Bookstamps for James I (1566-1625)
Two gilt bookstamps bearing the arms of James I & VI, the first from a (1582) and the second from three volumes of Boissard's
Annotations of Pierfrancesco di Piero Bardi (d. 1534), and his dedication to Henry VIII
Binding for Henry, Prince of Wales
This English translation of is signed by John, Lord Lumley (d. 1609), one time High Steward of Oxford University, later imprisoned for his implication in the Ridolfi Plot to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.
16th-century English gold-decorated calf, with arms of Elizabeth I
An ornate binding bearing Queen Elizabeth I's arms to a volume which contains Edward VI's copy of Erasmus's (1529).
16th-century English gold-decorated morocco, with dedication to Elizabeth I (A.3.88)
- Read more about 16th-century English gold-decorated morocco, with dedication to Elizabeth I (A.3.88)
An inscription to Queen Elizabeth I from Tobias Matthew, Bishop of Durham, later Archbishop of York and a key figure in Elizabeth's church establishment, found at the front of an ornately decorated copy of (Paris, 1544).
16th-century Elizabethan calfskin binding
One of Elizabeth I's badges (a crowned falcon holding a sceptre) stamped in gilt on an edition of (1544), which she used in memory of her mother Anne Boleyn because it was used at her coronation. Given by .
16th-century Elizabethan embroidered binding (Aa.6.52)
A binding of embroidered velvet with the badge of Queen Elizabeth I on an anti-Catholic treatise, by Lewis Evans (London, 1568). There is no record of it having been owned by Elizabeth, but she did apparently prefer velvet bindings in her own library, especially in red.
Inscriptions of Edward VI and John Foxe
This copy of Erasmus's work on the education of princes, (1529), bears several overlapping marks of provenance, all of which point to a connection with Tudor monarchs. It appears to have been Edward VI's personal copy and there are notes in his hand, in Latin and Greek.
Books from the library of Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg (1545-1617)
There are over twenty volumes in St John's Library which once belonged to Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, Prince-Bishop of Wurzburg. All except one of these bear similar alum-tawed, white pigskin bindings over wooden boards, decorated with blind-stamped panels and rolls, of a type that was popular in Germany from 1550 to 1640. They all have Mespelbrunn's arms stamped and then painted in red and black on the front cover, and several also have a gilt mark of ownership pressed into the fore-edge of the textblock, together with the title of the particular volume.
Gift binding from Charles II (1630-1685) (A.4.9*)
This black morocco binding boasts fine gold-tooling in a "rectangular" design, incorporating the crowned initials "C.C." within palm branches. This is typical of the work produced for Charles II by his bookbinder Samuel Mearne, who may have introduced the "rectangular" style to England, where it became very popular in the later 17th and early 18th centuries.