[ 404 J 



XVIII. 



NOTE UPON THE LEAVES OF THE FIEST BOOK PRINTED IN 

 DUBLIN DISCOVERED IN THE ACADEMY. 



By E. R. McCLINTOCK DIX. 



Read January 11. Ordered for Publication January 13. Published August 19, 1909. 



EOE the purpose of putting on record the discovery in the Academy of 

 several leaves of the Book of Common Prayer, printed in Dublin in 1550-51, 

 I subjoin the foUovi^ing statement : — 



In an old book cover v^hich was in the Strong Room of the Academy, 

 there was attached an inner book cover, and in the inner one the leaves of 

 the Book of Common Prayer, some thirty -four and part of another leaf, with 

 two blank leaves, were found. About half of the leaves were attached to one 

 side of the inner cover, and the rest to the other. There were also numerous 

 smaller fragments which have not yet been identified, but which evidently 

 are parts of some other edition or editions of the Book of Common Prayer. 

 The outer cover is plain in form and with very little tooling on it ; it may 

 perhaps be dated before 1635 — say, about 1630. The inner cover, which was 

 attached to, and used to strengthen, the outer one, is much earlier in date. 

 When last going to London, I was allowed to bring both covers over, and 

 submit them to Mr. Cyril Davenport, the special authority on binding in the 

 British Museum. This inner cover is stamped with lines producing diamond 

 patterns by crossing one another ; and in the " diamonds " so formed is a tool 

 impression which, in the opinion of Mr. Davenport, resembles one used by 

 Berthelet, who was probably a grand-uncle of Humfrey Powell, Dublin's first 

 printer. Mr. Davenport thinks that this binding was probably contemporary 

 with the printing of the Prayer Book, or at least between 1550 and 1560. 

 I also showed it to another expert in London, who gave it as his opinion that 

 it was a contemporary binding — in other words, that this inner cover was that 

 in which the copy of this early Book of Common Prayer was bound. It 

 seems probable, then, that the Prayer Book of 1551^ having fallen out of date 

 — later revisions having been authorized and coming into use — this old book, 

 with some of its leaves, was taken and used to strengthen the later binding 



1 It was that known as the first Book of Edward VI. 



