J. Henry Middleton

“ With regard to books on the subject of early bindings; it is much to be regretted that existing works, of which there are a great many, especially in French, all begin just about the period when bindings of the greatest interest and the truest artistic value were no longer made. Plenty has been written about the costly bindings in which Grolier, Maioli, and other wealthy book-buyers had their purchases encased, but no work exists on the bindings of the mediaeval period, when, frequently, the covers of a manuscript were as much a labour of love as the illuminated pages within. ”

“ Velvet. Bindings of red or violet velvet were also frequently used for manuscripts. Plain red velvet, with elaborate clasps and corner-pieces of chased gold or silver, was perhaps the most usual form of binding for costly manuscripts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Fine gems, especially the carbuncle and turquoise, were set in the gold mounts of some of these princely books.
Dyed vellum. Vellum dyed with the murex was used to cover the oak boards of manuscripts at a time when purple-stained vellum was no longer used for the pages of manuscripts. ”

“ Common bindings. The commonest form of binding was to make the covers of stout oak boards, which were covered with parchment, calf-skin, pig-skin or some other leather. Five brass or bronze bosses were fixed on each cover, arranged thus and two or four stout clasps made of leather straps with brass catches were firmly nailed on to the oak. The angles of the covers were often strengthened by brass or latten cornerpieces, and in some cases metal edgings were nailed all along the edges of the oak, making a very strong, massive and heavy volume. ”

“ Stamped leather. In the fourteenth century bindings of books began to be decorated by stamping patterns with dies or punches on the vellum or pigskin covering of the oak board; a method of decoration which was greatly elaborated and developed in the sixteenth century, especially by the German and Dutch bookbinders. ”

“ Bindings of needlework. At the close of the fifteenth century or rather earlier, the custom became popular of having Horae and other manuscripts owned by wealthy secular personages bound in velvet, richly decorated with embroidery in gold and silver thread and silk mixed with a great number of seed pearls. ”