Class XXX]

SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT OX DESIGX.

741

the simple excellence of the medievalists or to the chasterichness of the binders of the sixteenth century. It isno doubt admissible, nay desirable, that the outsidedecoration of a book should have some reference in itsornament to the inside eonteuts; but still the detailschosen should be amenable to ornamental treatment,should not be mere conceits, and, as has been so oftenreiterated, should not be mere reproductions of theornament proper for a totally different material. Thusa painter's palette, with its range of tints preparedfor study, let into the cover, can hardly be supposed theappropriate binding for a work on colour, apart from theimpossibility of any symmetrical arrangement of theobject itself, or of the tints upon it, for its newly adoptedpurpose. Neither is the perspective delineation of theapse of a cathedral a proper ornamentation for the coverof a ‘‘Church Service,” any more than the host of treat-ments in the same direction, consisting of the fronts ofcathedrals, oriel and rose windows, and stone tracery ofmany kinds, so often adopted for such purposes. In alltooled work and block impressions, bookbinding requiresHarness of treatment as one of its first principles; in-teriors of churches, perspectives of tunnels, and evenfigures, pictorially used, are quite out of place. Heraldryand heraldic devices should be displayed fiat, and evenstrap-work, or mere combinations of lines, should not bearranged so as to give the appearance of projection, an}'more than coloured materials or mosaics should give theappearance of relief, although the fine old Grolier bind-ings and other works of the Renaissance period sometimesoffend against this rule. Another class of errors arisefrom mere imitation of details without full considerationof their intent and use. Thus, formerly, when the heavyChurch Services were really bound in boards and richlyornamented, hinges were a necessary appendage, as wellas bosses, by their projection beyond the surface to pro-tect any delicate carving, rich tooling, or rare metal workinlaid into the cover; and, at present, in books of constantuse, of large size, which require great strength, and comeunder the same conditions, the use of these appendagesis desirable and appropriate. Hut that which is properfor a copy of the Scriptures, or a Church Service, for thelectern, is hardly suitable for a book for the pocket; yetthese miniature works are ornamented with hinges andbosses, sometimes really in metal, and sometimes onlyimitated as tooled work on the surface of the leather.Even in some works, where their introduction is appro-priate, their intention is at times overlooked or dis-regarded : thus in a choice metallic binding of a book of“ Hours,” by Madame Gruel (France, 857, p. 1221), thefigure of the Virgin Mary in the centre, whilst it has ahigher relief than is suitable for a book-cover, projectsmoreover beyond the impost of the decorative bosses at thecorners of the cover, which ought to serve as its protection.

The “ designs ” for bookbinding are principally thoseexhibited on the English side by Mr. D. Wyatt(Class XXX., 30, p. 832) and by Luke Limner (Mr. B. 1Leighton) (Class XVII., 24, p. 538); the works of theformer gentleman, whilst they are rich and decorative,and on just principles as to flatness, are somewhat over-crowded and a little deficient in simplicity, which is jrarely the case in the best works of the binders of the !sixteenth century. The works of the last-named exhi- 'bitor may be better judged of by the bindings from hisdesigns in Class XVII.; while they evidence much fancy ■and invention, they show a strong tendency to the pic-turesque, and are at times wormy and meagre in style.

Among the works exhibited may be mentioned, for 1good design, the bindings by M. P. M. Lortic France, '1652, p. 1256), “ L'Orloge des Princes,” decorated witha diaper of fleuv-de-lys on a dark ground, and a “ Calho-licon,” although this latter is rather deficient in theproportion of its margins. The works of J. Simier :(France, 693, p. 1212), and J. E. Xiehree (France , 665, ■p. 1211), have also merit, although it consists rather inadopting the style and labour of the past than in anypeculiar novelty. This is more or less the case on theEnglish side also, the best works being imitative of oldGerman, French , or mediaeval bindings. “The Illumi-jnated Book of the Middle Ages, ” as bound by J. Wright .

(Class XVII., 139, p. 544', has much merit, althoughwanting in a nice adaptation of the ornament to thecorners. “The Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament”is also good, although the whole surface is too generallycovered, and the margins too narrow for the size of thediaper. The cover of “ Thomson’s Seasons,” by Leigh-ton \p. 538), is one of the best designs of Luke Limner,and the washable enamel binding, in variegated colours,by J. S. Evans, (Class XVII., 8, p. 537), has merit in itsapplication of colour if not in novelty of design. Messrs.De La Hue (Class XVII., 76, p. 543), in works of actualbookbinding, as well as in much that is allied to thisbranch of industry, exhibit some specimens of gooddesign, the ormament being composed of combinationsof ieafiets symmetrically arranged on flowing lines ofstems, showing how a principle duly carried out is sureto result in giving a novel and distinctive character todesign. There is a harmonious unity about these works,but they are a little frigid and inclined to poverty, whichdoes not, however, necessarily belong to the styleadopted. Some fancy papers, exhibited by this firm, aregreatly to be praised; the ornament (in various styles) ismost agreeably distributed, the forms flowing and elegant,and richness attained without gaudiness. Some of thesepatterns would work well in silk or poplin, or even besuitable for printed fabrics; and it is in this manner thatthe design of one manufacturer, properly understood, mayapply to another, where there are many qualities commonto both, and no principle infringed in such adoption.

I)iv. 4. — Garment Fabrics.

Perhaps there is no subject which comes under reviewin this Report of more importance than the considerationof design as applied to garment fabrics, since the amountof skill and labour engaged in their production forms solarge a part of the industry of the world. Moreover thedesign applied to apparel must exercise a great influenceover the general taste of the public, and persons whohave been accustomed to consider gaudy, florid, andlarge ornament suitable for articles of clothing, willhardly be capable of judging correctly of what is true,

; beautiful, and appropriate, in the ornament of the domesric. utensils and furniture of their dwellings. The great! sources of error in designing for garment fabrics are overi ornamentation, and attracting undue attention to theornament—which may arise from many causes; thusfrom the violence of contrast either of light and dark or1 of colour, from overcharging the colour, or from the

• ornament being too large for the fabric. All these causes,however, are modified by the material. Thus muslins

• and bareges will bear more pronounced contrasts than| the more solid or more absorbent textures of jac-

quonet muslins or de-laines. Silks and de-laines, again,will bear greater fulness of colour than the drier surfaceof cotton; while woven patterns in silk, formed by tabbyand satin in a self colour, will bear much larger figuresthan are applicable to either woven patterns in variedcolours, or the same printed on cottons or silks. Thus,the pattern inserted (G F, fig. 1)—half the size of theoriginal—is from a printed barege, and will give thelargest scale of pattern which appears suitable for theopen texture of this material; it would, however, evenin the reduced size of the woodcut, be far too largefor a Swiss cambric, although it might be even largerthan the original size of the pattern on a self-colouredfigured silk. These observations will show the ne-cessity of the designer carefully attending to texture,lustre* &c., iu preparing his design, and illustratethe difficulty of adopting without adapting the orna-ment of one fabric to the decoration ot another. Theflowing lines, agreeable distribution, and flat treat-ment of the details will illustrate other points in theseremarks. See also the pattern of a de-laine (G F, fig. 2),and of a muslin (GF, fig. 4). Though the relative scaleof the pattern, however, is a most important consideration,it is difficult, even after the above considerations, toarrive at any absolute rule on the subject, since theperson and the stature of the wearer of a garment musthave some weight in determining the suitable size of