one side by two impressions of a portrait stamp of Plato, and on the other two of Dido, the remaining spaces being sparsely filled with leaf stamps. An outer border of Italian design, with fleurons at each outer corner, encloses the whole. The small medallion stamps containing portraits of Dido and Plato, which are found on this volume, were often used by Berthelet as the chief ornamentation on small books bound by him. They usually occur singly as a centre ornament within a gold line panel, with small fleurons at the outer corners.

1547. Xenophon. La Cyropedie. Paris 1547.

Bound in rich brown calf, and ornamented with gold-tooling, black fillets, and some blind lines. In the centre is the royal coat of arms of Edward VI., very effectively outlined with arabesques, crowned, and flanked by the letters E R. Above and below the coat is a double rose and two five-pointed stars.

The royal shield is contained within two interlaced fillets, outlined in gold and stained black; the inner is in the shape of an upright diamond; the outer is turned and curved upon itself so as to make a double border. The spaces left between these various curves and lines are filled with gold ornaments, the most noticeable of which is a large stamp of a cornucopia. The other small stamps are arabesques and five-pointed stars. The outer corners are marked by a gilt fleuron, and on the front edge of each board are the remains of two ties. The back probably had double roses stamped in gold between each of the bands, but the book, which is, with this exception, in excellent condition, has recently been restored here with new stamps cut after the old pattern.

1547 (?). In the Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh is a fine specimen of Berthelet’s work in binding. It was bound for Edward VI. in calf, and bears in the centre his coat of arms flanked by the initials E R, and above and below the coat, on each side, is a long rectangular panel with a kind of handle at each end, like those found afterwards on the horn-books. The legends on the panels read, on the upper cover, “An idle or deceitful hande maketh pore | But a diligent Labourynge hand maketh ryche. Proverb. 10”; and on the under cover, “No man lyghteth a candle and putteth it | in a privie place—neither under a bushell. Luke II.” In the panels of the back are, alternately, a small upright lion and a fleur-de-lys.

1548. Among the books bound by Berthelet for King Edward VI. is a small copy of Ptolemy’s Geografia, printed at Venice in 1548. It is simply bound in calf, with a plain gilt line along the edges of the boards, and the words, “Omnis potestas a Deo,” in a cartouche in the middle of the side. As far as the binding goes, this volume is one of Berthelet’s simplest, and I should not, for that reason, have noticed it here; but the book is remarkable because of the way he has painted the edges. These are pale blue, and are ornamented with heraldic designs on shields. On the upper edge is

the coat of arms of France, on the front edge that of England, and on the lower that of Ireland. These shields are flanked by the initials of the king, and the rest of the space is filled with a very prettily arranged interlaced strap-work in black, in and out of which wind delicate, graceful curves and flowers painted in gold.

1548. Bude. Commentarii linguae Graecae, etc. Parisiis, 1548. 13-3/4 by 9.

Bound in brown calf, and ornamented with gold-tooling and some blind lines. In the centre the royal coat of arms of Edward VI., crowned, is flanked by the letters E R, above and below each of which is a small five-petalled flower. The coat is enclosed between two interlaced squares, outlined in gold and stained black. At each of the four corners of the horizontal square is a floral arabesque in gold, with a spray of pear.

The centre design is enclosed at a considerable distance by a broad black fillet, outlined in gold, parallel to the edges of the board, mitred in gold at the corners, and decorated alternately at short intervals along its length with scrolls and small five-petalled flowers stamped in gold. The inner angles of the fillet are marked by a gold double rose, and the outer angles by an elaborate fleuron in outline.

1550. Andreasius. De amplitudine misericordiae Dei, etc. Basileae, 1550; measures 6 by 4 inches. It is bound in rich brown calf, the royal coat of arms of Edward VI. being placed in the centre, flanked by the letters E R. Parallel with the edges of the boards are lines in gold and blind, with small fleurs-de-lys in gold at the four inner corners and arabesque fleurons at the outer corners. Although this little book is very simple, it is nevertheless very charming, the beautiful brown colour of the calf being well brought out by the bright gold lines and the dark blind lines.

1552. Bembo. Historiae Venetae. Lib. XII. Venetiis, 1551; measures 12 by 9 inches. It is bound in brown calf, and ornamented with gold-tooling, blind lines, and black fillets. In the centre is the royal coat of arms of Edward VI., to whom the book belonged, enclosed in a very cleverly interwoven fillet outlined in gold and stained black. This fillet is so arranged in straight and curved pieces as to give the general effect of being arranged in eight circles and eight semicircles. The coat of arms, ensigned with the royal crown, is outlined by arabesques and surrounded by ten small stars, six of which are within a single curved-line border having fleurons and daisies at its four extremities, and four without it, beyond which comes the inner broken line of the fillet, spreading out at the top into a large circle, within which are the words, “DIEV ET MON DROYT,” and below into another circle, also large, bearing the date MDLII. Flanking the coat of arms are two small circles, within which are the crowned initials E R. The fillet now takes a rectangular form, and extends upwards and downwards from these small circles, while the irregular corner spaces left between this rectangle and the outer edges of the inner line of the fillet are each ornamented with one handsome reversed arabesque, with fleuron, two stars, and a double daisy. Four large circles of equal size to that enclosing the royal motto are arranged over the right-angled corners of the mitred parallelogram which is part of the fillet, and the spaces within these circles are each filled with an ornament made up of a graceful reversed arabesque, with a fleuron and three small flowers. Where the fillet becomes the outer border of the design it is rectangular in form, broken by semicircular indentations in the centre of each of the four sides; in these hollows are arabesques and double daisies. The remaining spaces just within the outer border are filled, top and bottom, with short lines of the cornucopia stamp, with double daisies and stars, and at each side by an impression of a handsome arabesque curve with one small flower. At each of the outer corners is a double daisy. As a book this is a curious specimen, the back being arranged and gilded so as to resemble the front, and unless the volume is carefully examined it appears to have no back at all. This is the earliest instance of this peculiarity known to me, but I have met with a few similar cases of later date and in Italian work. It has nothing to recommend it, and is useless and ugly as well as being constructively vicious. It is interesting to note that Berthelet here reverts, perhaps unknowingly, to the old English appreciation of the decorative use of the circle. This is probably, in all details, the finest binding he ever made.

1552. Joannes a Lasco. Brevis de Sacramentis Ecclesiae Christi Tractatio, etc. London, 1552; measures 5½ by 3½ inches, and is bound in cream-coloured deer or doe skin and tooled in gold. There are two holes for tie-ribbons near the front edge of each board.

The decoration consists of a central rectangular panel closely filled with solid arabesques symmetrically arranged. The panel is enclosed in a double border, the inner division of which has an arabesque filling and small fleurons at each angle; the outer is ornamented with repetitions of a circular stamp intersected by arabesque forms of a pattern very commonly found on Berthelet’s work, and closely copied from an Italian original; at each of the angles is a large fleuron. The narrow space between the edge of the boards and the outer border is ornamented with scattered impressions of a small crescent and a diamond.

Each of the panels of the back contains a single impression from a small four-petalled flower stamp. The edges of the leaves are gilded, and upon them is a wavy spray of vine, with leaves and grape clusters, impressed by means of a small ring stamp.

1552. The King’s Revenues. The original certificate of the state of the revenues of King Edward VI., drawn up on the 10th of Decr. 1552, by Thomas Lord Darcy, Thomas (Thirlby), Bishop of Norwich, Sir Richard Cotton, Sir John Gate, Sir Robert Bowes, and Sir Walter Mildmay, His Majesty’s Commissioners. With their signatures appended. MS. on vellum, measuring 15-3/4 by 11 inches.

Bound in brown calf, tooled in blind and gold. In the centre is the royal coat of arms of England flanked by the letters E R, and crowned. The outline of the shield is skilfully made by impressions from the pair of arabesque stamps used in the ornamentation of the two decorative rectangular cartouches above and below it. On the upper of these small panels are lettered the words, “THE KYNGES REVENVES,” and on the lower, “Anno quinto Regis Edwardi Sexti”; and they are further adorned with “solid” stamps in gold of an Italian character. The border has a handsome gilt-tooled design enclosed within eight lines in blind; the pattern of the gilt part is taken from an Italian model. There are gilt fleurons at the outer and inner corners of the panel.

1553. Strena Galteri Deloeni, ex Capite Geneseos quarto deprompta, etc. MS. Dedicated to Edward VI., and measuring 5-3/4 by 4 inches.

Bound in cream-coloured deerskin and tooled in blind and gilt. In the centre is the royal coat of arms flanked by the initials E R, and surmounted by a double rose, above which is a royal crown. Just below the coat of arms is another stamp of the double rose. Above and below each of the initial letters is a very graceful stamp of a cornucopia. The upper part of the panel is filled with stamps of two arabesque scrolls, two double roses, and a daisy; the lower part has two double roses, and a daisy with stalk and two leaves. The inner corners of the panel are marked with long stems, at the end of each of which is a small fleuron, and the remaining spaces are dotted freely with a small six-rayed star. All these stamps are found constantly on Berthelet’s bindings.

This is the only book bound in white deerskin for Edward VI. at present known.

1553. D. Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis episcopi, tam in vetus quam in nouum Testamentum Commentarij, etc. Basileae, 1542.

Bound in white deerskin for Queen Mary, and measuring 12¼ by 8 inches. The coat of arms on this volume is put in a very unusual

place. It is near the top of the design, the centre ornament being merely an arabesque. The boards have an irregular rectangular double-lined panel with right-angled projections at each side, outlined in gold; within these lines are small fleurons at the angles, and small scrolls, fleurs-de-lys, and rosettes. Between the centre and the inner edge of the plain panel is a double-lined diamond, edged with curves and scrolls, the corners ornamented with fleurons. Between the outer edge of the panel and the edge of the book are curves and Tudor badges, each held up either by a curved or a straight stalk, the royal coat of arms forming the chief ornament at the top, and two double roses at the bottom. The corners are closely and cleverly filled with a few curves reversed again and again. The original book is in a perfectly sound state, but the gilding upon it became rubbed, and many years ago it fell into the hands of an unscrupulous restorer, who regilded it all over with stamps cut to some extent like the old ones, but not exactly. The impressions of the old stamps still remain quite sufficiently to be recognized, and I have made a drawing of this binding, which shows the original form of its decoration. It is one of the latest bindings made by Berthelet, and in some ways it must have been one of his finest.

However much it may be considered advisable or necessary to replace old leather on bindings by new, it is quite certain that no state of decay can under any circumstances justify the regilding or restamping of any gold-tooled work. This unfortunately has been a favourite proceeding with many binders, with disastrous effects, and it cannot be too strongly condemned from every point of view.

1553 (?). A manuscript poem of controversy against the Reformers is addressed to Queen Mary by Myles Haggard; bound in calf, and tooled in gold and blind, by Berthelet. It measures about 9 by 6 inches, and has the remains of green silk ties on the front edges of the boards. In the centre is the royal coat of arms, crowned, and flanked by two scrolls, all contained within a circle stained black and outlined with gold lines, the outer edge being ornamented with a series of impressions of a small flame-shaped stamp on a narrow, slightly curved foot. The initials of Queen Mary, M R, are shown twice, arranged squarely, just beyond the flamed circle.

There is a gold line, with blind, parallel and near to the edges of the boards, and at the outer angles of this rectangle are arabesque fleurons. In the panels of the back are single impressions of small roses.

1554 (?). Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis, etc., or Queen Mary’s Prayer-Book, written on vellum and beautifully illuminated in colours, is bound in deep brown calf, delicately ornamented with gold and blind tooling, and measures 8¼ by 5½ inches.

In the centre is a small royal coat of arms with a specially cut border, ensigned with a large royal crown and flanked by the initials M R. A broad rectangular fillet of gold and blind lines runs parallel with the edges of the boards, the gold being the inner of all, and mitred at the corners. This fillet marked by gold lines is ornamented along its length by impressions of a small arabesque cluster and a rosette, and at each of the outer corners is a large fleuron.

This binding is one of the most finely executed of any that can without doubt be attributed to Berthelet. The stamps used upon it are original in design, and although the Italian feeling is still evident, it is not so marked as in many other instances. The curious plan of adorning a fillet with impressions of small detached stamps is, I think, originally an Italian idea, but it is found more frequently on Berthelet’s bindings than it is on those of any other master. Sometimes it occurs on fillets which are stained black, in which case a little bare place is left for the gold impression,—it is not gilded over the stain. Sometimes, as on this book, the fillet is left uncoloured. The unknown binder who worked for James I. and his sons used dots on fillets, but never stained them; and Samuel Mearne, royal binder to Charles II., revived the plan of gilding on a black fillet, but he did not carry it out to such an elaborate extent as did Berthelet, only using dots or dotted lines.

1554. Expositio Beati Ambrosii episcopi super apocalypsin. Lutetiae, 1554; measures 9¼ by 6½ inches, and is bound by Berthelet in dark brown calf, tooled in gold, with a few blind lines. In the centre is an ornamental cartouche enclosed within a rectangular border, and bearing the royal coat of arms of Queen Mary, crowned, and flanked by two scrolls; this is enclosed by a circle of wavy flames, and again by an outer irregularly shaped border of curves, straight lines, and arabesques. The space between the flamed circle and the outer arabesque line is filled with a powdering of small circular stamps.

The rectangular outer border is composed of straight lines in gold and blind, with centre fillet of an ornamental circular stamp crossed with arabesques of Italian character. The inner corners of the rectangle are filled with a trefoil stamp and the outer corners with an ornamental fleuron. There are the remains of two green silk ties on the front edge of each of the boards. The book is not in a good condition, the back having been entirely spoiled and tooled with recent stamps.

1555. Epitome omnium operum divi Aurelii Augustini, etc. Coloniae, 1549; measures 12½ by 8¼ inches, and is bound in brown calf, tooled in gold, with some blind lines. In the centre is the royal coat of arms of Queen Mary, crowned, and flanked by two arabesque curves, contained within a circle stained black, with waved rays of gold issuing outwards. The coat is enclosed by a long upright rectangular fillet stained black, interlaced by another in diamond shape of similar width, also stained black. The spaces within these two fillets are filled with gold curves and arabesques, except the two small triangles flanking the centre, which have the initials M R.

The black fillets are enclosed by a double border; the inner one, broken in four places by the points of the diamond, is thickly ornamented with corner fleurons and arabesque scrolls, the outer closely filled with a handsome arabesque made with two reversed curves. Outside all is another black rectangular fillet, with fleurons at the outer corners.

This is one of the finest calf bindings Berthelet made for Queen Mary, and it is wonderfully well preserved, the leather being only a little discoloured and the gold bright and clear. The black on the fillets is also in good condition.

1555. Bonner. A profitable and necessarye doctrine. London (1555); is bound in pale brown calf for Queen Mary, and tooled in gold, without any black in the fillets. In the centre is the royal coat of arms flanked by two scrolls and enclosed within a flanked circle. This circle is contained in a diamond-shaped fillet, with leaf stamps in the upper and lower corners, beyond which is a rectangular border of Italian fashion, made by small circles intersected by arabesques,—a favourite pattern of Berthelet’s, and very effective. The four inner corners of the parallelogram are filled with arabesque ornaments, and the outer corners have small fleurons. All the stamps are well known.

INDEX.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X. >

Abingtone, John, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 53
Advocates’ Library at Edinburgh, binding by T. Berthelet at the, 84
Ambrosius. “Expositio super Apocalypsin. 1554.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 93
Andreasius. “De amplitudine misericordiae Dei. 1550.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 86
Anne Boleyn, Queen. Binding with her coat of arms, 24
Arber, Edward. His reprints of the transcripts of the Stationers Company, 31
Aurelius Augustinus.
“Tam in vetus quam in novum Testamentum commentarii.  1542.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 90
“Epitome operum. 1549.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 94

Back curiously designed on a binding by T. Berthelet, 88
Bauduyn, Piers, stationer, 15
Bembo. “Historiae Venetae, Lib. XII. 1551.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 87
Berthelet, Anthony, bequests to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Berthelet, Edward, bequests to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Berthelet, Margaret, bequests to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Berthelet, Thomas, appointment as Royal Printer to Henry VIII., 26
Bill for bookbinding, 35
Books, etc., printed by, 48
Colophons used by, 49
Device of Lucretia stabbing herself, 49
Grant of coat of arms, 33
Patent of appointment as Royal Printer, 32
Printing done by, 33
Property in London, 50
Signature of, 37
Will of, 51
“Bible. 1534.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 74
“Bible. 1543.” Bound in velvet by T. Berthelet, 79
Bindings at the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, 14
Boccaccio. “Decameron.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 76
Bonner. “A Profitable Doctrine. 1555.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 94
Border with design of boys in procession used by T. Berthelet in some of his titlepages, 49
Bude. “Commentarii linguae Graecae. 1548.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 85

Calf leather chiefly used for bookbinding by T. Berthelet, 64
Calf, books bound in, by T. Berthelet, 68 et seq.
Christ’s Hospital, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Circle flamed, used on bindings by T. Berthelet, 81, 92
Coat of arms granted T. Berthelet described, 33
Colophons used by T. Berthelet, 49
“Commentary on the Campaign of Charles V., in 1544.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 82
Coronation book of Henry I. described, 19
Courteys, Piers, Keeper of the King’s Great Wardrobe, 15
Cowper, Alice, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Crest granted to T. Berthelet described, 33
Cumdachs, 14

Davenport, C. His book on Royal English bookbindings, 61
Deerskin bindings by T. Berthelet, 65, 88, 90
Deloemus.
“Libellus de tribus hierarchiis.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 68
“Strena.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 90
Dimma’s Book, 14
Duff, E. Gordon, owner of a copy of St. Chrysostom’s works bound by T. Berthelet, 71

Edward IV., bindings made for, in Westminster Abbey, 13
Edward VI., books bound for, by T. Berthelet, 81 et seq.
Coat of arms of, 83, 86
Edwards, James, the painted fore edges of his books, 67
Elizabeth of York, bindings made for, 15
Elizabeth, Princess, embroidered bindings worked by, 63
Elyot. “The Image of Governance.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 79
Embroidered bindings of the sixteenth century, 62
English royal heraldry, 22

Fletcher, W. Y. His book on bindings in the British Museum, 61
Fore-edge decoration on books, 66
Fore-edge painting on books bound by T. Berthelet, 80, 85
“Foy pour Debvoir” on a binding made for the Duke of Somerset by T. Berthelet, 77

George II.’s gift of the Old Royal Library of England to the British Museum, 63
Gold-tooling in leather described, 16
Grafton, Richard, trustee for the children of T. Berthelet, 53
Griggs, William. His colour plates of bookbindings, 61, 67
Grolier, Jean, bindings with circles made for, 21

Haggard. “Poem. 1553.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 91
Henry VII., the library and bindings made for 24, 62
Henry VIII.
Act passed in 1533 to restrain foreigners from selling bound books in England, 29
Books bound for, by T. Berthelet, 68 et seq.
Panel stamps bearing his coat of arms, 24
Signature of, 36
Heydon crest on a binding by T. Berthelet, 76
Holmes, Richard R. His book on the bindings in the Royal Library at Windsor, 61
“Horae B. Mariae Virginis.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 92

James I. His visit to the Bodleian Library at Oxford, 70
James V., King of Scotland, binding made for, 57

“Ihc Dien” adopted as a motto by the Black Prince, 81
Iguinus. “Oratio ad Hen. VIII.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 78

Joannes a Lasco. “Brevis de Sacramentis Ecc. Christi Tractatio. 1552.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 88

Katharine of Aragon, Queen. Bindings with her coat of arms, 24
“The King’s Revenues.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 89

Legends on bindings made by T. Berthelet, 65, 89
Lindau, binding of the Gospels of, 14
Little Gidding, bindings made at, 21
Lucretia stabbing herself. The device of T. Berthelet, 49

Macray, W. Dunn. His book on the Annals of the Bodleian Library, 70
Mary I., Queen, books bound for, by T. Berthelet, 90 et seq.
Mearne, Samuel. The painted edges of his books, 67
Mediæval English leather bindings described, 18
Molaise’s Gospels, 14

Nantes, Edict of, revoked in 1685, 32
“New Testament. 1536.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 76

“Opus de vera differentia regiae potestatis.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 75
Ostrich-feather badge of the Princes of Wales, 81

Payne, Richard, trustee for the children of T. Berthelet, 53
Powell, Thomas, nephew and successor to T. Berthelet, 49, 51, 52
Ptolemaeus. “Geografia. 1548.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 84
Pynson, Richard, Royal Printer before T. Berthelet, 32

Quarter-circles used as decorations for book corners, 73

“Rex in Aeternum Vive.” Painted in gold on the edges of bindings by T. Berthelet, 66, 74, 78, 79
Richard III.’s act allowing foreigners to sell bound books in England, 29
Rose, large panel stamp of a, 25
Ryland’s Library, Manchester, binding by T. Berthelet in the, 76
St. Chrysostom. “Works.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 71
St. Cuthbert’s Gospels, binding of, 19
Salvoine, Martha, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Satin binding by T. Berthelet, 77
“La Science de Geometrie.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 74
Seymour, Edward, Duke of Somerset. Binding made for him by T. Berthelet, 77
Skynner, Prudence, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 52
Stamps for bookbinding used by T. Berthelet, 62
Stowe missal, 14
Supporters used by Henry VII., Henry VIII., and James I., 69

Theophylactus. “In omnes divi Pauli epistolas enarrationes.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 78
Ties in early English bindings, 59
Tracts bound in satin by T. Berthelet, 77
Trinity College, Oxford, binding by T. Berthelet at, 78
Trogus Pompeius. “Chorographica.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 81
Tudor heraldic badges, 23
Types used by T. Berthelet, 48

Velvet binding by T. Berthelet, 79
Venetian bindings, 15
Verard, Antoine. Books printed by him in the library of Henry VII., 24
“Vitae illustrium Virorum.” Bound by T. Berthelet 68

Weale, W. H. James. His researches into the history of blind-stamped bindings, 20
Wekes, John, bequest to, from T. Berthelet, 53
Westminster Abbey, binding at, with the arms of Edward IV., 13
Wheatley, H. B. His book on the bindings in the British Museum, 61
Will of T. Berthelet 51
Winchester Domesday Book, binding of the 20
Witinton, Robert. Gold-tooled binding on one of his manuscripts, 17

Xenophon. “La Cyropedie.” Bound by T. Berthelet, 83

PRINTED FOR THE CAXTON CLUB BY
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
AT THE LAKESIDE PRESS, CHICAGO