[Illustration: FIG. 12.--_La Saincte Bible. Lyon, 1566. Queen Elizabeth._] One more beautiful book in the old royal collection that belonged to Elizabeth has double boards. The outer edges on this instance are interesting, as there is, in fact, an elongated head-band running along their entire length and joining the edges of the two boards. It is covered in very dark morocco, and decorated in blind and gold stamped work. In the centre of each cover is a sunk oval medallion, on which is painted the royal coat-of-arms of England, surrounded by the Garter; the two supporters holding up the crown in their paws. Flanking the crown are the letters E. R. The motto "DIEU ET MON DROIT" is on a red panel with a blue border at the lower portion of the oval, and the groundwork of the whole is silver. The medallion is enclosed in a richly designed broad border of strap-work, enriched with dots and arabesques, all in gold. Towards the upper and lower corners are four silver double roses with gold crowns. In each corner is a quarter circle of vellum, pierced and richly gilded in a pattern of strap-work and floral sprays. All the foregoing is enclosed in a border of blind work, and an outer edging ornamented with a succession of small set stamps. There are traces of green ribbons, both on the front edges of the book and at the upper and lower edges. It is a copy of _Les Qvatre Premiers Livres des Navigations et Peregrinations Orientales de N. De Nicolay_, printed at Lyons in 1568, and probably bound at the same time. The book is especially remarkable for its vellum corners, which are actually inlaid; that is to say, a corresponding piece of morocco is cut out and replaced by the vellum. This process, which, of course, adds immensely to the power of a binder in decorating the outside of a book, is one which, so far as I am aware, does not occur before on any English binding. It is a fashion that was much followed in the next century both by French and English binders. In the great majority of instances, however, the added leather is not actually inlaid, but only scraped or cut very thin, and superimposed. The remarkable manner in which the two last books described are made up with double boards is worthy of special notice, and has not, I think, ever been used since on any sumptuous binding. The fashion is one, nevertheless, which was much used with great effect on fine Italian bindings made towards the end of the fifteenth century, and there are two books of this kind that belonged to Elizabeth, and were bound for her in Italy after the "Italian fashion," now in the British Museum. Vellum inlays for Queen Elizabeth occur in their finest form on a presentation copy from Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, of _Hores Historiarvm, per Matthævm Westmonasteriensem Collecti_, etc., printed in London in 1570. It is probable that this volume was bound in Archbishop Parker's own house. It is covered in calf, and the centre,