the 19th century
were nothing more than distant imitations of Roger Payne. Kalthoeber,
Staggemeier, Walther and Hering were all disciples of this master, but
Charles Lewis worked on original lines. He developed arabesques and paid
particular attention to richly gold-tooled doublures. He also used gold
end papers, and the bands at the back of his bindings are often double
and always broad, flat and gold-tooled. His workmanship is excellent; he
worked largely for Thomas Grenville and other great collectors.

French binding of the 19th century is remarkable for wonderful technical
excellence in every part. Among the most skilled of these admirable
workmen and artists may be particularly mentioned Thouvenin, Bauzonnet,
Lortic, Niedree, Cape and Duru, and fortunately they generally sign
their work in small gold lettering either on the back of their bindings
or inside along the lower edge.

Modern methods.

Recent years have witnessed a marked revival of interest in the art of
bookbinding, but modern binders have two serious difficulties to contend
with. One of these is the prevalence of bad paper, overladen with clay
and with wood pulp, and also the fact that many of the modern leathers
are badly prepared and dangerously treated with sulphuric acid, which in
time inevitably rots the fibre. The Society of Arts has appointed
committees of experts to report upon both of these evils, and the
published accounts of both inquiries are of much value, and it is to be
hoped that the results may be beneficial. Concurrently with the revival
of the artistic side of the subject, there has also arisen a remarkable
development in the technical processes, owing to the invention of
ingenious and delicate machinery which is capable of executing the work
which had hitherto been always laboriously done by hand. The processes
of folding the printed sheets, and sewing them together on bands,
rounding the backs when sewn, and of making the outer cases, covering
them with cloth or leather and stamping designs upon them, can now all
be efficiently executed by means of machines. The saving in time and
labour thus effected is very great, although it must be said that the
old methods of carrying out the process of sewing and rounding the backs
of books by hand labour were safer and stronger, as well as being much
less liable to bruise and injure the paper. These processes
unfortunately are not only slow but also necessitate highly skilled
labour