English Centrepiece Bookbindings 1560-1640

This paper offers a summary overview of English bookbinding at the end of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth when the most popular style for decorating bindings made use of large single stamps placed at the centre of the boards, most commonly described as centrepieces. It is an account of work in progress, and is based on research whose aim is to produce a detailed account of the centrepieces which were used in this country, and to look more closely at the history of late Tudor and early Stuart bookbinding.