on the leather. Blind tooling may be gone over and over until it is
deep enough, and may be combined with various other methods of
working. For instance, in tooling such a spray as is shown at fig. 99,
the leaf would be formed by five impressions of the second tool, shown
at A, the extremity of the impressions could be joined with gouges,
the stalk and veining could either be run in with a fillet or worked
with gouges. The grapes would best be worked with a tool cut for the
purpose. One edge of all gouge or fillet impressions can be smoothed
down with some such tool as shown in section at B. This has to be
worked round the gouge lines with a steady hand, and may be fairly hot
if it is kept moving. At C is shown a section of a gouge impression
before and after the use of this tool. The ground can be dotted in, or
otherwise gone over with some small tool to throw up the pattern.

Blind tooling can sometimes be used in combination with gold tooling.

[Illustration: FIG. 99.]

In the fifteenth century the Venetian binders used little roundels of
some gesso-like substance, that were brightly coloured or gilt, in
combination with blind tooling (see p. 325). This is a method that
might be revived.

What is known as "leather work" is a further development of blind
tooling. This method of decoration has been revived lately, but not
generally with success. "Leather work" may be divided into two
branches; in one the surface of the leather is cut to outline the
pattern, and in the other the leather is embossed from the back, while
wet, and the pattern outlined by an indented line. Sometimes the two
methods are combined. As embossing from the back necessitates the work
being done before the leather is on the book, it is not very suitable
for decorating books. Leather first decorated and then stuck on the
book, never looks as if it was an integral part of the binding. The
cut leather work, which may be done after the book is bound, and
leaves the surface comparatively flat, is a better method to employ
for books, provided the cuts are not too deep, and are restricted to
the boards, so as not to weaken the leather at the back and joints.
Much of the leather used for "leather work" is of very poor quality,
and will not last; for modelling it must be thick on the side of the
book, and for the book to open it must be pared thin at the joint,
thus making it necessary to use a thick skin very much pared down, and
consequently wea