Henri Pène du Bois

“ The covers were originally of wood, ivory or metal, with a view to solidity only. It was a simple process, and yet there were then, as at present, good, bad and indifferent bookbinders, for, in one of his letters to Atticus, Cicero requested the assistance of two slaves, reputed skilled workmen (lignatores librorum) . At a time when the possession of a book was that of “a treasure for aye” it was natural that the art of its exterior decoration progressed as rapidly as the art of its interior decoration. ”

“ A very interesting list might be made of noted manuscripts, the bindings of which have been stolen, and of stolen manuscripts the bindings of which are extant. The precious volumes which were jealously guarded “in the secret jewel-house,” with the awe-inspiring relics, were purloined as well as the cathenare, cathenizare or catenati, the chained volumes of the monasteries. ”

“ Sernin. The custom of enclosing valuable bindings in valuable caskets was a prevailing one, but the caskets have been prizes for pillagers, and assuredly could not have been of greater interest to the book-lover than the “carved oak box (in book form) , with Milton’s initials on the side, manufactured from the old timber taken from the poet’s residence in Barbican when demolished in 1864, with a certificate of authcenticity, enclosing a work of Frischlini, with John Milton’s autograph initials on the title page,” of a recent English catalogue. ”