BOOKBINDING PRACTICES OF THEHKRING FAMILY, 1794-1844*

JUDITH GOLDSTEIN MARKS

T H E English poet and essayist Robert Southcy, describing, in the guise of a Spaniard, themanners and morals ofhis countrymen, noted in 1807, that 'there is, perhaps, no countryin which the passion for collecting rarities is so prevalent as in England\^ This passion wasturned by large numbers of affluent nobles and gentlemen towards bibliophily and theamassing of large libraries. The collectors were roughly divided into two types: those witha disciplined and scholarly approach and those who collected in the abstract sense, amongwhom 'there had sprung up a kind iAnninia tor purchasing black letter volumes, althoughthe purchasers themselves, from year's end to year's end, did not read, far less write, fiftypages consecutively. Among such people, it must be owned, the bibliographicalpropensity though it had, indirectly, good results, was nearly as absurd as the ci-devant''tulip-madness" in Holland.' ^ To enhance these treasures there arose a widespreaddemand tor binding and rcbinding which native craftsmen were unable to meet, bothqu.ilit.iiiMh and quantitativch, tor according to John Henry Bohn, an immigrant!xK)kbindcr trnm Germany who set up shop in London in 1795, 'at this time bookbindingin this country had fallen to a low ebb, and the advent of the German workmen wasgenerally welcomed';' IVom their point of view the Germans were attracted by thelucrativencss of IIK binding trade in I'.ngland. Similarly, W. de Archenholtz, describingthe laws, customs, and manners in England in 1797, reflects that 'English industry hasoften received a new spur to its activity, by means of my German countrymen', andsubsequently states that *at present, the best book-binder in London, a famous artist in hisway, and who has never yet had his equal, is a German'.^ This latter remark can safely besaid to describe kalthoeber, whom j . C. Huttner, another German visitor, writing in1802, claims *ohne \\ iderrede jetz der erste Buchbinder in der Welt ist'.^ In addition, thereputation of the E.nglish binders was sufficient to attract commissions from across theChannel, as is illustrated by the complaint of the Paris publisher Didot in 1798 that 'ourowners of important collections have now the mania of sending their books to be bound inI^ndon\" Southey's fictitious character turther reported that on his return to Spain hewould 'bring home an English bookseller's catalogue as a curiosity; every thing is specifiedthat can tempt these curious purchasers: the name of the printer, if he be at all famous;even the binder, for in this art they certainly are unrivalled'.^

Into this milieu arrived Clharles Ernst Christian Hering,^ a German immigrant binder

44

*aus Gottingen'.*'* The art critic James Dafforne, writing about the binder's son GeorgeEdwards Hering (1805-79), a landscape painter, gives with the painter himself asinformant, what seems a somewhat apocryphal version of the origin of the family bystating that Charles Hering was descended from a noble family, the von Heringen of theGrand Duchy of Brunswick and himself bore the rank of Baron.'^ A. M. W. Stirlingsuggested that the change of name was due to business purposes: 'In the eager pursuit ofhis work, however. Baron von Heringen, finding his foreign title a handicap rather than anasset, dropped first the "Baron", then the 'Von", and finally the ''en", and thus allowedhis name to become anglicised beyond recognition.'^^ The reverse of this statement wouldbe more plausible, since Charles Hering was patronized principally by nobility andgentlemen. Furthermore, no German writer refers to Hering as being of aristocratic stock.This title would rather seem to have been a device solely used by Charles's artist son toromanticize his background, as the painter once jocularly remarked to the writer Daffornethat he might claim the title of Baron, ifhe so chose, together with 'an old bit of ruin and afew stinging-nettles, dignified as a castle and estate'.^^

In 1794 Charles Hering commenced business as a master bookbinder^" serving theLondon book trade from a shop at 34 St. Martin's Street, Leicester Square, an area inwhich many of his compatriots following the same line of business had establishedthemselves.^^ Baumgarten, the harbinger of German binders in London, and his successorC. S. Kalthoeber had set up shop in Dutchy Lane, the Strand; the partners Staggemeierand Welcher were in Villiers Street; Walther was at Castle Court, the Strand; Meyer,Bookbinder to the Queen and Princesses, was in Hemming's Row, St. Martin's Lane.^^These German immigrants emerged as the leading artisans, dominating and revivingEnglish bookbinding, and achieved a widespread patronage. Hering's own rise toprominence as a bookbinder seems to have been brought about by sharp business acumen,a firm technological knowledge ofhis craft, and—most important—a talent for design. In1794 he took on as apprentice, probably his first, Charles Riley who was to remain withhim as a journeyman. Regarding this individual, John Jaffray notes that 'he finished thistime with Jo. Hering who had just begun business and who gave him very low wages'.^^ Joor Joseph Hering, as he is referred to in a document of Fines and Receipts for the period of1795 to 1799, ^ was the brother of Charles and was employed by him. Hering's primetechnical innovation, one which he taught Riley, was the use of urine as a freshening agentin the preparation of morocco for binding, a practice which developed a widespreadfollowing among his contemporaries.

The shop at 34 St. Martin's Street operated until c. 1795/6, when Hering moved hispremises to 10 St. Martin's Street which address he maintained until his death in 1815.Neither the rate books nor the directories specifically show this change of address at thistitne. In the case of the rate books no house numbers are given and the earliest directoryindicating the change is Holden's Triennial Directory for 1802. The first evidence I havefound for establishing the new address is a copy of the Bensley Bible belonging to theRevd. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1795: B.L., 675.h.5), inscribed on the flyleaf withCracherode's initials and the date of acquisition of 1796, bound by Hering and signed

45

with a ticket giving his address as lo St. Martin Street. Dating from the following year arethe first books bound by Hering tor Lord Spencer, also carrying the later address. A ticketin one of a set of twelve volumes of Parson's Select British Classics, a Collection of ClassicalEssays (London, 1793 4) bound for Ludwig Furst Starhemberg, Austrian Ambassador tothe Court of St. James's, has the 34 St. Martin Street address altered by hand to read 10 St.Martin Street, thus graphically illustrating the change of address and demonstrating thelatter to be the later one.- * Starhemberg, a zealous book collector in Austria, waspresumably one of Hering's first clients. Throughout his residence in London from 1793to 1810, he maintained his taste for collecting and had his newly acquired books boundchietly by Hering whose elegant taste he seemed to favour above all the other binders heemployed, for in his book collection put up for auction in 1956 there were eighty-eight setsof volumes bound by Hering, twelve by Kalthoeber, and one by Staggemeier and\Velcher.'»

As the artistic successor to Roger Payne, the doyen of English bookbinders, Heringcatered for the leading bibliophiles of the period. With the death of Payne, whom he hadprincipally patronized, George John, 2nd Earl Spencer, who collected what is reputed tohave been the finest private library in Europe, employed the services of Charles Hering forbinding his books. According to Jaffray, 'Roger Payne and Tom his brother used to workfor the Earl Spencer who has got the last book which Roger worked on—he had finishedone side and took ill, expecting to recover he would let no one touch it. Earl Spencer keepsit in its unfinished state in a glass case.' ^ When Spencer obtained at the sale of the LarcherLibrary in 1814' ^ Homer's Odyssey printed by Aldus r. 1504, he instructed Hering to bindthe work, which he did in imitation of Payne's style on the binding of the unfinished Iliad.Cyril Davenport in his unreliable monograph on Roger Payne states without evidencethat Hering had access to Payne's workshop and tools and used them on the Odyssey?'^Close examination of the tools used on the bindings of both volumes of the Aldine Homer,now in the John Rylands University Library, Manchester, shows that Hering clearly didnot use Payne's tools or letters, but had very similar tools designed for the embellishmentof the second volume.

Lord Spencer must have been very content with Hering's workmanship, for hecontinuously employed him from the year 1797 until 1811 and his payments to him werehigher than those to his other binders: Kalthoeber, Walther, and Whitaker. In 1797Hering's bills to Lord Spencer for binding, mending, and repairing were ^83. 4 . od., in1801 £A^2. p. od., in 1810 ^275. IS. od., and in 1811 £412. us. 6d.^' Moreover, heentrusted three ofhis Caxtons which he dearly treasured to Hering's bindery. In a letter tohis librarian, the Revd. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, he writes: 'I have had a great piece ofblack letter fortune within these few days, having added to my collection of Caxtons . . .The books are in Herring's hands at present, to be new bound.'^^ Dibdin himself laudsHering in recalling the publication ofhis first bibliographical work An Introduction to theKnowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics (London, 1802):*at length the work made its appearance, and within a given reasonable time every copy ofit was disposed of. I cannot now remember what were my gains; but I can remember that,

46

when the first copy of it, upon large paper (bound by Herring, in morocco, with giltleaves), was brought to me, I thought all my toil abundantly remunerated by the veryappearance of the volume.' "^

Furthermore, Spencer engaged Hering's talents for the binding of an imperial quartoedition of Shakespeare's historical plays, which his mother-in-law Countess Lucan, anamateur artist, had spent sixteen years embellishing with drawings. In this exquisitebinding of green velvet with silver ornaments worked with gold, one can see Hering'sassiduity as well as his superb craftsmanship. Dibdin reassuringly records that 'some timeago, very many of these illuminated leaves were discovered to be spotty and perishing. Analarm was excited, lest the whole magnificent result of sixteen years pleasurable toil shouldbe hastening to premature decay. An inspection took place, . . . The late Mr. Hering, thebookbinder, went through a long, painful, and expensive process to obviate the effects ofthis muriatic leprosy—and I trust the result will be fortunate. The very cedar andmahogany case, which was made expressly for this unrivalled copy, was disposed of; . . .his Lordship thinking that the effluvia of the cedar might have contributed to thiscalamity. So that every chance is now given for the thousand and one years longevity of thisdelightful treasure.'^^

By 1802 Hering's skill had gained him the reputation of having one of the principalshops serving the West End clientele. This success is perhaps best seen by the number ofemployees which c. 1804 included three finishers, six forwarders, and two apprenticesunder his charge.^^ Dibdin attests to Hering's industriousness and artistry: 'and till thestar of Charles Lew is rose above the bibliopegistic horizon, no one could presume to"measure business" with him. There was a strength, a squareness, and a good style of workabout his volumes which rendered him deservedly a great favourite.'^

Hering's bindery was also patronized by Lord Spencer's good friend the statesmanThomas Grenville. Both Spencer and Grenville had begun collecting very early in life andupon retiring from public life had applied themselves to literary pursuits and theaccumulation of rare editions, many of which required rebinding or aesthetic bindings toenhance their intrinsic value. Since much of Grenville's time was passed at Althorp, thecountry estate of the Spencer family, it is not inconceivable to deduce that between thetwo friends, both avid book collectors, the topic of bookbinding and bookbinders wasdiscussed. Bindings by Hering are well represented in Grenville's Library bequeathed tothe British Museum, a collection that 'for uniform beauty of condition and splendour ofbinding', according to a description written shortly after the bibliophile's death in 1846,'is probably—having regard to its extent—without rival' ^ (fig. i).

Not only did Hering bind and rebind large orders and portions of gentlemen's librariesfor particular customers, but he also executed single commissions for other enthusiasticbook collectors. After a search of many months for the first edition of a work, the title ofwhich is unfortunately undeterminable, which contained a passage omitted fromsubsequent editions, Henry Angelo, the renowned dandy and gossip, had succeeded inobtaining a copy of the volume sought but in a rather tattered condition. His quest hadbeen on behalf of Lord Byron, a former fencing pupil ofhis at Harrow, who sought the

47

Fig. t. .Aristotle, Organon (Venice, 1503). Bound by C. Hering in red straight-grain morocco,tooled in gold with Grenville's arms in the centre. G.7986

volume to settle a wager. Upon learning by correspondence of Angelo*s find and itscondition, the poet responded with instructions to send the decayed book to 'Hering (afamous bookbinder, in Little St. Martin's Street, Leicester Fields, a German), the leavesto be inlaid, and to be bound in his best manner'.^^ From the evidence ofhis library, sold atEvans (14-16 May 1827), it would appear that Byron, also a member of the coterie atAlthorp, was familiar with Hering's work.

Hering's reputation for elegant craftsmanship was sufficiently widespread to earn him acommission from the Curators of the Faculty of Advocates' Library in Edinburgh, for therebinding of one of their great treasures, the set of eleven tracts printed at the Southgate byWilliam Chapman and Andrew Myllar, three of which dated 1508 are the earliest extantworks to come from a Scottish press.^^ They had been presented to the library in 1788,bound, according to a contemporary description, 'in a small quarto which is covered withparchment. The binding is plainly modern; and seems to have been bound by some curiousperson, in order to preserve the several tracts. It is marked on the back Treatise ofNobleness.'^ None the less, as this binding proved inadequate in strength and nobility tothe contents, the tracts were rebound in brown russia by Hering some time between 1798,the date of the watermark on the flyleaf, and 1808, when the stamp of the Faculty ofAdvocates' Library was applied. As the Minutes of the Curators of the library for this timeindicate an inadequacy of and dissatisfaction with Edinburgh binders,^^ it is easilyconceivable that the curators would send this treasure to a West End binder for ajustifiable and artistic treatment.^

It would seem that by 1811 with its many commissions, Hering's business wasflourishing still further, for in that year the rate book shows that he expanded his workshopto include the premises next door. ^ Amongst the customers that year was JosephFarington, the landscape painter and Royal Academician, who records in his diary that'Hering the German bookbinder called, and I arranged Royal Academy Catalogues forhim to bind'.^

In 1813 Auguste Marie, Comte de Caumont, an emigre from Revolutionary France andentrepreneur of a bookbinder's shop in London, directed Hering to bind Collection dePortraits et Medallions de Cheveux de Louis XVI, de la partie de sa famtlle renfermee avec luidam la Tour du Temple et des Frinces de son august race, reunie dans ce moment en Angleterre(B.L., Add. MSS. 33793)- Caumont had become acquainted with Hering, when a labourdispute between May and July 1807 over the number of hours in the working day led to thedismissal of his workmen and forced him to fulfil his existing orders through theemployment of other bookbinders including Hering.^^ Although Caumont had restaffedand continued his business, he turned away from his own shop and selected Hering forembellishing this work, largely written by the Marquis de Sy after an idea of ArmatidLouis Due de Serent and intended as a gift for the Marquis of Buckingham in recognitionofhis kindness to Louis XVIII and to the French aristocratic emigres of the ancien regitneexiled in England. It is possible to hypothesize that de Serent took his business to Caumont,one ofhis compatriots, and that Caumont desired to engage a distinguished craftsman forsuch a memorable task. Although the binding is not signed by Hering, a note by de Serent

49

mscrted in the book explains that 'Le Comte de Caumont a dirige la reliure, executee par leS"" Hering, book-bending, lo. Martin'^ Sir. Leicester Sq:'. The volume is elegantly boundin blue tnorocco, tooled in gold with the royal arms of France enclosed in a circle of fleurs-de-lis in the centre, and the covers are lined with brown watered silk ornamented withfleurs-de-lis and the crest of the Marquis. As the Marquis of Buckingham died inFebruary 1813, presumably betbre the work was completed, the volume was presented tothe British Museum by the Due de Serent in the following year.

'The most sumptuous copy of a printed book in the world"^ was Dibdin's reference tothe unique copy of Rudolph Ackermann's History of Westminster Abbey (London, 1812)printed on vellum and containing the original drawings of Pugin, Mackenzie, Villiers, andShepherd, originally owned by the publisher himself and bound by Hering. On thisbinding Hering worked in conjunction with the architect John Papworth, who wascontracted by Ackermann to devise 'a special design, with Gothic details, for the brassmountings and clasps tor the two volumes, which cost j(]i2o',"*' and James Aldridge, agoldsmith^- who executed the tbrmer's designs in silver gilt. The whole was considered sovaluable by Ackermann ihat he kept a pair of white kid gloves available for the use of theperson who was fortunate enough to obtain permission to examine its two volumes."^Dibdin turther described this binding which he saw in the private library of the Emperorof Austria at \ ienna in t8i8, as having 'nothing to equal it in any cabinet in Europe', andelaborated on its execution:

The mechanical process of stitching the leaves together has been very skilfully done by Hering,but the e.xterior, in silver gilt, is the performance of Mr. Aldridge, after the designs of Mr.Papworth, an architect: and in these designs one knows not which the more to admire—thecorrectness ot their composition, or the brilliancy of their execution. They are chiefly in the gothicstyle, corrcspondmii with the character of the work; and so curious, exact, and numerous are thecomponent parts, ih.it this binding occupied one entire twelvemonth in its completion. Whenopened, the work is supported hy sixteen halls of solid gold; and such were the difficulties in themechanical process, that I Icring was obliged to take his work to pieces three times, before he couldmake it npcn to his wish : tor, attcr the metallic part was tinished, it was found necessary to have thewhole recast. The wmk is bound in two massive imperial quarto volumes, preserved in cases; andthe binding atone cost \er\ little short ot three hundred guineas.*^ (fig. 2)

The date of Hering's death has long been a problem and Dibdin can be identified as thesource of all the contusion over the question. In his Bibliographical Decameron he assignsthe event to immediately after 1812, when in considering the death of the binder HenryFaulkner in that year, he notes that Hering followed him 'hard upon' and laments his loss:' "Deeper and deeper still" is the note of woe we are touching. The late Charles Hering wastaken away (to the great grief of the book-world, somewhat suddenly: in apparently goodhealth, and in the plenitude of business and reputation.'**^ In this same obituary Dibdinwrites that 'Indeed, after Roger Payne, he was, some twelve or fifteen years, the Leader ofhis Brethren'. This latter statement provides the basis for the date of 1809 given by bothC. H. Timperley-*^ and John Bowyer Nichols**'' who simply added twelve to 1797, the yearof Payne's death, and base their eulogies on Dibdin's text. What is doubtless the correct

50

C

ing

33Xu-c'

c

T-oc

c

ilu

i

D

C W5

S C> isC Q,

date IS given in a pteviously unnoticed obituary in the Gentlemen's Magazine whichrecords his passing at the age of iitty-two on i8 February 1815, leaving a widow and tenchildren, and regtets the loss to the 'bibliographical world, as Mr. Herring was a treasureto tiiany noble and learned amateurs of the Empire for a series of years; for few couldequal, and none could excel him in those points ofhis business which were of the mostimportance to those with whom accuracy and elegance were indispensable; particularly inhis tiiode of rc-binding early printed works, and that both in respect to his exactness ofprescribed arrangement, his care as to breadth of margin, and his tasteful, ornamental,yet correct, mode of tooling and linishing . . . 1 Ic is succeeded in his business by hisbrother and eldest son, who conduct it for the benefit of the orphans.'"*^ A posthumousdemonstration of how successful and prosperous Hering had been can be seen in theAdministration ofhis estate, he having died intestate, which involves the sum of nearlyX;3,5OO, quite considerable tor a craftsman in those days.** The date in the Gentlemen'sMagazine is supported by the observation in the rate book that Mr. Hering died inFebruary and .Mts. Hering moved to 9 Newman Street. "^ Dibdin, despite his misleadingot subsequent scholars, is quick to note the change of address and advises that 'lovers oflusty tolios, and broad-spreading quartos, and royal octavos, betake themselves to No. 9,Newman-Street, the present residence of Mr. J. Hering' who'conducts the business ofhisl.itc brother'.^'

The Hering family continued the bookbinding firm from the new premises at9 Newman Street (figs. 3-4). Evidence indicates that despite the death of Charles Heringthe firm's reputation for fine craftsmanship was sufficient to carry it over its loss and thatDibdin's ad\ ice was heeded by the regular clientele as well as by new customers. The latterincluded Haron Werther;-^- Mr. Bel!;-''- Marseille Holloway, himself a binder and book-seller; "* l'redcrick Perkins, .1 collector of music and Shakespeare's plays; and the poetJohn Hunter. I Vom the correspondence of various customers it would seem that the shopwas so heavily engaged in work that consignments were often delayed or that the Heringsneeded explicit suggestions for rendering the bindings as soon as possible. For example,I hintcr who on the e\ idence of his sale catalogue- ^ was a good client, wrote in OctobertSif): 'I cannot account tor your not sending my books which were nearly finished when1 was in town nearly four months ago. I trust they will be received without furtherunnecessary delay as my patience is quite exhausted.'^ Similarly, William Pickering,publisher and innovator of cloth bindings, wrote: 'I should feel much obliged by yourgetting the little Classics done immediately as their much wanting at this time forChristmas presents.'-^' In Pickering's Catalogue and Announcements for Spring, 1825 thereis an ad\crtisement for a complete set of the Diamond Classics, 'Miniature Latin andItalian Classics'published from 1821 to 1825,'in 10 vols., boards, price X-2. 175., or boundin morocco by Hering, £4. •]s.\^

In addition, the firm's royal patronage, specifically that of the Prince Regent,contmucd.^"* An inspection of the bills suggests that this patronage which began in the twoyears prior to the death of Charles Hering, Sr., reached its peak following that event. Froman examination of these bills which extend from 1813 to 1821 one can discern that the

Fig. J. Ars moriendi ex variis sententiis collecta (Nuremberg, n.d.). Bound by Hering in greenstraight-grain morocco, tooled in blind and gold. C.128.C.15 (lower cover)

Fig. 4. G. Boccaccio, Laberinto d'amore (Florence, 1516). Bound by Hering in brown straight-grainmorocco, tooled in blind and gold. C.72.a.16

Hering shop served the Prince Regent as well as, one can assume, its other clients as anordinary day-to-day bindery doing pedestrian labour. The bills of 1813 and 1814 ' to thePrince Regent from Charles Hering, Sr., include such items as:

I s d4 Silver Locks & Keys & putting on the Lock 5- 0-0Cutting the Prince Regent's Arms 10- 0-0D[itto]theP R Feathers 15-018 Shambacks Royal 4 Mor. & Russia Gt.

& blind Tooled Elegant 9- 9-0Lady Jane Grey's Work 4 Shamback light

blue Mor Old Style Gt Eleg i- 0-0Voltaire 70 vol Rol 8" to putting the

arms and crest on the backs 3-10-0To double Lettering General Atlas 7 lines

rolled across the band 6-0

The bill of 1821^^ to George IV from Charles Hering, Jr., includes:

12 leaden weights covered with calf leatherenveloped & gilt 18-0

Lord Spencer, who still patronized the bindery, had them rebind a good number of thereligious books which he had obtained in August 1818 from the St. Petersburg Monasteryat Salzburg.^2 On the basis of this long-time patronage, Charles Hering, Jr., wrote toSpencer in September 1825 requesting him to be his sponsor for the position ofBookbinder to the British Museum: 'by the death of Mr. Pippen [sic] the situation ofBookbinder to the British Museum is now vacant and I am encouraged by my friends tooffer myself to your Lordship's approval as a candidate to succeed him. The experienceand application of many years have given me a thorough knowledge of Bookbinding bothplain and ornamental. Your own library as well as the libraries of the Duke of Devonshire,Mr. Douce, and other gentlemen exhibit specimens of my binding.'^^ He concludes byasking for his Lordship's patronage and support on the day of election. The records of theBritish Museum contain no mention of Hering's contending for the position but indicatethat Charles Tuckett succeeded Pipping.^

By 1823, as a result of their prodigious activity, the Hering firm which employed tenmen was reputed to have the third largest West End shop after Lewis and the firm Dawsonand Lewis.^^ Eight years later the C. Hering bindery was still considered and recognized asbeing, according to a contemporary source, one of the 'shops where the very best work inLondon (and we might say in the world) is executed'.^ Possibly a new venture at this timewas their emergence as bookdealers. For example, at the auctions of W. Barnes Rhodes in1825, Jadis Evans in 1828, and Richard Heber in 1834, one of the Herings acting as anagent procured various editions of Shakespeare's plays for Frederick Perkins and othergentlemen. "^ After 1834 James Hering, the son of Charles Hering, Sr., is listed in thedirectories as a Foreign and English bookseller as well as a bookbinder.^^

55

With the death of Charles Hering, Jr., in 1831 the bindery was carried on by hisbrothers James and 1 lenry with the former as head of the firm.*^ It has been suggested bythe late Ci. 1). 1 lobson thai the Hrm expanded beyond the family in this decade when 'atsome titiic after 1825 R. Hering (J. Hering's successor) was in partnership with Muller'.* **There is no R. Hering traceable in either the fainily records or English directories and ratebooks as being successor to the business of John Hering. It is possible that Hobsoninterpreted the abbreviation R. as a Christian name. A firm named J. Hering and F.Muller IS kn(n\ n to have existed; however, they were Parisian. Ramsden found them in the1832 .Almanach located at Coquenard 24." ' Their bindings are signed at the foot of thespine either 'R. Hering et Muller' or simply 'Hering & Muller'. This Hering is doubtlessthe same J. Hering who appears in the 1826 Almanach at Buffault 22" ^ and whose bindingsare also signed at the toot of the spine, a predominantly French method of identificationand never known to have been used by the English firm. A confusion similar to that ofHobson's was that of Seymour de Ricci who included in his volume on signed Englishbindings the binding on a copy of \ oltaire. La Pucelle d'Orleans, poeme en vingt-un chants(Paris, 1799) bound for M. de Guerchy, 'Controleur des batiments a I'Hotel desInvalides', and signed 'Rel. Hering' on the spine.''^ Despite the 1826 Almanach'sdescription of the Paris J. Hering as a l'rench and English bookbinder and theappearance of James Hering in Robson's London Directory for 1834 as a Foreign andEnglish bookseller and bookbinder, there is no documentation supporting their mutualidentification and possible connection w ith Muller. If any merger had taken place, there islittle reason to believe that the new and complete business name would not have been usedon both sides of the Channel.

Atter the death ofhis brother James in 1836'''' Henry Hering became the last member ofthe tatiiily " to inherit the business. His prime endeavour was the publishing of severalworks which employed a new relief-engraving process invented by M. Achille CoUas. Themoving force behind these ventures was Vincent Nolte, a German merchant, long residentin .\merica, with strong English business connections. Through the offices of EdwardFlaw kins. Keeper of .Antiquities at the British Museum, Nolte obtained the services of thelibrarian F^dward Edwards to write the texts for two volumes with illustrations done byCollas's process. The Great Seals of England and The Napoleon Medals^^ both of whichwere published by Hering in 1837. " Hering also published engravings by this methodafter Thomas Stothard's painting the 'Canterbury Pilgrimage' and Leonardo da Vinci's*The Last Supper',™ the former of which was a great success as '1500 copies were sold inone week'.^

In 1845 Hering's premises at 9 Newman Street were taken over by James Clyde, hisforeman. Ramsden's collection bequeathed to the British Museum contains three editionsof P. Boswell's Poultry )i/n/(Glasgow, 1839-1841: B.L., C.i50.b.7-9) of which the firstand the third bear the stamp 'Bound by Hering / 9. Newman St.', while the second hasCl> de's stamp with the same address. Amongst the Jaffray documents Clyde's trade card ispreserved w hich advertises 'C:iyde late Hering / Bookbinder / 9 Newman St., / Oxford St., /Missals and Manuscripts carefully cleaned and repaired'.^ Hering himself, in partnership

56

with Henry Remington, moved from Newman Street first to 153 Regent Street andsubsequently to 137 Regent Street.'^' There he remained practising his trade as well asselling prints and finally practising photography until 1874, when he retired to Surrey,where he died in

1 I am most g:rateful to Mr. H. M. Nixon for hishelp and encouragement of my studies in thehistory of bookbinding.

2 Don Manuel Alvarez Espriella [Robert Southey],Letters from England, vol. i (London, 1807),P- 233-

3 R. P. Gilies, Memoirs of a Literary Veteran, vol. ii(London, 1851), p. 2.

4 Henry G. Bohn, 'Bookbinding', Art Journal, lxxv(March 1881), p. 196. Cf". the discussion of theGerman binders in London in E. Howe, A List ofLondon Bookbinders, 1648-1815 (London, 1950),pp. xxvii-xxviii and H. M. Nixon, Twelve Booksin Fine Bindings from the Library ofj. W. Hely-Hutchinson (Oxford, 1953), pp. 69-73. I" th^iraccounts Howe and Nixon draw upon the docu-ments of John Jatfray in A Collection of Manu-scripts Relating to the Art and Trade of Bookbind-ing, vol. iv, ed. E. Howe (London, 1864), whichexists as a typescript in the British Library andhereafter is referred to as 'Jaffray Typescript'.For a description of the Jatfray material seeE. Howe, A List of London Bookbinders, pp. xxi-xxii.

5 W. de Archenholtz, A Picture of England(London, 1797), p. 96.

6 J. C. Huttner, 'Ueber einige Vortheite und be-queme Handgriffe der Buchbinder in England',Englische Miscellen, vi (1802), pp. i -32. A discus-sion and partial translation of Huttner's remarksappear in both H. M. Nixon, op. cit., pp. 69-73and B. C. Middleton, A History of English CraftBookbinding Technique (London, 1963), pp.

250-7-7 Quoted in H. A. Hammelmann, 'Bookbinder

with a Noble Touch. The Comte de Caumont1743-1833', Country Life (3 Dec. 1964), p. 1573.

8 R. Southey, op. cit., vol. i, p. 237.9 Hering's full name as given here is taken from the

Probate Registry, Somerset House, Admon-ActBook [815 (21 Mar.). His name in German, asobtained from the birth and baptismal register ofthe Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Johannisat Gottingen, was Christian Erich Hering. He

was born on 21 Feb. 1764, the son of ErnstChristoph and Dorothea Elizabeth KauscherHering, and was baptized two days later. I amindebted to the late H. A. Hammelmann formaking this and other information availableto me.

10 Cf. Hellmuth Helwig, Handbuch der Einband-kunde, vol. ii (Hamburg, 1953-5), p. 215 and P. A.Nemnich, Neuste Reise in England (Tubingen,1807), p. 173.

11 J. Datforne, 'George Edwards Hering', ArtJournal, vii (January 1861), p. 73.

12 A. M. W. Stirling, Victorian Sidelights (London,1954), p. 15.

13 Dafforne, art. cit. In answer to an enquiry to thecity of Gottingen, H. Hammelmann was in-formed that there were no von Heringens locatedthere in the eighteenth century.

14 There is no documentary evidence for referringto Hering as a 'Master' as early as 1794, as theonly documentary source for determining theholders of this title at this date is A List of MasterBookbinders of London and Westminster (i Nov.1794) printed by the Association of MasterBookbinders, formed in the same year (broad-side in the Jatfray MSS.), and reprinted inThe Friendly Book-Finishers' Circular, xviii(May 1850), p. 153. This list as Howe points outin E. Howe and J. Child, The Society of LondonBookbinders, i/80-igsi (London, 1952), p. 54does not include all the employers, as some werenot members. However, his name with the initialC. does subsequently appear in The Corrected Listof Prices as agreed upon by the Booksellers andBookbinders of London and Westminster (r July1808) printed by the Association (broadsidein the Jaffray MSS.). In The Articles of theUnited Friendly Society of JourneymenBookbinders (7 July 1794) reprinted in TheFriendly Book-Finishers' Circular, xviii (May1850), p. 151 a Hering without any distinguishinginitial appears, but this is doubtless his brotherJoseph, who served as Assistant Secretary ofLodge I from at least 1796 to 1799 (Lodge I,

57

Soeiciy's Minute llnok; JallVay MSS.).C.nntirm.ilion tnr rLltrrnig lo Charles l lcringasamasKi .uid ihc idcntitiailion of Joseph as ainuini.\iii.ui tan be seen in ihc minutes of the1 ricndh Si)ciLi\\ annivcrsar) dmncron 2SJUIK'

1799 (in the Jatlr.i\ .\!SS.; reprinted in pan inE. llowc and J. C.hiUI, op. cit., p, 30) in which aHeruig withoui initials is given as the AssistaniSccret.ir\ and a second 1 lering, again wilhoutinitial, is given amongst the visitors, most olwhom ha\c been identified h\ V.. Howe and J.Child, op. cit., p. 31 as masters.

15 Recorded in both Saint Martin in the Fields PoorK.uc llnnk,, Ch.irinii ( m s s Wanl, 171)4, P' ''< ' 5*-(on deposit in the Westminster Public Library,London: F.604) and Saint Martin in the FieldsPaving Rate Book, Charing Cross Ward, 1794,p. 24 (\\ PL: F.3013). Cf E. Howe, op. cit., p. 46and C. Ramsden, London Bookbinders, 1/80-1840(London, 1956), pp. 11-13,81.

ib E. Howe, op. cit., pp. xxviii xxx tor a discussionot the 'Topxigraphs ot the Bookbinding Trade';ibid, and C Ramsden, op. cit , under the namesot the indn idual binders,

17 Jat!ra> Typescript, p. 197. This 'time' refers tothe extra year Riley had to serve before he wasadmitted to the Trade Society. He began hisapprenticeship at the age ot thirteen in 1787bound to John Polwartb for the term of six years.

18 Jaffray MSS.. Lodge I's Fines and Receipts1795 1799.

[9 Jaffra> Typescript, p. 197.20 Ct, the discussion ot this alteration, in Hans

Blum, 'Leber Den Londoner BuchbinderCharles Hering', Libri, vii, no. 203 (1957), p. 175.Rather than a mo\e, the alteration may indicate achange in the street numbering. Hering's ticketwith 34 St. Martin Street unaltered occurs in thebinding of Polybius, Histonarum Libn (Hagenau1530: B.L. 197.e.13) which is the only examplethat I have found.

21 Furst Starhemberg Auktion, Cologne, 15-18Sept. 1956.

22 Jaffray Typescript, p. 222.23 Catalogue des Hires rares et precieux de la hiblio-

theque de feu .VI. Pierre-Henri Larcher . . . Dont lavente sefera dans le commencement de Jevrier 1H14. . . A Parts, chez De Bure . . . 1813, 678. Dibdinexpands on its purchase in the BibliographicalDecameron, vol. iii (London, 1817), pp. 160-1.

24 C. Davenport, Roger Payne (Chicago, 1929),p. 56.

25 Collection Lord Spencer, Althorp.26 The letter, dated 6 Oct. 1811, is quoted in T. F.

Dibdin, Reminiscences of a Literary Life, vol. i(London, 1836), p. 488.

27 Ibid., p. 210.28 T. ¥. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,

p. 340. These volumes are in the collection ofLord Spencer at Althorp.

29 Jaffray Typescript, pp. 112, 123.30 T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,

P' 525-31 E. Edwards, Memoirs of Libraries, vol. i (London,

1859), pp. 492-3.32 H. Lavers Smith (ed.). The Reminiscences of

Henry Angelo, vol. ii (London, 1904), p. 97.1,1, W. Bcattie, The Chapman and Myllar Prints: A

Facsimile (Edinburgh, 1950), pp. xxi-xxii.34 See George Chalmer's lecture for the Scottish

Society of Antiquaries, 10 Nov. 1791, EdinburghUniversity, Laing MSS. II, 448 and his notes onScottish printing. National Library of Scotland,Adv. MS. 17.1.16, fols. 14, 26.

35 The Curators' Minutes of the Faculty of Advo-cates' Library for 5 July 1808 include the passage;'the Curators, having reason to be dissatisfiedwith the manner in which the books belonging tothe library are bound by the person in theiremployment, notwithstanding repeated admoni-tions and an increase in the rate of payment;Ordered, that several of these books be returnedto be properly rebound, and that, in future, aconsiderable proportion of books be sent toanother binder, James Taylor, it being previouslysettled with him that he shall execute the work onthe same terms as William Miller; and that thebooks shall be returned by a very short term to bespecified.' I wish to thank Thomas Rae of theNational Library of Scotland for informing me ofthis passage and for searching for Hering's namewhich does not appear. See the entries for Millerand Taylor in C. Ramsden, Bookbinders of theUnited Kingdom {Outside London) IJ80-1840(London, 1954), pp. 210, 219.

36 There is no documentary evidence for the state-ment in R. Dickson and J. P. Edmund, Annals ofScottish Printing, vol. i (Cambridge, 1890), p. 49,that the volume was taken to London by RichardHeber who placed it in the hands of Hering.

37 Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,Charing Cross Ward, 1811 (WPL: F.638).

38 From the typescript of the diary of JosephFarington, R.A., 12 June 1811, p. 5834 (on

deposit in the Department of Prints and Draw-ings at the British Museum; the original manu-script is in the Royal Library, Windsor).

39 H. A. Hammelmann, 'The Comte de Caumont',TLS(i Nov. 1963), p. 896.

40 T. F. Dibdin, A Bibliographical, Antiquarian andPicturesque Tour in France and Germany, vol. iii(London, 1821), p. 596. The book is now on viewin Westminster Abbey and was presented to theAbbey by George V; see 'Royal Gift to theAbbey', The Times (17 July 1926), p. 15. Thebinding is unsigned; the clasp of vol. i bearsthe inscription 'Designed by J. B. Papworth,Architect'.

41 W. Papworth, JoAn B. Papworth, Architect . . . abrief record ofhis life (London, 1879), p. 34. Thebinding was tinished by 11 July 1814, for Acker-mann sent Papworth a letter of that date thankinghim for his endless troubles.

42 In The Post-Office London Directory (1814-15)Aldridge is listed as a goldsmith residing at11 Northumberland Street, the Strand.

43 Papworth, loc. cit.44 T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii,

PP- 597-8- In J. R. Abbey, Scenery of GreatBritain and Ireland in Aquatint and Lithography,1JJ0-1860 (London, 1952), p. 42, there is in-cluded another binding on a copy of Ackermann'sHistory of Westminster Abbey (London, 1812),bound by the Hering firm (with the ticket'Bound by Hering / 9 Newman Street').

45 T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,P 525-

46 C. H. Timperley, A Dictionary of Printers andPrinting (London, 1839), p. 835.

47 J. B. Nichols, Illustrations of the Literary Historyof the Eighteenth Century, to which are appendedAdditions to the Literary Anecdotes and LiteraryIllustrations, vol. viii (London, 1858), p. 475, butsee also p. 485.

48 Gentlemen's Magazine, Ixxxv, pt. t (1815), p. 280.Virtually the same obituary appears in The NewMonthly Magazine, iii (1815).

49 Great Britain, Probate Registry, SomersetHouse; Admon-Act Book 1815 (21 Mar.).

50 Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,Charing Cross Ward, 1815 (WPL: F.646) whichstates: 'removed to 9 Newman St., Oxford St.',and Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,Charing Cross Ward, i8i6 (WPL: F.648) whichhas the notice: 'Now Ja Henny. Mrs. HerringNo. 9 Newman St., Oxford St., Mr. Herring died

1815 Feb. of , Mrs. Herring removed atmids. (June twenty-tirst]'.

51 T . F . D ibd in , Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,p. 520. In the index, vol. iii, p. 518, he is identifiedas John, 'book-binder'.

52 B.L., Add. MS. 15945, fol. 248; letter to Heringfrom Baron Werther, 8 Apr. 1822, requesting theworks of Aeschylus.

53 Edinburgh University, Laing MSS. II, 646/29;letter to Hering from Mr. Bell, 8 Dec. 1822,requesting him to bind two volumes.

54 In The Post-Office London Directory for 1836-7Marseille Holloway is listed as an engraver andprinter; he makes his first appearance as abookbinder in 1868.

55 John Hunter Sale, Evans, 9 May 1842.56 Bodleian Library, MS. Montagu d.7, p. 536.57 Edinburgh University, Laing MSS. II, 646/188.

The letter is undated, but has a watermark of1820. For another letter to Hering from Pickeringsee Laing MSS. 646/188^ concerning an un-specified proposition which Hering has notanswered.

58 J. W. Carter, Binding Variants in English Publish-ing, 1820-igoo (London, 1932), p. 20.

59 C. Ramsden, 'Bookbinders to George III and hisimmediate descendants and collaterals', TheLibrary, xiii (1958), pp. 191-2.

60 Royal Archives, Windsor, MSS. 28544, 28564.61 Ibid., MS. 28705.62 T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii,

pp. 349 56. See the account of L()rd Spencer'slibrary in T. F. Dibdin, Bibliotheca Spenceriana(London, 1H14-15) and his Aedes Althorpianae(London, 1822).

63 Letter in collection of Lord Spencer at Althorp.64 Letter to the author from B. P. C. Bridgewater,

Secretary of the British Museum, 6 June 1966,who writes that Charles Hering's name does notoccur in the Trustees' minutes in the otfice tiles ofthe time.

65 Jaffray Typescript, p. 71.66 Quoted in E. Howe and J. Child, op. cit., p. 108

from The Reply of the Journeymen Bookbinders(London, 1831).

67 H. C. Bartlett and A. W. Pollard, A Census ofShakespeare (New Haven, 1939).

68 Robson's London Directory (1834).69 See the First Annual Report of the Bookbinders'

Pension Society (London, 1831), p. 8 for atestimonial to Charles Hering, Jr., following hisdeath.

59

70 G. 1). 1 lohson, l\ti^lish Ititiiiirifis, i^()o iq^oin theLibrary ojj. R. •//'/'(;)'(1 .ondon, 1440), p. 162. (-f.the discussion in E. Howe, op. cit., p. 47.

71 C. R;inisilcn, Frcmh Bool-hiru/cn lySq /S4<S(London, i()5o), pp. lo j 4. l'\tr Muller sec

PP- >44-5-72 Ibid., p. 10 V']} S. dc Ricci, British ami Miscellaneous Signed

Bindings m the Mortimer L. SchijJ'Coliectwn (New^'ork, 1^35). p. (>8.

74 The Si.xth Anrmai Report of the Bookbinders''Pension Society (London, 1836), p. 8.

75 From ihc baptismal records of St. Martin's inthe Fields and the wills of D r . William Hcring, asurgeon, and Harriot Sophia Hering. I have beenable to identity the senior Hering's other eightchildren; C.harles Price, a bookbinder; James,a b(Kikbindcr; Henry, a bookbinder; GeorgeEdwards, an artist; Robert Frederick, an archi-tect wbo in t84O presented plans for the buildingot the Bookbinders' Prii\idcnt Asylum; ElizabethEggar; Jane; and Mary Ann.

76 The Napoleon Medals was jointly published byIlering and P. and D. Colnaghi, fine-art dealers.

77 See V. Nolte, Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres(London, 1854), pp. 392-406, and his 'Memorialof Facts connected with the History of MedallicEngraving and the Process of M. Collas' which isthe appendix to H. F. Chorley, The Authors ofEngland, A Series of Medallion Portraits byAchille Collas (London, t838); and W. A. Mun-ford, Edward Edwards 1812-1886, Portrait ofaLibrarian (London, 1963), pp. 23-4.

78 The advertisement for both engravings wasinserted in E. Edwards, The Napoleon Medals(London, 1837).

79 V. Nolte, op. cit., p. 404.80 Jaffray MSS., John jaffray Scrap Books, c. 1850.81 See the firm's advertisements as printsellers in

The An Union, i\ {1S42), pp. 142 f., 148,246; andv(i843), pp. 45,278,295. See also The Post-OfficeLondon Directory (1844-74).

82 Great Britain, Somerset House, Probate Regis-try, Probate-Act Book, 1893.

60