English Embroidered Bookbindings Part 2

French embroidered books are very rare, and I do not know of any examples in England. Two interesting specimens, at least, are in the Bibliotheque Nationale, and are described and figured in Bouchot's work on the artistic bindings in that library. The earlier is on a book of prayers of the fifteenth century, bound in canvas, and worked with 'tap.i.s.serie de soie au pet.i.t point,' or as I should call it, tent-, or tapestry-, st.i.tch. It represents the Crucifixion and a saint, but M.

Bouchot remarks of it, 'La composition est grossiere et les figures des plus rudimentaires.'

The other instance occurs on a sixteenth-century ma.n.u.script, 'Les Gestes de Blanche de Castille.' It is bound in black velvet, much worn, and ornamented with applique embroideries in coloured silks, in shading st.i.tch, probably done on fine linen. The design on the upper cover shows the author of the book, Etienne le Blanc, in the left-hand corner, kneeling at the feet of Louise de Savoie, Regent of France, to whom the book is dedicated. Near her is a fountain into which an antlered stag is jumping, pursued by three hounds.

The Dutch, in the numerous excellent styles of bindings they have so freely imitated from other nations, have not failed to include the English embroidered books. In the South Kensington Museum is a charming specimen of their work on satin, finely worked in coloured silks with small ma.s.ses of pearls in a rather too elaborate design of flowers and animals. In the British Museum, besides other instances of Dutch needlework, there is a very handsome volume of the _Acta Synodalis Nationalis Dordrechti habitae_, printed at Leyden in 1620, and bound in crimson velvet. It has the royal coat-of-arms of England within the Garter, with crest, supporters, and motto, all worked in various kinds of gold thread; in the corners are sprays of roses and thistles alternately, and above and below the coat are the crowned initials J. R., all worked in gold thread.

_Hints for Modern Broiderers._

Many book-covers have been embroidered during the last few years in England by ladies working on their own account, or by some of the students at one or other of the many excellent centres now existing for the study and practice of the fascinating art of bookbinding.

Although a large proportion of modern work of this kind has been only copied from older work, I see no reason why original designs should not be freely and successfully invented. But I think that the ancient work may be advantageously studied and carefully copied as far as choice of threads and manner of working them goes. The workers of our old embroidered books were people of great skill and large experience, and from a long and careful examination of much of their work, I am impressed with the conviction that they worked on definite principles.

If I allude briefly to some of these I may perhaps give intending workwomen a hint or two as to some minor points which may a.s.sist their work to show to the best advantage when _in situ_, and also insure, as far as possible, that it will not be unduly damaged during the operation of fixing to the back and boards of the book for which it is intended.

(1) Before the operation of fixing on the book is begun, it will always be found best to mount the embroidered work on a backing of strong fine linen. The stage at which it is best to add the linen will vary according to the kind of work it is to strengthen. In the case of canvas it will only be necessary to tack it on quite at the last; with velvet a backing from the first may be used with advantage, all the st.i.tches being taken through both materials. As to satin, it will be best to do all the very fine work, if any, in coloured silks first, and when the stronger work in cord or braid comes on, the linen may be then added.

The value of the linen is twofold: it strengthens the entire work and protects the finer material from the paste with which it is ultimately fastened on to the book.

(2) A book must be sewn, the edges cut, and the boards fixed, before the sizes of the sides and back can be accurately measured. These sizes must be given to the designer most carefully, as a very small difference between the real size and the embroidered size will entirely spoil the finished effect, however fine the details of the workmanship may be.

When the exact size is known the designer will fill the s.p.a.ces at his disposal according to his taste and skill, making his sketches on paper, and, when these are complete, transferring the outlines to the material on which the work is to be done. If the designer is also to be the worker it is artistically right, and he, or she, will put in the proper st.i.tches as the work progresses; but if another person is to execute the needlework it will be best that very detailed description of all the threads and st.i.tches that are to be used should be given, as every designer of an embroidery design intends it to be carried out in a particular way, and unless this way is followed, the design does not have full justice done to it.

(3) In the working itself the greatest care must be taken, especially as to two points: the first and perhaps the more important, because the more difficult to remedy, is that the needlework on the _under_ side of the material must be as small and flat as possible, and all knots, lumps, or irregularities here, if they cannot be avoided or safely cut off, had best be brought to the upper side and worked over. With satin, especially, attention to this point is most necessary, as unless the plain s.p.a.ces lie quite flat, which they are very apt not to do, the proper appearance of the finished work is spoiled, and however good it may be in all other points, can never be considered first-rate.

The second pitfall to avoid is any pulling or straining of the material during the operation of embroidering it. Success in avoiding this depends primarily upon the various threads being drawn at each st.i.tch to the proper tension, so that it may just have the proper pull to keep it in its place and no more--and although a st.i.tch too loose is bad enough, one too tight is infinitely worse.

(4) The preponderance of applique work, and raised work in metal guimps on embroidered books, especially on velvet, is easily accounted for when the principles they ill.u.s.trate are understood, the truth being that in both these operations the maximum of surface effect is produced with the minimum of under work.

If the piece applique is not very large, a series of small st.i.tches along all the edges is generally enough to keep it firm; such edge st.i.tches are in most cases afterwards masked by a gold cord laid over them. If, however, the applique piece is large it will be necessary to fix it as well with some supplementary st.i.tches through the central portions. These st.i.tches will generally be so managed that they fit in with, or under, some of the ornamental work; at the same time, if necessary, they may be symmetrically arranged so as to become themselves of a decorative character.

_The Embroidered Books here ill.u.s.trated._

For the purposes of ill.u.s.tration I have chosen the most typical specimens possible from such collections as I have had access to. The chief collections in England are, undoubtedly, those at the British Museum and at the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The collection at the British Museum is especially rich, the earlier and finer specimens almost invariably having formed part of the old Royal Library of England given by George II. to the Museum in 1757.

The more recent specimens have been acquired either by purchase or donation, but as there has been no special intention at any time to collect these bindings, it is remarkable that such a number of them exist in our National Library. The Bodleian is rich in a few fine specimens only, and most of these are exhibited. My ill.u.s.trations are made from photographs from the books themselves in all instances; to show them properly, however, all should be in colour, and it should not be forgotten that an embroidered book represented only by a half-tint print, however good, inevitably loses its greatest charm. However, if the half-tint is unworthy, the colour prints are distinctly flattering.

I think that almost any old book well reproduced in colour gains in appearance, and in two of my colour plates I have actually restored some parts. In the beautiful fourteenth century psalter, supposed to have been worked by Anne de Felbrigge, I have made the colours purposely much clearer than they are at present. If it were possible to clean this volume, the colours would show very nearly as they do on my plate; but, actually, they are all much darker and more indistinct, being in fact overlaid with the acc.u.mulated dirt of centuries. The other instance where I have added more than at present exists on the original is the green velvet book which belonged to Queen Elizabeth, and forms my frontispiece. Here I have put in the missing pearls, each of which has left its little impression on the velvet, so nothing is added for which there is not the fullest authority. Moreover, some of the gold cord is gone on each of the three volumes of this work, but I have put it in its proper place for the purpose of ill.u.s.tration. The other plates are not in any way materially altered, but it may be allowed that the colour plates show their originals at their best.

The books ill.u.s.trated are selected out of a large number, and I think it may fairly be considered that the most favourable typical specimens now left in England are shown. It may well be that a few finer instances than I have been able to find may still be discovered hidden away in private collections, but it is now so rarely that a really fine ancient embroidered book comes into the sale-room, that we may safely conclude the best of them are already safely housed in one or other of our great national collections. Where not otherwise stated, the specimens described are in the British Museum.

In the following detailed descriptions I have used the words 'sides' and 'boards' to mean the same thing, and the measurements refer to the size of the boards themselves, not including the back. These measurements must be taken as approximate only, as from wear and other causes the actual sizes would only be truly given by the use of small fractions of inches.

CHAPTER II

BOOKS BOUND IN CANVAS

English books bound in embroidered canvas range over a period of about two hundred and fifty years, the earliest known specimen dating from the fourteenth century, and instances of the work occurring with some frequency from this time until the middle of the seventeenth century.

The majority of these bindings are worked in tapestry-st.i.tch, or tent-st.i.tch, in designs ill.u.s.trating Scriptural subjects in differently coloured threads.

Very often the outlines of these designs are marked by gold threads and cords, of various kinds, and parts of the work are also frequently enriched with further work upon them in metal threads. Spangles are very rarely found on canvas-bound books. The backgrounds of several of the later specimens are worked in silver threads, sometimes in chain-st.i.tch and sometimes in tapestry-st.i.tch; others again have the groundwork of silver threads laid along the surface of the canvas and caught down at regular intervals by small st.i.tches--this kind of work is called 'laid'

or 'couched' work. Books bound with this metal ground have always strong work superimposed, usually executed in metal strips, cords, and thread.

The silver is now generally oxidised and much darkened, but when new these bindings must have been very brilliant.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 3--The Felbrigge Psalter. 13th-century MS.]

_The Felbrigge Psalter._ 13th-century MS. Probably bound in the 14th century.

The earliest example of an embroidered book in existence is, I believe, the ma.n.u.script English Psalter written in the thirteenth century, which afterwards belonged to Anne, daughter of Sir Simon de Felbrigge, K. G., standard-bearer to Richard II. Anne de Felbrigge was a nun in the convent of Minoresses at Bruisyard in Suffolk, during the latter half of the fourteenth century, and it is quite likely that she herself worked the cover--such work having probably been largely done in monasteries and convents during the middle ages.

On the upper side is a very charming design of the Annunciation, and, on the under, another of the Crucifixion, each measuring 7-3/4 by 5-3/4 inches. In both cases the ground is worked with fine gold threads 'couched' in a zigzag pattern, the rest of the work being very finely executed in split-st.i.tch by the use of which apparently continuous lines can be made, each successive st.i.tch beginning a little _within_ that immediately preceding it--the effect in some places being that of a very fine chain-st.i.tch. The lines of this work do not in any way follow the meshes of the linen or canvas, as is mostly the case with book-work upon such material, but they curve freely according to the lines and folds of the design. It will be recognised I think by art workwomen skilled in this kind of small embroidery, that the methods used for ornamenting the canvas binding of this book are the most artistic of any of the various means employed for a similar purpose, and I know of no other instance which for appropriateness of workmanship, or charm of design, can compare with this, the earliest of all.

The figure of the Virgin Mary, on the upper side, is dressed in a pale red robe, with an upper garment or cloak of blue with a gold border. On her head is a white head-dress, and round it a yellow halo; just above is a white dove flying downwards, its head having a small red nimbus or cloud round it. The Virgin holds a red book in her hand. The figure of the angel is winged, and wears an under robe of blue with an upper garment of yellow; round his head he has a green and yellow nimbus, his wings are crimson and white.

Between these two figures is a large yellow vase, banded with blue and red; out of it grows a tall lily, with a crown of three red blossoms.

The drawing of both of the figures is good, the att.i.tudes and the management of the folds of the drapery being excellently rendered, and the execution of the technical part is in no way inferior to the design.

On the lower side, on a groundwork of gold similar to that on the upper cover, is a design of the Crucifixion. Our Saviour wears a red garment round the loins, and round his head is a red and yellow nimbus, his feet being crossed in a manner often seen in illuminations in ancient ma.n.u.scripts.

The cross is yellow with a green edge, the foot widening out into a triple arch, within which is a small angel kneeling in the att.i.tude of prayer. On the right of the cross is a figure of the Virgin Mary, in robes of pale blue and yellow, with a white head-dress and green and yellow nimbus. On the left is another figure, probably representing St.

John, dressed in robes of red and blue, and having a nimbus round his head of concentric rings of red and yellow. This figure is unfortunately in very bad condition. The edges of the leaves of the book are painted with heraldic bearings in diamond-shaped s.p.a.ces, that of the Felbrigge family 'Gules, a lion rampant, or' alternately with another 'azure, a fleur-de-lys, or.' The embroidered sides have been badly damaged by time and probably more so by repair. The book has been rebound in leather, the old embroidered back quite done away with, and the worked sides pulled away from their original boards and ruinously flattened out on the new ones. After the Felbrigge Psalter no other embroidered binding has been preserved till we come to one dating about 1536, which is in satin, and will be described under that head.

_The Miroir or Gla.s.se of the Synneful Soul._ MS. by the Princess Elizabeth. 1544.

The Princess Elizabeth, afterwards Queen, in her eleventh year, copied out in her own handwriting the _Miroir or Gla.s.se of the Synneful Soul._ She says it is translated 'out of frenche ryme into english prose, joyning the sentences together as well as the capacitie of my symple witte and small lerning coulde extende themselves.' It is also most prettily dedicated: 'From a.s.sherige, the last daye of the yeare of our Lord G.o.d 1544 ... To our most n.o.ble and vertuous Quene Katherin, Elizabeth her humble daughter wisheth perpetuall felicitie and everlasting joye.'

The book is now one of the great treasures of the Bodleian Library; it is bound in canvas, measures about 7 by 5 inches, and was embroidered in all probability by the hands of the Princess herself. The Countess of Wilton in her book on the art of needlework says that 'Elizabeth was an accomplished needlewoman,' and that 'in her time embroidery was much thought of.' The Rev. W. Dunn Macray in his _Annals of the Bodleian Library_ considers this binding to be one of 'Elizabeth's bibliopegic achievements.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: 4--The Miroir or Gla.s.se of the Synneful Soul. MS. by the Princess Elizabeth. 1544.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 5--Prayers of Queen Katherine Parr. MS. by the Princess Elizabeth. 1545.]

The design is the same upon both sides. The ground is all worked over in a large kind of tapestry-st.i.tch in thick pale blue silk, very evenly and well done, so well that it has been considered more than once to be a piece of woven material. On this is a cleverly designed interlacing scroll-work of gold and silver braid, in the centre of which are the joined initials K. P.

In each corner is a heartsease worked in thick coloured silks, purple and yellow, interwoven with fine gold threads, and a small green leaflet between each of the petals. The back is very much worn, but it probably had small flowers embroidered upon it.

_Prayers of Queen Katherine Parr._ MS. by the Princess Elizabeth. 1545.

Another ma.n.u.script beautifully written by the Princess Elizabeth about a year later is now at the British Museum. It is on vellum, and contains prayers or meditations, composed originally by Queen Katherine Parr in English, and translated by the Princess into Latin, French, and Italian.

The t.i.tle as given in the book reads, 'Precationes ... ex piis scriptoribus per n.o.biliss. et pientiss. D. Catharinam Anglie, Francie, Hibernieq. reginam collecte, et per D. Elizabetam ex anglico converse.'

It is, moreover, dedicated to Henry VIII., the wording being, 'Ill.u.s.trissimo Henrico octavo, Anglie, Francie, Hibernieq. regi,' etc., and dated Hertford, 20th December 1545.

It is bound in canvas, and measures 5-3/4 by 4 inches, the groundwork being broadly worked in tapestry-st.i.tch, or some st.i.tch a.n.a.logous to it, in red silk, resembling in method the work on the ground of _The Miroir of the Synneful Soul_ already described. On this, in the centre of each side, is a large monogram worked in blue silk, interwoven with silver thread, containing the letters K, probably standing for Katherine, A, F, H, and R, possibly meaning 'Anglie, Francie, Hibernieque, Reginae,' but like most monograms this one can doubtless be otherwise interpreted.

Above and below the monogram are smaller H's, worked in red silk, interwoven with gold thread. In each corner is a heartsease of yellow and purple silk, interwoven with gold thread, and having small green leaves between each of the petals. The work which was once on the back is now so worn that it cannot be traced sufficiently to tell what it originally was. The designs of these two volumes, credited to the Princess Elizabeth, resemble each other to some extent; they both have a monogram in the centre, they both have heartsease in the corners and groundwork of a like character. They are, as far as workmanship goes, still more alike, similar thick silk is used for the ground, and threads and braids of a thick nature, with metal interwoven, are used on both for the ornamental work. Speaking of this British Museum book, the Countess of Wilton says, 'there is little doubt that Elizabeth's own needle wrought the ornaments thereon.'