, nevertheless, plainly discovered the ability of the author, and have received much delight from the perusal, as well on account of the style as the matter. We are particularly gratified in observing that, conformably to the advice you give others, partiality, the too common bane of history, is banished from your work. What we have seen increases our desire to have the sequel of so admirable a composition, and we entreat and require you to gratify in this respect the eager curiosity of your friends. Be assured, M. le President, no one will be more desirous to acknowledge and honour your merit and virtue than your affectionate friend, James R. Dated ‘Westminster, March 4, 1603 [1604].’ The sequel of the work, however, proved by no means pleasing to James. The account of certain events in his mother’s life was particularly distasteful to him, and he employed Sir Robert Cotton to vindicate her conduct. De Thou was fully conscious of the difficulties which attended this portion of his History, and in 1608 addressed a letter to William Camden, the eminent historian and antiquary, in which he writes:—‘ The historian’s province, if he be resolved to do his duty, is indeed a painful one, for the law of history obliges him not only to say nothing false, but to be bold in delivering the whole truth.’ PLATE XLII. FLORIACENSIS VETVS BIBLIOTHECA, BENEDICTINA, SANCTA, APOSTOLICA, PONTIFICIA, C^SAREA, REGIA, FRANCO- GALLICA. AD HENRICVM IIII. CHRISTIANISSIMVM FRANCIS ET NAVARRA REGEM AC MARIAM MEDIOEAM REGINAM. CVM VTROQVE XYSTO AD DIVERSOS. OPERA IOANNIS A BOSCO PARISIENSIS CCELESTINI LVGDVNENSIS : NVNC PRIMVM E LATEBRIS EMERSA, AC ANTIQVARIORVM VSVI EXPOSITA. CVM PRIVILEGIO. LVGDVNI, APVD HORATIVM CARDON. 1605. RENCH binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century, probably executed by Clovis Eve. The material used is white vellum, and in the centre of each cover are impressed the arms of Henry iv., King of France and of Navarre, ensigned with the royal crown, and surrounded by the Orders of St. Michel and the Saint-Esprit. The covers are also tooled with a pretty border with ornamental corners, and the space between the border and the arms is thickly studded with small fleurs-de-lis. The back is decorated in the same style as the sides. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. Clovis Eve was the royal binder during the greater portion of the reigns of Henry iv. and Louis xm. In a devotional work entitled Le Thrdsor des Pnkres , Oraisons et Instructions Chrestiennes pour invoquer Dieu en tout temps , published by him at Paris in 1596, he styles himself ‘ Relieur ordinaire du Roy,’ and he lived until the end of 1634 or the beginning of 1635. : CTIK'S, AMCTA, cover are • •' fits PM% l 5 i;*!!#pp ! 3 - "i? $ *$* -|> <§■' S- f^f> iff 8 $ <1? 4 *•§* 1 ttttMmi* i w ji, < 4 » 4 » 4 * 4 * 4 ’ 4 > 4 * 4 ’ $ 4 * % * b 4 * 4 * ♦ 4 4 4 4 *s» * T f ^ $ i jj*f♦&*•/? tt* i s n**« 8 K&a,A«+ i C -' ¥ ** tt«„ t tt^***^* T *i t t* I U|^ 4 w+ 4 VJ! fit 4 4 5 4 ^ 4 # 4* ^fbTT 4 , 4 . Mm 4 * v -T *t T T 4? 4 Jl 4 4 * $ 4 i" $ [i yy# *f t « & t £ 5 =:; ■'■j. ^/v /'' ''-if T- PLATE XLII. F LORI ACE NS IS VETUS BIBLIOTHECA BENEDICTINA, ETC. OPERA JOANNIS A BOSCO. LUGDUNI, 1605. Actual size. PLATE XLIII. DECREE OF PHILIP III., KING OF SPAIN, CONFIRMING A SEN¬ TENCE GIVEN AT GRANADA IN FAVOUR OF THE ‘ HIDAL- GUIA’ (RIGHT OF EXEMPTION FROM TAX BY PROOF OF GENTILITY) OF PEDRO PEREZ DE URIZAR, OF SAN LORENZO DE PARILLA; DATED GRANADA, 6th OF APRIL 1604. THE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENT, ENGROSSED ON VELLUM, WITH AN IL¬ LUMINATED FRONTISPIECE, CONTAINING THE PORTRAITS AND ARMS OF THE URIZAR FAMILY. Additional MS. 12,214. A. iv. C. PANISH binding of the beginning of the seventeenth century. Brown morocco; the covers are very richly tooled in gold, and have in the centre of each a lozenge-shaped panel, enclosing a crowned eagle. The edges of the leaves are gilt and gauffred. Purchased in 1841. - , ' ■Min G A SEN- THE * HIDAL- »Y PROOF OF ■ venter;* n century. PLATE XLIII. DECREE GRANTING THE “HIDALGUIA” TO PEDRO PF.RF.Z DE URIZAR. 1604. 1 2 '\ in. by in. ' PLATE XLIV. DE SVCCESSIONIBVS TESTATI AC INTESTATI OPVS. AVCTORE D. FRANCISCO DE BARRY, VNO EX NOBILIBVS DELPHIN- ATIBVS. LVGDVNI, EX TYPIS PETRI ROVSSON, SVMPTIBVS AVCTORIS. M. DC. XVII. CVM PRIVILEGED REGIS. VERY fine specimen of French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed for presentation to James i., King of England, to whom the book is dedicated. The leather is red morocco, decorated with citron, olive, and murrey inlays of the same material, and is also richly ornamented with very delicate tooling. In the centre of each cover are the arms of France and England, without the Scotch and Irish quarterings which were added by King James to the royal escutcheon on his accession to the crown. The back is treated in the same style as the sides. It is not known by whom this beautiful binding was executed, but the fine tooling is so exceptionally good, that it is possible it may be an example of the early work of Le Gascon, who used for inlaying, leathers of the same colours as those which occur on it. Unfortunately this binding has been to some extent restored, and in two or three instances modern stamps have been used to supply the place of the original ones which had become obliterated. From the Old Royal Collection. " .. ' „ ‘ I A ** . ; ■ ' ' . / ' ik'L l . ‘iOn tb. ■ i ' * . . • . r I ■ ' rieh; . . . \-ick is tv *ted in the Same' *» V . . ; ■ ■ sample - * . ui, PLATE XLIV. BARRY. DE SUCCESSIONIBUS TEST ATI AC INTESTATI OPUS. LUGDUNI, 1617. 14 in. by 9 in. P * I ■ ■ I ■ . ' ' ■H H’r ; 4 PLATE XLV. RECVEIL DES OEVVRES SPIRITVELLES DV P. ESTIENNE BINET, DE LA COMPAGNIE DE IESVS. DEDI^ES A IESVS CHRIST, & A SA TRESSAINTE MERE, ET A LA ROYNE MERE DV ROY. A ROVEN, CHEZ RICHARD L’ALLEMANT, PRES LE COLLEGE. 1620 . AVEC PRIVILEGE DV ROI. FINE example of French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century; olive brown morocco; each cover bearing in its centre the arms of Mary de’ Medici, widow of Henry iv., King of France, surrounded by the cordelikre des veuves, and ensigned with the royal crown. The covers have also a crowned monogram, composed of two M’s, at each angle, and are thickly studded with small fleurs-de-lis; the back is ornamented in the same style. Clovis Eve was probably the binder. Purchased in 1838. Mary de’ Medici, the second wife of Henry iv., like her predecessor, Marguerite de Valois, was distinguished by her love for letters and the fine arts, and her books are remarkable for the beauty of their bindings. They are frequently decorated with a semis of fleur-de-lis, or of her cypher, and sometimes both occur on the same volume. Others are tooled in the Eve style. They almost always bear her arms—the arms of France and Tuscany,—surrounded, after the death of her husband, by the cordelikre , the sign of her widowhood, and accompanied by a monogram formed of the letters M. M. (Marie, Mddicis), or of one consisting of the letters M. M. H. (Marie, M^dicis, Henri). ■ 1 ■ ; N’H . ever ., ' ./.if of the . of He. es r e covers •cessor, 5 • • PLATE XLV. BINET. (EUVRES SPIRITUELLES. ROUEN, I 620 . Actual size. PLATE XL PI. C. IVL. CiESARIS COMMENTARIORVM DE BELLO GALLICO LIBRI VIII., CIVILI POMPEIANO LIBRI III., ALEXANDRINO LIBER I., AFRICO LIBER I., HISPANIENSI LIBER I. VETERVM GALLIC LOCORVM, POPVLORVM, VRBIVM, MONTIVM, AC FLWI- ORVM BREVIS DESCRIPTIO. EVTROPII EPITOME BELLI GALLICI EX SVETONII TRANQVILLI MONVMENTIS QV^E DESIDERANTVR. CVM INDICE LOCVPLETISSIMO. PARISHS, APVD HIERONYMVM DE MARNEF, SVB PELICANO, MONTE D. HILARII. 1 564. RENCH binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, probably executed by Clovis Eve. The leather used for the binding is a red-brown morocco, and the sides and back are ornamented with a border of palm and laurel branches, enclosing a number of small oval compartments, each containing a marguerite or other flower. In the centre of the upper cover is a shield charged with three fleurs-de-lis on a bend, and in the same position on the lower cover is a similar shield with three lilies accompanied by the motto expectata non elvdet. Bindings decorated in this style, and bearing these arms, are popularly supposed to have been executed for Marguerite de Valois, the Queen of Henry iv., but M. Guigard suggests, in his Armorial du Bibliophile , that they were more probably done for Marie Marguerite de Valois de Saint-Rdmy, daughter of a natural son of Henry hi., and wife of Joachim de Marron, Baron de Colld, Gentleman of the Chamber of the King. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. . >RINO USER I., ■ * des and three iv. t but PLATE XLVI. C. JUL. C.ESARIS COMMENTARII. PARISHS, I 564. Actual size. PLATE XL PII. VOYAGES ET CONQVESTES DV CAPITAINE FERDINAND COVRTOIS, ES INDES OCCIDENTALES. HISTOIRE TRADVITE DE LANGVE ESPAGNOLE PAR GVILLAVME LE BRETON NIVERNOIS. A PARIS, CHEZ ABEL L’ANGELIER, AV PREMIER PILLIER DE LA GRAND’ SALE DV PALAIS. M. D. LXXXVIII. AVEC PRIVILEGE DV ROY. VERY charming French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century. The leather used for it is an olive morocco, and the sides are adorned with very delicate tooling, partly au pointilL , and partly in solid line; they also bear the initial of Louis xiii. and the cypher of his Queen, Anne of Austria, for whom the book was bound. The back is decorated in the same manner as the sides. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. Bindings executed for Louis xiii. and Anne of Austria in this style are generally ascribed to Macd Ruette, who succeeded Clovis Eve as the royal binder in 1634 or 1635, and died about 1644, but some of the stamps used for their decoration have a marked resemblance to those employed by Le Gascon. - ND COVRTOIS, v i-ic i XKTON ' si half of the it i an olive h very delicate ? v the sides. PLATE XLVII. VOYAGES ET CONQUESTES DU CAPITAINE FERDINAND COURTOIS. PARIS, 1588. Actual size. ' > - ' PLATE XLVIII. HISTORIA VTRIVSQVE BELLI DACICI A TRAIANO CAESARE GESTI, EX SIMVLACHRIS QVAE IN COLVMNA EIVSDEM ROMAE VISVNTVR COLLECTA. AVCTORE F. ALFONSO CIACONO HIS- PANO DOCTORE THEOLOGO INSTITVTI PRAEDICATORVM & ROMANI PONTIFICIS POENITENTIARIO. ROMAE, EX TYPOGRAPHIA IACOBI MASCARDI. MDCXVI. SVPERIORVM PERMISSV. MAGNIFICENT French binding of the first half of the seventeenth century, executed by Le Gascon. The leather is red morocco, and the sides and back are inlaid with compartments of light and dark olive, citron, and brown morocco, the brown being marbled with black; the whole elaborately ornamented with very delicate tooling, prin¬ cipally au pointilld. The edges of the leaves are gilt, gauffred, and painted in colours. From the Library of King George hi. Le Gascon, who was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the binders of the seventeenth century, was until quite recently considered a personage so mythical that it was even doubted by some whether he ever existed. All uncertainty on this point, however, has been set at rest by the occurrence of his name in several documents which have lately been discovered, and which are given at length by M. Thoinan in his excellent work Les Relieurs Franqais. The earliest document in which he is mentioned is dated 1622. In the Register of the Guild of St. Jean, now preserved in the Biblioth£que Nationale, occurs the following entry of certain payments made to him in that year for materials used in binding a missal for the use of the Guild:— ‘ Au Gascon, pour une peau de maroquin incarnat pour relier le missel du Concile, in fol., que la Compagnie du Sieur Chappelet et consors ont donnd en blanc a la Confrairie . . . . 4/. 10s. Pour un sinet pour servir audit missel . . . . 3/. 10s. Pour une bazane pour une housse audit missel , , , o l. ys.’ t . • ivsni m ROMAE rso < cono his- P A3 V ' ORVM & >!aid with n 1 brown e whole ng, piin- ; binders ♦nage so nee of : which ■ ■ >-nrji b. car for PLATE XLVIII. CHACON. HISTORIA UTRIUSQUE BELLI DACICI A TRAJANO C/ESARE GESTI, ETC. ROM/E, I 6 I 6. 13^ in. by IO in. ' - ’ The Register also contains further notices of this book, which is described as ‘ relid en maroquin incarnat dord a petit fers et couvert dune housse de bazane violette.’ As no charge is made by Le Gascon for binding the volume, he probably made a gift of his work to his colleagues of the Guild, who used the missal until the year 1645, when Gilles Dubois, in resigning the office of Master of the Guild, presented a new one. Passages referring to Le Gascon are also to be found in the correspondence of the eminent collectors Peiresc and Du Puy. Peiresc having complained to Du Puy that Le Gascon had badly cropped a copy of the Opuscula Bellarmini (which had been intrusted to him to be folded, beaten and cut, so that it might be more readily sent through the post), Du Puy in a letter to Peiresc, dated the 12th of April 1627, expresses his surprise that Le Gascon should have committed this fault, ‘ car il est assez scrupuleux.’ In another letter, dated the 12th of February 1629, written by Peiresc to Du Puy, reference is made to a copy of Rigault’s Tertullian , bound by Le Gascon, which Peiresc intended to send to a cardinal residing in Italy. Le Gascon is also mentioned by Francis Auguste de Thou, the son of the historian, who, in writing to Pierre Du Puy from Alexandria on the 25th of February 1629, informs him that he had recently purchased a beautiful copy of the Koran, adding 4 la reliure vous plaira, et je m’assure que Le Gascon s’dtudiera d’imiter la dorure.’ While these references prove that Le Gascon is no myth, and also show that he was a binder as well as a gilder of books, they do not afford any information as to his identity. M. Gruel, in his Manuel Histovique et Biblio- graphique de FAmateur de Reliure , is inclined to think that Le Gascon is not a surname, but the sobriquet of Florimond Badier, a binder who is believed to have come from Gascony to Paris, where he was apprenticed to Jean Thomas, a gilder, and who became a master-binder in 1645. M. Gruel advances several arguments in support of this view, and avers that the form of the compartments and the disposition of the petit fers on the bindings attributed to Le Gascon are the same as the ornamentations which occur on those bearing the name of Badier. This he states to be especially the case with regard to the little couped head executed in pointilld work, which is so often introduced in the decoration, and which has been frequently thought to be the mark, or even possibly the portrait, of the artist. M. Thoinan, in his Les Relieurs Frangais , takes an opposite view to that of M. Gruel. He considers Le Gascon and Badier to be different persons, but believes the couped head to be the signature of the latter binder. If he be correct in his supposition it necessarily follows that not only the bindings with pointilld tooling bearing this mark, but all others in the same style as those which have it, are the work of Badier and not of Le Gascon. Only two bind¬ ings signed by Badier are known : the one on the Imitation de Jdsus Christ , printed in 1640, and preserved in the Bibliothdque Nationale; the other, that which ornaments a copy of Les Plaidoyez et Harangues de Monsieur Le Maistre , printed at Paris in 1659, now i n the possession of Mr. Wakefield Christie- Miller of Britwell Court, Bucks, who acquired the volume at the Destailleur sale at Paris in 1891. Although both these bindings are fine ones, the tooling on them distinctly lacks the extraordinary finish and refinement of that on the bindings attributed to Le Gascon, and gives the impression of being the clever work of one of this great artist’s many imitators, who existed not only in France, but in other countries. Copies of the little head are found on English bindings decorated in his style. There is also another point which makes it unlikely that Badier executed the bindings hitherto attributed to Le Gascon, and that is the improbability that he would have so prominently placed his name on these two inferior bindings, and have omitted to sign others of much greater merit, had they been bound by him. Although it has not been found possible with absolute certainty to connect any binding with Le Gascon’s name, a very remarkable one, that of the celebrated Guirlande de Julie, has long been traditionally attributed to him, for it is asserted by M. de Gaigndres, who possessed the volume at the end of the seventeenth century, to have been his work: ‘ Afin que rien ne manquast a embellir cet ouvrage,’ he writes, ‘ il fut relid par le Gascon, qui n’avoit point d’dgal en son art, et enrichy par le dehors et le dedans des chiffres de Julie, afin que Ton sceut d’abord a qui il estoit.’ The binding is of red morocco, with a doublure of the same leather, both decorated with a semis of a monogram composed of the letters J. L. (Julie Lucine). This beautiful volume belongs at the present time to the Duchesse d’Uzds. Le Gascon worked for Louis xiv., his Queen, Marie Therdse, Gaston d’Orldans, Peiresc, the brothers Du Puy, Habert de Montmor, Pierre Sdguier, Sir Kenelm Digby, Francois Auguste de Thou, and other great collectors. The date of his death has not been discovered. . ' I ■ PLATE XLIX. LIBER ORDINIS PONTIFICALIS. VERY BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND ILLUMINATED, WITH MINIATURES REPRESENTING THE VARIOUS EPISCOPAL FUNCTIONS. LATE FIF¬ TEENTH CENTURY. THE ARMS OF THE PRELATE FOR WHOM THE VOLUME WAS ORIGINALLY EXECUTED WERE EMBLAZONED ON THE FIRST PAGE, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN COVERED OVER BY THOSE OF ESTIENNE DE PONCHER, BISHOP OF PARIS FROM 1502 TO 1519. THE VOLUME WAS SUBSEQUENTLY IN THE POSSESSION OF DOMINIQUE SIGUIER, BISHOP OF MEAUX, AND IN 1724 WAS IN THE HANDS OF NICOLAS JOSEPH DE PARIS, AFTER¬ WARDS BISHOP OF ORLEANS, AS APPEARS BY HIS ARMS STAMPED ON THE FLY-LEAF. Egerton MS. 1067. HANDSOME binding executed by Le Gascon for Dominique Sdguier, Bishop of Meaux. Red morocco, the sides and back decorated with beautiful fine tooling, principally au pointille. In the centre of each cover are the arms of the bishop, having above, below, and on each side of them a monogram, consisting of two D’s, enclosing an S barve. This is repeated at the corners of the covers. Purchased in 1844. Dominique Seguier, who possessed a fine library, was the younger brother of Pierre Seguier, Chancellor of France, the eminent collector. He was successively Dean of Notre-Dame in Paris, Bishop of Auxerre, and Bishop of Meaux. He was also Chief Almoner of the King, and Commander of the Order of the Saint-Esprit. He died in 1657, aged about sixty-six years. PLATE XLIX. LIBER ORDINIS PONTIFICALIS. Actual size. PLATE L. THS KAINH2 AIA0HKH2 AIIANTA. AMSTERDAMI APVD GVILIELMVM BLAEAV. MDCXXXIII. NOTHER exceedingly beautiful binding by Le Gascon. Red morocco, the sides and back being exquisitely adorned with very delicate tooling, partly solid, and partly an pointilld. The border is the one generally found on Le Gascon’s bindings. The edges of the leaves are marbled under the gilding, and the insides of the covers are lined with marbled paper, which about this time came into use for this purpose. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. . • i " l c Gascon id on Le ■ re lined PLATE L. . NOVUM TESTAMENTUM GR/ECE. AMSTERDAMI, I 633 Actual size. PLATE LI. IOSEPHI RIPAMONTII CANONICI SCALENSIS CHRONISTAE VRBIS MEDIOLANI HISTORIAE PATRIAE LIBRI X. MEDIOLANI, EX REGIO PALATIO, APVD 10. BAPTISTAM, ET IVLIVM CAESAREM MALATESTAM REGIOS TYPOGRAPHOS. 1641-48. VOL. I, 2, AND 4. ALIAN binding of the middle of the seventeenth century; brown morocco, the sides and back elaborately ornamented with delicate tooling, partly of a fan-shaped pattern. Presented by Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart., in 1825. The work consists of four volumes, but vol. 3 is wanting. Each of the three volumes is tooled with a design which differs from that of the others, but the general style is the same. The illustration given is that of vol. 1. The fan style of decoration was much used in Italy during a great part of the seventeenth century. AAAAAA 'itikWA'* 1 >Tv WE$\ ;3HCjjiSg5^^!^g5TO^St»,,.. ,V.'..y..Y •-■- L -V. ■' . EE-S-SSsaSs; liV^i^AV. jy*>#ji PLATE LI. RIPAMONTI. HISTORIA PATRICK. Actual size. MEDIOLANI, 1641. I ' . PLATE LIT MISSALE ROMANVM EX DECRETO SACROSANCTI CONCILII TRI- DENTINI RESTITVTVM, PII V. PONT. MAX. IVSSV EDITVM, ET CLEMENTIS VIII. PRIMVM, NVNC DENVO VRBANI PAP^E OCTAVI AVCTORITATE RECOGNITVM. IN QVO MISS/E PROPRDE DE SANCTIS OMNES AD LONGVM POSIT^E SVNT AD MAIOREM CELEBRANTIVM COMMODITATEM. ANTVERPLE, EX OFFICINA PLANTINIANA BALTHASARIS MORETI. MDCLXIII. UTCH binding of the second half of the seventeenth century, executed by Magnus. Red morocco, the sides and back being elaborately ornamented, in the style of Le Gascon, with delicate gold tooling, in which small crowned dolphins are introduced. The edges of the leaves are gilt, gauffred, and painted in colours with scenes from the life of Christ. Purchased in 1862. Magnus of Amsterdam was the best of the Dutch binders of the seventeenth century, and was one of the most successful imitators of Le Gascon. He worked for the Elzeviers, the eminent printers, by whom he was much esteemed for his ability, and, at the recommendation of Daniel Elzevier, Nicolas Heinsius employed him to bind the copies of his edition of 1676 of the works of Virgil which he presented to Louis xiv., King of France, and his son the Dauphin. ■ NCTI CONCILII TRI- . ' * ■ r ~ >T A SVNT AD torch sed i 1862 ■ PLATE LII. MISSALE ROMANUM. ANTVF.RPI/E, I 663. 16^ in. by 1 r in. . ' ' PLATE LI IT HISTORIA AUGUSTA, SEU VITS ROMANORUM CSSARUM A CAIO JULIO CSSARE USQUE AD MODERNUM GLORIOSISSIME IMPERANTEM LEOPOLDUM, CONSCRIPTS A JOANNE BAL- THASARO BRAUN, JURIUM DOCT. CUM FACULTATE SUPERIORUM. AUGUST/E VINDEL. & DILINGE, SUMPTIBUS JOANNIS CASPARI BENCARD, BIBLIOPOLE. ANNO M. DC. LXXXXVIII. ERMAN binding of the end of the seventeenth century; brown calf, having in the centre of the upper cover an elliptical medallion containing a seated figure of the Virgin and Child, with the legend: fvndatrix monastery ettalensis ; and on the lower cover a similar medallion bearing the arms of the Abbot Bernard, with the inscrip¬ tion : bernardvs abbas ettalensis. Each cover has a double border; the outer one of gold tooling, and the inner one coloured black; the intervening space between the borders and the medallion being richly ornamented with flowers and sprays of foliage. Purchased in 1844. Ettal was a monastery of the Benedictine Order near Ober-Ammergau, in Bavaria. It was suppressed in 1803. , ... . (> C ; J. ; ./ -J • > • . •* f'- * • i>U /• • - •• >. ' ' ■ ;' . .• H?- V j * ;■ . / , .• V. ■: f . ■ ; 1 • ! A CAIO • < •; ■ v -: v V • & . . . . PLATE LIX. UFFIZIO DELLA SETTIMANA SANTA. COLLE RUBRICHE VOLGARI, ARGOMENTI DE’ SALMI, SPIFGAZIONE DELLE CERIMONIE, E MISTERI, CON OSSERVAZIONI, E RIFLESSIONI DIVOTE. DELL’ ABATE ALESSANDRO MAZZINELLI DEDICATO ALLA SACRA REAL MAESTA DI CARLO EMANUELE RE DI SARDEGNA, ETC. IN ROMA MDCCLVIII. APPRESSO GIOACCHINO, E GIOVANNI GIUSEPPE SALVIONI STAMPATORI PONTIFICI VATICANI. CON LICENZA DE’ SUPERIORI. TALIAN binding of the middle of the eighteenth century; brown calf, with the arms of Pope Clement xm. stamped and emblazoned in the centre of each cover. The covers are ornamented also with a handsome geometrical design, combined with arabesques, and painted blue. On com¬ partments formed by the pattern, and stained black, are introduced the instruments of the Passion, which are also repeated on the panels of the back, and painted on the edges of the leaves. The insides of the covers and the fly-leaves are lined with gold paper having a white floral design. Purchased in 1834. 1 PLATE LIX. UKKIZIO DELLA SETTIMANA SANTA. ROMA, I 758. Actual size. • V \ . PLATE LX. LES GRANS CRONIQVES DE FRANCE. COLOPHON: CY FINIST LE TIERS VOLVME DES GRAS CRONIQS DE FRANCE COTENANT CHARLES V. VI. & VII. IMPRIME A PARIS POVR ANTHOINE VERARD LIBRAIRE DEMOVRAT A PARIS. [1493] binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed by Nicolas Denis Derome, whose ticket is pasted on the fly-leaf. Red morocco is the leather in which the volume is bound, and the sides are tooled with a very graceful and elaborate dentelle border, in which a lyre and a small bird with outstretched wings are very artistically introduced. The panels of the back are decorated with floral ornaments, and the insides of the covers and the end-papers are lined with blue watered silk. Purchased in 1848. Nicolas Denis Derome, called 4 le jeune,’ like Antoine Michel Padeloup, was the most celebrated member of a family which produced a large number of binders: as many as eighteen are known to have practised the craft. Derome was born on the 1st of October 1731, became a master binder on the 31st of March 1761, and was elected one of the ‘Gardes en Charge’ of the Guild of the Master Binders and Gilders of the City and University of Paris on the 10th of May 1773. He died about the year 1788, and was succeeded in the business by his nephew, Alexis Pierre Bradel. Jacques Antoine Derome, the father of Nicolas Denis Derome, was also greatly esteemed as a binder, but his reputation is obscured by that of his more famous son. T . ' ■ . ■ _ • : ' p■ I ■TI B sd in 1848. | ■ s of ; he Guild! ' ' ' ; d 1 ti,. ' * r ’"' 1 • ** '<&?' ■ rc ti,: V • ■ ; . ' i ■ . ’ - ' . 1 | .* PLATE LX. LES GRANS CRONIQUES DE FRANCE. PARIS, I 493- 15^ in. by 11 in. I The etiquettes , or tickets, of Derome read thus:— No. i. Relid par Derome le jeune, rue St. Jaque audessus de St. Benoist. No. 2. Relid par Derome le jeune, rue St. Jaque audessus de St. Benoist. (A larger ticket than No. i.) No. 3. Relid par Derome dit le jeune, dtablie en 1760, rue St. Jacques, prds le colldge de plessis, No. 65. No. 4. Relid par Derome le jeune demeure presentment rue St. Jacques, prds le College du Plessis, H6tel de la Couture, No. 65 en 1785- PLATE LX 1 . CAII CORNELII TACITI OPERA. PRINTED BY VINDELIN DE SPIRA OF VENICE ABOUT 1470. RENCH binding of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed by Nicolas Denis Derome. Light blue morocco, with a beautiful dentelle a Voiseau border. The volume formerly belonged to Paul Girardot de Prdfonds, whose ex-libris is pasted on the inside of the upper cover. It was afterwards acquired by the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, who had his arms impressed in the centre of each cover. The panels of the back are tooled with floral ornaments, and the fly-leaves and the insides of the covers are lined with pink watered silk. Bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cracherode. PLATE LXI. CAII CORNELII TACITI OPERA. VENICE, ABOUT I 4/0. 11 in. by 8 in. ' . , PLATE LXII. LA SAINTE BIBLE. TRADUITE SUR LES TEXTES ORIGINAUX, AVEC LES DIFFERENCES DE LA VULGATE. A COLOGNE, 1739. VERY charming example of French mosaic work of the second half of the eighteenth century, executed by Le Monnier, whose name is twice stamped on each cover. The binding is red morocco, the sides being beautifully ornamented with flowers formed by inlaid leather of various colours, the outlines and ribs of which are very delicately and skilfully tooled in gold. The panels of the back also are inlaid, and the insides of the covers are lined with blue watered silk. Bequeathed by Felix Slade, Esq. Although the mosaic bindings which bear the name of Monnier, unfor¬ tunately without any initial, are usually attributed to Jean Charles Henri Le Monnier, who was admitted as a master binder in 1757, and elected ‘Garde’ in 1769, it cannot be stated with certainty that they were his work, as his father, Louis Francois, and his uncle, Charles Henri, are also believed to have bound in this style. Jean Charles Henri Le Monnier was binder to the Duke of Orleans, and in a copy of the Podsies de Malherbe , which he bound for that Prince, and which is now preserved in the library of Versailles, we find his ticket pasted inside the cover. It reads, ‘ Le Monnier, seul Relieur-Doreur de Livres de Monseigneur le Due d’Orldans, et de sa Maison. Demeure rue et vis-a-vis le College de Beauvais, a Paris. This ticket, which has an elegant border enclosing the Orleans arms, was also used by Tessier, who about 1780 succeeded Le Monnier as binder to the Duke, the name and place of abode alone being changed. The precise date of Le Monnier’s death is not known. The two forms of name, Monnier and Le Monnier, were used indifferently by members of this family. C work of the r to lutifully ' • ■ ■ of ir de Livres ’ in to. r * mu . , of abode V PLATE LXII. LA SAINTE BIBLE. COLOGNE, I 739. Actual size. . -• i * a • . 1 ... j i * PLATE LXIII. L’ART DE SE CONNOITRE SOI-MESME, OU LA RECHERCHE DES SOURCES DE LA MORALE, PAR JACQUES ABBADIE. A LA HAVE, CHEZ JEAN NEAULME, M. DCC. XLIX. st¬ ench binding of the second half of the eighteenth cen¬ tury; red morocco, having the arms of Madame Adelaide, eldest daughter of Louis xv., King of France, stamped on each cover. Probably executed by Jean Henri Fournier. Purchasea at the sale of Count Guglielmo Libri’s library in 1859. Madame Adelaide, who was born at Versailles in 1732, was a woman of more than average ability, but she mixed little in public affairs. In 179L alarmed at the serious aspect of things in France, she, with her sister Victoire, left Paris and went to Rome, where they resided until 1796, when they removed to Naples. They remained in that city until the invasion of the French in 1799, when they retired to Trieste, where Madame Victoire died in the same year, and Madame Adelaide in the succeeding one. The library of Madame Adelaide was the most important of the collections formed by the three daughters of Louis XV., known as the ‘ Mesdames de France,’ and contained a considerable number of choice books. A manuscript catalogue of it was compiled in 1786, which is now preserved in the library of the Arsenal in Paris. At the Revolution the books of Madame Adelaide and Madame Victoire were seized and confiscated as the property of emigrants, and a large number of them passed into the library of Versailles; others were acquired by the Biblioth£que Nationale. The volumes from the different libraries of the three Princesses are distinguished by the colour of the leather; those of Madame Adelaide being LA RECHJ RCHE DES SB COKNC :C -E Df UES AB DIE. •itecnth cen- Yddkude, i woman ^'V removed •n 1799, , v-ear, me • Ft" : imes de *h Hbr, 0 ’of Adelaide and he ; re|* of emigrants. — PLATE LX III. ABHADIE. LART DE SE CONNOfTRE SOI-MESME. LA HAVE, I 749. Actual size. clothed in red morocco, and those of Madame Victoire and Madame Sophie respectively in olive and in citron. Their arms on a lozenge-shaped shield are always impressed in the centre of the covers. Some of the volumes were bound by Nicolas Denis Derome, and others by Jean Henri Fournier, a binder, bookseller, and stationer, attached to the Court, who occupied apartments in the Palace of Versailles. L’ANTI-LUCRECE, POEME SUR LA RELIGION NATURELLE, COMPOSE PAR M. LE CARDINAL DE POLIGNAC; TRADUIT PAR M. DE BOUGAINVILLE, SECRETAIRE PERPIiTUEL DE L’ACAD^MIE ROYALE DES BELLES-LETTRES. A PARIS, CHEZ P. G. LE MERCIER, RUE S. JACQUES, AU LIVRE D’OR. M. DCC. LIV. AVEC APPROBATION ET PRIVILEGE DU ROI. RENCH binding of the second half of the eighteenth century; olive morocco, each cover bearing the arms of Madame Victoire, second daughter of Louis xv., King of France. The volume, which was bound by Nicolas Denis Derome, has the book-plate of the Princess pasted on the inside of the upper cover. Purchased at the sale of Count Guglielmo Libri’s library in 1859. The books of Madame Victoire, together with those of her sister Adelaide, were confiscated at the Revolution, and many of them were placed in the Biblioth£que Nationale. A copy of La Science de /’Exploitation des Mines , printed at Paris in 1788, preserved in that institution, bears on the fly-leaf the following note, written by the Commissioner of the Convention, ‘No. 1996. Victoire Capet A. No. 1996/ Madame Victoire was born in 1733 and died at Trieste in 1799. , * - * ' PLATE LXIV. l’anti-lucrece. PAR M. LE CARDINAL DE POLIGNAC. PARIS, I 754. Actual size. PLATE LXP HISTOIRE DU MONDE, PAR M. CHEVREAU. TROISIEME EDITION. REVUE, CORRIGIiE & AUGMENTIiE DE LA SUITE DE L’HISTOIRE DES EMPEREURS DOCCIDENT, & DE PLUSIEURS AUTRES ADDITIONS CONSIDERABLES DANS LE CORPS DE L’OUVRAGE. A PARIS, CHEZ JEAN-GEOFFROY NYON, QUAY DE CONTI, AU COIN DE LA RUE GUENEGAUD. M. DCC. XVII. AVEC APPROBATION & PRIVILEGE DU ROY. RENCH binding of the second half of the eighteenth century; citron morocco, having the arms of Madame Sophie, third daughter of Louis xv., King of France, impressed in the centre of each cover. Probably executed by Nicolas Denis Derome. Purchased at the sale of Count Guglielmo Libri’s library in 1859. The library of Madame Sophie was the smallest of the collections formed by the ‘ Mesdames de France.’ She left a considerable portion of it to her ‘dame d’honneur,’ the Marquise de La Porte de Riants. Madame Sophie was born in 1734, and died in 1782. ■ ■ , AUTRES PLATE LXV. CHEVREAU. HISTOIRE DU MONDE. PARIS, I 7 I 7. A dual size. 33L.it* mm* mm mum