Seventeenth-Century English Bindings I

For the next two weeks I will be showcasing historical English bookbindings from the Center's collection. The images chronicle developments in the decorative styles and tool designs used to embellish leather and vellum book covers in the middle of the hand-press period. Since the majority of our early English bindings date from the seventeenth century, I am limiting my discussion to that era (1600-1650 this week, 1650-1720 next week). These posts are heavily indebted to David Pearson's invaluable English Bookbinding Styles, 1450-1800 (New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press and British Library, 2005).

upper cover

spine

lower cover

detail of lower cover

inside upper cover, showing binding structure

Francis Godwin, A Catalogue of the Bishops of England (London: Impensis George Bishop, 1601) 4to; contemporary limp vellum binding, with yapped edges and holes formerly occupied by leather ties; title in manuscript on spine; early seventeenth century (c.1601)

Besides paper wrappers, limp vellum bindings were the most common types of cheap book covers in the early seventeenth century. The vellum binding is "limp" because it is not stiffened over boards (at this time, pasteboard, made from pasting many pieces of paper on top of one another). This piece of vellum isn't particularly nice either. As shown in the last two images, the hair side of the vellum faces outwards, while the flesh side appears on the inside of the upper cover. Hair follicles are visible in the second-to-last image. 

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lower cover

William Lambarde, Archion (London: Printed for Daniel Frere, 1635); 8vo; contemporary plain sheep binding; framed in blind by double fillets; first half of the seventeenth century (c.1635)

Even the plainest bindings in the sixteenth century featured some element of decoration, be it a roll or pattern made from small tools. But in the early seventeenth century plain (and I mean very plain) calf bindings became popular. Bindings such as the one shown above were decorated with nothing more than fillets (the horizontal and vertical lines) in blind (i.e. without gold), creating an outer frame that formed a single rectangular panel. The binding of this pocket-sized octavo book represents the lower end of leather bindings available in the early seventeenth century: not only is it plainly decorated, but it is also bound in sheep leather, a notoriously perishable material that tears easily and apparently bred worms (Pearson 18-19; 190, n.3).

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Nicolas Faret, The honest man, or, The art to please in court. Translated by Edward Grimeston (London: Thomas Harper for Edward Blount, 1632) 12mo; contemporary plain calf binding; framed in blind by double fillets; one of five copies in North America (others at Folger, Harvard, Yale, Huntington), eleven in the world; first half of the seventeenth century (c.1632)

Here is another cheaply bound pocket-sized book from the 1630s, this time a duodecimo bound in calf leather. Even this book's original spine (ragged as it is), survives and has not been rebacked in the modern era. 

Despite the popularity of the plain leather style, other aesthetic trends in early seventeenth-century English binding called for elaborate stamp designs. As in the cases of the following two books, one is more likely to find gilt decorated stamps on folio volumes than smaller formats, although there are always exceptions to the rule.

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Michel de Montaigne, Essays. Translated by John Florio (London: Melchisidec Bradwood for Edward Blount and William Barret, 1613) folio; contemporary calf; triple-fillet frame in blind, with gilt centerpiece panel; c. first half of seventeenth-century (c.1610s-20s). 

Another popular design in the early seventeenth century, the "centerpiece" style consists of an outer frame composed of blind fillets and a central panel stamp design, usually gilt. The strapwork characteristic of many centerpieces reflects arabesque design trends popular in England at the time. While sixteenth-century English bindings also utilized centerpieces, such work not only employed additional designs in the corners (made from small tools) but also used different types of centerpieces. 

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detail

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Guilliaume Du Bartas, Divine Weekes and Workes (Sepmaine). Translated by Joshua Sylvester (London: printed by Robert Young, 1633) folio; contemporary calf, with center- and cornerpiece design framed by gilt single fillets; small tools decorating outside corners of frame; c. 1635-1640 

It was also common for bindings to combine the centerpiece with corner stamps to make even more elaborate designs. The cornerpiece shown in the second image was commonly used from 1590-1655 (Pearson 135, pl. 5.16). The centerpiece and center-and-cornerpiece designs rose to prominence in the 1620s.

upper cover

spine (rebacked)

lower cover

remnant of green linen tie

detail, holes for ties

Thomas Sternhold, The whole booke of Davids Psalmes : both in prose and meeter : with apt notes to sing them withall (London: Co. of Stationers, 1635) 16mo; contemporary calf binding with elaborate gilt panel stamp on both covers; remnants of green ribbon ties; gilt edges; c. 1635-1650; one of four copies in North America (fifteen worldwide) 

Binders also used elaborate centerpiece stamps to decorate small-format books, especially devotional books in 12mo and 16mo (Pearson 57-9). This type of design was common from the late sixteenth century to the first quarter of the seventeenth, and began to decline in popularity from 1625-1650. This elaborately decorated 1630s Psalter appears to feature such a stamp, although the decoration is actually made up from separate small tools. The binding bears remnants of ties made from green linen, which along with leather were the most common materials used for book-ties in this period. Ties made from leather, linen, or (rarely) silk came into use in England around the same time bookmakers began shifting from wooden boards and vellum to pasteboard and paper (the natural expansion of vellum leaves necessitated the use of metal clasps to keep medieval and early printed books closed). 

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detail of upper cover

lower cover

detail of lower cover

William Cartwright, Comedies, Tragi-comedies, with other Poems (London: Printed for Humphrey Moseley, 1651) 8vo; contemporary plain calf binding, with additional vertical line tooled parallel to spine (creating two panels); small tools used to decorate corners of each panel thus formed; mid-seventeenth century (c. 1651)


By the middle of the seventeenth century a new style of plain leather binding came into fashion; as with those produced in the earlier part of the century, minimalism was the dominant aesthetic for these bindings. Here the basic outer frame of blind fillets is augmented with an additional vertical line, and the two asymmetrical panels thus formed feature small corner decorations. Some bindings dispensed with these small decorations, as can be seen in this example from the 1670s:

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lower cover

Anyway, the plainer, more spacious designs of the early seventeenth century would greatly influence the dominant binding aesthetic in England from 1650-1720, which I will discuss in greater length next week. 

Incidentally, the copy of William Cartwright's plays and poems discussed above has a wonderful engraved frontispiece depicting the author in his library.
 

The books are shelved fore-edge out, which was the common practice in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Also note the ties on most of Cartwright's books; as in the example of the 1630s Psalter, these ties were probably made from green linen.