Gold tooling in leather introduced from the East to Venice--Early
Italian gold tooled work--The spread of gold tooling in
Europe--Modern work--Gold tooling in leather--Early Venetian gold
tooled bindings--The work of Thos. Berthelet, John Day, John
Gibson, Mary Collet, Samuel Mearne, Suckerman, Eliot and Chapman,
Roger Payne, Richard Wier, Charles Hering, Kalthœber, Staggemeier,
Walther, Charles Lewis, T. J. Cobden Sanderson, Sir Edw. Sullivan,
Douglas Cockerell, E. M. MacColl, S. Prideaux, Adams, Etienne Roffet,
Geoffrey Tory, Nicholas and Clovis Eve, Le Gascon, Florimond Badier,
Macé Ruette, L. A. Boyet, Padeloup le Jeune, J. Le Monnier, Derome le
Jeune, Capé, Duru, Thouvenin, Bauzonnet, Trautz, Lortic.
The art of gold tooling on leather appears to have been known in
Eastern countries before it was known in the West. There are signs of
it in Saracenic work of the early fifteenth century, but it cannot be
quite certain whether much of this work was not simply painted with
gold. If a blind line is carefully painted with gold shell and then
burnished with a fine agate, a gilded line can be made that looks
nearly as well as a properly gold tooled line. No doubt a considerable
proportion of early gold tooling was done in this way, and some of it
was not even burnished.
Some early Venetian bindings show gold spaces gilded with gold leaf in
a very effective way, and in the Bodleian some English panel stamps of
the early sixteenth century are gilded all over.
[Illustration: FIG. 100.--Italian gold tooled binding, 1514.]
There is little doubt that gold tooling, done as it is now, was known
to the Venetians towards the end of the fifteenth century. It is a
curious art, and depends for its wonderful strength upon the fact
that albumen hardens with heat. The method used is simple: a stamp is
impressed in blind on the leather, and then the impression is painted
over with glaire of egg--albumen. When the albumen is dry it is again
painted over with palm oil or cocoa-nut oil, and on this a piece of
gold leaf is laid. The stamp is now heated, and when it is of the
proper temperature it is very carefully reimpressed in exactly the same
place as at first.
The heat of the stamp congeals the albumen under the gold, and the
now gilded impression is likely enough to be the strongest part of
the leather. I have often found old leather bindings badly worn away,
but the gold tooled work and lettering still remaining in places.
Thus, instead of being _impressed_, as it originally was, it is all in
_relief_, because the albumen has soaked into the leather a little and
then been hardened, so that instead of gilded hollows we find little
mountains with golden tops.
But to counterbalance this possible advantage, the albumen presents a
weak point. On an old gold tooled binding it is not uncommon to find
that a golden curve is partly gone; half of it perhaps shows no longer
as a thin gold line, but only as a shallow trench, hollowed out of the
leather. The meaning of this is that the albumen provides a nourishing
meal for some small grub, which, once it gets the trail, will follow
it, if not disturbed half over the book, and with wonderful accuracy
will eat away gold, albumen, and a little leather, following curves,
leaves, and letterings with close fidelity.
This particular damage is most liable to occur in instances where books
are laid down in show cases on cloth or velvet and not often moved.
The soft groundwork allows the grub more freedom than if the book is
standing up closely packed with others on a shelf.
The small gilt roundels found on early Persian and Arabic bindings as
well as on early Venetian work, were set with some sort of gesso under
the gold.
The trade of Venice with the East brought these matters of ornamented
leather to the notice of Venetian bookbinders, and these, men of
consummate taste, at once saw the possibilities of the new art. Indeed,
the Italian gold tooled bindings of the late fourteenth century are the
finest that have ever yet been made, even though many of them are quite
Oriental in feeling and others very strongly so. But the Venetians soon
crept away from the Eastern trammels and evolved beautiful styles of
their own. One of the first of these styles was the careful mingling
of blind tooled lines with gilded lines; another was the use of small
gilded roundels--themselves an Oriental idea--in connection with blind
tooling and blind tooling coloured by hand.
[Illustration: FIG. 101.--Cameo stamp of Apollo and Pegasus found on
binding that belonged to D. Canevari. Italian, sixteenth century.]
Then at an early date the Italians hit upon the effective use of
so-called “cameo” stamps. These were sometimes cut on a flat piece of
metal, as the “Canevari” stamps are, and sometimes on a bossed piece of
metal, as the Alexander and Cæsar are. When on the binding these stamps
show as a depression with the design in relief within it.
Many of the smaller stamps of this period are worthy of notice. There
is the “Arabic” knot, used on Aldine binding and derived from an
Oriental original from basket work, as many of the early stamps are,
the Florentine leaf and the Aldine dolphin.
[Illustration: FIG. 102.--Italian gold tooled binding made for Jean
Grolier.]
Then there is no doubt that many of the finest of the bindings made
for Jean Grolier were Italian. Who designed them and who bound them
we do not know, but among the earlier examples there is no doubt that
splendid work can be found. They may have been done in the workshop
of Aldus Manutius, but it rather seems that the designs were made by
one man, and I think it is not unlikely that Grolier himself may have
always given the general idea of the decoration he wanted.
The later bindings made for Grolier are curiously inferior, and
sometimes in calf. The earlier and finer bindings are in morocco, which
is sometimes marbled. The words “GROLIERII ET AMICORUM” are always put
upon such bindings as were made for him, and the legend “PORTIO MEA
DOMINE SIT IN TERRA VIVENTIUM” also generally appears in the centre of
one or other of the boards.
[Illustration: FIG. 103.--Italian gold tooled binding made for Jean
Grolier, 1532.]
Whenever Grolier acquired a book which was already very finely bound
he added his autograph either on the flyleaf at the beginning or at
the end. Grolier was the first collector to have his books bound in a
particular way for himself.
“Grolier” bindings have been very freely imitated, especially by a
native of Bologna, who worked a good deal for Count Guglielmo Libri,
a great collector, and unfortunately the style lends itself well to
imitation. A fraudulent finisher looks out for an old Italian book of
the right date, bound in plain leather. Then he copies parts from one
or other of the many Groliers which can be seen and studied by any
Londoner or Parisian for the asking, and if he is fairly clever at his
trade it will take a very skilled expert to detect the fraud. Many such
imitations are about, and every day they become more like genuine
examples.
[Illustration: FIG. 104.--English gold tooled binding by Thos.
Berthelet. Made for Henry VIII.]
The styles of binding that have been most largely and successfully
imitated are those made for Jean Grolier, Henri II. and of his period,
and the so-called “Canevari” bindings.
[Illustration: FIG. 105.--English binding by Thos. Berthelet, 1552.
Made for Edward VI.]
From Italy the art of gold tooling rapidly spread through Europe, and
took hold particularly in England and France. There is no doubt that
an Italian gilder came to England and taught Thomas Berthelet, binder
and printer to Henry VIII. Not only are numbers of Berthelet’s stamps
of distinctly Italian character, but in many of his lists of books
he describes particular examples as being bound “after the Italian
fascion.” But Berthelet quickly enough evolved a style of his own. It
appears to me that English binders have from the time of Berthelet
until now succeeded better than those of any other nation in the
ornamentation of large books. In small books the palm must be given to
Italian and French binders, but large books have always puzzled the
best of these, and even Le Gascon has not been successful with them.
Many of the large books bound by Thomas Berthelet are as fine as any
such books can be. His best work was, naturally enough, done for
royalty, but he set the fashion for smaller binders, and although there
is a want of minute finish and technical accuracy in everything he did,
Berthelet’s fine work will always give him a place in the first rank of
bookbinders of this or any other country.
[Illustration: FIG. 106.--English inlaid and gold tooled binding by
John Day. Made for Queen Elizabeth.]
After Berthelet’s time gold tooling became general in England, but the
binders who used it are anonymous. There are some fine calf bindings
with inlays of white leather which were made in the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, on which appear the initials I. D. P., perhaps “John Day
Pegit,” and which are credited to John Day, but it is by no means
certain that they were done by that eminent printer. The style of
leather bindings of Elizabeth’s reign departed finally from that of
Berthelet, and more variety is found than at any other period. The
Oriental fashion of double boards was re-introduced, the centre panels
being filled with delicate paintings, portraits or coat-of-arms, and
the remainder of the boards variously ornamented with inlays of white
leather, toolings in gold and silver, and impressions from stamps cut
in arabesques. Some of these bindings are coloured, that is to say,
the arabesques, curves or flowers are painted by hand with some kind
of enamel paint. The main source of such coloured bindings was Lyons,
from which centre numbers of them were issued, but the fashion was
one which appealed to the English liking for colour, and many fine
examples, often heraldic, were made here. In royal bindings at all
times heraldry has played an important part, but from the middle of
the sixteenth century onwards it plays an equally important part on
bindings made for ordinary armigerous people.
[Illustration: FIG. 107.--Italian inlaid and gold tooled binding in
Oriental style. Made for Queen Elizabeth.]
Letterings often appear on the sides of bindings of the Tudor period,
mottoes, initials and names. Towards the end of the sixteenth century a
few bindings are found on which are semis of triple dots. This is the
beginning of the style which reached its ultimate form in the next
century. Also small triangular corner stamps occur now and then. These
also developed and eventually became one of the most characteristic
marks of Jacobean bindings.
When James VI. of Scotland came here as our James I. he may have
brought with him John Gibson, who was his binder in Scotland. Lists
of books bound by this binder still exist, but no book or binding
mentioned by him has so far been identified. But there are some
remarkable books among those which were certainly bound for James I.
which are not like the general type of his bindings, and it is likely
enough that these may be Gibson’s work. The style is a very fine one,
and the workmanship strong and good, but not, in my opinion, correct
enough to have been done by a foreign binder. The same binder did
some of the re-binding for Henry Prince of Wales, and one of its
characteristics is a dotted fillet of double lines.
[Illustration: FIG. 108.--The book stamp of Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester.]
[Illustration: FIG. 109.--The book stamp of Lord Burleigh.]
It is probable that many of the richer bindings of the early
seventeenth century were the work of John and Abraham Bateman, the
king’s printers and binders, but, in spite of lists, this is again
only speculation. There is no doubt that about this time many bindings
were made which would now be called trade bindings as apart from
art bindings. Trade bindings often enough follow art bindings at a
respectable distance, and they are rarely made on original lines.
[Illustration: FIG. 110.--English binding by Thos. Berthelet, 1537,
with the title on the sides.]
[Illustration: FIG. 111.--English Jacobean corner stamp.]
Following the lead given by some of the later Elizabethan bindings,
we find from about 1603 to 1625 a considerable output of very showy
bindings, with elaborate semis or powderings of small stamps all over
the groundwork, very large and over-elaborated corner stamps and
centres of arabesque or heraldic motives.
Students of English royal bindings must note that with the coming
of James I. to the English throne, a great change was made in the
English coat-of-arms. The coat which had been used from the time of
Edward III., namely, France and England quarterly, was now used as
a quartering only, and shows in the first and fourth quarters. In
the second quarter we find the ancient coat of Scotland, or, a lion
rampant within a double tressure flory counterflory gu., and in the
third quarter comes the coat of Ireland, az., the harp of Apollo Grian,
stringed ar, _or_., given, it is supposed, by Henry VIII. as a mark of
admiration for the musical excellence of the Irish.
[Illustration: FIG. 112.--English gold-tooled binding made for James I.]
Also the late Tudor supporters of the lion and dragon give place to the
familiar lion and unicorn. The unicorn is one of the ancient supporters
of the Scottish coat. It is interesting to note in passing that the
present official coat of Scotland is, first and fourth Scotland, second
England, and third Ireland, with two unicorns as supporters. It appears
on Scottish official bindings. The interpretation of this is of course
that England and Ireland are appanages of Scotland.
But even if it is now correct to dissociate the arms of England and
Scotland, we must not forget the heraldic marriage between the two
countries which took place in 1706, on which auspicious occasion the
two coats were impaled as one. That is to say, they were treated in the
same way as the coats of married people.
The semis, with large corners, is a manner which has lasted a long
time, but it is not a great style; it is, however, one which has
been largely followed in the case of trade bindings. In this manner a
very rich and brilliant effect can be produced with a minimum of real
design and of technical skill. The centres of such bindings, if not
simply coats-of-arms, are always of oval outline, but at Little Gidding
the irregular Jacobean corners and oval centres turned into circular
centres and quarter-circle corners. The gold tooled leather bindings
made at Little Gidding followed closely in detail those made by Thomas
and John Buck, the Cambridge University printers, but in the main the
bindings made by Mary Collet and her assistants were original. In
the matter of semis also the Little Gidding bindings show a pleasant
departure from the quite regular arrangements aimed at by Jacobean
binders.
[Illustration: FIG. 113.--English inlaid and gold tooled binding made
by Mary Collet at Little Gidding.]
After 1625 the series and corners tended gradually to fall into
abeyance, and although they did not altogether disappear, they were
each modified. Corner pieces became smaller in proportion, and the
semis more artistically irregular.
Towards the end of the reign of Charles I. some unknown binder,
probably Samuel Mearne, had the hardihood for the first time to
bind royal books without any ornamentation on the boards except a
coat-of-arms. The red leather, goat skin, used on these bindings is
of extremely fine colour and quality. Simplicity in ornamentation of
bookbindings is usually accompanied by fine leather, and at no time has
this been more noticeable than in the case of Mearne’s simpler work.
[Illustration: FIG. 114.--Book stamp of the English Commonwealth.]
The political troubles of the later half of the seventeenth century
may of themselves have tended to incline bookbinders to simplify their
work, and so also may the Puritan spirit of the time. State bindings
of the time are studiously simple, and bear upon them a device with
shields, showing the English cross of St. George and the harp of
Ireland side by side, impressed upon black leather.
But there were other very decorative small bindings being produced in
considerable numbers about this period. Whether these also owed their
existence to Samuel Mearne is still uncertain, but he was, I expect, a
moving spirit in the matter of fine bookbindings from the end of the
reign of Charles I. to the end of the reign of Charles II. The little
books I allude to were made during the latter half of the seventeenth
century and are always bound in black morocco. They have inlays of
red, yellow, and white leather upon them and some very well designed
gold tooling. Many of the designs are in detail similar to those which
were certainly used at a later time by Samuel Mearne. John Bagford,
in a curious account of book binding written early in the eighteenth
century, mentions a workman named Suckerman, who was “one of the best
workmen that ever took tool in hand, and commonly worked for Mr. Merne
the Binder to King Charles the 2.”
It is quite possible that much of the finest English work of this
period was done by this man, but I expect he was only a workman, and
executed the designs made out for him by a skilled designer--possibly
enough Mearne himself.
[Illustration: FIG. 115.--English gold tooled “Rectangular” style
binding, by Samuel Mearne. Made for Charles II.]
Samuel Mearne was appointed royal binder to Charles II., and he was the
second great binder in England. Mearne bound the majority of his books
in the same beautiful red leather that I have already mentioned as
being used for some late bindings belonging to Charles I., and the same
coat-of-arms occurs on some of those bound for Charles II. This red
leather was probably dyed with cochineal. Before this no red leather
was used to any extent in England. Brown, olive, blue, and black were
all common, but not red. The ordinary bindings made by Mearne for
Charles II. were simply and tastefully ornamented with rectangular
lines having the royal initials at the corners, but others are more
elaborate.
We owe a national design to Mearne’s inventive genius, and it is known
as the “Cottage” style. The gold-lined parallelogram is the starting
point, and the upper and lower lines are broken outwards into a gable
form. From this starting point Mearne developed his further decoration
with supreme success, until indeed he succeeded in producing some of
the finest bindings for large books that have ever been made. Not
only that, Mearne’s style and even the details of his stamps continue
until the present time, and the Bible on which King Edward VII. took
the coronation oath was bound in the Cottage style. No style has ever
lasted so long, not only in England, but in any other country.
There was yet another beautiful style invented by Mearne. It is not
so real a design as the Cottage, as it partakes to some extent of
the principle of the semis, inasmuch as symmetrical repetition is an
integral part of it. There is no doubt that Mearne saw and admired the
work of the great French contemporary binder Le Gascon, and from him
he borrowed several ideas, among them that of the pointille or dotted
stamps, and also that of the interlacing fillets with interstitial
spaces filled with small gold tooling.
[Illustration: FIG. 116.--English gold tooled binding by Samuel Mearne.
Made for Charles II.]
The radical change that Mearne made with regard to Le Gascon’s
interlacing fillets was that he made them up by using successive
impressions of a two-horned curve instead of a continuous fillet or
ribbon. Although at first sight there would seem to be no connection
between one of these “all over” bindings by Mearne and one of Le
Gascon’s exquisite little interlacings, I think the connection is
undoubted.
[Illustration: FIG. 117.--English gold-tooled binding in “all-over”
style, by Samuel Mearne.]
The all-over bindings, always small, are not uncommon; they are in
black or red morocco, with colours interchanged, and are tooled in
gold, with the very decorative addition of silver paint, water-colour,
applied by hand here and there.
Eliot and Chapman did much excellent work in the eighteenth century and
invented large ornamental borders for their bindings. These borders are
not rolls, but the component parts are separately stamped. There is an
excellent design with arches, a bird and a fly, and another with a
globe, but all of them are admirably and effectively designed.
Except the work of Eliot and Chapman, the main English ornamentations
on bookbindings during the eighteenth century were modifications of one
or other of Mearne’s designs.
[Illustration: FIG. 118.--English gold tooled binding showing the
influence of Samuel Mearne.]
Eliot and Chapman bound largely for Robert Harley, first Earl of
Oxford, and their broad bordered style is known as the “Harleian.” The
centres, in the finest examples, are left unornamented, but there are
numbers of examples, especially in later work, in which the centres are
filled with a diamond-shaped mass of small gold toolings. Their style
has been very largely copied.
[Illustration: FIG. 119.--The book stamp of Robert Harley.]
Towards the end of the eighteenth century English binding received a
remarkable stimulus by reason of the advent of Roger Payne, a native of
Windsor, who set up in London as a bookbinder about 1770.
Payne’s two predecessors, Berthelet and Mearne, had both enjoyed Court
positions, but Payne never did; he worked when he chose, and only then,
and even if the brilliancy and genius shown of his work had ever been
known to George III., it is doubtful whether so unreliable a man as
Payne was could ever have been allowed to hold any responsible position.
[Illustration: FIG. 120.--English gold tooled binding, by Roger Payne.]
The main charm of Payne’s work consists in the spare ornamentation
of beautiful leather with exquisitely designed and cut stamps. These
stamps are said to have been cut by himself in iron, but most of them
were certainly of brass. One of Payne’s stamps only is specially cut
so as to be capable of being used in combination; it is a little sprig
of vine, and he used it not only by itself, but sometimes so as to make
an entire vine oval on the side of a book. Payne was also the first
great English binder to pay much attention to the inside of the boards
of his bindings. His “Doublures,” as they are called, often show more
elaborate work than exists outside the books. The masses of small
stamps which occur on the borders of the fine doublures and in the
corners of Payne’s bindings are arranged in parallel lines, but have
little constructive arrangement. The brilliancy of Payne’s gold tooling
has never been exceeded.
In his simpler bindings Payne used a deep soft purple end paper,
usually lined with gold round the edge. The leather joint red or green
is also often gilded, and shows a stitch or two of the silk thread
which Payne always used. The headbands are small and rounded, of green
silk, with sometimes a gold thread here and there.
The colours of Payne’s moroccos are deep blue, deep red, orange, deep
olive, or pale sea-green. If other colours are found on bindings
apparently by him, I should begin by suspecting the work is that of
Richard Wier. His Russia leathers are always dull brown in colour,
and diced. Payne lined his backs too thickly, and his books often
open stiffly. This is not of much importance when the binding is
morocco, but when Russia leather is used it causes it to break at
the joints. Some of the designs in the back panels of Payne’s more
decorative bindings are quite admirable. His moroccos are smooth or
straight-grained, a method of treating the leather that he invented.
Payne often added a manuscript note to his bound work and pasted it in
the beginning. Several of these notes are of great interest, as they
show the immense care and trouble he took to do the best he could in
every case. They are also of the greatest value in showing that certain
pieces of work are unquestionably from his own hand.
Richard Wier, a Scottish bookbinder, worked with Payne, and closely
copied his style. Wier was fonder of blind tooling than Payne was, and
they used the same stamps. Many of the bindings credited to Roger Payne
are really by Wier, who, as well as Mrs. Wier, was a highly skilled
mender of books.
Charles Hering founded his styles upon those of Payne, but soon
evolved a manner of his own. He finished some books that Payne had
left unfinished in the same style. Originals and copies are now in the
Rylands Library at Manchester. Hering’s work is, however, only high
class trade binding, as is that of his contemporary, C. Kalthœber. Both
Hering’s and Kalthœber’s work is often signed, either in small gilt or
blind lettering along the lower edge of one of the boards, or by an
affixed ticket.
Kalthœber frankly copied Payne’s styles and stamps, but elaborated
both so much that he quite lost sight of the characteristic simplicity
of the great master. Kalthœber bound several books for George III.,
and many of them are decorative enough, and if they had not been such
parodies of Payne’s work they would no doubt have taken high rank.
Staggemeier and Walther were both Germans, who worked much in the same
manner as Kalthœber. They both signed their bindings.
Charles Lewis was very nearly a great binder, but I do not think he
quite reached that level. He used flat double bands with gold tooling
upon them, but these are frequently only shams, and are in company with
hollow backs. After that his best work was borrowed; but his bindings
are always pleasant to handle and admirably forwarded and finished.
Lewis’ headbands are flat and upright, and generally sewn with green
silk or red and green silk. He was fond of brilliant doublures,
sometimes all gold, sometimes vellum edged with richly gilt morocco,
and he was also fond of gilded edges richly tooled.
In the nineteenth century we have in England produced one binder who
will probably in due time rank with the highest. The work of Mr. T.
J. Cobden-Sanderson will bear comparison with the best work the past
can show, either as to general design or beauty of detail. Most of the
good art binding done now owes its inspiration to Mr. Cobden-Sanderson,
and already many of his pupils and followers have achieved distinction
for themselves; one of the best of these is Mr. Douglas Cockerell. The
rare work done by Sir Edward Sullivan will also live. He is entirely
original in his work and in his manner of decoration.
Lady bookbinders in England have also done excellent and beautiful
work, particularly Miss E. M. MacColl, Miss Sarah Prideaux, and Miss N.
E. Woolrich.
Professional work of high excellence has been done in recent years
in England by Messrs. Bedford, Rivière, Zaehnsdorf, and Morell. The
younger Zaehnsdorf, G. Sutcliffe, F. Sangorsky, Fazakerly of Liverpool,
and A. De Santy are all reliable, and may be trusted to produce
work not only technically perfect, but also charmingly finished and
admirably designed.
Compared, however, to modern French professional bookbinding of the
first rank, by Capé, Duru, Lortic, Bauzonnet, and the rest, I find that
there is a certain heaviness in English forwarding--English binders
have always liked heavy boards; but I think that in the matter of gold
tooling our best modern finishers can hold their own safely.
Bookbinding has been more fostered and looked after in France than in
any other country. As early as 1401 a guild of all persons concerned in
book production was founded by charter from Charles VI., and continued,
with some changes, until 1791.
The chief change in this guild took place in 1686, when the binding and
gilding were treated as separate arts, as, indeed, they properly are.
From the time of Francis I. until about 1633 we find that nearly all
the Kings of France had official binders, and, as might be expected,
the best French work is to be among their work, with the exception of
that of Le Gascon, who, like our Roger Payne, was never favoured with
Court patronage.
Heraldry plays a considerable part in English bookbinding, but not so
remarkable a one as it does in French bookbinding. From royal books
downwards, persons of distinction, ecclesiastics of all ranks, ladies
and private persons, all liked to have their books ornamented with
their coats-of-arms as a principal ornament.
Etienne Roffet was Royal binder to Francis I., but I do not feel sure
that any binding of his is known. It may be, however, considered likely
that he bound most of the books bearing the King’s crowned initials and
his device of a salamander.
Several of Jean Grolier’s books were bound by French workmen. These are
in the main designed on similar lines to those bound by Italians, but
there is a difference in the details of the stamps used. One constant
difference may be found in the fact that on the Italian books the
small leaves and devices are _solid_, and on the French ones they are
_azured_, or scored across with fine lines. Some of the French bound
books have colour added on the fillets.
Geoffrey Tory lived well into the sixteenth century, and among other
artistic productions he designed a special stamp for gilding his
bindings with. Tory lost his only little daughter, and afterwards
adopted as his device a broken vase, symbolic of his broken life. This
vase is sometimes pierced by a “toret,” probably a play upon his own
name, as he describes it: “ung vase antique qui est cassé par lequel
passe ung toret.” The book stamps do not show the toret, but the vase
is there. In the other ornamentation and on these Tory bindings is a
strong Italian feeling. It is sure enough that the art of gold tooling
reached France by way of Venice, just as it did England.
[Illustration: FIG. 121.--French coloured and gold tooled binding, with
portrait of Henri II.]
The most gorgeous period of French bookbinding was that of Henri
II. and his children. Henri himself loved fine bindings, and so did
Catherine de Medici, but unfortunately we do not know who executed
them. They are in calf or morocco, and nearly always have coloured
fillets. Those which were bound for Diane de Poictiers, Duchesse de
Valentinois, are equally remarkable, and all of them have, as a rule,
heraldic ornamentation. A fine portrait cameo stamp, however, of Henri
II. appears as a centrepiece on some of his bindings, and the name
Dianne appears on one of Diane’s now in the Bibliothèque Nationale at
Paris.
[Illustration: FIG. 122.--French sixteenth century binding, made for
Diane de Poictiers.]
The cyphers which appear on all these bindings are as a rule
straightforward enough, being either those of Henri or his Queen
Catherine, but among them is one which contains the initials H. and
D. intertwined. This may mean “Henri Dauphin,” but it is usually
interpreted as meaning “Henri” and “Diane.” I do not propose here
to enter into the vexed question of this curious cypher, as it has
already been fully discussed elsewhere,[1] but I may say that Henri’s
own device before he succeeded to the throne was a crescent with the
legend NEC IMPLEAT TOTEM ORBEM. An unstrung bow as well as the other
emblems of Diana the huntress undoubtedly appears on bindings made for
this king. I am rather inclined to think that these devices of bow,
crescents, and quiver, which show on the bindings made for Henri as
well as on those made for Diane de Poictiers, may really have been
separately chosen, and have no necessary connection with each other. On
the bindings made for Diane de Poictiers the bow is strung.
[Illustration: FIG. 123.--French binding by Nicholas Eve, 1578. Made
for Henri III.]
Henri III. was an eccentric king, and it has been said that among
other arts he learnt that of bookbinding. He lost his ladylove, and
ever afterwards grieved her loss. His bindings show the device of the
confraternity of the White Monks, to which order he belonged, and a
skull and “SPES MEA DEUS.” But besides these gloomy bindings we owe
some of the finest bindings ever made in France to the art of Henri’s
royal binder, Nicholas Eve.
The French order of St. Michel was founded by Louis XI., in 1466, in
place of an older order “De l’Etoile,” which had been instituted by
Jean II. Henri III., in 1578, founded a new order, the Saint Esprit,
and among the State papers of the time is a note to the effect that
Nicholas Eve bound forty-two copies of the _Ordonnances de l’ordre du
Sainct Esprit_ for the king. One of these books is now in the British
Museum. It is bound, as described in the official note, in orange
morocco, and agrees in all respects with that description.
[Illustration: FIG. 124.--French, gold tooled “Fanfare” binding. Made
for J. A. De Thou.]
A remarkable style, known as “à la Fanfare,” became common in France
about the end of the sixteenth century. They are generally attributed
to Clovis Eve, who was Relieur du Roy (1596), but there is really no
authority for such attribution. The style is a beautiful one, and
consists of interlaced fillets enclosing graceful sprays of laurel or
palm, and arabesque curves. Some of the finest examples were bound for
J. A. de Thou, the historian, and bear his arms, a chevron between
three gadflies, as a centre ornament.
Most of De Thou’s books are bound in morocco, and among those which
were made during the life of his second wife Gasparde de la Chastre
are some that are curiously ornamented. They are bound in pale yellow
morocco which has been stamped all over with impressions in black
outline, probably from a wood block, in floral or conventional designs.
The designs have afterwards been filled in by hand with colour stains,
green, red and blue. The leather has been cut for the binding without
any notice being taken of the coloured designs, which consequently
appear irregularly on the finished work. The books are finished with
gold lines and the arms of De Thou and La Chastre side by side.
It has been said that De Thou chose certain colours for certain
subjects, for the bindings of his books, but although it may be so in
some cases I do not think it is consistently carried out.
Certain colours have no doubt been chosen in some cases as distinctive
of ownership, as for instance in the libraries of the three daughters
of Louis XV., all of whom bore the same coat-of-arms. The books
belonging to Madame Victoire were bound in olive, those of Madame
Adelaide in red, and those of Madame Sophie in citron.
French bindings in morocco were sometimes stained with colour,
especially about the time of Henri II., but colour on morocco is more
generally added as a pigment.
In recent times some very decorative Spanish moroccos have been
curiously stained with a sort of marbling. Large consignments of these
coloured moroccos have been imported into this country, and they have
been used especially by Mr. Roger De Coverly, one of our foremost
bookbinders. The morocco is not of a very good quality, and it is too
early to say whether the stains are harmful to the leather, as they
probably would be if they were on calf.
Colour as indicating subject is usually given in the case of large
libraries that do their own binding. Red commonly indicates history and
art; blue, theology; green, agriculture and botany; and so on.
In the early seventeenth century the mysterious “Le Gascon” invented
the “pointillé” or dotted style of gold tooling, which has been more
universally copied than any other small peculiarity in book finishing.
[Illustration: French Seventeenth Century Binding. Inlaid and Gold
Tooled. By Le Gascon. [_To face p._ 238.]
Le Gascon was supreme in the binding of small books, whether ornamented
with interlaced fillets, inlaid, or with the curious design of a
swollen cross. Le Gascon’s small pointillé curves are most cleverly
designed; two or three of them suffice to cover a considerable space
with an apparently complicated design. The glittering effect of the
small pointillé work massed together is heightened by the free addition
of small golden dots wherever space can be found for them.
Red morocco was Le Gascon’s favourite groundwork, and on this he
frequently set inlays of coloured morocco, citron, olive and marbled
brown. These were mostly used in the case of bindings bearing a design
of interlacing fillets, with gold tooling between them. No signed
binding by Le Gascon is as yet known, but there are some bearing the
name of Florimond Badier, who was son-in-law to Jean Gillède, which
nearly resemble Le Gascon’s work, but lack his exquisite finish. On
some of these appears a small dotted profile head, which is supposed
to be a mark of Le Gascon’s. This same head is copied on some of the
bindings of our English Samuel Mearne, who must therefore have seen and
admired some of Le Gascon’s or Badier’s work. “Le Gascon” was probably
Jean Gillède.
Macè Ruette followed many of Le Gascon’s manners, and his son Antoine
did the same. These binders were royal binders to Louis XIII. and Louis
XIV. respectively, and probably bound most of the fine bindings made
for these kings, bearing their coats-of-arms.
The bindings made for the Baron de Longepierre are not uncommon.
They were probably bound by Luc Antoine Boyet, royal binder to Louis
XV. These little books bear upon them the device of a golden fleece,
because the Baron wrote plays, and the only successful one was called
“Medea” and dealt with the subject of the Argonauts. The bindings are
all exquisitely finished, and of beautiful red leather; they sometimes
have finely decorated doublures and marbling under the gold on the
edges, a charming detail which has been much liked by French binders
ever since.
Padeloup le Jeune was royal binder to Louis XV. after Boyet, and
belonged to one of the many French families of binders. Padeloup’s
work is luckily often signed by means of a small ticket on the title
page or end paper. He perfected the patterns known as “Dentelles,”
which had been first thought of by Boyet. These designs start from the
edges of the boards inwards, and the inner edge is deeply dentated and
is supposed to resemble lace. Padeloup used blue and red morocco, and
executed several small bindings with inlays of coloured leather in
geometrical designs.
[Illustration: FIG. 125.--French inlaid and gold tooled binding, 1718,
by Padeloup le Jeune.]
[Illustration: FIG. 126.--French gold tooled binding “Dentelle à
l’oiseau,” by Derôme le Jeune.]
Padeloup made several large bindings, and his stamps are often large
and boldly cut, but his successors gradually fined his style down until
the original bold indented work became quite small and lace-like in
itself.
The liking for inlaid work which was started by Padeloup rapidly grew,
and it caused a certain deterioration in the taste of French binding
because it gave such scope for minute technical skill that this
soon became more sought after than the power of fine designing. The
skill shown on inlaid bindings by Jean le Monnier, for instance, is
astonishing, but the designs on all his bindings are weak. The same may
be said of the work of J. A. Derôme. But the work of both these binders
is much sought after and esteemed by many collectors.
Derôme le Jeune was the most important French binder of the late
eighteenth century. He took Padeloup’s large “dentelles” and altered
them so much that he at last evolved a style of his own from them.
Derôme drew the whole design out in a much smaller and more delicate
way, and always put in some bird figures, and these designs are known
as “Dentelles a l’oiseau.” He used citron, olive and red morocco.
Derôme has not a good reputation as a forwarder; he is said to have
cropped his books badly, and also to have “sawn in” his bands so as to
get flat or open backs. Even so, he did not invent “sawn in” bands,
as that vice was practised in England a hundred years before Derôme’s
time, in the case of embroidered books; but the fact of these two
mannerisms having been noticed in the work of this great binder only
shows that the same faults were probably universally prevalent at the
time.
Modern French work is astonishing for its technical skill. The
work of Capé, Duru, Thouvenin, Bauzonnet, Trautz, Lortic, Niedrée,
Marius-Michel, Chambolle, and many others is admirable from all
workmanlike points of view.
But there is no genius in any of it; a great French binder of this
century is yet to come.
Spanish bindings are often very handsomely gold tooled, and are usually
ornamented with heraldic designs. Little is known at present about
them, but it is certainly doubtful whether any great school of gold
tooling in bindings has ever existed outside Italy, England or France.
BOOKS TO CONSULT.
ANGLO-SAXON REVIEW.--_London_, 1899. (Articles at the beginning of each
vol., by Cyril Davenport.)
BAUCHART.--_See_ Quentin-Bauchart.
BERALDI, H.--La Reliure du XIX^e. Siècle. _London_, 1895-97.
BERNARD, A. J.--G. Tory. _Paris_, 1857.
BICKELL, L.--Bucheinbände des XV. bis XVIII. Jahrhunderts aus
hessischen Bibliotheken. _Leipzig_, 1892.
BOSQUET, E.--La Reliure. _Paris_, 1894.
BOUCHOT, H.--De la Reliure. _Paris_, 1891.
BOUCHOT, H.--Le Livre. _Paris_, 1886.
BOUCHOT, H.--Les reliures d’Art à la Bibliothèque Nationale. _Paris_,
1888.
BRASSINGTON, W. S.--Historic bindings in the Bodleian Library.
_London_, 1891.
BRUNET, C. G.--Etudes sur la reliure des Livres. _Bordeaux_, 1891.
BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB.--Illustrated Catalogue of Bookbindings.
_London_, 1891.
CUNDALL, J.--Bookbindings Ancient and Modern. _London_, 1891.
DAVENPORT, CYRIL.--Cantor Lectures on Decorative Bookbindings.
_London_, 1898.
DAVENPORT, CYRIL.--Bagford’s Notes on Bookbinding. _London_, 1894.
DAVENPORT, CYRIL.--Life of Samuel Mearne. _Chicago_, 1907.
DAVENPORT, CYRIL.--Life of Thos. Berthelet. _Chicago_, 1901.
DAVENPORT, CYRIL.--Royal English Bookbindings. _London_, 1896.
DERÔME, L.--La Reliure de Luxe. _Paris_, 1888.
FLETCHER, W. Y.--Bookbindings in France. _London_, 1894.
FLETCHER, W. Y.--English Bookbindings in the British Museum. _London_,
1895.
FLETCHER, W. Y.--Foreign Bookbindings in the British Museum. _London_,
1896.
FOURNIER, E.--L’Art de la Reliure en France. _Paris_, 1888.
GRUEL, L.--Conférence sur la Reliure et la Dorure des Livres. _Paris_,
1896.
GRUEL, L.--Manuel de l’Amateur de Reliures. _Paris_, 1887.
GUIGARD.--Armorial du Bibliophile. _Paris_, 1890.
HOE, R.--One hundred and seventy-two historic bookbindings from the
Library of Robert Hoe. _New York_, 1895.
HOLMES, R. R.--Specimens of Bookbindings from the Royal Library,
Windsor Castle. _London_, 1893.
HORNE, H. P.--The Bindings of Books. _London_, 1894.
MATTHEWS, J. B.--Bookbindings Old and New. _London_, 1896.
MICHEL, M.--La Reliure Française. _Paris_, 1881.
PRIDEAUX, S. T.--Bookbinders and their Craft. _London_, 1903.
PRIDEAUX, S. T.--Historical Sketch of Bookbinding. _London_, 1893.
QUENTIN-BAUCHART, E.--Les Femmes Bibliophiles de France, XVI^e, XVII^e.
et XVIII^e. Siècles. _Paris_, 1886.
THOINAN, E.--Les Relieurs Français. _Paris_, 1893.
UZANNE, O.--L’Art dans la Decoration Extérieure des Livres en France.
_Paris_, 1898.
UZANNE, O.--La Reliure Moderne. _Paris_, 1887.
WHEATLEY, H. B.--Remarkable Bindings in the British Museum. _London_,
1889.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] _Anglo-Saxon Review_ and _Burlington Magazine_, July, 1907.
INDEX.
A.
Abacus, the, 12
Account book binding, 157
Ackermann, publisher, 129
Æsop’s _Fables_, 1665 ... 124
“A E I O U,” 197
African symbolic messages, 10
Alcuin of York, 19
Aliamet, line engraver, 122
Alken, H., artist, 124
“All-over” style of binding, 223
All Saints’ Church, Hereford, chained library at, 164
Allanson and Sears, wood engravers, 116
Allen, D., line engraver, 120
Almanacks cut on wood, bone, etc., 7
American loggers’ marks, 9
” wampums, 13
Amulets, 4
Aniline dyes for leather, 180
Anne Boleyn’s New Testament, 144
Anne de Felbrigge, embroidress, 151
Annis, W., mezzotint engraver, 128
Aquatints, 128
Arabic knot, the, 208
” panel stamps, the, 59
Arabic style of binding, the, 55
Armagh, satchel of the book of, 50
Armytage, J. C., line engraver, 121
_Ars Moriendi_, 90
Art canvas bindings, 156
Ashburnham, Lord, 189
Assyrian bricks and cylinders, 85
Astle, T., keeper of the records in the Tower of London, 189
Avril, P., artist, 138
Ayres, J., calligraphist, 118
Ayrton’s _Voyage Round Great Britain_, 131
Aze, line engraver, 122.
B.
“B” capital in Mainz Psalter, 103
Babylonian cylinders and bricks, 85
Backing, the, of books, 43
Backs, flat and rounded, 42
Bacon, F., line engraver, 121
Badier, F., bookbinder, 239
Bagford, J., author, 190, 222
Baily, J., aquatint engraver, 131
Baker, R. J., line engraver, 121
Baldwin II., King of Jerusalem, 53
Bamler, J., publisher, 115
Bands of bindings, 36, 44
Bank note of Chinese paper, 1368 ... 64
Barber’s poles, 16
Bark books, 29
Bartholomaeus’ _De proprietatibus rerum_, 66
Bartolozzi, F., etcher, 125
Baskerville, J., printer, 99
Bateman, John and Abraham, binders, 217
Battas of Sumatra and symbolic messages, 10
Battledores, 166
Bauzonnet, bookbinder, 242
Bedford, F., bookbinder, 231
Beneworth, wood engraver, 116
Bennett, W. F., aquatint engraver, 130
Bernes, Dame Juliana’s, _Book of St. Albans_, 110
Berthelet, T., printer and binder, 110, 213
Bertonnier, line engraver, 123
Best, A., wood engraver, 114
Bettini’s _Monte Santo di Deo_, 119
Bewick, T., wood engraver, 108, 110
_Biblia Pauperum_, 90
Blaew, W. J., mechanician, 94
Blake, W., artist, 109, 124
Blanchard, P., lithographer, 135
Blazes on trees, 9
Blind tooling on bindings, 182
Bloc, bookbinder, 192
Block books, 89
Boards of books, 41
Bollcaert, bookbinder, 192
Bone, markings on, 1, 9
Book edges, 143
Bosse, A., etcher, 125
Bosse, L., line engraver, 122
Bosses on mediæval books, 45
Boule, A., bookbinder, 192
Boydell, publisher, 129
Boydell’s _Picturesque Scenery in Norway_, 130
Boyet, L. A., bookbinder, 240
Brandard, R., line engraver, 121
Brant’s _Narrenschiff_, 115
Brevière, H. L., wood engraver, 114
Brim stocks, 7
“Britannia” watermark, 71
Buck, Thomas and John, printers and binders, 154, 220
Buckingham, Marquis of, 189
Buckram bindings, 156
“Bull’s Head” watermark, 69
Burgkmeier, H., artist, 116
Burne-Jones, Sir E., artist, 113
Bylaert, J., artist, 125
_Byrthe of Mankind_, 119
Byzantine bindings, 46
” diptychs, 22
C.
Calf leather, 171
Callot, etcher, 125
Cambridge bindings, 191
Cameo stamps, 208
“Canevari” stamps, 208
Canvas bindings, 151
Capé, bookbinder, 242
“Caractères de civilité,” 97
Cardinal’s hat, 12
Carolingian Minuscules, 20
Cartwright, T., aquatint engraver, 131
Caslon, W., printer, 99
Casting of type, the, 92
Cathach, of the O’Donnells, the, 50
Cattermole, artist, 132, 134
Caxton’s bindings, 189
” _Fifteen Oes_, 106
” _Myrrour of the Worlde_, 108, 109
Cecil, Lord Burleigh’s, book stamp, 216
Cecil, line engraver, 120
Cellarius’ _Album Amicorum_, 158
Cellulose used in paper, 79
“Chain” lines on paper, 73
Chained books, 163
Chambolle, bookbinder, 242
Chamois leather, 176
Charlemagne’s gospels, 54
” interest in writing, 19
Charles II., portrait on book edges, 147
Charlet, lithographer, 133
Chauveau, F., line engraver, 122
Cheap paper, 77
Chemical wood pulp, 79
Chéret, lithographer, 133
Chevalier, W., line engraver, 121
Chifflart, line engraver, 123
China clay in paper, 80
Chinese books of Jade, 5
” colour blocks, 104
” paper, 63
” types of porcelain, 86
” woodcuts, 103
Choffard, P., line engraver, 122, 125
Christ, arms of, 196
Clasps on mediæval books, 44
Clay-laden papers, 80
Clennell, L., wood engraver, 111
Clint, G., mezzotint engraver, 128
Clog almanacks, 7
Cloth bindings, 155
Cobden-Sanderson, T. J., bookbinder, 231
Cochineal dye for leather, 222
Cockerell, D., bookbinder, 231
_Codex Alexandrinus_, 102
Cole, T., wood engraver, 111
Collet, M., bookbinder, 153
Collodion as a preservative for Persian bindings, 59
Colonna’s _Hypnerotomachia Poliphili_, 105
Colour on block books, 90
Coloured printing papers, 73
Combe’s _History of the River Thames_, 130
” _Tour of Dr. Syntax_, 130
Commonwealth book stamp, 221
Constable, J., artist, 128
Consular diptychs, 23
Cook, H., stipple engraver, 125
Cooper, J., wood engraver, 112
Coptic binding of the eighth century, 182
Corbould, G., line engraver, 121
Corean paper, 65
_Coronation of George IV._, 131
Coster, L. J., printer, 90
Costeriana, 90
“Cottage,” style of binding, 222
Cousins, J., line engraver, 121
Cow-hide for bindings, 172
“Crown” watermark, 70
Cruickshank, G., artist, 124
“Crushed” morocco, 177
Cuirbouilli, 50
Cumdachs, 48-50
Cuneiform inscriptions, 3
Cup markings on rocks, 2, 3
Curiously-shaped books, 76
Cut leather work, 197
Cylinders engraved for making designs in book covers, 203
” for printing presses, 95
D.
Dalziels, the, wood engravers, 112
Dambrun, J., line engraver, 122
Daniel, W., aquatint engraver, 131
Dated binding, 1475 ... 199
Daughters of Louis XV., bindings made for, 237
Daumier, H., lithographer, 133
Davenport, S., line engraver, 121
Dawe, H., mezzotint engraver, 128
Day, J., printer, 213
Dean, stipple engraver, 125
De Coverly, R., bookbinder, 237
Deer-skin bindings, 189
Delacroix, E., artist, 133
De Launay, R., line engraver, 120, 123
“De l’Etoile,” French order, 236
Delignon, J. L., line engraver, 122
De Longueil, line engraver, 122
Delvaux, line engraver, 122
“Dentelle” bindings, 240
“Dentelles à l’oiseau,” 242
Derome le Jeune, bookbinder, 241
De Sauty, A., bookbinder, 231
De Thou, J. A., book collector, 236
Deveria, A., lithographer, 133
De Villiers, line engraver, 122
Diamond engraved, 5
Diane de Poictiers, bindings made for, 234
” edges of her books, 145
” faience, 86
Dimma’s book, 50
Diptychs, 20
Donatus’ grammars, 91
Double board bindings, 55, 214
Doublures by R. Payne, 228
Doyle, etcher, 124
Druet, line engraver, 119
Du Bosc, line engraver, 120
Duclos, H. J., line engraver, 122
Dudley, R., Earl of Leicester, book stamp, 216
Duff, G., author, 187
Du Maurier, G., artist, 113
Dunchad, Irish binder, 49
Dunkarton, R., mezzotint engraver, 127, 128
Duodecimos, 75
Dupont, H., line engraver, 123
Dupréel, line engraver, 122
Dürer, A., artist, 115
Durham bindings, 185
Duru, bookbinder, 242
Dutch printing, 92
E.
Easter Island inscriptions, 9
Eastling, J. C., mezzotint engraver, 128
Ecclesiastical diptychs, 24
Edwards, J., bookbinder, 147, 171, 201, 202
” J. C., line engraver, 121
Edy, J. W., aquatint engraver, 130
Egerton of Tatton, Earl, his silver horn book, 166
Egyptian mummy cloth paper, 63
” papyrus rolls, 26
Eisen, C., artist, 122
Eliot and Chapman, bookbinders, 225
Elizabeth, Queen, embroidered books, 152
” golden book, 160
Elizabeth, Queen, velvet books, 151
Ellis, aquatint engraver, 130
Elstrack, R., line engraver, 119
Elyot’s _Image of Governance_, 170
Embroidered books, 150
Enamelled bindings, 47, 162
End papers, 157, 229
Engleheart, F. C. and T. S., line engravers, 120
English blind tooled bindings, 184
” coronation book, 188
” panel stamped bindings, 193
” paper, 66
” psalter of the twelfth century, 187
Engraved metal blocks, 107
Engraving on wood, 106
Etching, 123
” soft ground, 124
“Etruscan” bindings, 201
European early paper, 65
Evangelistic emblems on the cover of the Molaise gospels, 50
Eve, C., bookbinder, 236
” N., ” 236
Evelyn’s _Sculptura_, 127
Exchequer tallies, 8
F.
Faber, mezzotint engraver, 127
“Fanfare” bindings, 236
Fantin-Latour, lithographer, 133
Fashion plates in aquatint, 131
Fazakerly, bookbinder, 231
Ferrar, N., of Little Gidding, 153
Ficquet, line engraver, 122
Fielding, T. H., aquatint engraver, 131
Filigree bindings, 161
Finden, W., line and stipple engraver, 120, 125
Finiguerra, M., artist, 117
Fischer, C., lithographer, 135
Fish-skin bindings, 179
Fishing-rod sign, 16
Flagellation of Christ, engraving, 116
Fletcher, painter of book edges, 146
“Flong,” paper pulp, 96
Folios, 74
Folkard, wood engraver, 112
“Foolscap” watermark, 71
Forage decoration, 143, 146
Forels for books, 50
Foster, B., artist, 113
Foulquier, V., line engraver, 123
Fournier, P. E., type founder, 98
Fragonard, J. H., artist, 122
Fraudulent bindings, 211
Frederick of Austria, binding made for, 198
French blind tooled bindings, 191
Fry, W., line engraver, 121
Fust, J., printer, 91
G.
Galvanic battery used in stereotyping, 96
Gandara, lithographer, 133
Garuda stones, 4
Gaucher, C. S., line engraver, 122
Gauffring of book edges, 144
Gaultier, L., line engraver, 122
Gavarni, artist, 115, 133
_Gemälde Galerie des K. Museums in Berlin_, 135
Gericault, lithographer, 133
German blind tooled bindings, 198
German book edges, 145
” cut leather work, 197
” panel stamps, 200
Gibson, J., bookbinder, 216
Gigoux, J., lithographer, 133
Gillède, J., bookbinder, 239
Girardet, line engraver, 123
Girolamo della Robbia, artist, 88
Goat leather, 176
“Goddess of Mercy,” woodcut, 103
Godfrey, G., bookbinder, 191, 192
Gold beaters’ sign, 16
Gold tooling in leather, 206
” on velvet, 154
Golden bindings, 159
Goldsmith’s _Vicar of Wakefield_, 130
Goodall, E., line engraver, 120
Goodyear, F. and J., line engravers, 120
Gould, J., naturalist, 134
Goya, F., artist, 135
Grace, J., traveller, 49
Gray, wood engraver, 112
Greatbach, W., line engraver, 121
Greek engraved gems, 5
Green, wood engraver, 112
Gregory the Great, Pope, 51
Greville, Charles, patron of art, 129
Griggs, W., chromo-lithographer, 134
Grignion, line engraver, 120
Grolier, W., bindings made for, 209
Grover, line engraver, 120
Guerin, P., lithographer, 133
Guerrero, A., lithographer, 135
Guild of Bookbinders in France, 232
Gutenberg, J., printer, 91
Gypsies’ hieroglyphics, 17
H.
Haghe, L., lithographer, 134
Hahn, U., printer, 105
Halbon, L., line engraver, 122
Half bindings, 44
Half-tone blocks, 136
” process, 79
Ham sign, 16
“Hand” watermark, 70
Hard wood for engraving, 114
Harding, J. D., lithographer, 134
Harland, J., author, 8
“Harleian” bindings, 227
Harley, R., Earl of Oxford, 227
Harvey, W., wood engraver, 106, 111
Hassell, aquatint engraver, 130
Hauber, J., lithographer, 134
Havell, D., aquatint engraver, 131
Haydon, B. R., artist, 111
Headbands, 40, 56
Heath, C. and J., line engravers, 121
” Ch., publisher, 120
Heliogravure, 136
Henri II., bindings made for, 86, 145, 233
” faience, 86
Henry III., bindings made for, 235
Henry VII., bindings made for, 148
Henry VIII., bindings made for, 150, 159, 194
Henry, Prince of Wales, bindings made for, 216
Heraldry on bindings, 215
Hereford Cathedral, chained library at, 164
Hering, C., bookbinder, 230
Heriot, G., goldsmith, 160
Herodius, ivory carver, 54
Hewitt, Samuel, etcher, 124
Hiberno-Saxon writing, 19
Hieratic writing, 18
Hiroshige, artist, 105
Hodges’ _Select Views in India_, 130
Hodgetts, T., mezzotint engraver, 128
Hodgkin’s _Rariora_, 92
Hokusai, artist, 105
Holbein, artist, 110
Hole, line engraver, 120
Holl, W., stipple engraver, 125
Hollar, W., etcher, 124
Hollis, G., line engraver, 121
Hollow backs, 38
Hop tallies, 8
Horæ of the fifteenth century, 107
Horn books, 165
Houston, mezzotint engraver, 127
Hullmandel, lithographer, 132, 134
Human leather, 180
Humphreys, W., line engraver, 120
Hunt, T., bookbinder, 191
_Hypnerotomachia Poliphili_, 105
I.
Ideographs, 16, 17
Illustrations in books, 102, etc.
Imitations of bindings by S. Mearne, 226
Indentures, 9
Indian amulets, 4
Irish bindings, 48
” book satchels, 50
Iroquois League wampum, 14
Isabey, J. B., artist, 133
Italian book stamps used on faience, 87
” wood engravings, 105
Ivory bindings, 47, 53
J.
Jackson, J. B., wood engraver, 112
Jacquemart, J., etcher, 125
Jade books, 5
James I., heraldry of, 218
” Βασιλικον Δωρον, 160
Japanese colour blocks, 105
” paper, 65
” wood blocks, 104
Jenkinson, stipple engraver, 125
Jentzen, F., lithographer, 135
Jewish taleth, 12
Joch, wood engraver, 116
Johannot, line engraver, 122
Jollivet, J., lithographer, 135
Jones’ _Plans of the Alhambra_, 134
Jordan, B., artist, 116
Junius, A., author, 90
K.
Kalthœber, C., bookbinder, 230
Kangaroo leather, 179
Karabacek, J., Professor, 63
Katherine of Arragon, Queen, bindings made for, 195
_Keepsake, the_, 120
Kernot, J. H., line engraver, 121
Knife for engraving soft wood, 113
Knight, C., stipple engraver, 125
Koenig, printing press maker, 95
Korean wood cuts, 104
Korin, artist, 105
Kretschmar, E., wood engraver, 116
Kristeller, P., author, 106
L.
La Costes, wood engravers, 114
“Laid” lines on paper, 73
Landells, the, wood engravers, 112
Lant, R., bookbinder, 192
Lasteyrie, lithographer, 133
Latroo’s _English Rogue_, 124
Latten, panel stamps cut in, 196
Laurentian library, 164
Lawson, C., artist, 113
Leathers used for binding, 169
Le Blon’s _Coloritto_, 126
Leclerc, S., line engraver, 122
Lefebre, line engraver, 122
Le Gascon, bookbinder, 145, 239
Leighton, A., bookbinder, 155
” Lord, artist, 113
Lelio, Lucretio, of Treviso, 105
Le Mire, N., line engraver, 122
Le Monnier, J., bookbinder, 241
Le Prince, J. B., aquatint engraver, 128
Leroux, line engraver, 122
Levant morocco, 176
Lewis the Pious, Emperor, 52
” C., bookbinder, 230
” F. C., mezzotint engraver, 128
” T. C., line engraver, 120
Libri, Count G., collector, 211
Lindau gospels, binding of the, 51
Line engraving, 116
Lingée, C. L., line engraver, 122
Linotype, the, machine, 93
Linton, W. J., wood engraver, 112
Lipton, T., mezzotint engraver, 128
Lithography, 132
Lithotint, 132
Little Gidding, 153
” bindings made at, 202, 219
Loggers’ marks, 9
Lombards signs, 16
Longepierre, Baron de, bindings made for, 240
Lortic, bookbinder, 242
Lucas, D., mezzotint engraver, 128
Lucretia, 110
Lupton, T. G., mezzotint engraver, 128
Lyons bindings, 214
M.
MacColl, Miss E., bookbinder, 231
Macé, R., bookbinder, 192
Madan, F., author, 18
Madox, T., historiographer, 189
Madrazo’s _Collection Lithographica, etc._, 135
Mainz Psalter, 91, 103
Maioli, T., collector, 177
Marbled calf, 201
” morocco, 237
” papers, 158
Marillier, J. P., line engraver, 123
Marius-Michel, bookbinder, 242
Marr, C., stipple engraver, 125
Marshall, line engraver, 120
_Maximilian, Triumph of_, 116
Mazarine Bible, 91
Mazot, F., line engraver, 119
Mearne, S., bookbinder, 146, 221
Mechanical wood pulp papers, 78
Medici coat of arms, 16
Medland, T., aquatint engraver, 130
Meissonnier, artist, 115
Melissenda, psalter of, 53
Menzel, A., artist, 135
Messe dag staves, 7
Metal bindings, 52, 159
” blocks engraved, 107
” inscriptions, 5
Mezzotints, 126
Miles, E., bookbinder, 191
Millais, Sir J., artist, 113
Miller, W., line engraver, 121
Mitan, J., line engraver, 121
Mittenleiter, J. M., lithographer, 134
Mitterer, H. J., professor of drawing, 133, 134
Modern ideographs, 16, 17
Molaise gospels, 50
Monnier, H., lithographer, 133
Monoline machine, the, 98
Monotype machine, the, 93
Monza, binding at, 51
Moreau, P., line engraver, 119
Morrell & Co., bookbinders, 231
Morocco leather, 176
Morris, W., printer, 99
Mottet, line engraver, 122
Moulin, J., bookbinder, 192
Mulready, artist, 112
Musgrave, Sir G., collector, 167
Musulman amulets, 4
N.
Nash’s _Mansions of England_, 134
Nayler’s, Sir G., _Coronation of George IV._, 131
Nesbit, wood engraver, 112
Nicene Creed cut in silver, 6
Nicholls and Bosse, wood engravers, 116
Nicholson, W., inventor, 95
Niedrée, bookbinder, 242
Niello work on bindings, 161
Nivet, wood engraver, 114
Norms, J., bookbinder, 192
Northcote’s _Fables_, 112
Notches cut in wood, 6, 7, 8
Nuremberg, arms of, 145
” Chronicle, 106, 115
Nuzelmann, wood engraver, 116
O.
Octavos, 75
O’Donnell’s cathach, 50
Ogham inscriptions, 6
Oiron ware, 86
Open backs, 38
Openworked vellum, 202
Opus Anglicanum, 151
Oriental bindings with flaps, 59
” palm leaf books, 15
” panel stamps, 59
Orihons, 29
Orme’s _Twelve Views of Places in the Kingdom of Mysore_, 130
Osterwald, G., artist, 116
Oxford bindings, 191
P.
Padeloup le Jeune, bookbinder, 240
Painted bindings, 58
Panel stamps, 192
Paper, 62, 66, 73
” pulp, 96
Papillon, J. M., wood engraver, 112
Papyrus, 62
” Prisse, 18
Parchment, 29, 30
Parker, J., stipple engraver, 125
Parr, Queen Katharine, embroidress, 152
Paste boards, 56
Patas, J. B., line engraver, 122
Pauquet, line engraver, 122
Payne, R., bookbinder, 177, 227
Pegs on panel stamps, 196
Penn, W., and the wampum belt, 14
Pennant’s _Account of London_, 124
Persian bindings, 58, 59
Peruvian records, 11
Petit, L., line engraver, 123
Peupin, wood engraver, 116
Pfeiffer, stipple engraver, 126
Pflanzmann, J., publisher, 115
Photographic facsimiles, 98
Photogravure, 136
Pierced vellum, 171
Pig-skin, 173
Pigouchet, printer, 107
“Pin-head” grained morocco, 178
Pinart, D., bookbinder, 191
Pine, J., line engraver, 118
Pisa’s, R. de, _Pantheologia_, 197
Pleydenwurff, W., wood engraver, 115
Pointillé engraving, 107
Polia, of Treviso, 105
Pompeian diptychs, 20
Porcelain types, 86
Porrett, wood engraver, 114
Portbury, E. and R. J., line engravers, 121
Portraits in watermarks, 72
“Post” watermark, 72
“Pot” watermark, 72
Prayer wheels, 27
Prehistoric caves, 2
Prevost, line engraver, 122
Prideaux, Miss S., bookbinder, 231
Prime staves, 7
Printing in Europe, 90
” on Babylonian cylinders and bricks, 85
” press, 93, 95
Printing paper in colour, 73
Proctor, R., author, 98
Prout, S., artist, 120
Pudsey, Bishop, library of, 185
Pugillaria, 20
Pye, J., line engraver, 120
Pyne’s _History of the Royal Residences_, 130
Pynson, R., bookbinder, 110, 193, 197
Q.
Quartos, 74
Quaternions, 32, 33
Quinternions, 31
Quipus of Peru, 11
Quires, 32
R.
Raffet, artist, 115, 133
Rag paper of Samarkand, 63
Rainer, Archduke, 64
Ratdolt, E., printer, 105
Ratisbon, Irish monastery at, 49
Raynald’s _Byrthe of Mankind_, 119
“Rectangular” style of binding, 223
Redon, O., lithographer, 133
Reeve, R., aquatint engraver, 130
Repton’s _Sketches of Landscape Gardening_, 130
Retroussage, 124
“Rex in Æternum vive” on book edges, 143, 144
Reynes, J., bookbinder, 192
Reynolds, S. W., mezzotint engraver, 128
Rhodes, R., line engraver, 121
Ribault, J. F., line engraver, 123
Richenbach, J., bookbinder, 199
Richter, A., artist, 116
Rinaldo and Armida, 112
Ring markings, 2, 3
Rivett-Carnac, Col. H. J., 3
Rivière & Son, bookbinders, 231
Roan leather, 175
Robins, H., line engraver, 121
Robinson, H., stipple engraver, 125
” J. H., line engraver, 120
Roberts’ _Holy Land_, 134
Roce, D., bookbinder, 192
Rock markings, 2
Roffet, E., bookbinder, 232
Rogers’, S., _Italy_ and _Poems_, 120
” _Pleasures of Memory_, 112
Rolls, C., line engraver, 120
Rolt’s _Lives of the Reformers_, 127
Roman diptychs, 20
” engraved gems, 5
” name brands, 5
Romney, Lord, 160
Rood, T., bookbinder, 191
Rosaries, 12
Rosetta stone, 3
Rossetti, D. G., artist, 113
Rouget, wood engraver, 114
Rough side of calf leather, 202
Rounded backs of books, 43
Roux, wood engraver, 114
Rowlandson, artist, 130
Royal Irish Academy, 49
Ruette, M., bookbinder, 240
Rune staves, 7
Runic inscriptions, 6
Rupert, Prince, mezzotint engraver, 127
Russia leather, 172
S.
_Saddharmapundarika Sutra_, 103
St. Christopher, woodcut, 89
St. Cuthbert’s gospels, 185
St. Esprit, French order of the, 236
St. John Latran, bookbinders’ guild, 232
St. Maurice D’Agaune, church of, 55
St. Michel, French order of, 236
St. Porchaire, Faience de, 87
St. Wallberg, church of, 164
Samarkand, paper made at, 63
Sandby, P., aquatint engraver, 129
Sandys, F., artist, 113
Sangorsky, F., bookbinder, 231
Sangster, S., line engraver, 121
Satchels for books, 50
Satin bindings, 152
” printing on, 73
Sauné, J., line engraver, 122
Savart, P., line engraver, 123
“Sawn in” backs, 39
Say, W., mezzotint engraver, 128
Schöffer, P., printer, 91
Schrödter, A., artist, 116
Scotin, line engraver, 120
Scott, J. L., of the British Museum, 144
Scrive knife, 113
Sea lion leather, 179
Seal leather, 179
Sears, wood engraver, 114
Semis, 215, 218
Sen, tablet of, 4
Send hieroglyphic, 18
Senefelder, A., lithographer, 132
Sewing frames for binders, 34
Sewing of books, the, 35
Sharpe, J., line engraver, 121
Sheep leather, 174
Shot silk effect in half-tone prints, 137
Siberch, J., bookbinder, 191
Siegen, L. von, mezzotint engraver, 126
“Signatures” in printed books, 73
Silk bindings, 152, 156
” paper, 62
” printing on, 73
Silver bindings, 161
Simounet, J. B., line engraver, 122
Simpson, Sir J., antiquary, 3
Sion, in the Rhone valley, 55
“Six Nations” wampum, 13
Sizes of printed books, 76
“Skiver” leather, 175
Small metal bindings, 161
Smith, D. and W. R., line engravers, 120
” O., wood engraver, 114
Smooth morocco, 177
Société des Amis des Livres, 137
Society of Arts Committee on Paper, 1898 ... 77
Soft wood engravings, 113
Soyer, S., wood engraver, 114
_Speculum, Humanæ Salvationis_, 90
Spierinck, N., bookbinder, 191
Split sheep-skin, 175
Sprinkled calf, 201
Stabbed bindings, 31
Stadler, J. C., aquatint engraver, 130
Staffordshire clog almanacks, 7
Staggemeier, bookbinder, 234
Stanfield, artist, 134
Stanhope, C., Earl, 94
“Star” watermark, 65
Steam printing press, 1814 ... 95
Steel engraving, 122
Stencil plates for colouring prints, 108
Stephanoff, F. and J., artists, 131
Stereotyping, 96
Stipple engraving, 125
Stothard, artist, 120
Stowe House, library at, 189
” missal, 48
“Straight grained” morocco, 178
Sturt, J., line engraver, 118
Styles for writing on wax, 20, 21
Sullivan, Sir E., bookbinder, 231
Sulphuric acid in leather, 180
Sumatran bark books, 29
” calendars, 7
” symbolic messages, 10
Sutcliffe, G., bookbinder, 231
Sutherland, T., aquatint engraver, 130, 131
Swain, wood engraver, 112
Symbolic messages, 10
” signs on rocks, 3
T.
Taleth fringes, 11
Talismans, 5
Tallies, 5
Tasselled ecclesiastical hats, 13
Tasso’s _Gerusalemme Liberata_, 112
Tate, J., printer, 66
Taylor’s, I., _History of the Alphabet_, 18
Taylor, W. D., line engraver, 121
Test for clay paper, 82
Theodelinda, Queen of the Lombards, 51
Thibetan prayer wheels, 27
Thiebault, wood engraver, 114
Thompson, Sir E. M., _Manual of Greek and Roman Palæography_, 18
” J., wood engraver, 112
Thouvenin, bookbinder, 242
Three-colour process, 137
Tillard, J. B., line engraver, 122
_The Times_ of 20th November, 1814 ... 95
Title-page engraved on wood, 66
Torres Straits, tallies used in the, 9
Tortoiseshell bindings, 161, 163
Tory, G., artist, 97, 233
Tours, conference at, 19
Transparent vellum, 171, 202
Trautz, bookbinder, 242
Tree marbled calf, 201
Trench along the edges of book boards, 56
Trière, P., line engraver, 122
Tudor badges, 191, 195
Tuerlinckoe, lithographer, 135
Turner, C., mezzotint engraver, 128
” J. M. W., artist, 120, 127, 128
Turrecremata, _Meditations_, 105
Type casting, 92
” founding in England, 99
” metal, 92
” specimen sheets, 97
U.
Utamaro, K., artist, 105
Uzanne, O., author, 137
V.
Vander Meulen, lithographer, 135
Vangelisty, stipple engraver, 126
Van Loo, lithographer, 135
Vellum bindings, 36, 169, 202
” pierced, 171, 202
” preparation of, 30
” printing on, 73
” rolls, 27, 28
” transparent, 171, 202
Velvet bindings, 149
Venetian bindings, 206
Verard, A., printer, 108
Vernet, H., artist, 115, 133
Villa Dei, A. de, _Doctrinale_, 91
Villerey, line engraver, 123
Vogel, A., artist, 116
W.
Wagstaffe, C., stipple engraver, 125
Walker, F., artist, 113
Wallis, H., and R., line engravers, 120
Walther, bookbinder, 230
Wampum belts, 13
Warren, C., line engraver, 121
Watermarks, 64, 68
Weale, W. H. J., author, 183
Webber’s _Views in the South Seas_, 130
Whimper, wood engraver, 112
Whistler, J. M., artist, 132
Whitaker, J., bookbinder, 201
“White line” engraving, 110
Whymper, J. W., wood engraver, 112
Wick rotary type-casting machine, 92
Wier, R., bookbinder, 229
Wiesner, J., _Professor_, 63
Willett, lithographer, 133
Williams, M. A., S., and T., wood engravers, 114
” T. J., line engraver, 121
Willmore, T., line engraver, 121
Wilson, J. L., bookbinder, 155
Wimborne Minster, chained library at, 164
Winchester Domesday Book, 185
Wohlgemuth, M., wood engraver, 115
Wood-cut illustrations, 103
Wood pulp used for paper, 77
Wooden types, 86, 88
Woolrich, Miss N. E., bookbinder, 231
Wordsworth, Mrs., amateur bookbinder, 153
Woven book, 73
Wright, wood engraver, 112
X.
Xylographs, 89
Y.
Young, J., mezzotint engraver, 127
Z.
Zaehnsdorf, bookbinder, 231
Zainer, G., publisher, 115
Zinc blocks, 136
BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO. LD., PRINTERS, LONDON AND TONBRIDGE.
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
The single footnote has been moved to the end of its chapter.
Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are
mentioned.
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling, hyphenation, and accenting were retained
as they appear in the original publication, except that obvious
typographical errors have been corrected.
p. 62: βυβλοἱ transliterates into English as bubloi.
p. 144: Ναβουχοδονὀσωρ Εσαει ζῆθι transliterates into English as
Nabouchodonosôr Esaei zêthi.
p. 180: βασιλικον Δωρον transliterates into English as basilikon Dôron.
p. 251: Βασιλικον Δωρον transliterates into English as: Basilikon Dôron.
Several Index entries are spelled differently than their targets,
including:
p. 252: Marillier versus Marillien on p. 123 (Marillier, J. P., line)
p. 252: Meissonnier versus Meissonier on p. 115 (Meissonnier, artist,
115)
p. 254: Porrett versus Porret on p. 114 (Porrett, wood engraver)
p. 256: Humanæ versus Humanae on p. 90 (_Speculum, Humanæ
Salvationis_)
p. 256: Simounet versus Simonnet on p. 122 (Simounet, J. B., line)
The following changes were made:
p. 245: page number 122 added (line engraver, 122.)
p. 248: Dupréal was changed to Dupréel (Dupréel, line engraver)