diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/68786-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68786-0.txt | 2505 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 2505 deletions
diff --git a/old/68786-0.txt b/old/68786-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 730722a..0000000 --- a/old/68786-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2505 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Modern bookbindings, by S. T. Prideaux - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Modern bookbindings - Their design and decoration - -Author: S. T. Prideaux - -Release Date: August 18, 2022 [eBook #68786] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from - images generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN BOOKBINDINGS *** - - - - - - MODERN BOOKBINDINGS - - -[Illustration: 1. BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF.] - - - - - MODERN BOOKBINDINGS - THEIR DESIGN AND DECORATION - - - BY - S. T. PRIDEAUX - -[Illustration] - - NEW YORK - E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY - 1906 - - - - - Edinburgh: T. AND A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty - - - - - CONTENTS - - - PAGE - MODERN ENGLISH BINDING 3 - MODERN FRENCH BINDING 59 - EDITION BINDING 105 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - PLATE - I. BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF—_Frontispiece_ - AT PAGE - II. „ „ 6 - III. „ „ 6 - IV. „ RIVIÈRE 10 - V. „ „ 10 - VI. „ MORRELL 14 - VII. „ „ 16 - VIII. „ „ 16 - IX. „ DE COVERLY 18 - X. „ FAZAKERLY 20 - XI. „ „ 20 - XII. „ CHIVERS 26 - XIII. „ „ 26 - XIV. „ THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 30 - XV. „ „ „ 34 - XVI. „ „ „ 34 - XVII. „ THE GUILD OF HANDICRAFT 38 - XVIII. „ DOUGLAS COCKERELL 40 - XIX. „ „ „ 40 - XX. „ F. SANGORSKI AND G. SUTCLIFFE 42 - XXI. „ DE SAUTY 44 - XXII. „ „ „ 44 - XXIII. „ MISS ADAMS 46 - XXIV. „ MISS MACCOLL 48 - XXV. „ MISS ALICE PATTINSON 48 - XXVI. „ MISS MAUDE NATHAN 50 - XXVII. „ MISS WOOLRICH 52 - XXVIII. „ MISS PHILPOT 54 - XXIX. „ MARIUS MICHEL 60 - XXX. „ „ „ 62 - XXXI. „ „ „ 62 - XXXII. „ LÉON GRUEL 64 - XXXIII. „ „ „ 68 - XXXIV. „ „ „ 68 - XXXV. „ „ „ 72 - XXXVI. „ „ „ 72 - XXXVII. „ MERCIER 76 - XXXVIII. „ „ 80 - XXXIX. „ „ 82 - XL. „ „ 84 - XLI. „ „ 84 - XLII. „ RUBAN 88 - XLIII. „ „ 92 - XLIV. „ „ 92 - XLV. „ CARAYON 94 - XLVI. „ „ 96 - XLVII. „ „ 96 - XLVIII. „ CHAMBOLLE 98 - XLIX. „ „ 106 - L. „ „ 106 - LI. „ CANAPE 108 - LII. „ „ 112 - LIII. „ „ 116 - LIV. „ „ 120 - LV. „ „ 120 - LVI. „ KIEFFER 124 - LVII. „ „ 128 - LVIII. „ „ 128 - - - - - ERRATUM - - -_For_ “Revière” _read_ “Rivière” in List of Illustrations. - -_For_ “Morell” _read_ “Morrell” throughout. - -The address of the Oxford University Press is still Amen Corner, E.C., -and _not_ St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter Lane, as stated on page 35. - - - - - MODERN ENGLISH BINDING - - - I - -Within the last five-and-twenty years there has been a marked revival in -every department of applied art. The influence of William Morris, whose -efforts in all the accessories of house decoration were for some time -only recognized by the few, has now spread to all classes. No longer -confined to the houses of the rich or of those who profess the cult of -aesthetics, it is to be found with more or less of travesty in country -rectories and suburban villas, catered for by the enterprising tradesman -on the monthly hire system. To those who remember vividly the early -Victorian surroundings of the home and their prevailing ugliness, the -complete change which has taken place has hardly yet ceased to be a -source of wonder. Nothing remains the same: from wall-paper to coal-box, -from bedroom to kitchen, all has ‘suffered a sea change.’ In any -examination of the present condition of the artistic crafts and the -promise they present of future development on a sound basis, one cannot -fail to observe that the effort to promote taste has penetrated to the -commonest objects of daily use. The thought that finds expression in -decoration has gone to salt-cellars and buttons as well as to carpets, -cabinets and books. Some industries too, that may almost be said to have -died out for lack of appreciation, have been revived on new lines and -taken up by the public with enthusiastic approval. The use of enamel in -jewellery and in combination with wrought metal may be mentioned as an -instance of this, as well as the inlaying of cabinet work not only with -coloured woods, but with pewter, ivory and pearl. The spell of -convention once broken, the imagination of the craftsman has found -relief in flying to the furthest distance from models that were till -recently his only guide. This freedom, when restrained by genuine -artistic feeling, has given in many cases excellent results; but in the -majority of cases the sole achievement has been an eccentricity that -shows few signs of a realization of what is needed in applied art and of -the laws that should govern it. - -In no sphere has there been a more striking departure from the hitherto -circumscribed lines of ornamentation than in everything that relates to -books and their decorative treatment. Paper and ink, type and its -massing on the page, illustration both as a part of the text and outside -it, the materials and enrichment of the cover—all have alike undergone -fundamental reconsideration. It is, however, with bindings and not with -the other features of book production that we are now concerned; and it -is proposed in these pages to draw attention to what is being done in -England and France in a field of work that has an increasing number of -recruits and a growing and interested public. - -It is now more than twenty years since the movement spoken of began to -include bookbinding. During that time there has been noted the trade -opposition to Mr. Cobden-Sanderson when he started as an amateur, -followed by an imitation in many quarters, which, to say the least of -it, is not the most subtle form of flattery. There has been also the -later influence of Mr. Douglas Cockerell—a result of his strenuous craft -teaching as well as of the work of his own hands—and the tardy -acknowledgment of professional binders that the interest of the amateur -has been productive of good even from the narrow standpoint of their -class. Nor has France escaped this wave of innovation, though there -formalism had a stronger hold even than with us, inasmuch as the -traditions of what in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had really -been more of a fine art than a craft were rooted in the country with all -the firmness that national pride could give. Finally, one may mark the -growing enthusiasm of our American neighbours in the subject and their -efforts to create a national taste in fine bindings. They show a ready -acknowledgment of what is being done outside their own country, and a -willingness to recognize that work directed by the artistic rather than -the commercial spirit must be paid for according to a standard different -to that of the ordinary tradesman. - -[Illustration: 2. BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF.] - -[Illustration: 3. BOUND BY ZAEHNSDORF.] - -That an increasing number of people appreciate the problem of designing -book covers may be judged from the fact that of late years nearly every -illustrated paper has had an occasional article on one or another binder -anxious to attract the public to the originality of his work. Assuming -this appreciation, we will touch briefly on the craft in England before -its revitalization during the last quarter of a century, and then pass -in review those who are now occupied with its decorative side and who -are trying to remove it from the traditional grooves in which it lay for -so long. Unfortunately, many binders doing excellent and conscientious -work, on lines far more valuable than that of pattern making, must -remain unnoticed, for it is only work that is striving after an effect -of ornament that is capable of illustration. Of this, too, the amount -has so much increased of late that it is impossible to give examples of -much that equally deserves representation with what has been selected. - -For a true understanding of modern effort it is necessary to realize -that the art history of binding is an important one, especially in Italy -and France; but in this very brief review of English binding before -1850, we need not start further back than the time when gilt tooling was -brought from France. Before that period the heavier covers had been -decorated with stamps often of a very beautiful kind and impressed upon -the leather without gold. But in the reign of Henry VIII., Thomas -Berthelet, the King’s printer, first executed gold-tooled bindings, the -designs on which were frankly adopted from those that prevailed in -Italy, the models, no doubt, being found among the large number of books -imported from abroad at that time. Later on, when Italian binding as a -fine art had been merged in that of France, the influence of the latter -country is seen, as, for example, in the books bound for Thomas Wotton -in imitation of Grolier, one of the most famous collectors of any age or -country. Throughout the reigns of the Stuarts, English binding continues -to show French influence, as a glance at the books exhibited to the -public in the British Museum will show to the most casual observer. Nor -had we a binder who can be said to have shown any tendency towards a -native style till the time of the Restoration, when Samuel Mearne, -bookbinder to the King, inaugurated what is known as the ‘cottage’ form -of decoration. Though the elaborate filigree work on his books reminds -one that Le Gascon exercised an important influence, the form of the -ornaments and their arrangement remain distinctly English. A development -of this style, equally native in character, may be found a little later, -during the first part of the eighteenth century, chiefly on the Bibles -and Prayer-Books of the time. In these there is a certain amount of -rough inlay, either in the form of a panel or in that of tulips and -other conventional flowers outlined in gold, though with a dotted -instead of a solid line. These ornaments, poor in themselves, which form -the main part of the decoration, are often combined with great skill and -sense of effect. An unusual number of such books were collected at the -time of the Exhibition of Bindings at the Burlington Fine Arts Club, and -were found both charming and effective notwithstanding a somewhat rough -and hasty workmanship. From the reign of James II. to the time of Roger -Payne there are no names associated with any bindings of importance; and -with the passing of the prevailing fashion of ornament on the books just -described, design reached its lowest point towards the end of the -century. Of Roger Payne, who effected a genuine revival of bookbinding -somewhere about 1770, it is not necessary to say much. His style is well -known to all book lovers, and the details of his eccentric life have -been so often recorded that the reader must be more than weary of them. -One point in connexion with his work is, however, I think, worth -mentioning, and that is that his style has never lent itself to that -modification in imitation which enables any artist to become the founder -of a school. Any one of the skilled binders will do you a ‘Roger Payne’ -as he will do you a ‘Grolier’ or a ‘Le Gascon’; but it will be a -reproduction of the real Roger’s work, with the exact details and -precise arrangement of them that are to be found on his authentic -bindings. So that, notwithstanding his originality, he inspired no -following, though his imitators have been perhaps more numerous than -those of any other binder. - -[Illustration: 4. BOUND BY RIVIÈRE.] - -[Illustration: 5. BOUND BY RIVIÈRE.] - -Charles Lewis and Frances Bedford, followed by Robert Rivière and Joseph -Zaehnsdorf, did much good work in the early part of the last century, -especially Bedford; but they can lay no claim to an originality which -disappeared with Payne, and which was not seen again until Mr. -Cobden-Sanderson attempted to do for the binding of books what William -Morris had already done for the other decorative arts. It is the result -of this revived interest in handicrafts and the attempted application to -binding of the more vital principles of art which it is proposed to -illustrate here. One must say attempted, because success by no means -always results. In this review, however, of modern binders, definite -criticism is not an object, though the difficulties attendant on their -efforts naturally come up for consideration and necessarily involve some -expression of opinion. - -[Illustration: 6. BOUND BY MORRELL.] - -Both Zaehnsdorf and Rivière left representatives to carry on their work, -the former a son, and the latter two nephews, Mr. Percy and Mr. Arthur -Calkin. From the small establishments in which both houses originated -there has developed in each case an important business in which an -exceedingly large number of books are bound for the export as well as -the retail trade. In a bindery of this nature there would not be time -for the serious consideration of artistic problems unless it contained -what Mr. Lethaby so aptly describes as ‘a “quality” department in a -“quantity” business.’ It remains as true now as it has always been that -the craftsman who is also an artist must work in his own way and at his -own speed—a fact well realized in the French workshops, which are -altogether outside the rush and pressure of commercial life. So in each -of these houses we find a certain number of the more intelligent and -skilful men employed only upon the best work, and engaged in carrying -out designs which they either make up themselves from certain recognised -types or which are made for them by more practised designers. This -introduces the question—which is a practical one for the large employer, -though it need not exist for those having a comparatively limited -output—whether it produces better results to keep a trained designer, or -to give the pattern making into the hands of the more artistically -disposed ‘finishers.’ Some consider that it is impossible, so long as -the education of the workman is so lamentably defective on the side of -taste as it is, to expect him to plan book covers above the ordinary -level of presents and school prizes; others hold that his feeling for -what is good and appropriate can only be cultivated by encouraging him -to the interest and responsibility of planning what he is going to -execute. Mr. Calkin has long kept a designer entirely occupied on the -decorated work that many of his clients demand. Other houses have tried -the practice of getting drawings made by the general decorative artist, -and have given it up in disgust at the unpractical character of the -results obtained. And it is true that it takes time and patience to -train one accustomed to a free hand in invention to a realization of the -limitations necessitated by the use of rigid stamps and the -comparatively small number of them that can be employed on a binding.[1] -Ask any professed pattern maker to make you a device for a book cover, -and you will get something which, though it may be satisfactory and -attractive in itself, will be either impossible of execution or give the -most disappointing results. Naturally, where any firm happens to possess -workmen of the required taste and ability, they should be encouraged to -the utmost to give effect to their sense of drawing in its application -to their own trade. Messrs. Morrell, whose large business is entirely a -wholesale one, supplies all the booksellers with bindings designed by -his men and remarkable for their variety and merit. It is too early to -speak of the influence of the technical schools upon the output of the -large workshops, but when one knows that the three houses above -mentioned employ some 200 men between them, it can easily be imagined -that the training of the workman is a serious consideration.[2] It is -customary now for binders to keep a record of their more special work, -and in this way the extent of their range can be noted by the employer -and undue repetition prevented. Another improvement on the past is that -designs are not now multiplied as they used to be—that is to say, in the -best class of work. A specially planned cover is not repeated or even -published without the owner’s consent; and this is a wise plan, for all -art, even the best, suffers by vain repetition, and a good and -appropriate pattern on a book will be but a weariness to the eye when it -is seen in multiplicity in booksellers’ windows. - -[Illustration: 7. BOUND BY MORRELL.] - -[Illustration: 8. BOUND BY MORRELL.] - -The concluding illustrations in this chapter show work done by Mr. Roger -de Coverly and Mr. Harry Wood. Mr. de Coverly served his apprenticeship -to the elder Zaehnsdorf, and was afterwards employed for many years by -Messrs. Leighton. In 1863 he set up for himself, and his sound taste -being discovered by Mr. F. S. Ellis and Mr. William Morris, he soon got -the custom of many of those who were then seeking its application to -bindings. In 1883 he took one of his clients, Mr. Cobden-Sanderson, as a -pupil, and has had others since. He considers his speciality to be -vellum work; but unfortunately this does not show well in reproduction. -Mr. Wood was also with Zaehnsdorf, working for him as a finisher for -twelve years. He subsequently managed and in the end bought the business -of Mr. Kaufmann in Soho, which he has greatly expanded, and which is now -managed by his son. Neither he nor de Coverly have ever sought the heavy -expenses and responsibilities of a large undertaking, but have been -content with a personal business in which they themselves have always -taken an active part. - -[Illustration: 9. BOUND BY DE COVERLY.] - - - II - -Although the chief place to study bookbinders and their craft is -naturally London, there are several provincial centres where it -flourishes, and where it has been touched by that movement for -developing the artistic as well as the business side which we noticed in -the previous chapter. In large country towns it is impossible for work -to be as much specialized as it is in London; consequently a large -bindery will do business of a most miscellaneous kind, embracing -everything from pamphlets to fine-tooled morocco bindings, and including -albums, ledgers, library and school books for prizes. Mr. Fazakerly in -Liverpool, Mr. Birdsall in Northampton, and Mr. Chivers in Bath, all -have establishments more or less of this kind. - -[Illustration: 10. BOUND BY FAZAKERLY.] - -[Illustration: 11. BOUND BY FAZAKERLY.] - -Mr. Fazakerly was one of the first binders, certainly outside of London, -who refused to support the excessive competition in cheapness, and who -struck out a department in which fine work could be executed at prices -that were remunerative and not prohibitive. Happily the result of his -efforts shows the success of a refusal to pander to that desire for -cutting prices which has done so much to ruin the crafts on their -artistic side. For some time after he had educated his workmen to the -responsibility of his new venture, he found that the taste of his -customers lay towards a reproduction of old models, but he has of late -been quite successful in directing it on to new lines. One feature may -be noted in connexion with the morocco work of Mr. Fazakerly, namely, -that the under cover is rarely decorated with the same design as the -upper. If the lower cover is left quite plain, the effect is poor, and -suggests that trouble has been spared on the book as a whole; but there -is no reason for the convention, almost universally adopted, whereby the -two sides are entirely alike. The same tools and elements of design -should appear in each cover, only disposed in different schemes of -ornament, and such variation naturally implies more thought, the thought -that avoids repetition. One of Mr. Fazakerly’s innovations was the -employment of embossed leather, which has since spread to many other -houses; and another which he considers a specialty of his business is -the decoration of the edges of books, both by means of tooling on them -or gauffering, as it is more generally called, and also by painting -underneath the gold. We may recall that in the sixteenth century this -extension of ornament to the leaves of a book was very prevalent, and -was only one of many indications that the workman spent ungrudging time -and thought on the details of what was intended to be a work of art -throughout.[3] Some very fine specimens of gauffered edges may be seen -on the works of Luther in seven folio volumes, dated Jena 1572–1581, now -in South Kensington Museum. The volumes being very thick offer fine -scope for ornament, which consists of the shield of Saxony painted in -the centre of each foredge, the rest of the space being filled with -arabesques and Renaissance ornaments. And there is, we believe, still in -this country part of the library that once belonged to Odonico Pillone -of Belluno, comprising some hundred and forty folios with foredges -painted by the hand of Cesare Vecellio, a nephew of Titian.[4] - -The painting of edges was revived in England, and reappears in -thoroughly native style on books of the latter half of the eighteenth -century. Charming little English landscapes are to be found on some of -them, which, as the painting is done when the leaves are fanned out and -held in that expanded position, are not in evidence when the book is -shut, but when open appear at once. The name of William Edwards of -Halifax and his son James is especially associated with this work, and -their books are not very rare. Mr. Fazakerly has done a great deal of -this decoration, which requires certain conditions to ensure success. -The painter must be an artist, and the paper on which he works should be -rather thin than thick; the modern fashion of printing on a sort of -cardboard handicaps the binder not only in this, but other and far more -important ways. Mr. Fazakerly has also made some innovations in -‘doublures,’ a term applied to the inside face of the boards when lined -with leather or decorative material. In the matter of doublures the last -word has not been said, and there is still room for experiment. The -French custom of violent-coloured watered silks or equally salient -inlays has never found much favour in this country; but there has been a -great dearth both of invention and taste in dealing with this feature of -a binding. Some of Zaehnsdorf’s doublures have silk either of the same -colour as the cover, or in harmony with it, and he has tried Russia -leather with considerable success. Unsuitable as it is for the outside -cover from its tendency to rapid deterioration, it makes a very good -board lining, and can be employed as well for the flyleaf opposite; -indeed, it is better where possible that doublure and flyleaf should be -the same. It is with calf that Mr. Fazakerly has made his innovation, -and when delicately tinted and incised, but not embossed, the results -seem pleasant and appropriate. On books relating to Japan, the number of -which is largely on the increase, some of the coloured Japanese embossed -papers make excellent doublures. Before dismissing this subject, we may -mention the attempt of Mr. Bagguley, a binder at Newcastle-under-Lyme, -to tool on vellum in colour. Some of this work, designed by Léon Solon -and Miss Talbot, is very delicate and attractive; so delicate, in fact, -that it is only suitable for the inside of a book. His patterns are -composed chiefly of gouge and line work, as no effect of solid mass can -be apparently got in the colour, and the effect is enhanced by dots and -other small tools worked in gold. The excessively detailed nature of -this work, which is made up of ‘tools’ small and light in character, -heavier dies not being suitable for the stamping of colour, render it -costly of execution, but there is no doubt that its occasional use -offers a desirable variation on the ordinary inside lining. It is -difficult to close this subject without a few words in condemnation of -the coloured papers used by most binders for ordinary work which does -not admit of anything more elaborate. It is time they gave up the German -marbled patterns, the French ‘combs,’ and even the spirit marbles which -produce the effect of violent colour thrown on wet blotting-paper and -appear to be the latest fashion of monstrosity in such things. Good -white handmade papers or vellum papers are the most suitable, while if -coloured ones are deemed essential, the French and Van Gelder crayon -papers toning harmoniously with the morocco are not likely to be an -offence. - -[Illustration: 12. BOUND BY CHIVERS.] - -[Illustration: 13. BOUND BY CHIVERS.] - -The business of Messrs. Birdsall at Northampton takes us to another -centre of provincial activity in binding, and it has an especial -interest in being one of the oldest bookbinding businesses in the -country. It has been in the hands of the present proprietors’ family -well over a hundred years, and has a connected history since 1757, when -John Lacy, a banker of Northampton, acquired it and associated with it a -bookselling business which he had also in the town. On giving up work in -1792 he sold both to William Birdsall, a Yorkshireman by birth, who had -settled there, and in this family it has remained ever since. We spoke -before of the varied nature of the work carried out by country binders, -and on Messrs. Birdsall’s premises we find a department of manufacturing -stationery, another for the wholesale paper trade, a third for -commercial bindings in which are included certain special registered -bindings patented for serial work, such as the ‘Stronghold’ and ‘Biblia -fortis,’ suitable for free libraries where the usage is rough and -constant, and lastly, one set apart for highly finished leather and -vellum books. The works are always kept in the highest state of -efficiency, and the workmen are encouraged to excel in skilled and -conscientious work. Many of these have passed a lifetime there, and -though the business is not of a co-operative character, a bonus is -distributed to the older and more efficient workers at the end of the -year. - -[Illustration: 14. BOUND BY THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.] - -Mr. Chivers, of Bath, has brought an unusual amount of originality and -enthusiasm into the service of his craft. His father was a binder there -before him, and the son, after working with Chatelain in London, decided -to settle in his native town. For some time his specialty was a binding -for public libraries patented under the name of ‘Duro-flexile,’ and -this, together with other library appliances, brought him a connexion -with librarians all over the country who were occupied with the problems -presented by the particular nature of their work. He has brought -considerable invention to bear upon these problems, and in certain cases -it is not likely that a more satisfactory solution will be found than -that which he has introduced. Besides these practical matters he has -made certain styles of decorating book covers especially his own, and -one of these he has developed with considerable success. This consists -in a scheme whereby designs are painted on paper and then covered with -transparent vellum, so that there is no limit to the colour effect that -may be produced. We have already mentioned James Edwards, of Halifax, -who settled in 1784 as a bookseller in Pall Mall, and whose love of -books caused him to direct his coffin to be made from the shelves of his -libraries. In 1785 he took out a patent ‘for embellishing books bound in -vellum and making drawings on the vellum which are not liable to be -defaced by destroying the vellum itself.’ The description further -contained in the patent has never been found possible of imitation, -which may or may not have been intentional on his part. The British -Museum shows a Prayer-Book bound by him in this style for Queen -Charlotte, wife of George III., which has likewise a foredge painting -beneath the gold. His patterns were frequently Etruscan in character; -but as his range of decoration was limited and the vellum he used -insufficiently transparent, his books are only of moderate interest. Mr. -Chivers’ plan is a much simpler one, and if the designs are given into -the hands of artists, very original results can be obtained. The French -have one binder—M. Carayon—who is famed for a class of book cover that -gives something of the same effect. The best-known painters both in -water colours and black and white are employed to decorate the white -vellum that clothes so sumptuously the finely illustrated books that his -countrymen admire so much. These will, however, stand no usage of any -kind, and can only be kept in cases carefully made for their protection. -The vellucent work of Mr. Chivers being beneath the vellum runs no risk -of deterioration and can stand even more than the usual wear and tear. -Sometimes it appears as if the colours chosen were too strong, producing -in some cases rather the effect of the highly coloured supplements that -appear at Christmas in our illustrated papers; but that, of course, is -not a criticism that belongs to the method, but is rather a counsel of -perfection for a more delicate application of that method. The desire -for colour has appeared constantly in the history of bookbinding. We see -it first in the Venetian books brilliantly painted in lacquer in the -Persian and Saracenic style taken from Arabian manuscripts, then in the -strapwork coloured with a varnished incrustation like enamel, the best -of which, French and Italian, is found about the middle of the sixteenth -century. This method has proved very perishable, and has never been -revived. Later on we get the inlaying of coloured leathers, which -reached its most interesting development in the eighteenth century, and -has retained its hold on public taste ever since. The earlier painted -strapwork was freely copied in mosaics of leather; and when we come to -deal with present-day French bindings, we shall see the new style of -inlaid decoration to which these have given place. The vellucent method -of Mr. Chivers is full of delightful possibilities if confined to books -to which it is suited, and when employed in a rather lower colour scheme -as suggested. Nor is it necessary for the whole cover to be of vellum, -for it is possible to introduce a panel only of the transparent material -over a picture, and to incorporate this in the morocco, giving the -effect of an enrichment of enamel. - -Another style which Mr. Chivers has done much to popularise is calf, -embossed and incised and sometimes coloured by hand. In this, as for the -vellucent bindings, he draws freely upon outside talent. Mr. H. -Granville-Fenn is general artistic adviser, and Miss Alice Shepherd and -Mr. S. Poole have long been associated with him in the execution of this -work.[5] Some of the ‘cuir ciselé’ that has come down to us from the -past, and which originated in Germany, is very fine in character, as any -one can see who studies some excellent examples exposed in the British -Museum. There seems no reason why it should not have a satisfactory -revival; in France, indeed, this has already taken place, as we shall -see later on, but in England there is still too much ‘prettiness’ -associated with it, and one is apt to think it more suitable for -card-cases and blotting-cases than for bindings. What results it can -yield when the design is severe and dignified and the treatment finely -chiselled may be observed on the _Pantheologia_ by Rainesius de Pisa, a -folio dated about 1475, one of the Museum books just mentioned. - -[Illustration: 15. BOUND BY THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.] - -[Illustration: 16. BOUND BY THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS.] - -The last illustrations in this chapter show work from the binding -department of the Oxford University Press. The Press itself, located in -special buildings in Oxford built in 1830, is divided into two parts, -one devoted chiefly to the printing of Bibles and Prayer-Books, the -other to classical, scientific and general printing. It is entirely -self-contained, making its own paper, ink, type, stereo- and -electro-plates. The University type foundry is the oldest in England, -and at the paper mills at Wolvercote, near Oxford, the famous India -paper is made which has brought very great changes into the book trade. -The publishing and binding house, lately at Amen Corner in the City, is -now at St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter Lane, and thither are sent all the -books from the Press as soon as printed. In the Paris Exhibition of 1900 -the Press showed a considerable number of decorated bindings in addition -to the exhibits from the other departments. The Oxford Press designs are -very varied in character and include some excellent inlays; they are -made by the more artistic among the workmen, and speak highly for the -level of taste attained in the bindery. - -[Illustration: 17. BOUND BY THE GUILD OF HANDICRAFT.] - - - III - -In bringing forward what may be called the younger generation of -binders, it is natural to speak first of Mr. Cobden-Sanderson as the -source from which they have drawn much of their inspiration. His work, -however, is not represented here, as it would be discourteous to go -against his wishes in the matter. Whatever may be the reasons for his -change of attitude in this respect, he has in the past done a great deal -to introduce his work personally to the public and to explain his method -and ideals. The pages of the _British Bookmaker_, a trade journal no -longer in existence, the _English Illustrated Magazine_, the -_Fortnightly Review_, testify to his former willingness that his work -should be known and appreciated. He has also been one of the main -supporters of the Arts and Crafts Society since its inception in 1888, -and his books have been the largest contribution to binding in its -occasional exhibitions. There too, as well as at the Society of Arts and -elsewhere in London and the provinces, he has lectured on the craft, -setting forth what he conceives to be its purport both in the limited -matter of its processes and achievements and in the wider aspect of its -relation to the wants and progress of society. Not long ago he published -a book on _Industrial Ideals_, which it is interesting to compare with -the collected papers by Mr. William Morris which have appeared on that -and kindred subjects. Mr. Morris always held up the ideal of the Middle -Ages as the goal towards which to strive. It was a time, he considered, -when the processes or means by which life is lived constituted the end -of life itself, without seeking for some other end external to them and -often incompatible with them. This idea of ‘art being the highest -function of life’ was the gospel to which he never ceased to direct the -attention of his followers, and the next step—the attempted -re-organization of life into conditions that enable art to realize -itself—thus followed as a matter of course. As a protest against the -mechanical exploitation of the arts for the sake of commercial success -in its worst sense, and with the attendant evils of excessive -competition, such a creed is most valuable, and has already had an -important effect on the decorative arts which we trust may be permanent. -But it would seem mistaken in theory and impossible of practice to -attempt a reversion to mediaeval ideals with the wholly altered -conditions of production, distribution and mode of living that are now -part and parcel of modern life. A crusade against the existing -conditions in which works of art are produced must, one would think, if -its criticism is to be operative, find some way of including in its -scheme of regeneration the great movements of commercial life which is -one of the features of the age, and which even the most optimistic could -hardly hope to stem. Here and there an individual may achieve a career -somewhat in accordance with mediaeval ways, content with the limitations -imposed by this ideal; but except in such isolated instances it does not -seem possible to return to the practice of the past, when, as Mr. -Lethaby says, ‘the designer of a gold cup made it and sold it over the -counter, and the art was thrown in like a Christmas almanack.’ Here -comes in the problem mentioned in a previous chapter. If, on the one -hand, there is too much tendency for the designer to be occupied only in -planning ornament for others to execute with the result that a certain -inevitableness is nearly always wanting in the finished product, yet it -may be better for a skilled workman to carry out the views of an artist -rather than try and evolve variants from a few types set before him. In -the frequent advocacy of a revival of past conditions which would -benefit the workman, there is one point that seems always left -unnoticed—a point of great importance; and that is the stringent means -taken in those days to protect the purchaser also. In the scholarly -little introduction called ‘Art in the Netherlands’ which Mr. W. H. -James Weale contributed to the Catalogue of the picture exhibition held -at Bruges in 1902, he gives a concise account of the conditions under -which alone a man could become a painter in the fourteenth and fifteenth -centuries; and what held good for painting held good also for the minor -arts of life. As long as the craftsman belonged to the guild of his -craft, he was bound by its rules to carry out his work honestly and -conscientiously, to use good materials, and to beautify it as far as he -was able. The corporation arranged for the education of its members. -They were apprenticed to masters responsible both for their technical -efficiency and the fulfilment of their duties of citizenship. Each was -bound to the other; the apprentice was to give zeal in his service and -the master to impart all he knew of his trade. Once the apprenticeship -at an end, the youth could work, as what would now be known as an -‘improver,’ with any master he liked, and in any town that he chose. -Later on, in order to become a master, he had to present himself before -the heads of the guild and give proofs of efficiency, promise obedience -to the rules of the corporation, and swear to carry on his work well and -honestly. Observe, however, that, although a master, he remained all his -life under the control of the governing body of the corporation, the -members of which could enter his shop at any moment, seize his materials -if of inferior quality, confiscate them, and inflict punishment upon -him. Lastly, in disputes between himself and his clients the guild was -called in to decide between them. We can imagine no condition less in -touch with the schemes of modern and social democracy, which so often -deal exclusively with the needs of the worker and neglect those both of -the employer and the consumer. - -[Illustration: 18. BOUND BY DOUGLAS COCKERELL.] - -[Illustration: 19. BOUND BY DOUGLAS COCKERELL.] - -[Illustration: 20. BOUND BY F. SANGORSKI AND G. SUTCLIFFE.] - -In connexion with this topic, mention should be made of Mr. C. R. -Ashbee’s experiment with the Guild and School of Handicraft. It began -its existence at Essex House in East London, and, after fourteen years, -in May 1902, removed to Chipping Campden, a small Cotswold village where -the wool trade flourished during the Middle Ages and the silk trade in -the eighteenth century. The aim of the Guild is set forth in a little -pamphlet, distributed to visitors at the Dering Yard Gallery, 67A New -Bond Street, where the work of the school is annually exhibited. It need -only be said here that its object is to set a higher standard of -craftsmanship by liberating the workman from the restrictions of the -trade shop, and directing his independence away from purely -individualistic efforts on to lines of art service to the community, and -that it is conducted co-operatively, the men having an interest and a -share in the concern and its government. While recognizing the -importance of what a man does and the conditions under which he does it, -both to himself as a citizen and to the community for which he labours, -the Guild endeavours to strike a mean between the socialism that cares -only for the worker and the commercialism that disregards him and his -idealistic as well as material needs. The work carried out at Chipping -Campden is very various, and includes furniture, metal work, jewellery, -printing and binding. After Mr. Morris’s death, Mr. Ashbee acquired the -plant hitherto in use at the Kelmscott Press, and began a series of -books, first in a Caxton type and later from a fount of his own design. -Binding followed almost as a matter of course on these issues from the -Essex House Press; and in connexion with it, besides the ordinary -plain-tooled leather bindings, excellent in restrained ornament, he has -revived certain fifteenth-century styles for which he has a special -predilection, and which include the use of enamels and wooden boards, -the latter often carved in low relief. The bindings, though designed for -the most part by Mr. Ashbee, are carried out by Miss Power, who is in -the main responsible for them. These books raise again the question -whether such deviations from the ordinary paths are legitimate attempts -to enlarge the limitations of the binder’s art. The ultimate serviceable -use of a book should ever be kept in sight, and must in the end -determine the matter. Leather and vellum, tooled with a few fine stamps, -disposed with taste and restraint, will always remain the best coverings -for books, because they are unobtrusive and can be pleasantly handled -and easily disposed. Work that is embossed, enamelled, carved, or even -too decorative in colour for unlimited production, can only be desired -as occasional specimens of interest in themselves, and as exceptions -proving the rule. - -[Illustration: 21. BOUND BY DE SAUTY.] - -[Illustration: 22. BOUND BY DE SAUTY.] - -Mr. Douglas Cockerell, a pupil of Mr. Cobden-Sanderson, has written the -first of a new series of technical handbooks on the artistic crafts -which is a model of the kind and should prove the text-book for all -future binders. It is, no doubt, the outcome of some years’ teaching at -the County Council School in Regent Street, where, for many years, he -did excellent work in training the younger men to an intelligent -interest in the various processes of their craft. No craft can be well -learned anywhere but in a practical workshop; and he considers the value -of class teaching to be limited to helping those engaged in a trade, and -that such help is of great value in giving higher ideals and encouraging -experimental work. From the beginning Mr. Cockerell has been specially -interested in the repairing of books and in the preservation of old -covers, and has given his pupils some training in all that relates to -the care of books. There are numbers of old bindings that after four -hundred years of wear and tear are still capable of fulfilling their -original purpose of protection, with a little help from modern hands. To -give a new lease of life to fine old books is really of far greater -importance than the continual production of new and pretty bindings. Mr. -Cockerell’s original work is well known both here and in America, and -there is luckily a great deal of it that is simple as well as highly -decorated. It is comparatively easy to do the latter; but a plain -binding that yet has the stamp of the maker’s individuality is a very -exceptional achievement, and in work of that character Mr. Cockerell is -unsurpassed. - -[Illustration: 23. BOUND BY MISS ADAMS.] - -Mr. F. Sangorski and Mr. G. Sutcliffe, who were formerly with Mr. -Cockerell, have started a bindery of their own, and are engaged both in -teaching and doing varied work of a pleasant character. Trained in the -methods of Mr. Cockerell at the Technical School at 316 Regent Street, -Mr. Sutcliffe now controls the teaching for the County Council at its -branch establishment in Camberwell, and Mr. Sangorski that of the -Northampton Institute in Clerkenwell. - -Mr. de Sauty is another young binder, and his work is of considerable -merit. His inlays are distinguished for the taste shown in the -association of colours, and his finishing has some of the brilliant -qualities of the French school, seen particularly in the finely studded -tooling of which he seems particularly fond. He has now the post -formerly held by Mr. Cockerell. - -[Illustration: 24. BOUND BY MISS MACCOLL.] - -[Illustration: 25. BOUND BY MISS ALICE PATTINSON.] - -In concluding this sketch of Bookbinding in England as it appears -to-day, we must not omit to speak of the entrance recently effected by -women in many of the handicrafts, and notably in the one under -consideration. Quite a number are now trying to make a livelihood out of -bookbinding; and possibly, therefore, a few words less of criticism than -of counsel may not come amiss. It may be said that there are certain -conditions absolutely necessary for successful achievement, quite apart -from financial gain, which is another matter. The first of these is a -workshop training, which, though impossible some years ago, is now no -longer so within certain limits; that is to say, there are one or two -binders with small workshops who undertake to give women systematic -teaching for a limited time. In a workshop they will see a variety of -work that they will miss if taught privately, and they will learn the -habit of rapid and dexterous manipulation of tools and materials without -which it is impossible to work quickly enough for a profitable return -upon the outlay. A second most necessary qualification is that they -should have the physique for standing and working at a bench during the -hours of an ordinary working day. For binding is not like other less -specialized crafts that can be taken up at odd hours and laid aside with -equal facility, but needs concentration of mind as well as sureness of -hand. A third element in the desirable equipment is a certain faculty of -imagination controlled by right feeling or good taste, so that the -results of workmanship have the note of individuality without -eccentricity. In art as in life, personality is the one thing needful, -and we may fairly look to women to show the realization of it that can -hardly be expected from those working in the stereotyped grooves of -production. - -[Illustration: 26. BOUND BY MISS MAUDE NATHAN.] - -And what is to be said of binding as a means of livelihood? Experience -has shown that properly trained women can do as good binding as men, -though not upon large and heavy work, and if they do it well enough some -of them can earn a fair wage, while if they fail to reach a high -standard they had better for all practical purposes let it alone. But to -hold out any inducement to the woman who really needs bread-and-butter -to take up binding as a lucrative employment, as is done in some -quarters, should be characterized with the severity it deserves. Many -women need but an addition to their income, and to such, if they are -willing to incur the expense of training and plant, and if they realize -the experimental nature of the undertaking, binding may be recommended -as a sufficiently pleasant occupation. Whether financial success comes, -however, or not, must depend upon the amount of work turned out, on the -originality and finish with which it is executed, and last, but not -least in importance, on the finding of a market. Booksellers are now so -overstocked with so-called artistic bindings of moderate merit, and it -may also be said of moderate price, that they are not eager to accept -those of average quality at the more than average price that many women -expect their work to command. A market can always be found for the best -of everything; but as far as bindings are concerned it is certainly at -present overstocked with the second best, and attention may well be -directed to other branches of decorative work. There are more than -enough half-trained workers, both male and female; and it would be a -most undesirable result of what in itself is so eminently desirable—the -opening of the artistic crafts to women—if there were to be a great deal -of inferior work put into circulation obviously from the hands of those -who have never left the amateur stage. Women make a mistake, too, in -specializing in the production of decorated bindings. It is no doubt a -right principle to take the everyday things of life and decorate them -rather than invent useless ones for the purpose. It has, however, this -disadvantage, that it has now become almost impossible to get any of -these homely things made with the severe simplicity of mere -purposefulness. If one does not want the useless things, at least one -need not buy them; but it seems hard that the necessary ones should -become the _corpora vile_ on which the professed decorator exercises his -too frequently disordered imagination. One is unfortunately as little -likely nowadays to find a plain pepper-pot as one is to find a bound -book on which there is not some flower sprawling over its cover in a -meaningless attempt to be Japanese in sentiment. We want to get rid of -the affectation of contorted pattern and have more of the plain things -of life plainly made. As far as bindings are concerned, in addition to -this much-desired simplicity, there is, as has been said above, far more -important and useful work to be done than pattern making, in the -repairing and preserving of old books and records. An instance of this -may be seen at the present moment in an extensive matter undertaken by -Mr. Cockerell for the Middlesex County Council. A large number of their -ancient Sessions Books, many of them crumbling to pieces, are being put -in a condition for reference, the whole business of mending being done -by women under the direction formerly of Miss Wilkinson and now of Miss -M‘Ewan both pupils of Mr. Cockerell. Again, many more women might -adventure starting a business in the country or in a provincial town. In -America there is hardly a centre where there is any interest shown in -books which has not a woman binder who has probably been trained by Mr. -Cobden-Sanderson. We are glad to notice that Miss Adams has a bindery at -Broadway, that Miss Paget is at Farnham doing good honest work of a -comparatively simple nature, and that Miss Philpot has established -herself at Cambridge. Space forbids more than a few illustrations from -the work of women binders, numerous as they now are. Miss MacColl’s -books have for some time excited interest both on account of the -character of her brother’s designs and her manner of executing them by -means of a small wheel, which is an attempt to overcome the restrictions -of the finisher’s ordinary methods. Miss Nathan, Miss Pattinson and Miss -Stebbing are all doing well-considered and tasteful work on sound -principles. Of those at work in Scotland we need only mention the names -of Miss Jessie King, Miss McClure and Miss Jane F. Hamilton, Miss Alice -Gairdner and Miss Agnes Watson of Glasgow, as their work has recently -been specially dealt with in a paper by Mr. Lewis F. Day. - -[Illustration: 27. BOUND BY MISS WOOLRICH.] - -[Illustration: 28. BOUND BY MISS PHILPOT.] - -In conclusion, it is necessary to keep in mind that binding is but one -of the sub-crafts that contribute to the production of books. Of late -each of these has pursued its own often faulty ideals regardless of its -relationship to the other contributory crafts. The paper-maker, the -printer and the binder would be more likely to work intelligently if -they had some mutual knowledge of each other’s needs and limitations. -The habit has been growing for some time of looking on the binding of a -book as the most important thing in connexion with it. But the binder of -the future, if his work is to be an effective contribution to decorative -art, must look on the book itself as the unit of interest, the thought, -embodied in typography and illustration, constituting a whole to which -in the decorated cover he adds, not an essential part, but as it were -the crown or coping-stone. - -[Illustration: 29. BOUND BY MARIUS MICHEL.] - - - - - MODERN FRENCH BINDING - - - I - -In the spring of 1902 there took place in Paris the first of the -exhibitions to which the new Galliera Museum is henceforth to be -devoted. This Gallery, still unknown to a considerable number of English -visitors, was built by Ginain in the style of the French Renaissance, -and is all that a small museum should be. Its history is briefly as -follows. In 1878, the Duchesse de Galliera presented to the City of -Paris a plot of ground situated in the Rue Pierre-Charron by the -Trocadero avenue, and undertook to erect upon it a suitable building in -which to house the collection of works of art that she proposed leaving -to the nation. Before, however, it was finished, and in consequence of -the political events that resulted in the expulsion of the heads of -princely houses from France, the Duchess had made a will in which she -left her pictures to her native town of Genoa, only making provision for -the completion of the Gallery. She died in 1888, and soon afterwards -Paris found herself in possession of this fine museum, surrounded with -gardens, and admirably appointed in the architectural detail so well -understood by the French, but empty of all the treasures it was to have -housed. What was to become of it? The municipal council decided that it -should be devoted to industrial art, forming a sort of supplement to the -Carnavalet Museum, and the necessary furnishing was undertaken with a -view to that end. It was formally opened in 1895, but for five years -after that remained practically empty, though purchases were made from -successive Salons of different kinds of decorative art and disposed -among the vacant rooms to form a nucleus for future acquisitions. In -1900 the Council, after much deliberation, decided that the museum -should be devoted to periodical industrial exhibitions, and the first -one, of a miscellaneous character, took place in the following year. Its -distinctive feature consisted in what was an entirely new departure for -France, namely, that every craftsman signed his work instead of being -represented only in the name of the firm which employed him. This idea, -to which we have now long been accustomed through the efforts of the -Arts and Crafts Society, was a very novel one for our neighbours, and is -to be adopted henceforth in all the Galliera exhibitions. The initiative -met with such undoubted success that the Germans proceeded at once to -start a museum at Mulhouse on similar lines. The organizing jury of the -Council, which includes the foremost men of letters, artists and -critics, next decided that the yearly exhibitions should each be devoted -to a special branch of decorative art. The first of these was -inaugurated in May 1892, in an admirably planned show of modern bindings -comprising the latest developments, and, it must be added, -eccentricities of ornamental book covers. The number sent in -necessitated the largest gallery being set aside for their reception, -and was a testimony to the confidence felt by the binders that merit -would be the sole criterion. And indeed, though much interesting work -was rejected, not only were the well-known artists well represented, -such as Michel, Mercier, Gruel, Ruban, Canape, Lortic, Carayon, etc., -but room was found for the curious vellum covers of Pierre Roche and the -incised and modelled leather of Lepère with whom Michel and others so -happily collaborate. The impression made upon the visitor was at once -one of careful selection and admirable disposition. In contrast to the -wretched instalment offered by the great Exhibition of 1900, the work of -every binder was seen to the best advantage, the eye was not fatigued by -too many show-cases, and the harmony of surroundings left nothing to be -desired. The display of works of art is in itself a study, and we could -undoubtedly learn much from the French in the excellent arrangement of -their galleries. But what a strange transition from that great room in -the Bibliothèque Nationale, where rest at last the classic specimens of -work that may without exaggeration be included among the fine arts, to -this most modern of collections! When in the Bibliothèque Nationale we -are reminded of that exquisite sonnet of Hérédia— - -[Illustration: 30. BOUND BY MARIUS MICHEL.] - -[Illustration: 31. BOUND BY MARIUS MICHEL.] - - VÉLIN DORÉ - - Vieux maître relieur, l’or que tu ciselas - Au dos du livre et dans l’épaisseur de la tranche - N’a plus, malgré les fers poussés d’une main franche - La rutilante ardeur de ses premiers éclats. - - Les chiffres enlacés que liait l’entrelacs - S’effacent chaque jour de la peau fine et blanche; - A peine si mes yeux peuvent suivre la branche - De lierre que tu fis serpenter sur les plats. - - Mais cet ivoire souple et presque diaphane, - Marguerite, Marie, ou peut-être Diane, - De leurs doigts amoureux l’ont jadis caressé; - - Et ce vélin pâli que dora Clovis Éve - Évoque, je ne sais par quel charme passé, - L’âme de leur parfum et l’ombre de leur rêve. - -[Illustration: 32. BOUND BY LÉON GRUEL.] - -Here in the Galliera we realize how complete is the revolution now -finally effected by a people who clung long and faithfully to the -traditions of a style made famous by Grolier and by the Eves, Le Gascon -and Derôme. All through the nineteenth century these traditions were -adhered to, carried out by Thouvenin, Simier and Capé, by Chambolle, -Duru, Trautz and Cuzin, the inspired copyists of the great masters. -These looked on originality as the most dangerous of innovations and a -sort of disloyalty to the precedents handed down to them across the -ages. Nevertheless the impending change was slowly and surely making -way, fostered by Lortic and Marius Michel, the latter through his -writings as well as in his work. Henri Marius Michel followed in his -father’s steps: his essay on _L’ornamentation des reliures modernes_ -showed clearly the direction taken by the modern school; while the -sumptuous book, _La reliure du XIX siècle_, by Henri Béraldi, who is -both a patron and collector of distinction, may be said to have given -final expression to the movement as a whole. Bookbinding, in common with -larger subjects, has its bibliography. A glance over the names of the -books that relate to it published during the last half-century shows -well enough how interest has been displaced from the historic schools to -those which have initiated entirely new forms of decoration as applied -to book covers. If, then, we are struck by the contrast between past and -present as regards the nature of this application of art to bindings, we -are equally impressed by the contrast between the position of the binder -then and now. It is no wonder that the small world of binders and their -patrons in Paris were proud of the position of honour assigned to their -craft in 1902. They inaugurated a series of exhibitions, which is to -include ivories, lace, jewellery, furniture—every art, in fact, to which -there attaches the personality that can only come from having at some -time had as its exponents ‘the masters of those who know.’ Even so late -as 1870 the name of Trautz was unknown, not only to the ordinary public, -but to such collectors as Eugène Paillet and Quentin Bauchart, though he -had been producing admirable work for thirty years. In 1878 he was -decorated with the Legion of Honour, the first time that any such -distinction had been offered to a binder. It was only after his -retirement and subsequent return to business at the age of sixty that -his fame grew till it culminated in a sort of worship that is -inconceivable outside of France. Nowadays the many means of publicity -would render such a state of things quite impossible. It is an age in -which every one longs to see himself reflected in print or show-case; -and if the workman in any line does not himself take measures for -bringing his efforts to the light, there is a class whose chief -occupation it is to be the discoverers of hidden talent, and to act as -middlemen between the producer and the public. In Paris, binders have -now a status that is looked upon with surprise and envy in England. They -are still, it is true, mostly congregated on the left bank of the Seine, -the quarter which was formerly in the parish of Saint-André-des-Arts, -and where their guild had its church of that name, now no longer in -existence. Up to five-and-twenty years ago there was hardly one that -lived elsewhere, and even now it is the exception to find a binder in -the more fashionable quarter. One has to climb high to reach their -ateliers, invariably of very modest dimensions and where but few workmen -are employed. The extensive businesses that we know in London hardly -exist in Paris, and M. Gruel’s is probably the only one employing a -large number of hands. For the most part two or three ‘forwarders’ and -the same number of ‘finishers’ will suffice for the yearly output of a -single workshop. But to these ateliers go personally the great -collectors who are wealthy patrons, to discuss in detail different -points of design and technique with a connoisseurship that is reserved -with us for painting or sculpture. To the unstinted help and intelligent -appreciation afforded by such a class of amateurs is undoubtedly due the -superior position of the artistic crafts in France. Many of the bindings -in the Galliera were achieved at a cost of two thousand francs, and -others for three and even four thousand. There are two papers entirely -devoted to the craft—_La Reliure_, which is the organ of the Chambre -Syndicale, an association of master binders founded by M. Gruel; and _Le -Relieur_, organ of the Chambre Syndicale Ouvrière, which is the -corresponding association for workmen. Every year binders can exhibit at -each of the rival Salons, at the Société des Artistes Français and the -Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and the Galliera Exhibition is but the -latest and most effective of the special exhibitions organized from time -to time for the exclusive display of their work. There is a desire to -make such exhibitions recurrent every ten years, so as to get a periodic -outlook on the art as a whole; but it is unlikely that the next few -decades will show such marked characteristics of difference as may be -seen by comparison of this collection with that even of 1892 organized -by the Cercle de la Librairie. It may, in fact, be suggested that the -evolution—or revolution, according to the point of view taken—now at its -height, will probably produce a reaction towards that greater sobriety -of treatment which distinguished the best work of the past. There are, -indeed, already signs that the future of binding will not lie in that -emancipation from all restrictions of form and material which would seem -to be the ideal of some. Precisely what that future will be rests -largely, no doubt, with the collectors, who are, as has been indicated, -a powerful body in France, largely on the increase. It is they who, like -MM. Béraldi, Spencer, Bordes, Villebœuf, Roger, Marx, Claude Lafontaine, -Baron de Claye, Louis Barthou, and many others, not only furnish binders -with the means of giving full play to their imagination, but often -devote their pens with enthusiasm to introducing new efforts to the -numerous body of amateurs who look to them for guidance in matters of -taste and are ready enough to follow their initiative. - -[Illustration: 33. BOUND BY LÉON GRUEL.] - -[Illustration: 34. BOUND BY LÉON GRUEL.] - -The modern movement in binding may be said to have sprung out of the new -form of book-collecting which began about 1870. Up to that time the book -lover had confined himself entirely to eighteenth-century literature. -For forty or fifty years there had been a mad rush in the salerooms for -books of that period, which were then confided to Thouvenin, Simier, or -Trautz, who had exercised their skill in marvellous imitations of the -past, with an execution often more technically perfect than the -originals. There came a time, however, when such works were -exhausted—already stored away, that is to say, on the shelves of -collectors, the few that occasionally appeared on the market being only -to be had at prohibitive prices. Book-buyers were thus faced with the -problem of what was to be their next move. Obviously to create a new -taste in books and establish a fresh motive for collecting was a -necessity, and a few pioneers decided to set the fashion in illustrated -books of the nineteenth century. Léon Conquet, whose reputation as a -publisher is associated with the production of many fine works, at once -rose to the occasion, and made a name first with his editions of the -romantics of the nineteenth century, and then with original editions of -contemporary authors. Clients for whom the old tastes had become too -rare and costly an indulgence were thus provided with the means of -gratifying a new enthusiasm. - -[Illustration: 35. BOUND BY LÉON GRUEL.] - -[Illustration: 36. BOUND BY LÉON GRUEL.] - -In 1874 an association sprang up of about fifty-five collectors who -called themselves ‘Les amis des livres,’ from which sprang the new -departure which has had far-reaching results in book production. The -members determined that henceforth, instead of reprints from the past, -there should be books specially illustrated and specially produced in -small editions for the society, thus reviving the traditions of the days -of Grolier and De Thou, when book collectors were also book makers in -the best sense of the word. Authors and artists were to collaborate with -printers and publishers to produce the perfect work. In this way came -into existence _Eugénie Grandet_ with the drawings of Dagnan engraved by -Le Rat, _Monsieur, Madame et Bébé_, illustrated by Edmond Morin and many -another, to which Meissonier, Vierge and Lepère devoted their best -efforts. Illustrated books have always presented a special attraction -for our neighbours, and this new stimulus gave the most surprising -results. Out of it arose, too, all the excessive preoccupation with -‘states,’ ‘papier de chine,’ ‘papier de japon,’ and the like which has -been carried to a ridiculous extent. The cult of rarity in all such -matters surely reached its highest point when single copies were -specially illustrated for individual collectors, such as the _Fleurs du -Mal_, which Paul Gallimond had ornamented with marginal notes by Rodin, -and _Les Trois Mousquetaires_ with water-colour sketches by Maurice -Leloir. The original drawings for _Notre Dame de Paris_ by Luc Olivier -Merson were bought for 20,000 francs in the open market, while those for -_Les Trois Mousquetaires_ and _Manon Lescaut_ by Maurice Leloir fetched -the extravagant price of 60,000 francs apiece. These facts are -interesting as showing how a small number of genuine book lovers and -collectors can constitute a real power, and so far control the character -of the book market that they create a new taste which will be recorded -in history as the fashion of the age in which they lived. The success of -the ‘Société des amis des livres’ and the response of the editors such -as Conquet, Quantin, Testaud, and others, to their initiation, gave such -encouragement to amateurs that two new clubs were soon formed, ‘Les amis -des livres de Lyon’ and ‘Les bibliophiles contemporains.’ The last was -founded by Octave Uzanne with a membership of 160, and ceased to exist -only to be re-established as the ‘Société des cent bibliophiles,’ -presided over by M. Eugène Roderigues. Besides all these associations -there grew up a class of literature entirely devoted to the instruction -of the amateur and the development of his taste in all matters relating -to books and their bindings. The earlier literature of binding had been -devoted to reproductions of fine specimens from historic collections, -but now there appeared in profusion such books as _L’art d’aimer les -livres et de les connaître_, _Connaissances nécessaires à un -bibliophile_, _Les livres modernes qu’il convient d’acquérir_, _De la -reliure, examples à imiter ou à rejeter_, not to mention monthly reviews -such as _Le Livre Moderne_, _L’Art et l’Idée_, _Le Livre et l’Image_, -and the like. - -Grolier took the best books he could find, and put them into the best -bindings he could find, and the motto of the collectors of to-day was -henceforth to be, as M. Béraldi says in the work previously mentioned, -‘le livre de son temps dans la reliure originale de son temps.’ Thus out -of the new bibliomania grew naturally the reaction in binding with which -we are now dealing, and the latest expression of which was seen in the -Galliera Museum. These books of fine illustrations must have an -appropriate decoration; nothing will do that has served its turn -elsewhere, and every amateur stipulates that his binding shall be -unique. ‘Doublures,’ formerly the exception, are now the rule; ‘tools’ -are cut freely for fresh designs, and expense increases with the -initiative demanded of the binder, till there seems no limit to what -will be paid by the enthusiast. With the craving for novelty there -naturally arises the problem, so difficult of solution, concerning the -limitations of material and how far audacity may be risked in decoration -without extravagance or eccentricity. Cuzin, at the height of his -reputation in 1885, was possibly the first to leave the grooves of -tradition and to create a style that he considered appropriate to the -books of the time. It consisted for the most part on the outer covers of -what the French call _jeu de filets_, or line patterns which are capable -of much diversity, while wreaths of flowers inside took the place of the -lace patterns that had hitherto formed the ornament of ‘doublures.’ He -also adopted emblematic designs, but these were exceedingly moderate in -their symbolism. Marius Michel, too, devoted himself to the research for -fresh motives of decoration. In 1889, when eighteen years of age, he had -gone into Gruel’s atelier and rapidly became a gilder of consummate -taste and skill. Ten years later he set up for himself as a finisher, -working for Duru, Capé, Chambolle, Cuzin and other binders. For the next -twenty years or more his fine talent was devoted to the reproduction of -bindings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to perfect copies -of Grolier, Le Gascon and others put upon the books of that time, which -were still to be bought freely and at moderate price. Some of his best -work is to be seen now in the library at Chantilly; for the late Duc -d’Aumale during his exile intrusted large numbers of books to Capé, -always accompanied with detailed instructions, and it is these which -constitute a large part of the elder Marius Michel’s title to fame. - -[Illustration: 37. BOUND BY MERCIER.] - - - II - -In 1866 Henri Marius Michel, though only twenty years of age, had taken -an important position in the business, maintaining the traditions of his -father with equal zest and talent; and ten years later the atelier -became one for binding in all its branches, a change which enabled Henri -to develop his instincts for originality, the firstfruits of which were -seen in the incised and modelled leather covers exhibited by him at -L’Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs in 1881. But it was the days of the -Trautz mania; and no collector would hear of any binder but Trautz. All -the old books must be broken up to be recovered by him, and even -bindings by Bozérian were destroyed to be replaced by those of Trautz. -Notwithstanding his enormous output, the workshop was filled with books -which he kept years without touching, and prices continued to increase -until the Lacarelle sale in 1888, when there were signs of a change. In -one auction-room there were 420 Trautz bindings, in another 380; in the -library of James de Rothschild there were 2800 items, of which 1400 were -in nineteenth-century binding, a thousand of these latter being bound by -Trautz. But time brings its revenges; the place of Trautz is possibly -now as much below his deserts as it was then above, while Henri Marius -Michel, whose gifts of invention were long ignored as revolutionary, is -now at the height of his reputation. M. Béraldi calls him the finest -binder since the Renaissance, and there are those who say that the -idolatry of Trautz has given place to another and no less extravagant -form of hero worship. - -Unceasingly occupied with decoration, he gave up the practice of gilding -with his own hand, but has continued to execute the Cuir Ciselé, which -is one of the styles in which he first achieved success and in which he -is undoubtedly past master. Another style that has been associated with -his name since 1885 is that known as _le flore stylisé_, in which flower -motives are very slightly conventionalized, but with a certain -individuality that makes his work unmistakable, notwithstanding the -number of his imitators. Modern French designs of this type are not -nearly enough conventionalized for our English taste, where a frankly -realistic treatment of natural growths has always been considered -unsound. - -[Illustration: 38. BOUND BY MERCIER.] - -With the death of Trautz and the rise of the new book-collecting had -come the moment for a revolution in binding, and Henri Marius Michel was -quickly followed by others. He had, in fact, set the ball rolling, and -broken with the long-kept traditions of symmetry, only to let loose a -flood of eccentric work for which there was little to be said, and which -often had not even the saving grace of technique. He at once became -reactionary, and there was a period during which he returned to repeated -patterns, simple line borders and the ordinary corner and centre -ornaments, rendered with faultless execution. But Marius might turn -reactionary for a time; the craze for _l’art nouveau_, as it was termed, -was not to be lightly checked. Everything was now pressed into the -service for the mere sake of novelty—leather, wood-carving, bronzes, -ivories, enamels, miniatures, all found a place until a binding looked -like any but what it should be, namely, a thing to be pleasant in the -hand and intended to protect a book, without needing protection for -itself. Curiosity shops were ransacked for silks and satins as -board-linings. Japan yielded its papers and its embossed leathers, -flowers of exotic growth lent strange forms to design, and symbolism -became rampant. For a time, indeed, emblematic bindings were accepted as -the note of the new style which was to mark the century, and in the -hands of the indifferent artist became a real terror. There is obviously -no such thing as ‘new art’—there is simply art or there is not, and -there can be no real art without good craftsmanship. Under pretext of -inventing a style that was to belong to the century, all that was done -was to perpetuate grotesqueness instead of originality and a burlesque -of ideas in their application to binding. - -Meanwhile discussion as to the limitations of material naturally became -faster and more furious, while the literature on the subject grew apace. -In 1896 a controversy arose between Gruel and Michel, the former being -supported by Bosquet, a binder holding an important position in the -library of Messrs. Hachette and a frequent writer on his craft both in -its historical and technical aspects. We, for whom the artistic crafts -occupy a very subordinate position, can hardly imagine the heat of -discussion that rages round a subject like this in France. The -combatants at once range themselves on opposite sides, and the weapons -used are all the resources of a language pre-eminently suited to satire -and ridicule, but which somehow seem an armoury out of place on so -restricted a battlefield. The Frenchman, however, is never so happy -himself, nor, may we say, so entertaining to his neighbours, as when his -tongue and his pen are giving effect to the ready wit that seems always -at his service. - -[Illustration: 39. BOUND BY MERCIER.] - -M. Gruel, whose efforts were directed towards stemming the tide of -eccentricity associated with _l’art nouveau_, pointed out the -impossibility that a new style should spring up on demand, and -recommended a return to the study of past models and a gradual -transformation of these into fresh departures. M. Michel replied that a -firm break with tradition was necessary in order to avoid the constant -repetition of the past and the mixture of styles which had long been the -only resource of the ineffective designer. It was necessary, he said, -either to return to nature or to seek inspiration from other arts -besides binding. So the excitement grew, aided that same year by an -exhibition in the Champ de Mars in which bindings from the school of -Nancy, under the direction of Wiener, achieved a notoriety which only -fanned the flame. These bindings soon got the nickname of _reliures -d’affiche_, and painting was the art from which they derived their -inspiration. The book was now looked on as a canvas on which to depict -in different-coloured moroccos various scenes from life or nature. In -some cases the composition was not even contained on one panel, but -strayed over the back to finish on the under cover. The symbolist school -with its picture binding has had a considerable vogue, though not in the -extreme of violent reproduction of the Nancy school. Michel was himself -influenced by it, and both he and Meunier were represented in this same -exhibition with subjects in relief and allegorical representations in -mosaic. The next development was the sculpture binding, which Michel -distinctly furthered by suggesting to Lepère that he should model a -cover for the solitary copy on Japan paper of _Paysages Parisiens_, -which he had not only illustrated, but the drawings for which he had -also engraved on wood and on copper. Since that time the modelled -leather work of Lepère has taken a permanent place among book covers of -the day; it is masterly in conception and execution, but would be as -fine and more appropriate in a panel framed on a wall than on a binding. -The art of the leather worker is one, whether applied to the coffer, the -blotter, or the book—it is but the shape and the purpose that defines -the appropriateness or inappropriateness of any particular treatment. -Marius and Lepère represent the highest point attained by _le cuir -incisé_. Artists of their attainments are rare, and it is only such -artists who can be tolerated in deviations from the normal and whose -inventions can in any sense be held to justify the result. Most -collectors content themselves with a specimen or two in their libraries -of the sculptured or symbolic or bejewelled binding, be it ever so -curious, and turn with satisfaction to the more ordered ways of some -modification or another of past traditions. - -[Illustration: 40. BOUND BY MERCIER.] - -[Illustration: 41. BOUND BY MERCIER.] - -To turn now from this brief account of the recent developments of French -binding to the Galliera exhibition. - -The books shown by M. Léon Gruel, whom his son Paul now most ably -seconds, were, as may be supposed, of the highest importance. The house -is one of the oldest in Paris, having been established in 1811 by -Deforge, by whom M. Gruel’s father was employed. M. Léon Gruel is an -enthusiast who has all the antiquarian as well as the practical -knowledge of binding at his fingers’ ends. He has a fine collection of -old bindings and all sorts of documents relating to them, and some of -these he used for his important publication in 1887, _Manuel historique -et bibliographique de l’amateur de reliures_, a second instalment of -which appeared in 1904. The characteristic of the business has always -been the production of fine editions of liturgies and books of a -devotional character, which made it famous long ago, and the bindings of -which have always been specially designed and carried out under the -direction of M. Gruel. It would have been natural enough had he been -content with the great commercial success attained by the house, due to -the industry and business qualities of the direction of successive -members of his family. But instead of that, it has been his ambition to -show that he could with equal success follow every turn taken by the art -in the various directions that its recent evolution has demanded. The -styles associated with the names of Grolier, the Eves, and le Gascon, -are reproduced for those clients who demand them, while the more modern -mosaic work, blind-tooled or with gold, is invented and executed with -equal facility. One style revived from the past, that of _le cuir -incisé_, he has made especially his own, and he treats it in an entirely -different manner to that of Marius. The difference in procedure is -briefly this: the incised leather of Marius is not one with the binding, -but is a thick piece of calf, worked first by cutting and modelling, and -then introduced as a panel sunk into the cover. In Gruel’s method the -cover is the unit on which the design is modelled while damp, then -coloured, and finally hardened. To succeed in this technique needs great -delicacy of handling and a constant practice in its methods. It gives -plenty of scope for emblematic treatment, which, in the hands of -Rossigneux, who designed much of this work in former days for Gruel, was -of great artistic merit: at the present time it is executed mainly by a -son of M. Bosquet, already spoken of as an important writer on the -critical and technical aspects of what is also his own craft. Rossigneux -was an architect and designer of surprising talent, who did not hesitate -to learn the technicalities of binding that he might devote himself to -the decoration of book covers, not only in leather but in carved wood, -for which he was especially famous. M. Léon Gruel is the master of a -large workshop to which his men are proud to belong. As President of the -Chambre Syndicate he has rendered important services, freely -acknowledged, in an insistence on sound teaching and a wise -encouragement of the coming generation of binders. The variety of his -achievement is a constant surprise even to those who know his -versatility, for at each successive exhibition he seems able to add -fresh laurels to those which have always surrounded the name of his -house. - -[Illustration: 42. BOUND BY RUBAN.] - -Émile Mercier has the reputation of being the finest gilder in -Paris—_l’artiste impeccable_, as his fellows call him—and he is perhaps -the one man in whom they and the public recognize the chief exponent of -the best traditions without being in any sense a servile imitator of the -past. His individuality is a sympathetic one to all, and even in that -little world of keen opposition and personal jealousy he cannot count a -single enemy. He took over the atelier of Cuzin in 1890, at the age of -thirty-six, on the death of his chief, with whom his relations had long -been of the happiest kind, and for whose clients he had executed all the -fine designs associated with the name of Cuzin. There is an immense -difference in the mere technique of ‘tooling,’ or gilding as it is -always called abroad—a difference almost impossible to put into words, -but which is none the less visible to the eye for such distinctions. No -French gilding could possibly be mistaken for English, and the reverse -is also true. But even among French gilders, where the method prevails -of laborious and patient but absolutely certain reworking of the tools -in impressions previously made, Mercier stands out as pre-eminent. His -work has a vigour and sureness of handling, his gilding a brilliancy and -solidity as well as elegance of appearance that are beyond criticism. -Though he himself works as hard as ever, he has already brought up in -his workshop several young finishers of great merit, among whom -Mayloender is mentioned as already of fine performance as well as of -future promise. Content to quietly excel, Mercier has raised no -opposition by any manifesto, and his position of first rank is accepted -by all without hesitation as to its justice. - -Pétrus Ruban, born at Villefranche in 1851, seemed for some time -undecided as to whether he should join the ranks of the traditional or -the revolutionary binders. He was at first obviously inspired by the -newer decorative attempts of Henri Marius Michel, but has recently left -the circle of innovators for the more restricted ranks of the -_relieurs-doreurs_, of whom Mercier is the head. Nevertheless M. Ruban’s -power of invention has enabled him to produce some remarkably fine -‘blind-tooled’ mosaics, in which striking effects of colour have been -managed without a sacrifice of taste. The finish of his craftsmanship is -undoubted: no one has finer mastery over tools and leather, and a -faultless treatment of exquisite material distinguishes everything he -turns out. It may seem as if too much stress is laid upon this -perfection of execution which characterises French work in a way that is -unknown to our craftsmen. And it is true that it too often proves a -snare, giving an occasion for making difficulties merely to show how -they can be triumphed over. But, on the other hand, it is a matter in -which we in England are all too negligent. The insistence of late on the -comparative unimportance of technique in relation to originality of -invention has been disastrous, and the Arts and Crafts Society has, if -we may venture to say so, given far too much encouragement to that point -of view. There have been bindings shown there which were defective in -the very elements of sound ‘forwarding’—in the finish that comes of an -effective _corps d’ouvrage_, and that should never have been admitted -into an exhibition supposed to be especially selective. It may be truly -said that nothing is a work of art unless it attains to a fairly perfect -technique, even though the decorative conception may be of considerable -value. - -[Illustration: 43. BOUND BY RUBAN.] - -[Illustration: 44. BOUND BY RUBAN.] - -Charles Meunier, born in 1866, served a short but energetic -apprenticeship to Marius Michel, and then at the age of twenty decided -to start for himself. Keen to succeed and make a place among the -foremost binders of Paris, he worked with a restless and unceasing -effort that might well have proved disastrous to his career. The -increasing costliness of whole-binding due to the demands for -originality made by amateurs had given an impetus to half-binding which -Meunier was not slow to avail himself of. He at once set about supplying -the demand, executing some five or six hundred, each with a different -emblematic design upon the back. It was the moment when, as has been -shown, the symbolist movement was at its height, and the young binder -naturally echoed the note of the day. It was the same with the _cuir -ciselé_, in which he quickly attained great skill, doing forty copies -alone, with as many different designs of _L’histoire des quatre fils -d’Aymon_, a book illustrated by Eugène Grasset, which proved a failure -commercially until Marius floated it by means of his fine bindings with -motives taken from the illustrations themselves. Meunier has now almost -attained the position he coveted. His style has become chastened in -accordance with the increasing distaste of eccentricity, and he gives -greater care to the details of execution, which, according to French -standards, left something to be desired in the early days of his rather -too exuberant fancy. Last year he held a special exhibition in New York, -showing some seventy specimens in which his decorative skill was -extensively represented. His taste in colour may seem somewhat crude and -his motives bizarre, but of the mastery over his materials there is no -doubt. His snare is that he is a decorator before anything else, and not -always sufficiently restrained, or mindful of the best traditions of -decoration in its particular application to binding. - -[Illustration: 45. BOUND BY CARAYON.] - -The reputation of M. Carayon is based upon _le cartonnage_, or ‘casing’ -as we call it, and which is with us an inferior form of binding mainly -confined to publishers’ editions. In this work the cases or covers, -whether of cloth or leather, are made separately and the book held to -them by the very slight attachment of pasting down the endpapers, -instead of the slips on which the book is sewn being laced into the -boards and then being subsequently covered with the material selected. -But in France _cartonnage à la Bradel_ has become a fine art mainly -through the instrumentality of M. Carayon. Supposed to be of German -origin, it takes its name from the binder who first used it in France, -where for some time it was considered as a temporary binding for books -of value which in this way were left uncut at the edges and handled as -little as possible. M. Carayon, born in 1840, started life as a soldier, -soon giving up that career to become a decorative painter; but his love -of books and all that concerns them finally decided his occupation. Type -of the true art worker, he is to be found all day long in his atelier, -though sadly crippled with rheumatism, devising some new application of -_le genre Bradel_. All materials come alike to him; morocco, calf, -vellum, brocade, velvet, even simple paper, produce in his hands the -most exquisite results. Amateurs confide to his charge their most costly -possessions, and the first artists of the day, such as Robaudi, Henriot -and Louis Morin, decorate his vellum work with pen-and-ink and -water-colour drawings. If one wants, indeed, to realize that the beauty -of a binding does not lie in tooling, or indeed in any kind of ornament, -one need only handle the little paper-covered books turned out by -Carayon for a few francs. At the same time neither inlaying nor gilding -has any secrets from him, and he devises the modelled, leather work -executed for him by Rudeaux with the delicacy and sureness of taste that -distinguish all he undertakes. - -[Illustration: 46. BOUND BY CARAYON.] - -[Illustration: 47. BOUND BY CARAYON.] - -Chambolle most worthily continues the traditions associated with the -name of his father. As an interpreter of the past he has a place apart -and almost untouched by the main revolutionary movement that has -penetrated nearly every atelier in Paris, and modified, if not -overturned, its inherited traditions. To him are confided the classics -of former times, which he clothes in the styles appropriate to them, -keeping to a simplicity of ornamentation which reveals great taste and -feeling for composition. Wisely enough, he rarely goes outside his own -domain, where, in these days of reckless pursuit of novelty, he remains -almost supreme. - -Canape is a young binder of increasing reputation. At present he seems -to specialize in what is called _la gaufrure à froid_, in which -different-coloured moroccos are tooled without gold—a style which has -been much in favour of late years, and in which Marius Michel was the -first to effect great triumphs. His career has been watched with much -interest for the last few years, and he is thought to be steadily taking -place in the first rank. - -Kieffer, too, is a binder whose work has a distinctly personal touch, -and whose bindings have an individuality of their own. The reproductions -shown testify to a certain largeness of conception in design, which, -though somewhat mannered, has distinct value. - -M. Pierre Roche has struck a new note in what he calls _la reliure -églomisée_. It is work done on something of the same lines as that -attempted by Mr. Cedric Chivers of Bath. He uses a transparent vellum -which covers and protects the decoration, which thus appears, to use his -own words, as if behind a veil. ‘C’est l’esprit du livre qui vient du -dedans en dehors apparaître au travers des matières solides qui le -protègent.’ A sculptor of great talent, this has been merely a -recreation to him. He has done but a small number of books for a few -distinguished clients, and, notwithstanding their success, has, like a -true artist, refused to be drawn into manufacturing them, feeling it -doubtful whether it is a style that should be popularized to any great -extent, or rather remain as an occasional variation of the more -accredited ways of book-cover decoration. - -[Illustration: 48. BOUND BY CHAMBOLLE.] - -We have perhaps said enough to indicate the variety of the work shown at -the Galliera Museum, its high attainment in the field of design, and its -still higher achievement in the matter of craftsmanship. One impression -remains very clearly, that there were two distinct classes of -exhibitors, the professional binder, so to speak, and the artist intent -on producing decorative material for bindings. The first looks at a book -as a thing to bind and handle, and is restrained in his methods by the -use and purpose to which it is to be put. The second considers it as a -surface to decorate, by means of painting or the aid of any other of the -arts. The modelled work of Lepère, above alluded to, is an instance of -this; so also is that of Mdme. Vallgren, which likewise consist of -panels that are let into bindings prepared for that purpose by Marius -and others. Admirable in their way, they would be equally effective as -decorative objects framed upon a wall, and can but be considered a -fantasy in connexion with books. Bibliomania in France is responsible -for much that is disastrously eccentric and decadent. It is a form of -vanity in which collectors vie with each other, and involves an -expenditure not only on books but on bindings that would now seem to -have reached the limit of extravagance. But such eccentricity is less -than it was, and need no longer fill the eye to the exclusion of what is -really finely conceived as well as exquisitely executed. If Paris still -produces too many bindings of the bizarre and overdecorated kind, we can -still go to her for the masterpieces of simplicity and for flawlessness -of material faultlessly treated. Some day even the best binders may -cease to support _l’art nouveau_ by the force of their skill and energy, -but will rather confine themselves, as in the past, to the simple -dignity that distinguished bindings in the best periods, and to the -accomplishment of that fine restraint which must always be the -high-water mark of bookbinding as a fine art. - - - - - EDITION BINDING[6] - - -Of late years, with that revival of craftsmanship, according to the -gospel of Ruskin and William Morris, already dwelt upon, there has been -a rush into all the departments of manual dexterity needing for -successful achievement the guidance of artistic feeling. The result of -this has been that there is a tendency to exaggerate the importance of -the ornamental and the decorated, to the exclusion of not only -simplicity but, let us say frankly, of plainness and the undecorated -surface of flawless material. The over-elaboration of the decorative -arts must inevitably produce a reaction sooner or later, very quickly -for those who prefer restraint, more slowly for the majority of the -public, to whom ornament is always synonymous with art. For such as -these fashion counts for much; and it is in the hope that those who lead -taste in the matter of edition bindings may find a scope for their -enterprise on somewhat new lines that I ask consideration for this -chapter. - -[Illustration: 49. BOUND BY CHAMBOLLE.] - -[Illustration: 50. BOUND BY CHAMBOLLE.] - -After all, the costly bindings achieved for wealthy amateurs must always -constitute but a small portion of the output of bound work. There will -remain the cloth or leather-covered book in greater or smaller editions, -for which covers are made in quantities by machinery, separately from -the book, and for decorating which metal dies are cut and stamped by -means of an embossing press, either with or without the addition of -colours or gold leaf. It is of this class of work that I propose to -treat, giving first a brief account of the stages through which it has -passed in modern times, then showing how it was dealt with, though on a -much smaller scale, in the early days of printing, and finally offering -some suggestions for its more varied and, as I think, more artistic -treatment in the future. This treatment would necessitate the employment -of leather; but there is no reason why the less expensive kinds of skins -should not be used, not perhaps for books issued in large numbers, but -for small editions where a little extra outlay could be easily recovered -on the published price of the work. Roans made from the best sheepskins, -which are the hides of Scotch sheep, would not be a costly material, and -would give good results in the embossing press. Pigskin is a very -suitable material for the better class of bindings on which stamps are -to be used, and is both strong and comparatively inexpensive, -considering the size of the skins. Vellum, again, might be occasionally -used for small editions; it blocks well, and is most effective with but -little ornament. At one time much in demand for bindings, it ceased for -many years to be used at all in England, except in account-book -manufacture, when it was generally stained green. It has lately come -into fashion again, chiefly for limp work, through the initiative of -William Morris, who introduced it on most of the works issued by him -from the Kelmscott Press; and both the Doves Press and the Ashendene -Press have continued to employ it. To observe its suitability for -blocking, either when used limp or on boards, we have only to turn to -the coats-of-arms which frequently decorated it on the books of the -great collectors of past times. There was a very fine specimen of -vellum, ornamented in black, shown at the Burlington Fine Arts -Exhibition in 1891. But before considering in detail how edition -bindings were treated in the days when, comparatively speaking, books -were few in number, we will get some idea of their treatment in more -recent times, starting with the last century. - -[Illustration: 51. BOUND BY CANAPE.] - -Up to, roughly speaking, about 1825, books of the type of dictionaries, -classics, school books, and books of reference were mostly bound in roan -or sprinkled sheep; while books of history, poetry, and novels were -issued in drab or olive-coloured paper boards, with a printed label -pasted on the back, or the full title printed on the back and sides, as -in the case of Walker’s _British Classics_ (1818). It was very rarely -that anything but a dull colour was used, though Whittingham’s _British -Poets_ (1816) had a dark Venetian red paper, and the class of literature -known in those days as gift-books or annuals occasionally appeared in -vellum-coloured paper, stamped with gold. The more valuable of these, -however, filled with choice steel engravings and prepared for the -Christmas market, were bound in morocco and silk, and issued under such -titles as _The Keepsake_, _The Bijou_, _Friendship’s Offering_, _The -Book of Beauty_, _The Landscape Annual_, and so on. Such books commanded -a large sale, even in those days; and a writer on the subject, in the -first volume of _The Bookbinder_, mentions Finden’s _Tableaux_, two -thousand imperial quarto volumes, full bound in best morocco, gilt. The -paper-covered boards, which clothed the larger number of the books of -that time, had a way of cracking at the hinge, and so becoming -disconnected, a difficulty which was got over about 1822 by covering the -back with calico or cloth. As an illustration of this step we may take -Scott’s _Waverley Novels_. The _Novels and Tales_, in twelve volumes, -appeared in 1819 in pink paper, with white labels; the _Historical -Romances_, in six volumes, followed in 1822, in blue paper, with pink -cloth back and white paper labels; and _Novels and Romances_ in 1824 in -the same fashion. The next step was that of covering books entirely with -cloth, introduced by Mr. Archibald Leighton, one of the most -enterprising and successful of modern binders, whose business capacity -and energy secured for him the patronage of the chief publishers of the -day. He bound for Murray, Pickering, Colbourn, Tilt, Charles Knight, -Moon, Boys, Graves, and many others, and died prematurely in 1841, -leaving to his family a well-established business which, under a -somewhat varying character, has remained in their hands up to the -present time. - -In the _Bookseller_ of July 4, 1881, there is an interesting account, by -Mr. Robert Leighton, of the invention of bookbinders’ cloth by his -father, and of how the subsequent embossing of it came about. The exact -date of cloth binding he is not able to state, but says that he has in -his library a volume, presented to his father by the author, bound in -smooth, red cloth, with a paper label. The publishers’ names are -Lackington, Hughes, Harding and Lepard, and the date on the title-page -is 1822. There is every reason to believe that it is one of a number -similarly bound in that year. In those days the white calico was bought -in London, sent to the dyers to be dyed, and thence to Mr. John -Southgate, of 3 Crown Court, Old Change, to be stiffened and calendered. -The embossing of bookbinders’ cloth was suggested by Mr. Archibald -Leighton to the late Mr. de la Rue, and was carried out so admirably by -him, with the appliances he possessed for embossing paper, that his -process remains still comparatively unaltered. The desired pattern was -engraved on a gun-metal cylinder, and transferred in reverse to one made -of compressed paper, strung upon an iron spindle and turned in the lathe -to the exact circumference of the gun-metal one, and these two being -worked together in a machine, and the pattern transferred from one to -the other, the cloth was passed between them and received the impress of -the pattern engraved on the metal cylinder. - -[Illustration: 52. BOUND BY CANAPE.] - -In this way the whole of the cloth used by Messrs. Leighton was for many -years embossed upon their own premises. The cylinders were only fourteen -or fifteen inches wide, and the machine was turned by manual labour and -heated by red-hot irons, which were placed in the gun-metal cylinder and -replaced by others when cold. In those days it was customary to engrave -special cylinders for books of importance, and you may still -occasionally meet with stray volumes of _The Penny Cyclopædia_ or -Knight’s _Pictorial England_, and such like popular works, with embossed -cloth covers so prepared. Mr. Pickering was the first person for whom -Mr. Leighton bound books in cloth, and either his ‘Aldine Poets’ or the -‘Diamond Classics’ were the first books on which it was put. The first -person to undertake the embossing of bookbinders’ cloth on cylinders a -yard wide was Mr. Law, of Monkwell Street, and for years he embossed all -the cloth sold by Mr. James Leonard Wilson, of St. John Street, who had -followed Mr. Leighton’s methods in the preparation and sale of the -cloth. Mr. Wilson sold his business to Messrs. Duffield, who established -a manufactory of bookbinders’ cloth at Hoxton, and so improved it that -for years he held practically a monopoly of its output. The exact period -when gold-stamping was first applied to cloth is clearly marked by the -publication of Lord Byron’s life and works, in seventeen volumes, by Mr. -John Murray, of Albemarle Street. The volumes were published monthly, -and had a sale of about 20,000. They were bound in green cloth, and the -first volume was issued in 1832, with a green paper label on the back, -matching the cloth in colour, on which was printed in bronze the title -and a coronet; on the second and succeeding volumes the paper label was -dispensed with, and the coronet and title were stamped in gold upon the -cloth itself. Mr. Henry George Bohn, in a letter addressed to the _Art -Journal_, says that his father, John Henry Bohn, a German bookbinder, -established about 1795 in Frith Street, Soho, had a special reputation -for gilding on the silk linings of books, as well as calf-graining, -tree-marbling, and other special processes, all of which he himself made -acquaintance with when a boy. ‘In later life,’ he continues, ‘the -knowledge of the peculiar dressing used for gilding on silk enabled me -to communicate to Mr. Leighton the means of getting cloth prepared so as -to take gilding by heated machinery at the rolling or stamping press, -which a leading trade firm said was impracticable. The process, however, -after a few weeks’ experiments conducted by the late Mr. James Leonard -Wilson, was successfully accomplished; and Mr. Leighton thereupon wrote -to me triumphantly announcing the fact, and undertaking in consequence -to bind in gilt cloth several thousand volumes at half the price I -should previously have had to pay, on account of the necessity of having -to add leather backs for taking the gold by hand tooling. The book was -Martin and Westall’s _Bible Points_, which I brought out in 1832. What -to me at the time seemed an accomplishment of little moment has now -become of such importance to cloth binders that, could the discovery -have been patented, it would have yielded a considerable income.’ - -[Illustration: 53. BOUND BY CANAPE.] - -This Mr. Robert Leighton, who thus wrote of his father’s invention, was -himself the pioneer in the use of steam machinery in bookbinding, and he -adopted in his own business nearly all the machinery which has since -become indispensable to the wholesale binder. He was also the first to -use steam power for blocking in gold; the first to use aluminium, and -black and coloured inks for cloth cases, examples of which he showed in -the exhibition of 1851. He had a great reputation for the designs of his -cloth bindings, which he devised in conjunction with his artist cousin, -John Leighton, known as Luke Limner, a good instance being the pleasant -and appropriate covers for Mrs. Jameson’s _Legends of the Madonna_ and -_Legends of the Monastic Orders_. The two Leightons, father and son, -thus inaugurated and furthered the great revolution in the art of -edition binding associated with the employment for the purpose of -specially prepared cloth, and its decoration by means of steam-blocking -in gold and colours. It was natural that such an invention should lead -to abuse; and in a short time, unfortunately, there was so much gilt -ornament that a strong reaction took place, and, while cloth as a -material for the cover continued to be used, it was either left plain or -had a single bordering line in gold, with or without the title likewise -in gold upon the sides. More recently colour printing upon cloth has -been revived with excellent results in many cases, especially where an -artist who understands the power and limitations of the blocking process -has been employed upon the designs. Many of these are entirely without -gold, and give representations of scenes taken from the books with -excellent impressionist effect. One may mention as instances in England -the novels published by Messrs. Hodder and Stoughton, such as _In Our -Town_, _Her Majesty’s Minister_, _Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch_, _The -Hebrew_, and many others of the same firm, one of whose members gives -special attention to the successful production of cloth covers. The -bindings of books issued by Mr. John Lane are also frequently very -successful, though it is not so easy to keep in touch with the output of -American work on similar lines. Messrs. Puttenham have produced some -excellent examples of taste in colour printing, notably _The Romance of -the Colorado River_, _Puerto Rican_, _Lights of Childhood_, and _The -Romance of the Renaissance Chateaux_, in which the castle of Langeais is -shown in black on a grey cloth. The same house publish likewise one or -two books bound in plain cloth, with a photographic print on the cover, -which seemed a pleasant variation not in use over here; while -_Twenty-Six Historic Ships_, also issued by them, is a most satisfactory -example of blocking with white foil on a blue ground. At Messrs. -Appleton’s are to be found several specimens of bookbinders’ cloth which -do not come over here at all. We have but little variety in the nature -and preparation of our cloth; while in America it is treated in many -different ways, which naturally give very varied results in the -blocking-press. - -Messrs. Gay and Bird issue some effective colour printing on _In South -Africa with Buller_, and an attractive example of a loch and mountain -scene in four sombre colours on _The Story of Gösta Berling_. There is -little doubt that the most artistic effects are got by using very few -colours in harmony rather than in contrast with the cloth. Gold is much -more sparingly used for cloth work than formerly, and with far better -taste. _Paris in its Splendour_, published by the last-named firm, is an -interesting example of the different effects that can be obtained from -the gold by varieties of matted ground in the block; while in _Walden_, -issued by Messrs. Houghton and Mifflin, the cloth of the cover -represents the design, the gold being confined to suggesting the -background, with a decidedly original result. - -This, then, is the position of cloth binding at the present time as -shown by the leading publishers’ work. The technical processes are -probably as perfect as such things can be, the drawings are frequently -the work of artists, there is far more restraint than formerly both in -the matter of design and the employment of colour, while the taste in -colour schemes is often as good as possible, and a great advance on that -shown a decade or two ago. We do not think that in that special branch -of edition bindings there is any great advance to be made or novelty to -be assumed, though no doubt we may expect a wider diffusion of the taste -that we have noted in the best work and an increasingly small number of -book covers inferior in design, colour, and general effect. - -In what direction, then, can we hope for any new departure? In order to -answer the question, and complete the scope of this chapter, it is -necessary to spend a short time in studying the bindings in which books -were clothed when they were less numerous, and during a period when they -reached what many think the high-water mark of successful decoration. - -[Illustration: 54. BOUND BY CANAPE.] - -[Illustration: 55. BOUND BY CANAPE.] - -The work of the early printers was issued in trade bindings just as -publishers’ work is now sent out, but in those days stationers combined -the craft of binding with the business of bookselling. The earliest of -all were decorated by building up designs from dies, these being -arranged in pattern schemes which Mr. W. H. James Weale was the first to -analyze and set forth in the catalogue of the fine collection of -rubbings of bindings which he presented to the National Art Library of -South Kensington in 1894. These schemes were taken from the covers of -manuscripts from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, but the same -kind of arrangement, though not so elaborate, may be seen on the -earliest printed books; also witness the illustrations to the monographs -on early Oxford and Cambridge bindings issued by the Bibliographical -Society. Small books were stamped with a panel on the sides, and these -often had the initials or mark of the binder, which have led in many -instances to the ascription of particular bindings to the stationers who -issued them, though a still greater number still remain to be -identified. The blocks were generally small, and were used sometimes one -on each side between a bordering of roughly drawn lines; sometimes two -together were placed upon one side, and connected with lines or some -simple device; and occasionally on large books four panels were arranged -in rows of two. The material of the binding was ass’s-skin, pigskin, -calfskin,—though not the fragile kind now associated with the name—and -vellum, but chiefly the three first. The stamps or blocks used were cut -in intaglio, either on hard wood or on metal, producing the impression -in cameo; the design was often both strong and delicate in treatment, -the impression after all these years showing great artistic vigour and -inventiveness. Indeed, nothing can be more excellent than the dragons, -gryphons, and other mythical animals in the pear-shaped, triangular, -circular, or square dies arranged within the pattern schemes of the very -early bindings. It is known exactly how these stamps were used upon the -bindings; it is probable that, when panel stamps were used, the leather -was thoroughly wetted and the book then placed in a screw press, under a -block of wood or metal, for the length of time needed to obtain a clear -impression. In _Marques Typographiques_ by Silvestre, there is a -printers’ mark, used by Petrus Cesar Gaudanus, otherwise Pierre de -Keyser, of Ghent, between 1516 and 1547, which represents a book -undergoing pressure in a printers’ press; and Josse Bade, likewise a -stationer and printer of Paris, who died in 1535, used a somewhat -similar one. Though there is obviously a book in the press, the picture -may relate to a process not connected with binding; but in any case it -probably represents what must have been the procedure used in impressing -the stamps. These dies passed from one workshop to another, and none of -them are extant to my knowledge in England, though the heraldic blocks -used on books in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. were decidedly -numerous and of great artistic merit. In the Netherlands these designs -were the binders’ property and protected as such, but in England, where -the binders were not organized into separate guilds, this was not the -case, and piracy was everywhere prevalent. - -[Illustration: 56. BOUND BY KIEFFER.] - -On many of the blocks there appear two indentations or holes about a -quarter of an inch in diameter, situated within the border at the top -and bottom of the panel. The precise purport of these is unknown, and -many plausible theories have been invented to account for them. One such -suggests that they were stop buttons to prevent the stamp from sinking -too far into the leather, but it is more probable that they indicate the -heads of nails or pegs which fastened the carved block or metal stamp to -another piece of wood. Sometimes the impressions made by them are almost -imperceptible, at others there has been an attempt at concealment by -carrying the ornament across. Many of the subjects pictured on these -stamps were of a religious character: thus the Baptism of Christ, Saint -John the Baptist, the Crucifixion, Our Lady of Pity, the Ara Cœli, and -the different saints and apostles, are all represented upon these early -book covers. For an account of them, and for a general history of early -stamped bindings, which contains also a certain amount of illustration, -the interested reader cannot do better than procure the two volumes, -published at half a crown by the Department of Science and Art, at South -Kensington, entitled _Bookbindings and Rubbings of Bindings in the -National Art Library of South Kensington Museum_, by W. H. James Weale. -This class of binding has given rise to much dispute of an archæological -kind, with which, happily, we are not concerned at the moment. Whether -the stamps were of wood or metal, in what country they originated, their -authorship as indicated by initials incorporated in the design, their -_provenance_ as apart from the country in which they were in use, who -was the inventor of the pattern roller,—all such questions we may leave -aside, the point of interest being the fact of the stamp and its -astonishing variety of character, for many styles were represented by -it, all, with but few exceptions, of great merit and suitability to -their end. For the present purpose, and as far as ornament is concerned, -they may be classified somewhat as follows:— - -1. Small Gothic dies with palmated leaves, animals, and so on, combined -in design according to certain fixed patterns, such as those on the -Bible written and bound in the monastery at Durham for Hugh Pudsey, -bishop of that diocese from 1153 to 1195, and other books in the same -cathedral library. - -2. Interlaced ornament of several distinct types, some Celtic in -character, on the earliest books in leather that have come down to us, -executed in the north of England in the twelfth century, others -recalling the designs on Roman mosaic pavement; others, again, Eastern -in character. Perhaps the most beautiful interlaced patterns of all -belong to the latter class, and are the cablework designs found on -Italian books of the last half of the fifteenth century, no doubt copied -from Arabian examples. - -The Spanish bindings of the first half of the sixteenth century have -interlaced ornament of as fine a kind, but often lacking in the -comparative simplicity of the Italian. - -3. The Gothic stamps of mythical animals, enclosed in circles or -scrollwork, bordered with Gothic foliage, and frequently containing a -legend. These were mostly of German origin, and were no doubt inspired -by the work of Albert Dürer and his contemporaries. - -4. The heraldic panels decorated with royal badges, used in England -during the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. - -5. The panel stamps of a purely decorative kind, such as those with the -religious subjects above mentioned; others like the well-known two used -by Moulin, of a miller with his sacks, in punning allusion to his name; -and those in use by Norins, in which the acorn figures largely as an -ornament. - -6. Lastly, the panel stamps with two profile busts in medallion within a -framework of Renaissance ornament, thoroughly debased in character, and -marking the complete decline of the binder’s stamp. - -I would sum up, in conclusion, the points I have desired to emphasize, -and which are as follows:— - -That the flat blocking of cloth work in gold and colours by no means -exhausts the treatment possible for edition or publishers’ bindings. It -has undoubtedly been largely overdone, for lavish ornament is distinctly -out of place as applied to cheap material, such as cloths and linens. -Indeed, as decoration for the ordinary novel of a few shillings nothing -is in better taste than a single design carried out in two or three -colour printings without gold, such as some of those mentioned. - -[Illustration: 57. BOUND BY KIEFFER.] - -[Illustration: 58. BOUND BY KIEFFER.] - -That there is room for a totally distinct class of bindings for small -editions of more important publications, which should be in leather and -blocked with a stamp of fine design without gold, which will give a -raised impression. For this purpose zincographic blocks are of no use, -but brass, as a material which admits of modelling, would be imperative. - -That the designing of such stamps should be put in the hands of the few -artists having a genius for the work, which is quite special in -character, and belongs more to the art of the medallist than to that of -the maker of patterns. We in no way want their undue multiplication, but -would rather, indeed, that they should be reserved for a limited number -of publications, for which the subject-matter, paper and type constitute -together a whole, worthy of a dignified cover that will stand the lapse -of time. In these days of book lovers and collectors of every sort, it -is certainly not unlikely that there are many who would welcome a new -venture of this kind, in which they would associate the binding with the -book, and have no desire to separate the one from the other. In the -little Bibelot series, Messrs. Gay and Bird have already made a slight -attempt on the lines I am suggesting. - -Lastly, we have tried to show that there is no dearth of material from -which the designer of such work may glean the principles on which it -should be based, in order to secure satisfactory results. Apart from the -bindings still extant, which may be studied for the purpose, such -sources as the _Book of Kells_ and _Early Christian Art in Ireland_, by -Margaret Stokes, are full of illustrations in a field strangely little -explored by the pattern maker of to-day. - -While only a limited number of early examples have been instanced, they -are suggestive of what was done in edition binding in the past, and may -be done again in the future. Such a departure needs, no doubt, the -initiative of a printer-publisher who does the best kind of work, and in -a field that commands the interested support of the genuine book lover. -Surely, however, to find such an one ought not to be difficult with the -widespread interest now shown in every detail of book production. - ------ - -Footnote 1: - - For the benefit of those who are interested in the technicality of - what is known as ‘tooling,’ we will briefly describe in what it - consists. ‘Finishing tools’ are stamps of metal that have a pattern - cut on the face, and the shanks of which are held in wooden handles. - Such patterns can be complete in themselves, or the single ‘tools’ may - have only the elements of a pattern that needs to be built up, for the - ‘tools’ must not be too large, or they cannot be worked with sureness - of result. The design is composed of these ‘tools’ in combination with - gouges which are curved lines. The drawing is first made accurately on - paper by means of blackening the tools in a candle or lightly - impressing them on an ink-pad. This paper is then placed on the book - and slightly attached with paste at each corner. The tools are next - gently heated and reworked on the drawing, leaving an impression in - ‘blind,’ as it is called, on the leather sufficient to be seen through - the gold leaf when this is applied ready for the next operation. The - cover is now damped with water and the impressions left by the tools - pencilled over with a preparation of white of egg known as glaire, - applied with a camel-hair brush. When this is sufficiently dry, but - not too dry, the gold leaf is put on, and the individual ‘tools,’ - taken at just the right heat, are reworked in the impressions seen - faintly beneath the gold. Fresh gold may have to be applied and the - pattern reworked several times if the tools are solid or the leather - for any reason presents special difficulties. These are, roughly - speaking, the processes necessary to the working of a design, though - many small ones have been omitted. It will be seen at once, however, - from this brief account: firstly, that there are no freehand - possibilities about the operation; and secondly, that to be a good - finisher a workman should know something of drawing, for he cannot - make a correct pattern, much less one that has any organic meaning, - unless he understands how to combine small tools with taste and - judgment. He must know what to leave out as well as what to put in; if - there is inlaying, he must have a sense of colour-harmony and - contrast, and he must understand enough of styles not to mix up those - of different periods, nor to select one that is unsuitable to the - special character of the book. - -Footnote 2: - - The technical schools, it may be noted, with the exceptions perhaps of - the Borough Polytechnic, are not looked on with favour by the trade, - who are ever adverse to any alteration in the traditional habits of a - craft; but it is difficult to see, without some experiments of the - kind, how the learner is to get the advantages of intelligent - training, which he did under the old system of apprenticeship. Now - that Trades Unions have a tendency to deteriorate the quality and - limit the output of the adult worker, it is well that there should be - some influences brought to bear upon him in the earlier stages of his - career that make for appreciative insight into the meaning of his work - and cultivate his taste in its more artistic possibilities. - -Footnote 3: - - With tooled edges the leaves of the book are gilt as usual, and while - still in the press, the head, tail and foredge are worked over with - ‘tools’ that are open in character, the finer ones being preferable. - These tools must be slightly warmed, so that the impression may be - firm. Sometimes the edge is tooled on the gold before burnishing, when - the impressed pattern will naturally be of a different colour to the - burnished part, as the burnisher will glide over the indentations. At - others a different-coloured gold is laid on the top of the first and - tooled upon, when the pattern will be left in the new gold on the - original colour. - -Footnote 4: - - This painting can be with or without gold. In any case, it is - necessary that the leaves should be fanned out and tied slightly - between boards. While in this position the colour is applied, which - can be either a stain or water-colour moistened with size. When dry, - the leaves are released, and may be left as they are or gilt in the - ordinary way, when the colour will show through the gold, gaining a - lustre and richness it would not otherwise have. - -Footnote 5: - - The process of leather cutting and embossing is briefly as follows. - The design is first drawn on paper, then transferred to tracing paper - and traced through from this on to the leather, which is shoe-calf - prepared for the purpose as to quality and thickness. The process is - very much like beaten and chased silver work, except that the soft - leather has to be reinforced at the back with a cement, and while this - cement is hardening the front has to be modelled. It is a mistake to - suppose that this work is of a delicate nature. If the design is - fairly evenly distributed over the decorated space, handling and the - slight friction a well-bound book is subject to in the course of time - enhance its appearance. Again, by tracing and cutting the design - without embossing it a different surface is obtained, while the - application of gold tooling and that of various colour tints are - additions of treatment that give considerable scope to the finisher. - -Footnote 6: - - The author wishes to acknowledge permission, which she has received - from _The Printing Art_, to print in this country this last chapter, - which first appeared in that periodical. - - - Printed by T. AND A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty at the Edinburgh - University Press - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. Re-indexed footnotes using numbers and collected together at the end - of the last chapter. - 4. Corrected the first two items in the Erratum. The last item was left - unchanged. - 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN BOOKBINDINGS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away--you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where - you are located before using this eBook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that: - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation's website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without -widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |