The bindings of Edward VI. and Mary, having as a chief ornament the English coat-of-arms, nevertheless bear with them no supporters. Henry VII. and Henry VIII., until 1528, used the same supporters, the dragon on the dexter side and the white greyhound on the sinister; and when Henry VIII. made a change and adopted the crowned lion as one of his supporters, he omitted the greyhound and changed the side of the dragon, so that his successors bore as their supporters a lion crowned on the dexter side and the red dragon on the sinister, and so they occur on several Elizabethan bindings. [Illustration: FIG. 8.--_Prayers, etc. London, 1574-1591. Queen Elizabeth._] The bindings executed for Queen Elizabeth may be conveniently divided into three classes--those bound in, or ornamented with, gold; those bound in velvet or embroidered; and those bound in leather. In this order I shall describe them. The gold, as far as I know it, is always enamelled, the velvet is generally embroidered, and the leather is frequently inlaid with other and differently coloured leathers. The peculiarity of sunken panels, borrowed apparently through the early Italian bindings from Oriental originals, is a remarkable speciality of Elizabethan work; as is also the first use of large corner-stamps to any extent. There certainly are instances of corner-stamps on Henry VIII. bindings, but they are rare; whereas with Elizabeth and her immediate successors the use of such stamps is very usual. The finest, as well as the most interesting, of the golden books made for Elizabeth is one containing prayers and devotional pieces by Lady Elizabeth Tyrwhitt, printed for Chris Barker, London, 1574. It also contains the queen's prayers, a collection out of other works, and part of an Almanack for 1583-91 (Fig. 8). In 1790 it belonged to the Rev. Mr. Ashley, and it was presented to the British Museum in 1894 by Sir Wollaston Franks. It measures 2-1/4 inches by 1-3/4. On each side is a sunken panel, round which is a flat border containing texts from Scripture, engraved and run in with black enamel. The upper cover of the book has a representation in gold of the serpent in the wilderness and the stricken Israelites. The serpent on the tree and others on the ground, and the figures of the people, are all carved in very high relief, and enamelled in colours; the flesh being represented by white. The serpents are in blue. Round this design are the words "MAKE · THE · AFYRYE · SERPENT · AN · SETIT · VP · FORA · SYGNE · THATAS · MANY · ASARE · BYTTE · MAYELOKE · VPONIT · AN · LYVE+." On the lower cover a similar panel contains a representation of the judgment of Solomon, worked in a similar way. Round this runs the legend, "THEN · THE · KYNG · ANSVERED · AN · SAYD · GYVE · HER · THE · LYVYNG · CHILD · AN · SLAYETNOT · FOR · SHEIS · THEMOTHER · THEROF--1 K. 3 C+." The back is divided into four panels, each of which has a delicate and graceful arabesque engraved and run in with