All the embroidered books now extant dating from before the reign of Queen Elizabeth have gone through the very unfortunate operation of ‘re-backing,’ in the course of which the old embroidered work is replaced by new leather.  The old head and tail bands, technically very interesting, have been replaced by modern imitations, and considerable damage has been done in distorting the work left on the sides of the book.  It would seem obvious that a canvas, velvet, or satin embroidered binding, if it really must be re-backed or repaired at all, should be mended with a material as nearly as possible of the same make and colour as that of the original covering; but this has rarely been done, the large majority of such repairs being executed in leather.  But in the case of such old bindings we must be grateful for small mercies, and feel thankful that even the sides are left in so many cases.  It is indeed surprising that we still possess as much as we do.  If all our great collectors had been of the same mind as Henry Prince of Wales, the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, or even King George III., we should have been far worse off, as although several fine old bindings exist in their libraries, many which would now be priceless have been destroyed, only to be replaced by comparatively modern bindings, sometimes the best of their kind, but often in bad taste.

Division of Embroidered Books according to the designs upon them.

The designs on embroidered books may be roughly divided into four classes—­Heraldic, Figure, Floral, and Arabesque.

The Heraldic designs always denote ownership, and are most frequently found on Royal books bound in velvet, rarely occurring on silk or satin, and never, as far as I have been able to ascertain, on canvas.  The Figure designs may be subdivided into three smaller classes, viz.:—­

     I. Scriptural, e.g. representations of Solomon and the
     Queen of Sheba, Jacob wrestling with the Angel, David, etc.

     II.  Symbolical, e.g. figures of Faith, Hope, Peace,
     Plenty, etc.

     III.  Portraits, e.g. of Charles I., Queen
     Henrietta Maria, Duke of Buckingham, etc.

The Scriptural designs are most generally found on canvas-bound books; the Symbolical figures, and Portraits, on satin, rarely on velvet.  The Floral and Arabesque designs are most common on small and unimportant works bound in satin, but they occur now and then on both canvas and velvet books.  The true arabesques have no animal or insect forms among them, the prophet Mohammed having forbidden his followers to imitate any living thing.

It may further be noted that heraldic designs on embroidered books are early, having been made chiefly during the sixteenth century, and that the figure, floral, and arabesque designs most usually belong to the seventeenth century.  There are, of course, exceptions to these divisions, notably in the case of the earliest existing embroidered book, which has figure designs on both sides, but also maintains its heraldic position, inasmuch as its edges are decorated with coats-of-arms.