New-York tribune., 1903-11-29


,.-k, stage in the education OF the h'ue
nrince. "Ie Petit Livre dEnglise. a tiny Vo'uine
In n dainty iIigree cover of silver was uSeu ~
his religious training. From the hi'ie
ct Utile Pour les Scavans ct Arus'eS Il" az"
derived instruction. though from some Oh the
decorative prints in the book we iidS
that he was less the pupil than the diH'''0
when he acquired it,
Another book that suggests q lailou' He
an earlier day. absorbed in study Is tne IN
tionnaire Itaien ct Francais' over wi4o"
can see the Duchesse dAlehfoh oO9
troubIed brow. Again the practical motive re-
ar, In the four volumes of the Code Mill
taire ou Compilation des OrdOnnances des l'oys
ao E>-orca The copy here is the copy OF Id
Tour d'Auvergne that stalwart soluler' "no
do,btIess bought the book much lot the camp
az for the study The classical tastes Oh MAI
guerite de Valos reflected III the ''P' u
LES Vies de Hommes Illustres Grecs e' W.
mains" from her library, eXqulslteiy oouiid III
vallur, covered with fleurs-de-lis IN gOid- iiS-
tory looms large among these DOCKS Oh roSdi
ownership A copy of Gucciardlhi Coilies hoi"
the library of Charles de Nalois; INC ii'
Universale" of Sansovino, in superb oi'i"i.9
h1, Nicolas Eve. the more beautiful because the
numerous fieur-de-lis are impressed "lINou' 'iie
use of gold. comes from the library OF henri H.
o,d , bool, of kindred Significance, the DeScrlp-
,io, do Toute rIsIe de CypTe." nobly bOuhd oy
"a Ceecon con1es from the library CT LOUIS
XIII But TO enumerate all the suese9''e
things in this collection would De 10 lePiOu
most of the titles in the catalogue ana u H15
what is not in the least negligible the cedu'S
of the bindings.
These range from miniature MASTERPIECE II,
silver from the 'Livre Curieux OF the urdHu
Dauphn mentioned above. and the scuiptu
resoue binding in silver and enaInel Ior Ihe
manuscript Armenian prayer DooK Oh 'he 'lli
teenth century, to majestic fcllo5 IKE 'Le LIZ
E,ontaina in four volumes. with the enchanting
mates by Oudry regally clothed in morocco Dy
Derome. and the "Bibliotheque HistoriaIe oil
vipnier bound bv Clovis Eve. The last men
toned volume is peculiarly representative CT tn
highest traditions i'll bCokbinding. Tie CesiSH
is MAGNIFICENT buC it is wonderfully restrained
there is not Il ford touch in IT, AS Ilch III ctIol
as a masterpiece of japanese lacquer II IS II
the same time triumph OF artlsut olSl''S-
This quality is indeed. the one most feiIeilt'J
encountered in the exhibition. testifylHS 10 the
, sanity of those old designers. whose I-edI5 ht'c
been so foolishiy re9udiated by 50 many Of our
modern craftsmen. They knew how TO De
sumptuous when occasion required witness
the "Chronique5 d'Ensuerran de Monstreiet'
bound in three volumes by Clovis Eve. Il gor-
geous achievement in binding il ever there was
one But this very design Is III essence sIIipijc-
iy itself. All the finest bindings in this coiiec-
ton are simply designed. Derome, adorainS the
La Fontaine we have already mentioned, IS
content TO tool borders Of restrained elegance
on his fine morocco and PadeIOup. though more
elaborate in his design Tor the covers or the
"Henriade," is not one whit less pure IN taste
Perhaps the most instructive OF all these
bindings where the question of design is con-
cerned is the one by Nicolas Eve from the Ii
brary of Henri III. lie PsaUltier de David
The symbols Of Christ's Passion are worked into
the borders and there is other decoration in the
design that trembIes the verge of the pic
toriaI, but the scheme, as a whole. is SO well
formaIized every detail in it is manipulated
with so true a feeling for the quality that dis
tingushes book binding from all the other arts.
that the effect, when all is said, is as legitimate
as though it were based on strictly conventional
ideas. In this way the great binders gave their
work unity and strength. Some examples here.
especially those from Papal libraries. seem to
contradict the assumption But no one pretends
that ali the bindings OF the past perfect
What we do insist upon is that the majority of
them illustrate a style controlled by a sense Of