ENGLISH BINDING BEFORE 1500

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1929. original turquoise cloth, top edge gilt. Bookbinding. folio. original turquoise cloth, top edge gilt. (xii), 60 pages followed by 55 full page plates of bindings. Printed in an edition limited to 500 copies for sale by Walter Lewis at the Cambridge University Press. (Appleton p.81, S-K 2194). Lacking the dust jacket. Minor rubbing to the boards, else a near fine copy.



This book is divided into two sections: Early Bindings, before 1300 and the Gothic Bindings, c.1450-1500, followed by several useful appendices. Addenda follows the final appendix. Given as the Sandars Lecture for 1927. Includes bibliographical references.



From a contemporary review : "[This book does] the utmost credit to everyone concerned; to author, printers, makers of plates and publishers alike. Everything is excellent..." A scarce book.



Contains a table of contents for the plates before the acknowledgements. The appendices are as follows:



A. Early Irish Bindings and Satchels; B. List, Classification and Early Ownership of the Romanesque Bindings; C. A 13th or 14th-Century English Binding; D. A Romanesque Binding in the Bibliothèque de la Ville, Troyes; E. Stamps in Class M of the Romanesque Bindings; F. On English Culture of the 12th Century and the Nationality of some Romanesque Bindings; G. An Attempted Classification of Oxford 15th-Century Bindings; H. English Cut Leatherwork, 1300-1500; - (There is no 'I' section in the Appendix) - J. Additional 15th-Century English Bindings and a list of English 'small-stamp' Binderies working before 1510.