An embroidered binding
One of the Folger’s most prized bindings, decorated with seed pearls and raised silver thread, holds a 1608 manuscript in the hand of the calligrapher Esther Inglis.
Esther Inglis. Argumenta psalmorum Davidis. Manuscript, 1608. Folger call number V.a.94. The gift of Lessing J. Rosenwald.
One of the Folger’s most prized bindings is this small red velvet volume, decorated with raised silver thread and hundreds of seed pearls, which form a floral arrangement stemming from a vase.
The binding holds a 1608 manuscript in the hand of the calligrapher Esther Inglis. Researchers consider it quite likely that Inglis herself created the intricate and delicate binding for presentation to Henry, Prince of Wales, the son of James I, to whom the work is dedicated.
