Читать книгу Thomas Berthelet, Royal Printer and Bookbinder to Henry VIII., King of England онлайн

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“Piers Bauduyn stacioner for bynding gilding and dressing of a booke called Titus Livius XXˢ; for binding gilding and dressing of a booke of The Holy Trinite XVjˢ; for binding gilding and dressing of a booke called The Bible XVjˢ; for binding gilding and dressing of a booke called Le Gouvernment of Kings and Princes XVj; ... and for binding and gilding and dressing of a booke called The Bible Historial XXˢ.”

It is, I think, probable that these bindings were ornamented with panel stamps, which were simply gilded all over, and that the process referred to was not that which is now generally understood as gold-tooling.

During the Middle Ages Venice was the most important European centre of trade with Eastern countries, and so it naturally comes about that the first European gold-tooling on leather comes from that great art centre, and occurs in Italian bindings of the fifteenth century. Not only does gold-tooling first appear in Venetian work, but there also it reached its highest development, several of the early bindings tooled in gold on dark leathers being quite unsurpassed for delicacy and originality of design, as well as for beauty of workmanship. In several of these bindings the direct inspiration that has been afforded by the study of Oriental originals is very apparent.