English Heraldic Book-stamps

Prince Henry (born 28th June 1491, died 28th January 1547) was the second son of Henry VII., and in 1509 succeeded his father on the throne of England. Henry VIII. always lived in much luxury and loved finery and splendour, and to a certain extent this feeling shows in the many beautiful bindings which were made for him. The King was certainly fond of his books, and he had several of them beautifully bound in velvet and embroidered with pearls and inlays of coloured silks and satins, finished with gold thread. Others are of gold, richly worked and enamelled.

For his Queens also several fine bindings were made; these, however, were generally armorial panel stamps, impressed without gold. He married six times. For Catherine of Aragon bindings were made which still exist, for Anne Bullen and Catherine Parr, the same, but for Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, or Katherine Howard I know of no bindings recorded or in existence. Katherine Parr is said to have herself embroidered a beautiful armorial velvet-bound copy of Petrarch with her own arms, and at the Bodleian Library at Oxford there is a book said to have been embroidered for her by the Princess Elizabeth, on which are the initials "K. P."

Thomas Berthelet, the first English bookbinder to use gold tooling was made Royal Printer and Bookbinder to Henry VIII. in 1530, and he bound the greater number of the Royal books in leather, velvet, or satin.

Henry VIII. used the same coat-of-arms and supporters as his father, namely, the red dragon of Cadwallader as a dexter supporter and the white greyhound of the Nevills as a sinister supporter, until 1528, when he adopted a golden lion rampant royally crowned as his dexter supporter, and moved the dragon to the sinister side, leaving out the greyhound altogether. This change, however, does not, as far as I know, show on any book, but it can be seen on the gold coins of the period, and also on a sculptured compartment at Caerhays, is common at the house of a member of the Trevanion family, and again on the keystone of the ceiling over the organ-loft at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, and here, moreover, the date 1528 is also given.

Henry Benedict (born 5th March 1725, died 13th July 1807) was the second son of James Francis Edward, called the Chevalier St. George, son of James II., King of England, and Mary of Modena, who married Mary Clementina, daughter of James Sobieski, in 1719.

Prince Henry, who occasionally used the Royal Crown of England over his coat-of-arms, is called sometimes Henry IX., King of England. He entered the Romish Church as a priest at an early age, and in 1747 he was made a Cardinal by Benedict XIV., and held several Bishoprics and the Archbishopric of Corinth, but was usually known as Cardinal York. He assumed certain airs of dignity abroad in consequence of his Royal ancestry and claims, and in 1788, on the death of his elder brother, he had a medal made and inscribed "Henricus nonus magnae britanniae rex."

The Cardinal lived almost always abroad, and suffered much by loss of revenue caused by the French Revolution; he had to part with much of his private property, jewels, and plate. At this juncture George III. generously assisted Cardinal York, and made him a handsome allowance, in gratitude for which His Eminence bequeathed to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., many of the Crown Jewels which James II. had taken with him to France. Some of the most important of these stones now adorn the English Imperial Crown. The Cardinal had a large library, and several of his books are at Windsor and at the British Museum. The majority of these are in leather, but some are embroidered.

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (born 19th February 1594, died 6th November 1612), was the eldest son of James I., and from his childhood showed studious and literary inclinations, as well as sporting tastes. In 1609 he purchased the library of John, Lord Lumley, a great part of which had previously belonged to his father-in-law, Henry Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, and another large proportion to Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. He also acquired a number of books which had belonged to a Welshman, John Maurice or Morris.

On the Prince's death his library became the property of James I., and it was added to the existing Royal Library, then under the care of Patrick Young.

Prince Henry had his books bound in calf, and probably destroyed numbers of valuable old bindings which were originally used. The new bindings were ornamented with stamps bearing the Prince's coat-of-arms, without supporters, and others showing a lion rampant, with princely coronet; a Tudor rose, with princely coronet; a fleur-de-lys, and two stamps, with slight variations, of the Prince of Wales's plume of three ostrich feathers. These latter stamps are normally used as corner-pieces, but they also show now and then as centres. Smaller corner stamps are found showing coroneted Tudor roses, coroneted thistles, coroneted fleurs-de-lys, and Prince of Wales's feathers in gold. On the panels of the backs of Prince Henry's books are found small stamps of a lion rampant, with princely coronet; a unicorn rampant; a Tudor rose; a portcullis, sometimes chained, and a Royal Crown. These are arranged in various combinations.

The greater number of Prince Henry's bindings are simple, having the coat-of-arms in the centre and the badges in the corners, but several are very handsomely ornamented with accessory gold tooling. The label shown on Prince Henry's coat-of-arms is the cadency mark of the eldest son; it is generally impressed in silver, as it ought always to be. The feathers in the Prince of Wales's plume are always impressed in silver, which has now oxidised black. Prince Henry's library came to the British Museum with the rest of the Old Royal Library of England in 1757.

Christopher Heydon (born circ. 1550, died circ. 1623) was the son of Sir William Heydon of Bacousthorpe, Norfolk. He was educated at Cambridge. In 1588 he represented Norfolk in the House of Commons, and in 1596 he was knighted by the Earl of Essex. Sir Christopher Heydon wrote some treatises on astrology. He married first Mirabel Rivet, and secondly Anne Dodge, and left a large family.

Richard Colt Hoare (born 9th December 1758, died 19th May 1838) was the son of Sir Richard Hoare of Barn Elms, Surrey, a banker. Mr. Hoare worked for a time in the family bank, and then, having a competent fortune, he travelled much on the Continent. In 1787 he succeeded his father in the baronetcy. Sir Richard Hoare wrote a large number of works on antiquities and travel, the most important of which is the Ancient History of North and South Wiltshire, published at London in 1810. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Society of Antiquaries. At his house "Stourhead" Sir Richard had a large library, much of which he catalogued himself.

Francis Horton, a member of an old family belonging to Catton, county Derby, was a collector of musical works in the eighteenth century.

Charles Howard (born c. 1536, died 14th December 1624) was the eldest son of William Howard, Baron Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral of England. Charles Howard was a person of importance from an early age, and was sent by Queen Elizabeth on an Embassy to France. He was Member of Parliament for Surrey, and a general officer in the army as well as being a sailor. In 1574 he was made a Knight of the Garter and Lord Chamberlain of the Household, and in 1573 he succeeded to his father's barony.

Lord Howard of Effingham became Lord High Admiral of England in succession to the Earl of Lincoln, and in 1588 he defeated and dispersed the Spanish Armada. At the time of the coronation of James I. Lord Howard became Lord High Steward of England.

Henry Howard (born 25th February 1539, died 15th June 1614) was the second son of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, who was beheaded in 1547. Henry Howard the younger was restored in blood by Queen Elizabeth, and on the accession of James I. he quickly became a person of much importance. He was made a Member of the Privy Council, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Constable of Dover Castle.

In 1604 Mr. Howard was created Earl of Northampton and a Knight of the Garter, and in 1608, Lord Privy Seal. Lord Northampton was a man of much learning, and wrote several treatises on astrology and theology. He had much taste in knowledge as to architecture, and built Northumberland House from the designs of Moses Glover.

Thomas Howard (born c. 1585, died 24th September 1646) was the son of Philip, Earl of Arundel, who was attainted and died in 1595. James I. restored his father's titles to Thomas Howard, but not the property, much of which, however, he subsequently purchased; and in 1644 he was created Earl of Norfolk in addition. He was a descendant of Henry Fitz-Alan, Earl of Arundel, who had also been a great book collector, and whose library had been largely acquired by Henry, Prince of Wales.

Lord Arundel travelled largely and made very valuable collections of all sorts of antiquities, manuscripts particularly; but as well as these he acquired marbles, coins, gems, and pictures. Among the more notable of the collections of manuscripts purchased by Lord Arundel was that made by the Pirckheimer family of Nüremberg. The manuscripts were for some time kept at Arundel House, where they suffered much from neglect, and in 1666 most of them were given to the Royal Society and others to the Heralds' College.

In 1831 the Arundelia MSS. in the Royal Society's library were transferred, by arrangement, to the British Museum. Lord Arundel was made a Knight of the Garter in 1611; in 1616 he became a Member of the Privy Council; and in 1621 he was restored to his hereditary post of Earl Marshal. He was also High Steward of England.

Thomas Hutchinson (born May 1698, died February 1769) was a son of Peter Hutchinson of Cornforth, Durham. He was educated at Oxford, and entered the Church about 1730. In 1731 he was Rector of Lyndon in Rutland, and in 1748 he was Vicar of Horsham, Rector of Cocking, and a Prebendary of Chichester.

Dr. Hutchinson edited a few editions of the classics, and published several sermons and a few essays, particularly one on Demoniacal Possession.

James Stuart (born 19th June 1566, died 27th March 1625) was the son of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley. He was great-grandson of the Princess Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII., who had married James IV., King of Scotland, in 1502, and by right of this descent James came into the line of succession of the English throne. On the dethronement of Queen Mary in 1569, under the Regency of the Earl of Murray, James became King of Scotland under the title of James VI., and reigned for thirty-four years until the death of his cousin, Queen Elizabeth, in 1603, when he inherited the English crown and came to England as James I.

On the accession of James I., a greater change took place in the English Royal coat-of-arms than had ever occurred before. The old coat, France and England quarterly, which had practically been in use ever since the time of Edward III., now became only a quartering, and was shown in the first and fourth quarters, then in the second quarter James put the ancient coat-of-arms of Scotland, or, a lion rampant, within a double tressure flory counterflory gu.

The lion appears for the first time on the shield of Alexander II., and it is supposed to have been derived from the ancestors of the Scottish kings, the Earls of Northumberland and of Huntingdon, whose device it was. The tressure is also of doubtful origin, and is also very ancient; it is popularly supposed to have been given by Charlemagne in recognition of a league between that monarch and Achaius, King of Scotland. The double tressure is presumed to indicate that there were two treaties.

In the third quarter is the coat-of-arms of Ireland, az., a harp or, stringed arg. This harp appears on an illuminated manuscript that belonged to Elizabeth, and is said to have been granted to Ireland by Henry VIII. as a mark of his admiration for the musical qualities of the Irish. It also is used as a badge on Irish coins of and after 1526, and this single harp was increased to three in similar coins made during Elizabeth's reign. The harp was sacred to Apollo Grian or Beal, an ancient Irish deity. Irish silver groats of 1478 show the device of three crowns in pale, and this was probably the coat-of-arms of Ireland at that time, and before that, in 1422, a single crown is found as a badge.

It is curious to note the strong tendency of single devices or badges to merge into threes. It occurs first in the case of the single crown, which presently gets tripled, then the single harp does the same, and the three castles, the arms of Dublin, very likely began as one.

James I. made one more important change; he substituted one of the Scottish unicorn supporters for the red dragon of Cadwallader, used as a dexter supporter by Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth. The ancient Scottish supporters were two unicorns arg., armed, maned, and unguled, gorged with a princely coronet and chained or. The origin of the unicorn supporters is lost, but the creature is generally considered to be an emblem of purity and of freedom; the horn, moreover, was credited with medical powers as a remedy against poisons. The idea of an animal bearing a single horn arose probably from the horn of the narwhal, which has diagonal striations upon it resembling those generally shown on the horn of a unicorn, and certainly does not look like the tooth of a fish. On the other hand cups made of rhinoceros horn are credited with the same magical powers as that of the unicorn. The chain attached to a princely coronet on the neck of the unicorn is not easy to explain; it is said that it alludes to an early king of Scotland, who, as a young man, accidentally killed his father, and bore the chain ever afterwards on his supporters as a sign of grief.

The lion and the unicorn have remained ever since the time of James I. as the supporters of the English Royal coat-of-arms, without any change whatever.

In Scotland James VI. had John Gibson for his bookbinder. He was appointed under the Privy Seal, and was "Our Soverane Lordis Buikbinder," but there is no binding left that can with certainty be attributed to him. On James's advent to England John and Roger Norton and Robert and Christopher Barker were made Royal binders and printers, and in 1604 John and Abraham Bateman were made "Bookbinders to the King."

The many fine armorial bindings which were used by James I. were probably made by one or other of these binders, but for the present no signed binding has been found, so the authorship of any one of them is only conjectural.

The main characteristic of the finer bindings made for James I. is the form of ornamentation known as a semis, that is to say, a powdering all over the field of small stamps arranged symmetrically near together. The commonest of these small stamps show stars, flaming hearts, ermine spots, roses, thistles, pineapples, tridents, fleurs-de-lys, and lions, but there are several others. Another characteristic is the presence of large corner stamps. These are cut in arabesque designs, and many of them are very handsome. The idea of corner ornamentation of this sort began late in Queen Elizabeth's reign, but it did not reach its highest excellence in stamp form until well into the reign of James I.

James I. was the first sovereign to have his books mainly bound in morocco, and this leather is found in most quiet colours—greens and browns and blues, but not red. Several beautiful volumes are also bound in vellum, and others in velvet and satin. The Jacobean period was a decorative one, but not one of the highest level of the art of bookbinding. The greater number of James I.'s books came to the British Museum by gift of George II. in 1757, with the rest of the Old Royal Library of England.

James, Duke of York (born 14th October 1633, died 16th September 1701), was the second son of Charles I. He succeeded his brother Charles II. in 1685. James II. had a short and troubled reign, chiefly because he had Roman Catholic tendencies, and ultimately joined that faith. The feeling in favour of Protestantism in England was very determined, and the nation ultimately invited William, Prince of Orange, who had married James's elder daughter Mary and was a strong Protestant, to come and accept the throne. This he did, and in 1689 James was deposed and William became King in his stead.

James fled to France where he lived for the rest of his life, and the book-stamps that he had made at this time do not include the French coat. He was known as the Duke of York, but nevertheless his book-stamps show a Royal Crown. James's second wife, Mary of Modena, was a Roman Catholic and strongly influenced his views. He died at St. Germains, Paris, at the age of seventy.

James Francis Edward (born 10th June 1688, died 1st January 1766) was the eldest son of James II. and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was born before his father became King of England. Prince James, who is known as the Old Pretender in distinction to his son Charles Edward, the Young Pretender, is also known as the Chevalier St. George. His history is an unhappy one from his birth. On his father's death in 1701 at St. Germains he was proclaimed James III. of England and VIII. of Scotland, but by the Act of Settlement made in the same year the Stuarts were cut out of the succession to the English throne.

The Chevalier St. George spent his life in fruitless endeavours to make good his claim to the English throne. His character appears to have been wanting in most of the qualities that make for success, and towards the latter part of his life his misfortunes so preyed upon him that he gave way to unworthy dissipations.

Thomas Read Kemp (born c. 1781, died 20th December 1844) was the son of Thomas Kemp, Member of Parliament for Lewes, who married Ann Read of Brookland. Mr. Kemp was educated at Cambridge, and in 1811 he represented Lewes in the House of Commons. He sold his castles at Lewes and at Hurstmonceaux and built largely near Brighton, where the district known as Kemp Town was founded by him. He spent all his fortune in this speculation, which, however, in time became of great value.

The family of Kemp or Kempe is one of great antiquity in Kent. John Kempe, Archbishop of Canterbury in the fifteenth century, and his nephew Thomas Kempe, Bishop of London, both belonged to it. The immediate ancestor of Mr. T. R. Kemp was Sir Thomas Kempe of Olantigh, near Ashford, an estate which had belonged to the family since the time of Edward I.