Cambridge Bookbindings : A velvet-covered binding from the workshop of Titus Tillet, 1688

University of Cambridge

Cambridge Bookbindings

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>In the early seventeenth century, presentation copies of sets of University congratulatory verses were commonly bound in gilt-tooled leather or parchment, to varying degrees of elaboration (see <a href='/view/PR-REL-D-00062-00001'>Rel.d.62.1</a>). At the end of the century, such things were often put into simple but elegant velvet-covered bindings, like this one, made in the bindery of John Houlden’s son-in-law and successor, Titus Tillet (1632-1702). The Library has several other copies of sets of verses of the 1680s, very similarly bound, in velvet of different colours; Tillet charged between ten and twelve shillings each for these bindings, which was quite expensive compared with the cost of straightforward leather-covered bindings at the same time.</p><p>Pasteboards, covered with yellow velvet, without any impressed tooling. Gilt leaf edges; retaining its cloth ties, probably originally yellow, now faded; plain paper flyleaves, with separate marbled paper pastedowns.</p><p>Dr David Pearson</p></p>