Victorian Gothic Revival Papier Mch Binding

By Paul Watson on October 4, 2009.

One of the fashions of the Gothic Revival during the mid-1840s to 1860s was for
monastic style bindings that imitated the Medieval wooden book covers.
Rather than reproducing these in wood, the Victorians (presumably for reasons of cost and
mass production) recreated this style with Plaster of Paris and a filler (possibly papier-mch and
antimony?), which was then formed in a rigid frame usually made of metal. Another source suggests
they were made from fibrous plaster and paper pulp reinforced with metal. I suspect some more
research is needed on my part!
The technique was patented by the British firm J. Jackson & Son. Print runs of over 1000
were needed to offset the expense of producing the complex molds, according to bookbinding
historian Bernard Middleton.
From what I can find out, the technique seems to be especially associated with the British
illustrator and illuminator Henry Noel Humphreys (18101879). Humphreys was influenced by his
study of medieval manuscripts during a stay in Italy as a young man.
The finished results have been described as resembling nothing so much as cast
iron (Bookbinding in the British Isles: sixteenth to the twentieth century, Part 2. London: Maggs
Bros. Ltd., 1996)
Some Examples of Papier Mch Bindings
English Bible, 1849

Black papier mch of a Victorian Gothic Revival design in imitation of carved wood,
featuring arches entwined with flowering vines in the central panel of each cover; covers bevelled.
Spine with Holy Bible at top and surface of same also encrusted with vinework. Gilt roll on board
edges and gilt dentelles on turn-ins; all edges gilt and gauffered in a diamond and dot design. Brass
clasp, part missing. Binding attributed to D. O. Smith of London, as per McLean who illustrates an
identical binding on an 1851 Bible from the same publishers.
More details at The Philadelphia Rare Books & Manuscripts Company
Parables of Our Lord, edited by Henry Noel Humphreys, 1847.

Parables is Humphreys first printed illuminated book in a papier-mch binding. The

publisher recorded that 2,000 copies of Parables were printed in 1847, of which 1,000 were sold to
D. Appleton in New York with a changed title page. Longmans printed a second edition in the same
year. Each of the four corners has a wreath containing the head of an angel, a lion, an eagle or an ox,
representing Gospel authors Matthew, Mark, John and Luke. Stylized oak leaves occupy the top and
bottom central rectangles. The central figure is a sower within a wreath around which two ribbons
are wrapped on a staff. Scripture Parables appears on the ribbons in raised Gothic letters.
More information at University of Rochester Libraries Rare and Special Books Collection.
The Coinage of the British Empire, by Henry Noel Humphreys, 1855.
 The central design of this papier-mch binding is the royal coat-of-arms as it appeared on
the reverse side of the gold sovereign of Henry VIII. The binding is signed H R, for William Harry
Rogers.
More information at University of Rochester Libraries Rare and Special Books Collection.
A record of the Black Prince, by Henry Noel Humphries, 1849.
 The carved cover is taken from one of the compartments of the Princes tomb at Canterbury,
slightly altered by the addition of a label where the title was inserted and by the extra adornment of
the mouldings. The turn-ins are blocked in gold. The design is identical for both covers. Two
decorated raised borders are separated by a border of bosses. The central rectangle is filled with
symmetrical medieval decorative motifs. The coat of arms of the Black Prince is on the centre. The
title words are within a ribbon, which is above and on each side of the coat of arms.
More information at Memorial University Digital Archives Initiative.

Jasper Green Pennington

December 16, 2009.
 I was delighted to have some information on papier mache bindingsI have a Book of
Common Prayer (Eyre & Spottiswoode, London, 1842) with a papier mache binding in my collection
and wondered about its unique binding. Thanks again.

David Szewczyk
October 4, 2010.
My firm has had copies of the Parables of Our Lord, edited by Henry Noel Humphreys, in
both the London and the New York editions and the American edition is different from the London.
The borders are not the same, some line breaks are different, and where as the London has
inconsistent pagination, the American has no pagination. The bindings, however are, as far as we can
tell, identical. Perhaps the leaves sold to Harper were from the London second edition?