ILLUSTRATIONS
| English Illumination, 14th Century. From Queen Mary’s Psalter, Brit. Mus. Royal MS. 2B vii (in colors and gold) | Frontis. |
| John Gutenberg. From Engraving by Alphonse Descaves. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris | page 6 |
| Aldus Manutius. From Engraving at the British Museum | 10 |
| Dott. Comm. Guido Biagi. Seated at one of the plutei in the Laurenziana Library, Florence (1906) | 14 |
| Hand-written Humanistic Characters. From Sinibaldi’s Virgil, 1485. Laurenziana Library, Florence | 16 |
| Specimen Page of proposed Edition of Dante. To be printed by Bertieri, of Milan, in Humanistic Type | 19 |
| Jenson’s Roman Type. From Cicero: Rhetorica, Venice, 1470 | 22 |
| Emery Walker’s Doves Type. From Paradise Regained, London, 1905 | 23 |
| Autograph Letter from Charles Eliot Norton | 31 |
| Illuminated Page of Petrarch’s Triumphs. Set in Humanistic Type designed by the Author | 32 |
| Autograph Page of Eugene Field Manuscript. From Second Book of Verse, New York, 1892 | 39 |
| Autograph Verse in Field’s own Copy of Trumpet and Drum | 41 |
| John Wilson in 1891. Master-Printer | 42 |
| Page of Horace Fletcher Manuscript | 77 |
| Giambattista Bodoni. From Engraving at the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris | 78 |
| The Bodoni Letter compared with the Didot Letter | 81 |
| Horace Fletcher in 1915 | 82 |
| Autograph Letter from Henry James to Horace Fletcher | 87 |
| Mirror Title. From Augustinus: Opera. 1485. Laurenziana Library, Florence | 94 |
| T. J. Cobden-Sanderson. From Etching by Alphonse Legros, 1893 | 96 |
| Carved Ivory Binding, Jeweled with Rubies and Turquoises. From Psalter (12th Century). Brit. Mus. Eger. MS. 1139 | 112 |
| Byzantine Illumination (11th Century). Psalter in Greek. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 19352 | 118 |
| Celtic Illumination (8th Century). Lindisfarne Gospels. Brit. Mus. Cotton MS. Nero D. iv | 124 |
| Carolingian Handwriting (9th Century). Alcuin Bible. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 10546 | 126 |
| Carolingian Illumination (9th Century). Golden Gospels of St. Médard. Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat. 8850 | 128 |
| Gothic Illumination (13th Century). Miniature Page from the Psalter of St. Louis. Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat. 10525 | 130 |
| Gothic Illumination (13th Century). Text Page from the Psalter of St. Louis. Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat. 10525 | 132 |
| English Illumination (14th Century). Queen Mary’s Psalter. Brit. Mus. Royal MS. 2B. vii | 134 |
| French Illumination (15th Century). Bedford Book of Hours. Brit. Mus. Add. MS. 18850 | 136 |
| French Renaissance Illumination (15th Century). Antiquities of the Jews. Bibl. Nat. MS. Français 247 | 138 |
| Flemish Illumination (15th Century). Miniature Page from the Grimani Breviary. Bibl. S. Marco, Venice | 142 |
| Flemish Illumination (15th Century). Text Page from the Grimani Breviary. Bibl. S. Marco, Venice | 144 |
| Italian Illumination (15th Century). Book of Hours, by Francesco d’Antonio. R. Lau. Bibl. Ashb. 1874 | 146 |
| French Illumination (16th Century). Miniature from Hours of Anne of Brittany. Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat. 9474 | 148 |
| French Illumination (16th Century). Text Page from Hours of Anne of Brittany. Bibl. Nat. MS. Lat. 9474 | 150 |
| Order for Payment of 1050 livres tournois to Jean Bourdichon for the Hours of Anne of Brittany, 1508 | 152 |
| Autograph Letter from Maurice Hewlett | 161 |
| Autograph Poem by Austin Dobson | 167 |
| Mark Twain. At the Villa di Quarto, Florence, 1904. From a Snap-shot | 170 |
| Autograph Letter from Mark Twain. With Snap-shot of Villa di Quarto | 172 |
| Autograph Letter from William Dean Howells | 185 |
| Part of a Page from the Vellum Copy of the Gutenberg Bible. Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris | 195 |
| Rubricator’s Mark at end of First Volume of a Defective Copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris | 196 |
| Rubricator’s Mark at end of Second Volume of a Defective Copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris | 197 |
| Gutenberg, Fust, Coster, Aldus Manutius, Froben. From Engraving by Jacob Houbraken (1698–1780) | 198 |
| John Fust. From an Old Engraving | 199 |
| Device and Explicit of Nicolas Jenson | 203 |
| Jenson’s Gothic Type. From Augustinus: De Civitate Dei, Venice, 1475 | 205 |
| Device of Aldus Manutius | 208 |
| Grolier in the Printing Office of Aldus. After Painting by François Flameng. Through Courtesy the Grolier Club, New York City | 208 |
| Text Page from Aldus’ Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Venice, 1499 | 211 |
| Illustrated Page from Aldus’ Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Venice, 1499 | 212 |
| Grolier Binding. Castiglione: Cortegiano. Aldine Press, 1518. Laurenziana Library, Florence | 212 |
| Grolier Binding. Capella: L’Anthropologia. Aldine Press, 1533. Laurenziana Library, Florence | 214 |
| Robert Étienne. From Engraving by Étienne Johandier Desrochers (c. 1661–1741) | 217 |
| Title Page showing Étienne’s Royal Greeks, Paris, 1550 | 220 |
| Text Page Showing Étienne’s Roman Face | 222 |
| Text Page showing Étienne’s Royal Greeks, from Novum Jesu Christi D. N. Testamentum, Paris, 1550 | 222 |
| Christophe Plantin. From Engraving by Edme de Boulonois (c. 1550) | 225 |
| Title Page of Plantin’s Biblia Polyglotta, Antwerp, 1568 | 228 |
| Page of Preface of Plantin’s Biblia Polyglotta, Antwerp, 1568 | 229 |
| Text Pages of Plantin’s Biblia Polyglotta, Antwerp, 1568 | 230 |
| Second Page of Plantin’s Biblia Polyglotta, Antwerp, 1568 | 232 |
| Device of Christophe Plantin | 236 |
| Title Page of Elzevir’s Terence, Leyden, 1635 | 241 |
| Text Pages of Elzevir’s Terence, Leyden, 1635 | 242 |
| John Baskerville | 244 |
| Title Page of Baskerville’s Virgil, Birmingham, 1757 | 247 |
| Text Page of Baskerville’s Virgil, Birmingham, 1757 | 249 |
| Engraving from Didot’s Racine, Paris, 1801. By Prud’hon | 253 |
| Title Page of Didot’s Racine, Paris, 1801 | 253 |
| Opening Page of Didot’s Racine, Paris, 1801 | 255 |
| Text Page of Didot’s Racine, Paris, 1801 | 256 |
| Firmin Didot. From Engraving by Pierre Gustave Eugène Staal (1817–1882) | 256 |
| William Morris. From Portrait by G. F. Watts, R. A., in the National Portrait Gallery, London. Painted in 1880 | 258 |
| Sir Edward Burne-Jones, Bart. From a Photograph at the British Museum | 260 |
| Text Page of Kelmscott Chaucer, 1896 | 262 |
| Title Page of Doves Bible, London, 1905 | 265 |
| Text Page of Doves Bible, London, 1905 | 267 |
| The Sala Michelangiolo, in the Laurenziana Library, Florence | 276 |
| Dott. Comm. Guido Biagi, in 1924 | 278 |
| Vestibule of the Laurenziana Library, Florence | 280 |
| Miniature Page from the Biblia Amiatina, R. Lau. Bibl. Cod. Amiatinus I | 288 |
| Antonio Magliabecchi | 293 |
| Library Slips used by George Eliot while working on Romola in Magliabecchian Library, Florence | 296 |
CHAPTER I
In Quest of the Perfect Book