The bindings of William and Mary are not remarkable in any way, except for their peculiar arrangement of the quarterings of the royal coat. A fine copy of Veues des belles maisons de France, bound in red morocco, has in the centre a crowned shield within a Garter, the bearings being—first, the coat of England; second, the coat of Scotland; third, the coat of France; fourth, the coat of Ireland; over all the scutcheon of Nassau. In each corner is a handsome crowned monogram, “W. M.” The volume is at Windsor. In the same library is a copy of the Statutes of the Order of the Garter, bound in dark blue morocco, and bearing in the centre, within a Mearne border, the royal coat-of-arms, crowned, with Garter. On the dexter side is the Cross of St. George; on the sinister side, the coat of England with the quarterings in their proper order.
Fig. 22.—Ælfric. An English-Saxon Homily on the
Birthday of St. Gregory. London, 1709. Queen Anne.
In the British Museum are other bindings of William and Mary, but they are also of small importance from a decorative point of view. They often bear the crowned initials “W. R.” enclosed in laurel sprays, and are ornamented with lines and small sprays in gold, mostly after the Mearne fashion. A copy of the Memoirs of the Earl of Castlehaven, London, 1681, has the coat arranged in the following curious manner: first, England; second, Scotland; third, Ireland; fourth, France, with scutcheon of Nassau over all. It almost seemed as if William considered that the coat of France had been borne long enough by English sovereigns, and it occupied the place of honour until he deposed it from that proud position; but I believe it was only upon his bookbindings that he took these liberties with the fleurs-de-lis.
The finest of Queen Anne’s bindings at Windsor is a copy of Flamsteed, Historia Cœlestis, 1712. It is bound in red morocco, and has in the centre the full arms of England with supporters. The arms are quartered as follows: first and fourth, England and Scotland impaled; second, France; and third, Ireland; all within mitred panels, ornamented with small arabesques and floral sprays at the angles and sides. In the same library is also a binding with the monogram of William, Duke of Gloucester, son of Queen Anne, with a prince’s coronet enclosed in a triple-bordered panel, with sprays and acorns.
In the British Museum the richest binding done for Queen Anne is on a copy of the English Euclide, Oxford, 1705 ([Fig. 21]). It is a large book, and the centre is occupied by a cottage design divided into four panels, each of which is thickly filled with small gold stamped work. At the upper and lower edges of the boards are the words “Anna D. G.,” under a royal crown, upheld by two cherubs; above which is a scroll bearing the words “Vivat Regina.” The outer corners and the sides are filled with scale ornaments and floral sprays of a branching character.
Another volume bound for Queen Anne, in the British Museum, is An English-Saxon Homily on the Birthday of St. Gregory, by Ælfric, Archbishop of Canterbury, London, 1709 ([Fig. 22]). It is covered in red morocco, and stamped in gold with a cottage design, and bears the crowned monogram “A. R.,” with laurel sprays and other small stamps scattered about. The designs on all these volumes of the later Stuart sovereigns have no very distinctive character, and, except where they are frank imitations of Mearne’s work, they show little inventive power.
On the legislative union of England and Scotland in 1706, the first and fourth quarters of the royal coat bore the coats of England and Scotland impaled, the second quarter the coat of France, and the third that of Ireland. It is important to remember this change, as the first quarter continued to be used in the same way on Queen Anne’s books and on those of her successors until 1801.