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34 advanced by Roscoe. They went further than this in their extollation of the masters of the three preceding centuries, especially of those whom, as Dibdin would say, St. Jerome or St. Austin would have lashed for the gorgeous decoration of their volumes. It was of special interest to American bibliophiles that Holland, once famous for its bindings of vellum; Germany, whose gilders had been constantly employed by the binders of France, Spain and Italy, exhibited nothing but imitations of the declined French art. The rivalry, which should have been universal, existed between France and England only. France excelled in taste and finish, but at some sacrifice of flexibility; while in England the soft and coaxing manner in which, by the skill of Hering or Mackinlay, “leaf succeeds to leaf,” was marred by the tarnishing of the once blazing gilt edges. It was of interest to American bibliophiles, as an evidence of the fact that the decline of the art of bookbinding was due to the apathy of the book collectors. Artists found no occasion for reference to the compilation of “Messire Francisque, pelegrin de Florence,” composed of designs of foliage, interlacing ornaments and moresque patterns, nor for innovation or improvement in their work, because the book collectors sug-