relief. The smaller
flowers are all of silver, the buds, some red, some white. The stems are
of thick silver twist enclosed between finer gold cords, and the leaves
show a little green silk among the gold cord with which they are
outlined and veined. Immediately above and below the centre rose are two
little T's worked in small pearls.

[Illustration: 25--Bible. London, 1583.]

The narrow border round the edges is very pretty; it is a wavy line of
gold cord and green silk, the hollows within the curves being filled
with alternate 'Pods' with pearls, and green leaves. The back is divided
into four panels by wavy lines of gold cord and pearls, and the upper
and lower panels have small rose-plants with white roses, buds, and
leaves; the inner panels have each a large Tudor rose of red and white,
with leaves and buds. The drawing and designing of this splendid book
are admirable, and the workmanship is in every way excellent. Many of
the pearls are gone, and some of the higher portions of the large roses
are abraded, the back, as usual, being in a rather bad state; but in
spite of all this, and the inevitable fading, the work remains in a
sufficiently preserved condition to show that at this period the art
of book-embroidery reached its highest decorative point. It is rather
curious to note that Henry VIII. used the red Lancastrian rose
by preference, but that on Elizabeth's books the white rose always
appears, and I know of very few instances where the red rose appears on
her books. Of course both sovereigns used the combined, double, or Tudor
rose as well.

[Illustration: 26--The Commonplaces of Peter Martyr.
London, 1583.]

_The Commonplaces of Peter Martyr._ London, 1583.

An embroidered book designed in a manner which is characteristic of a
gold tooled book is found but rarely. An instance of this however is
found on a copy of _The Commonplaces of Peter Martyr_, translated by
Anthonie Marten, and printed in London in 1583. It is covered in blue
purple velvet measuring 13-1/2 by 9 inches, and the design upon it is a
broad outer border doubly outlined with a curious and effective braid,
apparently consisting of a close series of small silver rings, but
really being only a silver spiral flattened out. This border is dotted
at regular intervals with star-shaped clusters of small pieces of
silver guimp symmetrically arranged. The centre of the inner panel is a
diamond-shaped ornament made with similar 'ring' braid a