g
larger than the others and containing a more elaborate design. The edges
of the leaves are simply gilt, and the boards measure 18 by 12 inches
each, the largest size of any embroidered book known to me.

CHAPTER IV

BOOKS BOUND IN SATIN

_Collection of Sixteenth-Century Tracts._ Bound probably about 1536.

[Illustration: 34--Collection of Sixteenth-Century Tracts.]

Perhaps the earliest existing English book bound in satin is a
collection of sixteenth-century tracts that belonged to Henry
VIII., and is now part of the Old Royal Library in the British
Museum. It is covered in red satin, measures 12 by 8 inches, and is
embroidered in an arabesque design, outlined with gold cord. On the
edges the words 'Rex in aeternum vive Neez' are written in gold. The
word 'Neez' or 'Nez,' as it is sometimes spelt, may mean Nebuchadnezzar,
as the other words were addressed to him. On books bound in leather by
Thomas Berthelet, royal binder to Henry VIII. and his immediate
successors, the motto often occurs, and as he is known to have bound
books in 'crymosyn satin,' this is most likely his work. The pattern is
worked irregularly all round the boards, and a sort of arabesque bridge
crosses the centres. The back is new, and of leather, but the boards
themselves are the original ones, and the embroidery is in a very fair
condition.

[Illustration: 35--New Testament in Greek. Leyden, 1570.]

_New Testament in Greek._ Leyden, 1576.

If early bindings in satin are rare, still rarer is the use of silk. One
example worked on white ribbed silk still remains that belonged to Queen
Elizabeth. It measures 4-3/4 by 2-3/4 inches, and in its time was no
doubt a very decorative and interesting piece of work, but it is now in
a very dilapidated state, largely due to improper repairing. The book
has actually been rebound in leather, and the old embroidered sides
stuck on. So it must be remembered that my illustration of it is
considerably restored. The design, alike on both sides, is all outlined
with gold cords and twists of different kinds and thicknesses, and the
colour is added in water-colours on the silk. In the centre is the royal
coat-of-arms within an oval garter ensigned with a royal crown, in the
adornment of which a few seed pearls are used, as they are also on the
ends of the garter.

Enclosing the coat-of-arms is an ornamental border of straight lines and
curves, worked with a thick gold twist, intertwined with gracef