34 BOOKBINDING IN THE TIMES OF

were two papyri, the one in Coptic , the other inGreek ; both in the form of books. The Greek pa-pyrus has been discovered to contain a portion of thePsalms . The leaves, of about ten inches in length,by seven in width, are arranged, and have heen sewntogether like those of an ordinary book. They areformed of strips of the papyrus plant, crossing eachother at right angles. They were both discoveredamong the rubbish of an ancient convent at Thebes ,remarkable as still presenting some fragments of aninscription, purporting to be a pastoral letter fromAthanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, who died A.D.371.* The portion of the Psalms is now in theBritish Museum , and consists of about thirty leaves.The Coptic MS. contains one hundred and fifty'pages, folded in the form now adopted by us, but hasnever been bound. It was in the collection of J.Burton, Esq., lately sold by Messrs. Sotheby andSon. Mr. Thorp, the bookseller, of Piccadilly, wasthe purchaser, at the sum of 84/.

These discoveries prove a very early knowledge of,and considerable proficiency in the art as now prac-tised. When once the leaves were secured, the sub-sequent stages of covering and ornamenting wouldsoon follow. Bruce describes the book he had asbeing covered with leather, and Suidas , who lived inthe tenth century, and who would reason frompersonal knowledge of bindings of much earlier

■ Visit to Alexandria, &c. ii. p. 312.