These stitches will generally be so managed that they fit in
with, or under, some of the ornamental work; at the same time, if
necessary, they may be symmetrically arranged so as to become themselves
of a decorative character.
_The Embroidered Books here illustrated._
For the purposes of illustration I have chosen the most typical
specimens possible from such collections as I have had access to. The
chief collections in England are, undoubtedly, those at the British
Museum and at the Bodleian Library at Oxford. The collection at the
British Museum is especially rich, the earlier and finer specimens
almost invariably having formed part of the old Royal Library of England
given by George II. to the Museum in 1757.
The more recent specimens have been acquired either by purchase or
donation, but as there has been no special intention at any time to
collect these bindings, it is remarkable that such a number of them
exist in our National Library. The Bodleian is rich in a few fine
specimens only, and most of these are exhibited. My illustrations are
made from photographs from the books themselves in all instances; to
show them properly, however, all should be in colour, and it should not
be forgotten that an embroidered book represented only by a half-tint
print, however good, inevitably loses its greatest charm.
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