This 17th century psalter, The Whole Book of Psalmes. Collected into English Meeter, will be offered is priced at £15,000 by Bernard Quaritch at Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair at the Saatchi Gallery from May 16-19.
The Whole Book of Psalmes. Collected into English Meeter… was published in London for the Company of Stationers, 1641. It measures just 3 x 1.9in (7.8 x 4.8cm) with the binding a little larger at in 3.4 x 2.3in (8.6 x 5.9cm).
The vogue for embroidered bindings in England in the first half of the 17th century is well documented but relatively few silver examples survive. The style of decoration and the lack of a hallmark suggest it might have been produced by one of the Dutch or Netherlandish silversmiths active in London at this date. Despite the high quality of their work, as aliens they were not permitted to hallmark their silver. It could also have been bound in the Netherlands for an English exile.
Miniature books are just one of the topics explored in this issue’s specialist supplement devoted to books, maps, prints and other works on paper.
Firsts: London’s Rare Book Fair runs at the Saatchi Gallery from May 16-19.
