ings, which he had tried, was in some cases a failure, though it had only been carried to a certain length, as in binding Parliamentary books light blue, books on Ireland green, and so on; but binding in colours by subjects, was in his opinion, a mistake. He advised those who had not done so, to take an opportunity of inspecting Archbishop Williams's library, at Westminster, but they must take care not to get locked in, as happened to one gentleman, who was shut in and forgotten. Vellum had many advantages, one of which was that the contents of the volume could be easily written on the back. There were some splendid specimens of gilding inside the covers in the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh, and also in the Bodleian Library, so that the only wonder was where the money could have come from to pay for such luxury. For practical purposes, he thought such expensive binding was a mistake, as it made the books only fit to be looked at, instead of being used. The Chairman thought it might interest the meeting to know the titles of some of Mr. Walford's books, which he had so carefully bound; one was-"Two Godly and profitable sermons, earnestly inveighing against the sins of this land in general, and, in particular, against the sins of this City of London; preached in the City of London by Thomas Hopkins, &c., 1615." Another was against usury, having a woodcut on the title page, with a label proceeding from the mouth of the usurer, "I say, I will have all; both use and principall." Another on astrology; and another on life assurance, on which he believed Mr. Walford was a great authority. Mr. Walford observed that he had a large collection of sermons, but he did not buy them to read, but to illustrate different events in English history. On the Fire of London there were 600 or 700 sermons preached, one man alone having preached 300. He had looked through some of these sermons, but never found a single spark of light or intellect in any of them, and, as a rule, they did not even contain any information on the subject they were supposed to illustrate. Mr. Bradshaw (Cambridge) had some doubt about there being any specimens of Caxton's time in limp vellum; those referred to by Mr. Blades had probably been re-bound when the boards got worm eaten. What he should like to see above everything, and perhaps the Chairman might do something in that way, would be a collection of specimens historically arranged, showing the various styles at the different dates. Such a thing might be arranged in the British Museum, or perhaps even better at one of the Universities. For instance, at the University Library, Cambridge, they had books which were given them in 1424. Most of the valuable books had been re-bound, but some remained in their original condition; and he wanted to be able, when he took a book in his hand, to tell almost the decade in which it was bound. He had given some attention to the early English binders, and had been much assisted by the fragments used in the binding. He understood now that care was taken in the Museum, when such fragments were taken from a book re-bound, to state what book they came from; but formerly this precaution was neglected, and even now it was so in many places. He had recovered specimens of Caxton and De Worde, simply from finding printers' waste in the binding. He found, in one book, a fragment, printed by Lettou, the first printer of the City of London; and on going to Oxford, and looking at some other books by the printer, he recognised the same tooling at once. With very little difficulty, he could trace the change from 1480 to 1490 to 1500, and then a totally different style again in 1510 and 1520. If an exhibition could be formed, showing the sequence of patterns and style, it would be very useful; because, in binding books, if you imitated at all, it was very desirable to imitate the right style of the period. He only knew one man who had done anything in this way, and that was the librarian at Ghent. It was also very important that more attention should be paid to the forwarding; many binders looked upon books merely as pieces of furniture, with a magnificent outside. He remembered a specimen of Paris binding in the British Museum, which showed the falsification sometimes resorted to. It was one of those beautiful Bruges books which were exceedingly costly, in which missing leaves had been supplied. The binder, having an idea that the old printers always put a blank at the beginning, when there was no title the fact being that this particular printer never did-forged a blank leaf, of the same paper as the body of the book, and even put a "set-off" on it to make it look real. On examining it with a glass, however, it was seen to be a set-off from one of the fac-simile leaves in the book, and not from the first page at all. The new wire system of binding was very troublesome when a book had to be re-bound. No doubt good binding was expensive, but no one would grudge the money for good binding if it could be got. Mr. George Simpson, as a master bookbinder of some standing, could not sit still to hear it said that there were few bookbinders in London who could honestly forward a book. There were brethren of his in the room who loved their trade, as the artists of old loved theirs, who carefully watched every stage in the process up to the finishing, and were determined to be in no point behind the best of their predecessors. When anyone complained of bookbinders not turning out strong work, they should go to their masters and ask how they paid for it. Modern bookbinding, with its gaudy covers, was frequently done merely for the purpose of selling, and the sooner it fell to pieces, so much the better for the publisher, who grudged the binder the farthing or half-farthing required to sew it strongly enough to bear once or twice reading. As a bookbinder, he loved his trade, and in his own house he only cared to handle books which were well bound. He would not use a hymn-book badly bound, any more than any gentleman who had made the art a study. He would leave the artistic side of the question to those who understood it better, but he must protest against the statement that, as a mechanical art, bookbinding was dead and gone. Mr. Bernard Quaritch said he had an immense collection of old bindings, and knew something about them. Bindings might be divided into two main divisionsthose which already existed, and those which collectors wished to have executed. As to the past, no doubt bindings were produced chiefly for very rich men, such as kings and nobles, and ecclesiastical corporations, and from the earliest times the cost of the art had been very considerable. That was the reason why old bindings, generally speaking, were infinitely superior to those of the present day; some of them cost hundreds of pounds of our money. The French binding from Grolier's time had been very good, but all the great collectors paid very handsomely for their work, and that was why it survived now. If collectors of the present day were equally liberal, no doubt artists would be found in England to equal anything in the past. The reason why France had been so famous in this matter was, that the French nobles were a fine body of men, of artistic taste, such as existed nowhere in Europe. That was why their books commanded such a price now in France, where book-collecting was carried on much more extensively than in England, to say nothing of Germany, where they only read them. There were still English artists, though they had not been mentioned; such as Riviere, who, he was sure, lost money by some of his work; and Zaehnsdorf; and, above all, Francis Bedford, whom he considered the greatest artist in bookbinding that England, or any other country, had ever produced. He could show specimens of his work, which surpassed any French binding he had ever seen, except in age. Bedford was formerly with ment. Lewis, who was the founder of the style which he looked at several specimens, but did not seem to think Riviere and Bedford now repeated. Riviere's style was very much of them, and at last he took some out of his more ornamental, but Bedford's was more chaste. His pocket, which he had had bound in Paris, as he said work ought to be examined from the very beginning to very cheaply, because he knew the binder. They were understand its excellence. In the first place, he paid certainly very nicely bound, and on being asked higher wages than anyone in London, and the result what the cost was, he said he had them done was that every part of the work was dore with a care very cheaply, and only paid £20 for a very small one; and accuracy which other men could not afford. The an old French poem, of no particular value. He expatiway in which he bound old books was marvellous. If ated on the advantage of being personally acquainted they saw old books in the state in which they came with the binder, not only in regard to price, but also from a sale, they would hardly believe it possible to as preventing delay, for he said he had not to wait turn such a wreck into a handsome book. Mr. Bedford more than three months for that one, which was of first pulled the book to pieces, each leaf being treated importance to him, as he was just going to America. separately; it was then dipped into size and He was an Irishman, and he lived alternately in water, washed and dried; then mended, and the Paris, and amongst the North American Indians, art of mending was one of extreme delicacy; amongst savages, and in the highest degree of refinethere were not three people in England who could mend a book properly. Then there would be, perhaps, a word or a letter missing here and there, which the fac-simileist had to supply; then the pages were brought into line, some having a bit put on the top and some on the bottom, which again was a most difficult and delicate operation; then it was carefully stitched and covered, and, lastly, came the gilding and lettering. On this Mr. Bedford bestowed an immense amount of care, which had to be paid for. For the last three or four years he had been ill, and had actually gentlemen who had good books to take them to a good examined the books and superintended his workmen from a sick bed. He (Mr. Quaritch) had often said to him, "The world can easily spare me, but it cannot spare a man like you; "and he thought it only right on such an occasion that some honour should be paid to a man whom he considered the first bookbinder, not only in England, but in Europe. Mr. Weale said they heard a great deal about the penuriousness of amateurs now-a-days, but there was one fact which could not be disputed, and could be proved by an examination of Flemish and Dutch books and church accounts, that the ordinary bindings in stamped calf with gilt edges, in old times, never exceeded half the price of the book itself, and generally did not exceed one third. Now, the difficulty was to get a book bound for anything less than it cost, and these old books were solid. He had breviaries in his possession, which he could prove to have been in use for 20 or 30 years, which were perfect, but he never found anyone now who could bind a prayer-book which would last ten years if used every day. Mr. Quaritch said the common run of bindings did not interest him at all; his remarks referred to books of the highest intrinsic value commercially. A book worth £10 or £20 certainly deserved an equal expenditure for binding. Indeed, an old book, much dilapidated, would cost as much as that for mending. He did not think the public had any right to find fault with bookbinders' charges. The Chairman remarked that bookbinding was done cheaply in England, as compared with France. He remembered, some 20 years ago, a gentleman calling at the British Museum to see some of the bookbinding; Mr. Quaritch did not think £20 too much to pay for a specimen of Trautz-Bauzonnet. That artist did nearly all the work himself, and, consequently, could not do very much, and required a high price. Mr. Turner had some books bound by him, and had to wait a long time, and Baron James Rothschild paid any price for his bindings. Capet's work was nearly as good, and he only charged from £4 to £10 for a small volume, such as the Chairman had referred to. He recommended binder, and then they would always fetch a good price if they came to be sold. The Chairman then proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Wheatley, which was seconded by Mr. Walford. Mr. Wheatley, in reply, said that there were several points raised in the discussion which he should have liked to have alluded to, but time would not admit of his doing so. He expressed his thanks for the kind manner with which his paper had been received, and said it was a particular gratification to have an opportunity of thanking those who had so kindly assisted him. He felt sure that the meeting, when they looked at the beautiful collection of bindings brought together for their inspection, would agree with him how much they were indebted to those who had so kindly lent their treasures. Thanks were more especially due to Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen for the fine collection of books from the South Kensington Museum; to Mr. R. S. Turner, for some most important examples of celebrated collections; to Dr. Birdwood, for some Indian-bound books volumes; to Messrs. Sotheran and Company for from the India-office; to Mr. Bain, for two costly some Leighton, for some fine bindings and illustrative rich old bindings; to Messrs. J. and J. specimens; to Mr. Riviere, for some particularly handboth for specimens of his own skill, and for some grand some examples of his binding; and to Mr. Zaehnsdorf, old bindings. Also to Mr. Cundall, for some excellent photographs; and to Mr. John Leighton, for rubbings and various specimens. He also wished to thank the Chairman, and Mr. Fletcher, of the British Museum for their kind assistance in pointing out to him some of the Bibliopegistic treasures of the British Museum, OF SPECIMENS OF BINDING LENT FOR EXHIBITION. GERMAN. Flores Musice. Quarto. Wooden boards; ornamental stamped vellum back. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. Strabo. 1549. Elaborately stamped brown calf, on wooden boards. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. Strauch, Predigten. 1683. Folio. Brown calf, with ornamental brass bosses, corners, and clasps. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. The following three books, and fifteen other specimens of fine bindings, described in the following list, were lent by Sir Philip Cunliffe Owen, K.C.M.G., C.B., from the South Kensington Museum: Lutheran Bible, printed at Jena, 1564. Binding covered with gold tooling, a coat of arms emblazoned on either side; the edges gilt and gauffre, with birds and flowers, and the same coat of arms. Dated 1583. Mar. Fabii Quintiliani Declamationes. Lyons, 1530. In binding of dark brown calf; on each side a medallion of Charles V., his shield, device, and motto in blind tooling. About 1530-40. Manuscript, "Questio de distinctione Attributorum Dei." In red calf binding, with gold tooling; shield of arms in colours on the centre of each side, the edges .gilt and gauffré. 16th century. Arme (Andrea dall') Emblemi e Sonetti. Oblong small quarto. In the original binding, the sides covered with gold tooling; "fan" pattern in corners. 16th century. Manuscript, on vellum, in Italian, relating to the Riario family, in morocco leather binding, executed at Rome, with the arms of a Cardinal as the centre ornament on either side. Date of MS., 1683. Marlyrologium Romanum. Venice, 1673. Bound in crimson morocco, with gilt tooling, "fan" pattern in corners; gilt metal clasps. Venetian. Backgammon Board, covered with old red morocco leather in the form of a book cover, stamped with the Medici arms on each side; "fan" pattern in corners. Poesie di Lodovico Casale. 8vo. Rome, 1670. Bound in crimson morocco, with gold tooling. On each side are the arms of Pope Clement X. Dated 1670. The above six volumes from South Kensington Museum. Petra, Commentaria, 1693. Folio. Red morroco, with elaborate floreated design in gold on sides, and arms of a Pope. Lent by Messrs. Sotheran and Co. Ansaldus de Ansaldis, Decisiones, 1710. Folio. Red morocco, fully gilt, with the fan patterns in the corners, and the arms of Pope Clement, to whom the book is dedicated, in the centre. Lent by Messrs. Şotheran and Co. -Missale Romanum. Antwerp, 1577. In brown calf binding, with gilt tooling and coloured strap work in the Grolier style. From South Kensington Museum. -L. Psalmorum Liber. Lyons, 1542. In brown calf binding in the Grolier style, with strap work of coloured leather, the edges gilt and stamped. From South Kensington Museum. Themistii Opera. 1534. Folio. Brown morocco. From the collection of Henry II. and Diana of Poictiers, with the Royal arms and H., surmounted with a crown and Diana's monogram and device, the crescent moon, in gilt, on the side. Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. L'Office de la Vierge Marie. Paris, 1596. 12mo. Bound in olive morocco, tooled and gilt with devices of Marguerite de Valois. From South Kensington Museum. Thuanus.-Citolini, La Tipocosmia. gilt, with the arms of De Thou alone, when he was bachelor, on the side. Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. Rodriguez Bulla de la Sanata Cruzada. 1592. Brown sheep, with the arms of De Thou, and his first wife, Marie, on the side, and their united monogram. Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. 1561. Vellum Summonte, Historia di Napoli. 1640. 4to. Red morocco, with medallions on sides containing two shields of arms, and De Thou's monogram on back. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. -Conringius, de Sanguine. 1646. 12mo. Veau fauve, with the double shield of arms and monogram as used by the President De Thou's son. Lent by the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. -Gyllius, de Bosporo Thracio. 1661. 8vo. Red morocco, with shield of arms on the side, and monogram on the back, as used by the younger De Thou. Lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley. Book Cover. Vellum, diapered with fleurs-de-lys, alternating with crowned L's; probably the binding of a book belonging to Louis XIII. About 1630. From South Kensington Museum. 1671. 12mo. Red Lent by the 1635. Red Du Bé. Medicina Theoretica. morocco, covered with fleur-de-lys. Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Le Gascon.-Plinii Historia Naturalis. morocco, by Le Gascon, from the Library of Kenelm Digby, with his arms quartered with those of his wife, Venetia. Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. De Rome.-Pretiosa Margarita. Aldus, 1546. Sm. 8vo. Red morocco, with gilt floral border. Bound by De Rome. From the MacCarthy collection. Lent by the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. -Necker, Les Finances de la France. 1784. 8vo. Red morocco, by De Rome. Lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley. 26 Catalogue of Specimens of Binding. ENGLISH. Old Bindings. Manuscript, on vellum, of the early part of the 15th century, in wooden boards with vellum back, from the Abbey of Kenilworth. Lent by Mr. A. Cowper Ranyard. Cope, Meditacion on the Psalmes. 1547. 4to. Brown calf, fully gilt, with Royal arms on the side, from the library of James I. [Similar style as that represented in Fig. 9.] Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. The Book of Common Prayer. Folio. London, 1704. Bound in black calf, gilt, with the Royal shield of Queen Anne, and crowned monograms and devices. Lent from South Kensington Museum. Gentleman's Religion. 12mo. London, 1703. Bound in citron morocco, inlaid with coloured leather, and mounted with gold tooling, doublé. English. From South Kensington Museum. Rider's British Merlin. 12mo. Highly ornamental red morocco. The gilt tooling changed each year, the later ones less artistic than the earlier. 1704, lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf; 1733, lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley; 1752, lent by Mr. Danby P. Fry; 1799 and 1804, belonging to H. B. W. Court and City Register for 1766. 12mo. Red morocco, with ornamental gilding on the sides and back. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. Weston's Art of Short Hand. London, 1727. Small 4to, printed from copper-plates; bound in blue morocco, tooled and gilt, in the cottage style. Lent from South Kensington Museum. College of Physicians, Statutes in MS. 1752. 4to. Dark blue morocco, with gold tooling on the side. Lent by the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Skeeler's Sermons. 1772. Red morocco, in Harleian style. Belonging to H. B. W. 1746. Bible in Spanish. 1566. 12mo., calf. 2 vols, in twin binding. Lent by Messrs. Leighton. Churchill's Poems. 1763. 4to. Red morocco, inlaid with green, and fully gilt. From the library of John Wilkes. Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. Grammont Memoirs. 1772. Light brown calf. Horace Walpole's copy, with his arms on the sides. Lent by Messrs. Sotheran and Co. Roger Payne.-Corneille, Chef d'Euvres, Oxford. 8vo. Blue morocco. By Roger Payne. A very fine specimen of the artist, with his bill inside. "Bound in the very best manner, the back lined with thin morocco. Fine drawing paper, double filleted, and morocco joints in ye insides. The back finished with small tools, and very correctly lettered in workmanship. The outsides finished with ornamental covers or small tool work, gold filleted panes, and laurel branch corners ; very neat and strong boards0 14 0." Lent by Mr. R. S. Turner. -Lysias. Orationes. 1740. Russia gilt, with red leather lining, by Roger Payne. Lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley. Aikin's Memoirs of Medicine. 8vo., 1780. Stained calf. Lent by the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society. Rogers's Italy. 8vo. Green morocco, with gilt back and ornamental border on the sides, by Charles Lewis. Lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley. Blank Album. 4to. Purple morocco, with gilt tooling on back and sides, by Mackenzie. Lent by Mr. B. R. Wheatley. Campbell's Gertrude of Wyoming. 1814. 12mo. Green morocco, with landscape painted on the leaves. over. Lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf. Bindings by Living Artists. Gilt The following books were lent by Messrs. J. and J. Leighton, all being bound by them : Dante, Inferno, Folio. Black morocco, inlaid with coloured leather, representing the serpent with the apple, surrounded by flames of fire. Lyra Germanica. 1861. Sq. 8vo. Blue morocco, with emblematical tooling, in case of green Spanish morocco, which is not now procurable. Moore's Poetical Works. 1855. Sin. 8vo. Green morocco, elaborately gilt. Shakespeare. 1849. Royal 8vo. Green Levant morocco, with painting on the fore-edge, representing Shakespeare reading to Queen Elizabeth, gilt over. Officium Immaculate Conceptionis. 1859. Royal 8vo. Blue morocco, with emblematical gilding on the side. Portraits des Rois de France. Blue morocco, diapered with fleur-de-lys in bold tooling. Series of seven books, showing the various stages in the process of forwarding. Bible, with monastic pouch and cords to suspend it from the girdle. Two cases of specimens of ornamental silk head bands. A vellum cover, tooled in imitation of early 17th century Dutch binding. : The two following books, bound by Mr. Rivière, were lent by Mr. Bain :Domesday Book. Folio. Bound in Mogador morocco. Illuminated after an embroidered design by the late Godfrey Sykes, of the South Kensington Museum. In the centre is the Conqueror enthroned; above is the invasion; below, the numbering of the people and inventory of their goods. Dante. Folio. Bound in Mogador morocco, with illuminated details in the Renaissance style. The four following books, also bound by Mr. Rivière, were lent by him: Prince Rhodocanakis. Imperial Constantinian Order of St. George, 1870. Folio. Brown morocco, richly gilt in the Grolier style. Life of Prince Rhodocannakis. Folio. Brown morocco, with flowing design in gilt tooling. Report of the Grand Lodge of Greece. 1872. Folio. Dark purple morocco, blind tooling, after the manner of the old German stamped leather. Loftie's Latin Year. 1873. 12mo. Yellow morocco, ornamented with interlaced work, and flowing leaves, richly gilt. The following books were lent by Mr. Zaehnsdorf, all being of his own binding:Laforge, La Vierge. 1864. 4to. Purple morocco, Booth's Reprint of the First Folio of Shakespeare. 4 to. with gilt border, after the manner of De Rome. green morocco, richly gilt, in the imitation of the early French style. Margry, Les Navigations Françaises, 1867. 8vo. Green morocco, richly gilt, in imitation of Le Gascon. Troupe de Voltaire, 1861. 8vo. Red morocco, richly gilt, in imitation of Le Gascon, King's Antique Gems, 1866. Svo. Spotted calf, imitation of old English style, with solid gilt ornament in centre. Female Characters of Goethe. 1868. 8vo. Green Orange morocco, inlaid and gilt. 12mo. Brown morocco; painted ornaments on side and back. La Sainte Bible. Folio. Bound in brown morocco border, and cross in centre on side, and back inlaid in colours; finished. The same, unfinished, before the gold tooling was added, which shows a considerable difference in the contrast of colours. |