Binding in Brown Calf, inlaid by the Wotton Binder (Sixteenth Century)
So a sensational book-cover may startle us by its audacity, but it is apt to stare at us horribly upon the drawing-room table—and we can hardly be expected to re-furnish entirely to suit its complexion.
A painter I know tells me that there are two classes of pictures—“pictures to live with and pictures to live by.”
Books or book-covers might be divided as books to be taken care of and books to use.
The aristocracy, in their morocco and gilded coats, seem too costly and precious to handle every day and be dimmed by London smoke and dust. Few could duplicate their favourite books, so in the end the quiet cloth cover with its plain lettering is welcome for work-a-day, while, do as we may, the motley crowd in paper will press in and flaunt their little hour, “yellow and black and pale and hectic red,” driven like leaves before the breath of passing interest, some, perhaps, at last finding rest, and resurrection, in the portfolios of the careful collector.
OF THE USE OF GILDING IN DECORATION
The use of gilding in decoration of all kinds seems to be as fascinating to the artist as its pursuit in the solid form appears to be to a large proportion of the human race. In both instances, too, there are risks to be run; in both there is use or abuse of the material involved.
The uses of gilding in art are manifold. We may regard it as the most precious and beautiful means of emphasis in design. A method of heightening certain important parts, such as the initial letters of an illuminated manuscript, where, by raising the letter in gesso, or gold size and burnishing, an additional richness and lustre is obtained, especially with the use of full colours, such as ultramarine, the deep blue and vermilion which warm the heart in looking at the manuscripts of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The jewel-like sparkle, too, of the burnished gold used for raised leaves and fruits here and there among the delicate arabesque page-borders as in French manuscripts of the early fourteenth century has a most charming effect, and contains suggestions for the use of gold in larger kinds of decorative work.