The Henry Davis Gift: A Collection of Bookbindings. Volume I: Studies in the History of Bookbinding

4to (28.5 cm), 352 pp. Half dark crimson morocco, cream cloth boards, spine gilt in compartments with title, volume number, and author (cloth slightly discolored). A scholarly study of the Henry Davis Gift, one of the most significant collections of historic bookbindings assembled in Britain during the twentieth century. Donated to the British Museum in 1968, the collection was recognised at the time as the most important acquisition since the Huth bequest of 1910. Henry Davis devoted more than twenty-five years to forming a collection that spans the twelfth to the twentieth century and includes bindings from across Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. This first volume, authored by Mirjam Foot of the British Library, presents a series of detailed studies of bindings that had previously received little or no systematic scholarly attention. The material is organised geographically, with sections devoted to Great Britain, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, and Italy. The volume includes twenty-five focused studies of individual binders and workshops, among them Roger Payne, Thomas Wotton's binders, Claude de Picques, the Pecking Crow Binder, the Geneva Kings' Binder, the Borghese and Rospigliosi workshops, and the binder of the MacDurnan Gospels. Each study combines stylistic analysis with archival and bibliographical evidence, contributing to a more systematic understanding of historic European bookbinding traditions. A foundational reference work in the history of bookbinding and decorative arts, establishing Mirjam Foot as one of the leading authorities in the field.…