Jewelled bookbinding

Jewelled bookbindings were known in the Middle Ages, covering important liturgical and devotional works for Popes and Kings. The vast majority of these were later destroyed as their jewels were removed by vandals. Some still exist - see major libraries - the Morgan Library in New York, the John Rylands Library in Manchester, the British Library in London and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris for example.

About 1905 the English binders Sangorski & Sutcliffe reinvented Jewelled Bindings, as part of the revival of English decorated bookbindings. These were not large uncut gems as in Mediaeval times but semi-precious stones en cabuchon set into beautifully designed bindings with multi coloured leather inlays and elaborate gilt tooling. The craftsmanship of these bindings was unsurpassable ; only their competitors Riviere produced work of similar quality. The most famous of these bindings "The Great Omar" on a large copy of the "Rubaiyat" had over 1,000 jewels ; it went down with the Titanic. The largest collection of these masterpieces was the Phoebe Boyle one ; over 100 jewelled bindings sold in 1923. Jewelled bindings occasionally appear at auction ; literature on them is surprisingly scant given their superb quality. A new limited edition book by Stephen Ratcliffe "Hidden Treasures" now documents these masterpieces. Available from [e-mail].