Edge decoration of some sort seems to have been done from the tenth century onwards; at first elementary or symbolical designs were simply painted upon the edges, and not counting the mere book titles or press marks, it may be said that since the fourteenth century heraldry has played a very important part in edge decoration. In England this form of adornment for a bound book has been largely followed from that time, and there are fine examples of it in books bound for Henry VII. and the other of our Tudor sovereigns, as well as for private persons of the same period. The edges are treated as panels and the painting done upon them when pressed firmly and solidly together. The edges are generally coloured some neutral colour as a groundwork and sometimes lettering in gold is done upon them. [Illustration: FIG. 72.--Italian forage decoration in gold and colour (1560).] Henry VIII. often had the legend “REX IN ÆTERNUM VIVE NEZ” written in gold on the cream coloured edges of his books, and all that are so lettered are attributed to Thomas Berthelet as binder. The “Nez” is rather a puzzle, and it was suggested by Mr. J. L. Scott, of the British Museum, that it stands for the three initial letters of the phrase in the Book of Daniel, Ναβουχοδονὀσωρ Εσαει ζῆθι--a quite possible solution. [Illustration: FIG. 73.--German forage decoration in gold and colour. The arms of Nuremberg (1566).] Queen Anne Boleyn’s copy of the New Testament has her name, “ANNA REGINA ANGLIÆ,” written in red upon its gilt edges. For Queen Elizabeth, book edges were usually gilded, and on this gilding designs were impressed with ordinary binding tools. This is the commonest form of edge decoration, and is called “gauffring.” Gauffred edges are found in abundance in French, German and Italian work. There are fine examples of it on books bound for Henri II. of France and all his children, and on those made for Diane de Poictiers, Duchesse de Valentinois. In all these cases colour is often added to the designs on the gold. Le Gascon put some elaborately painted edges on some of his hooks; on Italian books and English books colour is sparingly used; on the other hand, in Germany and the Low Countries colour was often overdone and the result is garish. Until the time of Samuel Mearne, towards the end of the seventeenth century, all edge paintings were done on the edges of the leaves simply pressed solidly together, but Mearne invented a new fashion of arranging the leaves. In the case of the older manner we usually find the upper and lower edges painted as well as the fore-edge, or “forage,” but it is only the forage that can be painted in Mearne’s style, and so in all instances of this kind the upper and lower edges are left plain. [Illustration: FIG. 74.--Book fanned out to show forage painting in Mearne’s style.]