Typical Irish binding of the 18th century, with ornately floral tooling to the field, onlaid with a lozenge of white leather. From a Book of common prayer printed by John Baskerville in 1762.

Gift of Hugh Gatty.

Gold-tooled dark blue morocco binding from the Library's copy of the Great Bible of 1539. It was produced in Cambridge, ca. 1750, probably by a binder called Ed. Moore, active in Cambridge in the 18th-century, and who has work listed in the College's account books for 1748-1760. He often tended to copy the style of bindings produced by Thomas Eliot and Christopher Chapman for Robert Harley, the Earl of Oxford, with their distinctive central lozenge, but tended to use better quality leather.

This edition of Basilika, The workes of King Charles the martyr (London, 1662), was produced soon after the Restoration, and the copy at St John's bears a black morocco binding decorated with gold-tooling in a "rectangular" design, but also has the College's name in a central cartouche on the cover.

17th-century French gold-tooled red morocco binding, the decoration being of the "fanfare" style. This style, which incorporated intricate ribbon designs and leaf sprays, was popular in France from the late 16th century, and into the 17th. From Harlay de Champvallon's Apologia Evangelii, pro Catholicis (Paris, 1625).

17th-century English gold-tooled black morocco binding, with a design that continues on the spine. From a volume containing four sermons by Anthony Tuckney printed 1654-6.

Gift of George Udny Yule.

English morocco binding with gold-tooled design, a little gauffering on the edges of the textblock, and book-clasps, only one of which is still complete. From one of the Library's copies of the Liber precum publicarum (London, 1574).

15th-century? blind-tooled brown morocco, probably Italian from the earliest printed Venetian Vulgate of 1475, which is also illuminated. The binding has rivets for chains, book-clasps, and the impressions of bosses. The central ornament is composed of knotwork, which is typical of Venetian bindings of the time.

Bequest of John Newcome.

16th-century calf over wooden boards with brass cornerpieces and central boss. From a copy of Pietro Martire Vermigli's Loci communes (Zurich, 1587) once owned by Hugh Morgan, physician to Elizabeth I.

Possibly contemporary binding of coloured paper with a floral design, from a volume containing the five parts of Thomas Crenius' work on the best books, De libris scriptorum optimis et utilissimis exercitatio (1704-1717).

Gold-tooled buck or deerskin binding with a wheel-shaped central ornament, of a type produced in Cambridge in the mid 17th century. Buckskin was usually whitened by alum-tawing, but this example is stained red. From Joseph Mede's Clauis apocalyptica (Cambridge, 1632).