bookbinding practices of the hering family, 1794

BOOKBINDING PRACTICES OF THE
HKRING FAMILY, 1794-1844*
JUDITH GOLDSTEIN MARKS
T H E English poet and essayist Robert Southcy, describing, in the guise of a Spaniard, the
manners and morals ofhis countrymen, noted in 1807, that 'there is, perhaps, no country
in which the passion for collecting rarities is so prevalent as in England\^ This passion was
turned by large numbers of affluent nobles and gentlemen towards bibliophily and the
amassing of large libraries. The collectors were roughly divided into two types: those with
a disciplined and scholarly approach and those who collected in the abstract sense, among
whom 'there had sprung up a kind iAnninia tor purchasing black letter volumes, although
the purchasers themselves, from year's end to year's end, did not read, far less write, fifty
pages consecutively. Among such people, it must be owned, the bibliographical
propensity though it had, indirectly, good results, was nearly as absurd as the ci-devant
''tulip-madness" in Holland.'^^ To enhance these treasures there arose a widespread
demand tor binding and rcbinding which native craftsmen were unable to meet, both
qu.ilit.iiiMh and quantitativch, tor according to John Henry Bohn, an immigrant
!xK)kbindcr trnm Germany who set up shop in London in 1795, 'at this time bookbinding
in this country had fallen to a low ebb, and the advent of the German workmen was
generally welcomed';' IVom their point of view the Germans were attracted by the
lucrativencss of IIK binding trade in I'.ngland. Similarly, W. de Archenholtz, describing
the laws, customs, and manners in England in 1797, reflects that 'English industry has
often received a new spur to its activity, by means of my German countrymen', and
subsequently states that *at present, the best book-binder in London, a famous artist in his
way, and who has never yet had his equal, is a German'.^ This latter remark can safely be
said to describe kalthoeber, whom j . C. Huttner, another German visitor, writing in
1802, claims *ohne \\ iderrede jetz der erste Buchbinder in der Welt ist'.^ In addition, the
reputation of the E.nglish binders was sufficient to attract commissions from across the
Channel, as is illustrated by the complaint of the Paris publisher Didot in 1798 that 'our
owners of important collections have now the mania of sending their books to be bound in
I^ndon\" Southey's fictitious character turther reported that on his return to Spain he
would 'bring home an English bookseller's catalogue as a curiosity; every thing is specified
that can tempt these curious purchasers: the name of the printer, if he be at all famous;
even the binder, for in this art they certainly are unrivalled'.^
Into this milieu arrived Clharles Ernst Christian Hering,^ a German immigrant binder
44
*aus Gottingen'.*'* The art critic James Dafforne, writing about the binder's son George
Edwards Hering (1805-79), a landscape painter, gives with the painter himself as
informant, what seems a somewhat apocryphal version of the origin of the family by
stating that Charles Hering was descended from a noble family, the von Heringen of the
Grand Duchy of Brunswick and himself bore the rank of Baron.'^ A. M. W. Stirling
suggested that the change of name was due to business purposes: 'In the eager pursuit of
his work, however. Baron von Heringen, finding his foreign title a handicap rather than an
asset, dropped first the "Baron", then the 'Von", and finally the ''en", and thus allowed
his name to become anglicised beyond recognition.'^^ The reverse of this statement would
be more plausible, since Charles Hering was patronized principally by nobility and
gentlemen. Furthermore, no German writer refers to Hering as being of aristocratic stock.
This title would rather seem to have been a device solely used by Charles's artist son to
romanticize his background, as the painter once jocularly remarked to the writer Dafforne
that he might claim the title of Baron, ifhe so chose, together with 'an old bit of ruin and a
few stinging-nettles, dignified as a castle and estate'.^^
In 1794 Charles Hering commenced business as a master bookbinder^" serving the
London book trade from a shop at 34 St. Martin's Street, Leicester Square, an area in
which many of his compatriots following the same line of business had established
themselves.^^ Baumgarten, the harbinger of German binders in London, and his successor
C. S. Kalthoeber had set up shop in Dutchy Lane, the Strand; the partners Staggemeier
and Welcher were in Villiers Street; Walther was at Castle Court, the Strand; Meyer,
Bookbinder to the Queen and Princesses, was in Hemming's Row, St. Martin's Lane.^^
These German immigrants emerged as the leading artisans, dominating and reviving
English bookbinding, and achieved a widespread patronage. Hering's own rise to
prominence as a bookbinder seems to have been brought about by sharp business acumen,
a firm technological knowledge ofhis craft, and—most important—a talent for design. In
1794 he took on as apprentice, probably his first, Charles Riley who was to remain with
him as a journeyman. Regarding this individual, John Jaffray notes that 'he finished this
time with Jo. Hering who had just begun business and who gave him very low wages'.^^ Jo
or Joseph Hering, as he is referred to in a document of Fines and Receipts for the period of
1795 to 1799,^^ was the brother of Charles and was employed by him. Hering's prime
technical innovation, one which he taught Riley, was the use of urine as a freshening agent
in the preparation of morocco for binding, a practice which developed a widespread
following among his contemporaries.
The shop at 34 St. Martin's Street operated until c. 1795/6, when Hering moved his
premises to 10 St. Martin's Street which address he maintained until his death in 1815.
Neither the rate books nor the directories specifically show this change of address at this
titne. In the case of the rate books no house numbers are given and the earliest directory
indicating the change is Holden's Triennial Directory for 1802. The first evidence I have
found for establishing the new address is a copy of the Bensley Bible belonging to the
Revd. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode (1795: B.L., 675.h.5), inscribed on the flyleaf with
Cracherode's initials and the date of acquisition of 1796, bound by Hering and signed
45
with a ticket giving his address as lo St. Martin Street. Dating from the following year are
the first books bound by Hering tor Lord Spencer, also carrying the later address. A ticket
in one of a set of twelve volumes of Parson's Select British Classics, a Collection of Classical
Essays (London, 1793 4) bound for Ludwig Furst Starhemberg, Austrian Ambassador to
the Court of St. James's, has the 34 St. Martin Street address altered by hand to read 10 St.
Martin Street, thus graphically illustrating the change of address and demonstrating the
latter to be the later one.-^*^ Starhemberg, a zealous book collector in Austria, was
presumably one of Hering's first clients. Throughout his residence in London from 1793
to 1810, he maintained his taste for collecting and had his newly acquired books bound
chietly by Hering whose elegant taste he seemed to favour above all the other binders he
employed, for in his book collection put up for auction in 1956 there were eighty-eight sets
of volumes bound by Hering, twelve by Kalthoeber, and one by Staggemeier and
\Velcher.'»
As the artistic successor to Roger Payne, the doyen of English bookbinders, Hering
catered for the leading bibliophiles of the period. With the death of Payne, whom he had
principally patronized, George John, 2nd Earl Spencer, who collected what is reputed to
have been the finest private library in Europe, employed the services of Charles Hering for
binding his books. According to Jaffray, 'Roger Payne and Tom his brother used to work
for the Earl Spencer who has got the last book which Roger worked on—he had finished
one side and took ill, expecting to recover he would let no one touch it. Earl Spencer keeps
it in its unfinished state in a glass case.'^^ When Spencer obtained at the sale of the Larcher
Library in 1814'^^ Homer's Odyssey printed by Aldus r. 1504, he instructed Hering to bind
the work, which he did in imitation of Payne's style on the binding of the unfinished Iliad.
Cyril Davenport in his unreliable monograph on Roger Payne states without evidence
that Hering had access to Payne's workshop and tools and used them on the Odyssey?'^
Close examination of the tools used on the bindings of both volumes of the Aldine Homer,
now in the John Rylands University Library, Manchester, shows that Hering clearly did
not use Payne's tools or letters, but had very similar tools designed for the embellishment
of the second volume.
Lord Spencer must have been very content with Hering's workmanship, for he
continuously employed him from the year 1797 until 1811 and his payments to him were
higher than those to his other binders: Kalthoeber, Walther, and Whitaker. In 1797
Hering's bills to Lord Spencer for binding, mending, and repairing were ^83. 4^. od., in
1801 £A^2. p. od., in 1810 ^275. IS. od., and in 1811 £412. us. 6d.^' Moreover, he
entrusted three ofhis Caxtons which he dearly treasured to Hering's bindery. In a letter to
his librarian, the Revd. Thomas Frognall Dibdin, he writes: 'I have had a great piece of
black letter fortune within these few days, having added to my collection of Caxtons . . .
The books are in Herring's hands at present, to be new bound.'^^ Dibdin himself lauds
Hering in recalling the publication ofhis first bibliographical work An Introduction to the
Knowledge of Rare and Valuable Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics (London, 1802):
*at length the work made its appearance, and within a given reasonable time every copy of
it was disposed of. I cannot now remember what were my gains; but I can remember that,
46
when the first copy of it, upon large paper (bound by Herring, in morocco, with gilt
leaves), was brought to me, I thought all my toil abundantly remunerated by the very
appearance of the volume.'^"^
Furthermore, Spencer engaged Hering's talents for the binding of an imperial quarto
edition of Shakespeare's historical plays, which his mother-in-law Countess Lucan, an
amateur artist, had spent sixteen years embellishing with drawings. In this exquisite
binding of green velvet with silver ornaments worked with gold, one can see Hering's
assiduity as well as his superb craftsmanship. Dibdin reassuringly records that 'some time
ago, very many of these illuminated leaves were discovered to be spotty and perishing. An
alarm was excited, lest the whole magnificent result of sixteen years pleasurable toil should
be hastening to premature decay. An inspection took place, . . . The late Mr. Hering, the
bookbinder, went through a long, painful, and expensive process to obviate the effects of
this muriatic leprosy—and I trust the result will be fortunate. The very cedar and
mahogany case, which was made expressly for this unrivalled copy, was disposed of; . . .
his Lordship thinking that the effluvia of the cedar might have contributed to this
calamity. So that every chance is now given for the thousand and one years longevity of this
delightful treasure.'^^
By 1802 Hering's skill had gained him the reputation of having one of the principal
shops serving the West End clientele. This success is perhaps best seen by the number of
employees which c. 1804 included three finishers, six forwarders, and two apprentices
under his charge.^^ Dibdin attests to Hering's industriousness and artistry: 'and till the
star of Charles Lew^is rose above the bibliopegistic horizon, no one could presume to
"measure business" with him. There was a strength, a squareness, and a good style of work
about his volumes which rendered him deservedly a great favourite.'^
Hering's bindery was also patronized by Lord Spencer's good friend the statesman
Thomas Grenville. Both Spencer and Grenville had begun collecting very early in life and
upon retiring from public life had applied themselves to literary pursuits and the
accumulation of rare editions, many of which required rebinding or aesthetic bindings to
enhance their intrinsic value. Since much of Grenville's time was passed at Althorp, the
country estate of the Spencer family, it is not inconceivable to deduce that between the
two friends, both avid book collectors, the topic of bookbinding and bookbinders was
discussed. Bindings by Hering are well represented in Grenville's Library bequeathed to
the British Museum, a collection that 'for uniform beauty of condition and splendour of
binding', according to a description written shortly after the bibliophile's death in 1846,
'is probably—having regard to its extent—without rival'^^ (fig. i).
Not only did Hering bind and rebind large orders and portions of gentlemen's libraries
for particular customers, but he also executed single commissions for other enthusiastic
book collectors. After a search of many months for the first edition of a work, the title of
which is unfortunately undeterminable, which contained a passage omitted from
subsequent editions, Henry Angelo, the renowned dandy and gossip, had succeeded in
obtaining a copy of the volume sought but in a rather tattered condition. His quest had
been on behalf of Lord Byron, a former fencing pupil ofhis at Harrow, who sought the
47
Fig. t. .Aristotle, Organon (Venice, 1503). Bound by C. Hering in red straight-grain morocco,
tooled in gold with Grenville's arms in the centre. G.7986
volume to settle a wager. Upon learning by correspondence of Angelo*s find and its
condition, the poet responded with instructions to send the decayed book to 'Hering (a
famous bookbinder, in Little St. Martin's Street, Leicester Fields, a German), the leaves
to be inlaid, and to be bound in his best manner'.^^ From the evidence ofhis library, sold at
Evans (14-16 May 1827), it would appear that Byron, also a member of the coterie at
Althorp, was familiar with Hering's work.
Hering's reputation for elegant craftsmanship was sufficiently widespread to earn him a
commission from the Curators of the Faculty of Advocates' Library in Edinburgh, for the
rebinding of one of their great treasures, the set of eleven tracts printed at the Southgate by
William Chapman and Andrew Myllar, three of which dated 1508 are the earliest extant
works to come from a Scottish press.^^ They had been presented to the library in 1788,
bound, according to a contemporary description, 'in a small quarto which is covered with
parchment. The binding is plainly modern; and seems to have been bound by some curious
person, in order to preserve the several tracts. It is marked on the back Treatise of
Nobleness.'^ None the less, as this binding proved inadequate in strength and nobility to
the contents, the tracts were rebound in brown russia by Hering some time between 1798,
the date of the watermark on the flyleaf, and 1808, when the stamp of the Faculty of
Advocates' Library was applied. As the Minutes of the Curators of the library for this time
indicate an inadequacy of and dissatisfaction with Edinburgh binders,^^ it is easily
conceivable that the curators would send this treasure to a West End binder for a
justifiable and artistic treatment.^
It would seem that by 1811 with its many commissions, Hering's business was
flourishing still further, for in that year the rate book shows that he expanded his workshop
to include the premises next door.^^ Amongst the customers that year was Joseph
Farington, the landscape painter and Royal Academician, who records in his diary that
'Hering the German bookbinder called, and I arranged Royal Academy Catalogues for
him to bind'.^
In 1813 Auguste Marie, Comte de Caumont, an emigre from Revolutionary France and
entrepreneur of a bookbinder's shop in London, directed Hering to bind Collection de
Portraits et Medallions de Cheveux de Louis XVI, de la partie de sa famtlle renfermee avec lui
dam la Tour du Temple et des Frinces de son august race, reunie dans ce moment en Angleterre
(B.L., Add. MSS. 33793)- Caumont had become acquainted with Hering, when a labour
dispute between May and July 1807 over the number of hours in the working day led to the
dismissal of his workmen and forced him to fulfil his existing orders through the
employment of other bookbinders including Hering.^^ Although Caumont had restaffed
and continued his business, he turned away from his own shop and selected Hering for
embellishing this work, largely written by the Marquis de Sy after an idea of Armatid
Louis Due de Serent and intended as a gift for the Marquis of Buckingham in recognition
ofhis kindness to Louis XVIII and to the French aristocratic emigres of the ancien regitne
exiled in England. It is possible to hypothesize that de Serent took his business to Caumont,
one ofhis compatriots, and that Caumont desired to engage a distinguished craftsman for
such a memorable task. Although the binding is not signed by Hering, a note by de Serent
49
mscrted in the book explains that 'Le Comte de Caumont a dirige la reliure, executee par le
S"" Hering, book-bending, lo. Martin'^ Sir. Leicester Sq:'. The volume is elegantly bound
in blue tnorocco, tooled in gold with the royal arms of France enclosed in a circle of fleursde-lis in the centre, and the covers are lined with brown watered silk ornamented with
fleurs-de-lis and the crest of the Marquis. As the Marquis of Buckingham died in
February 1813, presumably betbre the work was completed, the volume was presented to
the British Museum by the Due de Serent in the following year.
'The most sumptuous copy of a printed book in the world"^ was Dibdin's reference to
the unique copy of Rudolph Ackermann's History of Westminster Abbey (London, 1812)
printed on vellum and containing the original drawings of Pugin, Mackenzie, Villiers, and
Shepherd, originally owned by the publisher himself and bound by Hering. On this
binding Hering worked in conjunction with the architect John Papworth, who was
contracted by Ackermann to devise 'a special design, with Gothic details, for the brass
mountings and clasps tor the two volumes, which cost j(]i2o',"*' and James Aldridge, a
goldsmith^- who executed the tbrmer's designs in silver gilt. The whole was considered so
valuable by Ackermann ihat he kept a pair of white kid gloves available for the use of the
person who was fortunate enough to obtain permission to examine its two volumes."^
Dibdin turther described this binding which he saw in the private library of the Emperor
of Austria at \ ienna in t8i8, as having 'nothing to equal it in any cabinet in Europe', and
elaborated on its execution:
T h e mechanical process of stitching the leaves together has been very skilfully done by Hering,
but the e.xterior, in silver gilt, is the performance of Mr. Aldridge, after the designs of Mr.
Papworth, an architect: and in these designs one knows not which the more to admire—the
correctness ot their composition, or the brilliancy of their execution. They are chiefly in the gothic
style, corrcspondmii with the character of the work; and so curious, exact, and numerous are the
component parts, ih.it this binding occupied one entire twelvemonth in its completion. When
opened, the work is supported hy sixteen halls of solid gold; and such were the difficulties in the
mechanical process, that I Icring was obliged to take his work to pieces three times, before he could
make it npcn to his wish : tor, attcr the metallic part was tinished, it was found necessary to have the
whole recast. The wmk is bound in two massive imperial quarto volumes, preserved in cases; and
the binding atone cost \er\ little short ot three hundred guineas.*^ (fig. 2)
The date of Hering's death has long been a problem and Dibdin can be identified as the
source of all the contusion over the question. In his Bibliographical Decameron he assigns
the event to immediately after 1812, when in considering the death of the binder Henry
Faulkner in that year, he notes that Hering followed him 'hard upon' and laments his loss:
' "Deeper and deeper still" is the note of woe we are touching. The late Charles Hering was
taken away (to the great grief of the book-world, somewhat suddenly: in apparently good
health, and in the plenitude of business and reputation.'**^ In this same obituary Dibdin
writes that 'Indeed, after Roger Payne, he was, some twelve or fifteen years, the Leader of
his Brethren'. This latter statement provides the basis for the date of 1809 given by both
C. H. Timperley-*^ and John Bowyer Nichols**'' who simply added twelve to 1797, the year
of Payne's death, and base their eulogies on Dibdin's text. What is doubtless the correct
50
ing
C
T
-o
c
33
X
c
-c'
ilui
u
c
D
C
W5
S
C
>
is
C
Q,
date IS given in a pteviously unnoticed obituary in the Gentlemen's Magazine which
records his passing at the age of iitty-two on i8 February 1815, leaving a widow and ten
children, and regtets the loss to the 'bibliographical world, as Mr. Herring was a treasure
to tiiany noble and learned amateurs of the Empire for a series of years; for few could
equal, and none could excel him in those points ofhis business which were of the most
importance to those with whom accuracy and elegance were indispensable; particularly in
his tiiode of rc-binding early printed works, and that both in respect to his exactness of
prescribed arrangement, his care as to breadth of margin, and his tasteful, ornamental,
yet correct, mode of tooling and linishing . . . 1 Ic is succeeded in his business by his
brother and eldest son, who conduct it for the benefit of the orphans.'"*^ A posthumous
demonstration of how successful and prosperous Hering had been can be seen in the
Administration ofhis estate, he having died intestate, which involves the sum of nearly
X;3,5OO, quite considerable tor a craftsman in those days.**^ The date in the Gentlemen's
Magazine is supported by the observation in the rate book that Mr. Hering died in
February and .Mts. Hering moved to 9 Newman Street.^"^ Dibdin, despite his misleading
ot subsequent scholars, is quick to note the change of address and advises that 'lovers of
lusty tolios, and broad-spreading quartos, and royal octavos, betake themselves to No. 9,
Newman-Street, the present residence of Mr. J. Hering' who'conducts the business ofhis
l.itc brother'.^'
The Hering family continued the bookbinding firm from the new premises at
9 Newman Street (figs. 3-4). Evidence indicates that despite the death of Charles Hering
the firm's reputation for fine craftsmanship was sufficient to carry it over its loss and that
Dibdin's ad\ ice was heeded by the regular clientele as well as by new customers. The latter
included Haron Werther;-^- Mr. Bel!;-''-^ Marseille Holloway, himself a binder and bookseller;^"* l'redcrick Perkins, .1 collector of music and Shakespeare's plays; and the poet
John Hunter. I Vom the correspondence of various customers it would seem that the shop
was so heavily engaged in work that consignments were often delayed or that the Herings
needed explicit suggestions for rendering the bindings as soon as possible. For example,
I hintcr who on the e\ idence of his sale catalogue-^^ was a good client, wrote in October
tSif): 'I cannot account tor your not sending my books which were nearly finished when
1 was in town nearly four months ago. I trust they will be received without further
unnecessary delay as my patience is quite exhausted.'^ Similarly, William Pickering,
publisher and innovator of cloth bindings, wrote: 'I should feel much obliged by your
getting the little Classics done immediately as their much wanting at this time for
Christmas presents.'-^' In Pickering's Catalogue and Announcements for Spring, 1825 there
is an ad\crtisement for a complete set of the Diamond Classics, 'Miniature Latin and
Italian Classics'published from 1821 to 1825,'in 10 vols., boards, price X-2. 175., or bound
in morocco by Hering, £4. •]s.\^
In addition, the firm's royal patronage, specifically that of the Prince Regent,
contmucd.^"* An inspection of the bills suggests that this patronage which began in the two
years prior to the death of Charles Hering, Sr., reached its peak following that event. From
an examination of these bills which extend from 1813 to 1821 one can discern that the
Fig. J. Ars moriendi ex variis sententiis collecta (Nuremberg, n.d.). Bound by Hering in green
straight-grain morocco, tooled in blind and gold. C.128.C.15 (lower cover)
Fig. 4. G. Boccaccio, Laberinto d'amore (Florence, 1516). Bound by Hering in brown straight-grain
morocco, tooled in blind and gold. C.72.a.16
Hering shop served the Prince Regent as well as, one can assume, its other clients as an
ordinary day-to-day bindery doing pedestrian labour. The bills of 1813 and 1814^'^ to the
Prince Regent from Charles Hering, Sr., include such items as:
4 Silver Locks & Keys & putting on the Lock
Cutting the Prince Regent's Arms
D[itto]theP
R
Feathers
18 Shambacks Royal 4^ Mor. & Russia Gt.
& blind Tooled Elegant
Lady Jane Grey's Work 4 Shamback light
blue Mor Old Style Gt Eleg
Voltaire 70 vol Rol 8" to putting the
arms and crest on the backs
To double Lettering General Atlas 7 lines
rolled across the band
I sd
5- 0-0
10- 0-0
15-0
9- 9-0
i- 0-0
3-10-0
6-0
The bill of 1821^^ to George IV from Charles Hering, Jr., includes:
12 leaden weights covered with calf leather
enveloped & gilt
18-0
Lord Spencer, who still patronized the bindery, had them rebind a good number of the
religious books which he had obtained in August 1818 from the St. Petersburg Monastery
at Salzburg.^2 On the basis of this long-time patronage, Charles Hering, Jr., wrote to
Spencer in September 1825 requesting him to be his sponsor for the position of
Bookbinder to the British Museum: 'by the death of Mr. Pippen [sic] the situation of
Bookbinder to the British Museum is now vacant and I am encouraged by my friends to
offer myself to your Lordship's approval as a candidate to succeed him. The experience
and application of many years have given me a thorough knowledge of Bookbinding both
plain and ornamental. Your own library as well as the libraries of the Duke of Devonshire,
Mr. Douce, and other gentlemen exhibit specimens of my binding.'^^ He concludes by
asking for his Lordship's patronage and support on the day of election. The records of the
British Museum contain no mention of Hering's contending for the position but indicate
that Charles Tuckett succeeded Pipping.^
By 1823, as a result of their prodigious activity, the Hering firm which employed ten
men was reputed to have the third largest West End shop after Lewis and the firm Dawson
and Lewis.^^ Eight years later the C. Hering bindery was still considered and recognized as
being, according to a contemporary source, one of the 'shops where the very best work in
London (and we might say in the world) is executed'.^ Possibly a new venture at this time
was their emergence as bookdealers. For example, at the auctions of W. Barnes Rhodes in
1825, Jadis Evans in 1828, and Richard Heber in 1834, one of the Herings acting as an
agent procured various editions of Shakespeare's plays for Frederick Perkins and other
gentlemen.^"^ After 1834 James Hering, the son of Charles Hering, Sr., is listed in the
directories as a Foreign and English bookseller as well as a bookbinder.^^
55
With the death of Charles Hering, Jr., in 1831 the bindery was carried on by his
brothers James and 1 lenry with the former as head of thefirm.*^It has been suggested by
the late Ci. 1). 1 lobson thai the Hrm expanded beyond the family in this decade when 'at
some titiic after 1825 R. Hering (J. Hering's successor) was in partnership with Muller'.*^**
There is no R. Hering traceable in either the fainily records or English directories and rate
books as being successor to the business of John Hering. It is possible that Hobson
interpreted the abbreviation R. as a Christian name. A firm named J. Hering and F.
Muller IS kn(n\ n to have existed; however, they were Parisian. Ramsden found them in the
1832 .Almanach located at Coquenard 24."^' Their bindings are signed at the foot of the
spine either 'R. Hering et Muller' or simply 'Hering & Muller'. This Hering is doubtless
the same J. Hering who appears in the 1826 Almanach at Buffault 22"^^ and whose bindings
are also signed at the toot of the spine, a predominantly French method of identification
and never known to have been used by the English firm. A confusion similar to that of
Hobson's was that of Seymour de Ricci who included in his volume on signed English
bindings the binding on a copy of \ oltaire. La Pucelle d'Orleans, poeme en vingt-un chants
(Paris, 1799) bound for M. de Guerchy, 'Controleur des batiments a I'Hotel des
Invalides', and signed 'Rel. Hering' on the spine.''^ Despite the 1826 Almanach's
description of the Paris J. Hering as a l'rench and English bookbinder and the
appearance of James Hering in Robson's London Directory for 1834 as a Foreign and
English bookseller and bookbinder, there is no documentation supporting their mutual
identification and possible connection w ith Muller. If any merger had taken place, there is
little reason to believe that the new and complete business name would not have been used
on both sides of the Channel.
Atter the death ofhis brother James in 1836'''' Henry Hering became the last member of
the tatiiily "^ to inherit the business. His prime endeavour was the publishing of several
works which employed a new relief-engraving process invented by M. Achille CoUas. The
moving force behind these ventures was Vincent Nolte, a German merchant, long resident
in .\merica, with strong English business connections. Through the offices of Edward
Flaw kins. Keeper of .Antiquities at the British Museum, Nolte obtained the services of the
librarian F^dward Edwards to write the texts for two volumes with illustrations done by
Collas's process. The Great Seals of England and The Napoleon Medals^^ both of which
were published by Hering in 1837.^"^ Hering also published engravings by this method
after Thomas Stothard's painting the 'Canterbury Pilgrimage' and Leonardo da Vinci's
*The Last Supper',™ the former of which was a great success as '1500 copies were sold in
one week'.^
In 1845 Hering's premises at 9 Newman Street were taken over by James Clyde, his
foreman. Ramsden's collection bequeathed to the British Museum contains three editions
of P. Boswell's Poultry )i/n/(Glasgow, 1839-1841: B.L., C.i50.b.7-9) of which the first
and the third bear the stamp 'Bound by Hering / 9. Newman St.', while the second has
Cl> de's stamp with the same address. Amongst the Jaffray documents Clyde's trade card is
preserved w hich advertises 'C:iyde late Hering / Bookbinder / 9 Newman St., / Oxford St., /
Missals and Manuscripts carefully cleaned and repaired'.^ Hering himself, in partnership
56
with Henry Remington, moved from Newman Street first to 153 Regent Street and
subsequently to 137 Regent Street.'^' There he remained practising his trade as well as
selling prints and finally practising photography until 1874, when he retired to Surrey,
where he died in
1 I am most g:rateful to Mr. H. M. Nixon for his
help and encouragement of my studies in the
history of bookbinding.
2 Don Manuel Alvarez Espriella [Robert Southey],
Letters from England, vol. i (London, 1807),
P- 2333 R. P. Gilies, Memoirs of a Literary Veteran, vol. ii
(London, 1851), p. 2.
4 Henry G. Bohn, 'Bookbinding', Art Journal, lxxv
(March 1881), p. 196. Cf". the discussion of the
German binders in London in E. Howe, A List of
London Bookbinders, 1648-1815 (London, 1950),
pp. xxvii-xxviii and H. M. Nixon, Twelve Books
in Fine Bindings from the Library ofj. W. HelyHutchinson (Oxford, 1953), pp. 69-73. I" th^ir
accounts Howe and Nixon draw upon the documents of John Jatfray in A Collection of Manuscripts Relating to the Art and Trade of Bookbinding, vol. iv, ed. E. Howe (London, 1864), which
exists as a typescript in the British Library and
hereafter is referred to as 'Jaffray Typescript'.
For a description of the Jatfray material see
E. Howe, A List of London Bookbinders, pp. xxixxii.
was born on 21 Feb. 1764, the son of Ernst
Christoph and Dorothea Elizabeth Kauscher
Hering, and was baptized two days later. I am
indebted to the late H. A. Hammelmann for
making this and other information available
to me.
10 Cf. Hellmuth Helwig, Handbuch der Einbandkunde, vol. ii (Hamburg, 1953-5), p. 215 and P. A.
Nemnich, Neuste Reise in England (Tubingen,
1807), p. 173.
11 J. Datforne, 'George Edwards Hering', Art
Journal, vii (January 1861), p. 73.
12 A. M. W. Stirling, Victorian Sidelights (London,
1954), p. 15.
13 Dafforne, art. cit. In answer to an enquiry to the
city of Gottingen, H. Hammelmann was informed that there were no von Heringens located
there in the eighteenth century.
14 There is no documentary evidence for referring
to Hering as a 'Master' as early as 1794, as the
only documentary source for determining the
holders of this title at this date is A List of Master
Bookbinders of London and Westminster (i Nov.
1794) printed by the Association of Master
5 W. de Archenholtz, A Picture of England
Bookbinders, formed in the same year (broad(London, 1797), p. 96.
side in the Jatfray MSS.), and reprinted in
6 J. C. Huttner, 'Ueber einige Vortheite und beThe Friendly Book-Finishers' Circular, xviii
queme Handgriffe der Buchbinder in England',
(May 1850), p. 153. This list as Howe points out
Englische Miscellen, vi (1802), pp. i -32. A discusin E. Howe and J. Child, The Society of London
sion and partial translation of Huttner's remarks
Bookbinders, i/80-igsi (London, 1952), p. 54
appear in both H. M. Nixon, op. cit., pp. 69-73
does not include all the employers, as some were
and B. C. Middleton, A History of English Craft
not members. However, his name with the initial
Bookbinding Technique (London, 1963), pp.
C. does subsequently appear in The Corrected List
of Prices as agreed upon by the Booksellers and
250-7Bookbinders of London and Westminster (r July
7 Quoted in H. A. Hammelmann, 'Bookbinder
1808) printed by the Association (broadside
with a Noble Touch. The Comte de Caumont
in the Jaffray MSS.). In The Articles of the
1743-1833', Country Life (3 Dec. 1964), p. 1573.
United Friendly Society of Journeymen
8 R. Southey, op. cit., vol. i, p. 237.
Bookbinders (7 July 1794) reprinted in The
9 Hering's full name as given here is taken from the
Friendly Book-Finishers' Circular, xviii (May
Probate Registry, Somerset House, Admon-Act
1850), p. 151 a Hering without any distinguishing
Book [815 (21 Mar.). His name in German, as
initial appears, but this is doubtless his brother
obtained from the birth and baptismal register of
Joseph, who served as Assistant Secretary of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Johannis
Lodge I from at least 1796 to 1799 (Lodge I,
at Gottingen, was Christian Erich Hering. He
57
Soeiciy's Minute llnok; JallVay MSS.).
C.nntirm.ilion tnr rLltrrnig lo Charles llcringasa
masKi .uid ihc idcntitiailion of Joseph as a
inuini.\iii.ui tan be seen in ihc minutes of the
1 ricndh Si)ciLi\\ annivcrsar) dmncron 2SJUIK'
1799 (in the Jatlr.i\ .\!SS.; reprinted in pan in
E. llowc and J. C.hiUI, op. cit., p, 30) in which a
Heruig withoui initials is given as the Assistani
Sccret.ir\ and a second 1 lering, again wilhout
initial, is given amongst the visitors, most ol
whom ha\c been identified h\ V.. Howe and J.
Child, op. cit., p. 31 as masters.
15 Recorded in both Saint Martin in the Fields Poor
K.uc llnnk,, Ch.irinii ( m s s Wanl, 171)4, P' ''< ' 5*(on deposit in the Westminster Public Library,
London: F.604) and Saint Martin in the Fields
Paving Rate Book, Charing Cross Ward, 1794,
p. 24 (\\ PL: F.3013). Cf E. Howe, op. cit., p. 46
and C. Ramsden, London Bookbinders, 1/80-1840
(London, 1956), pp. 11-13,81.
ib E. Howe, op. cit., pp. xxviii xxx tor a discussion
ot the 'Topxigraphs ot the Bookbinding Trade';
ibid, and C^ Ramsden, op. cit, under the names
ot the indn idual binders,
17 Jat!ra> Typescript, p. 197. This 'time' refers to
the extra year Riley had to serve before he was
admitted to the Trade Society. He began his
apprenticeship at the age ot thirteen in 1787
bound to John Polwartb for the term of six years.
18 Jaffray MSS.. Lodge I's Fines and Receipts
1795 1799.
[9 Jaffra> Typescript, p. 197.
20 Ct, the discussion ot this alteration, in Hans
Blum, 'Leber Den Londoner Buchbinder
Charles Hering', Libri, vii, no. 203 (1957), p. 175.
Rather than a mo\e, the alteration may indicate a
change in the street numbering. Hering's ticket
with 34 St. Martin Street unaltered occurs in the
binding of Polybius, Histonarum Libn (Hagenau
1530: B.L. 197.e.13) which is the only example
that I have found.
21 Furst Starhemberg Auktion, Cologne, 15-18
Sept. 1956.
22 Jaffray Typescript, p. 222.
23 Catalogue des Hires rares et precieux de la hibliotheque de feu .VI. Pierre-Henri Larcher . . . Dont la
vente sefera dans le commencement de Jevrier 1H14
. . . A Parts, chez De Bure . . . 1813, 678. Dibdin
expands on its purchase in the Bibliographical
Decameron, vol. iii (London, 1817), pp. 160-1.
24 C. Davenport, Roger Payne (Chicago, 1929),
p. 56.
25 Collection Lord Spencer, Althorp.
26 The letter, dated 6 Oct. 1811, is quoted in T. F.
Dibdin, Reminiscences of a Literary Life, vol. i
(London, 1836), p. 488.
27 Ibid., p. 210.
28 T. ¥. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,
p. 340. These volumes are in the collection of
Lord Spencer at Althorp.
29 Jaffray Typescript, pp. 112, 123.
30 T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,
P' 52531 E. Edwards, Memoirs of Libraries, vol. i (London,
1859), pp. 492-3.
32 H. Lavers Smith (ed.). The Reminiscences of
Henry Angelo, vol. ii (London, 1904), p. 97.
1,1, W. Bcattie, The Chapman and Myllar Prints: A
Facsimile (Edinburgh, 1950), pp. xxi-xxii.
34 See George Chalmer's lecture for the Scottish
Society of Antiquaries, 10 Nov. 1791, Edinburgh
University, Laing MSS. II, 448 and his notes on
Scottish printing. National Library of Scotland,
Adv. MS. 17.1.16, fols. 14, 26.
35 The Curators' Minutes of the Faculty of Advocates' Library for 5 July 1808 include the passage;
'the Curators, having reason to be dissatisfied
with the manner in which the books belonging to
the library are bound by the person in their
employment, notwithstanding repeated admonitions and an increase in the rate of payment;
Ordered, that several of these books be returned
to be properly rebound, and that, in future, a
considerable proportion of books be sent to
another binder, James Taylor, it being previously
settled with him that he shall execute the work on
the same terms as William Miller; and that the
books shall be returned by a very short term to be
specified.' I wish to thank Thomas Rae of the
National Library of Scotland for informing me of
this passage and for searching for Hering's name
which does not appear. See the entries for Miller
and Taylor in C. Ramsden, Bookbinders of the
United Kingdom {Outside London) IJ80-1840
(London, 1954), pp. 210, 219.
36 There is no documentary evidence for the statement in R. Dickson and J. P. Edmund, Annals of
Scottish Printing, vol. i (Cambridge, 1890), p. 49,
that the volume was taken to London by Richard
Heber who placed it in the hands of Hering.
37 Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,
Charing Cross Ward, 1811 (WPL: F.638).
38 From the typescript of the diary of Joseph
Farington, R.A., 12 June 1811, p. 5834 (on
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
deposit in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum; the original manuscript is in the Royal Library, Windsor).
H. A. Hammelmann, 'The Comte de Caumont',
TLS(i Nov. 1963), p. 896.
T. F. Dibdin, A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and
Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, vol. iii
(London, 1821), p. 596. The book is now on view
in Westminster Abbey and was presented to the
Abbey by George V; see 'Royal Gift to the
Abbey', The Times (17 July 1926), p. 15. The
binding is unsigned; the clasp of vol. i bears
the inscription 'Designed by J. B. Papworth,
Architect'.
W. Papworth, JoAn B. Papworth, Architect . . . a
brief record ofhis life (London, 1879), p. 34. The
binding was tinished by 11 July 1814, for Ackermann sent Papworth a letter of that date thanking
him for his endless troubles.
In The Post-Office London Directory (1814-15)
Aldridge is listed as a goldsmith residing at
11 Northumberland Street, the Strand.
Papworth, loc. cit.
T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii,
PP- 597-8- In J. R. Abbey, Scenery of Great
Britain and Ireland in Aquatint and Lithography,
1JJ0-1860 (London, 1952), p. 42, there is included another binding on a copy of Ackermann's
History of Westminster Abbey (London, 1812),
bound by the Hering firm (with the ticket
'Bound by Hering / 9 Newman Street').
T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,
P 525C. H. Timperley, A Dictionary of Printers and
Printing (London, 1839), p. 835.
J. B. Nichols, Illustrations of the Literary History
of the Eighteenth Century, to which are appended
Additions to the Literary Anecdotes and Literary
Illustrations, vol. viii (London, 1858), p. 475, but
see also p. 485.
Gentlemen's Magazine, Ixxxv, pt. t (1815), p. 280.
Virtually the same obituary appears in The New
Monthly Magazine, iii (1815).
Great Britain, Probate Registry, Somerset
House; Admon-Act Book 1815 (21 Mar.).
Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,
Charing Cross Ward, 1815 (WPL: F.646) which
states: 'removed to 9 Newman St., Oxford St.',
and Saint Martin in the Fields Poor Rate Book,
Charing Cross Ward, i8i6 (WPL: F.648) which
has the notice: 'Now Ja Henny. Mrs. Herring
No. 9 Newman St., Oxford St., Mr. Herring died
59
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
1815 Feb. of
, Mrs. Herring removed at
mids. (June twenty-tirst]'.
T . F . D i b d i n , Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii,
p. 520. In the index, vol. iii, p. 518, he is identified
as John, 'book-binder'.
B.L., Add. MS. 15945, fol. 248; letter to Hering
from Baron Werther, 8 Apr. 1822, requesting the
works of Aeschylus.
Edinburgh University, Laing MSS. II, 646/29;
letter to Hering from Mr. Bell, 8 Dec. 1822,
requesting him to bind two volumes.
In The Post-Office London Directory for 1836-7
Marseille Holloway is listed as an engraver and
printer; he makes his first appearance as a
bookbinder in 1868.
John Hunter Sale, Evans, 9 May 1842.
Bodleian Library, MS. Montagu d.7, p. 536.
Edinburgh University, Laing MSS. II, 646/188.
The letter is undated, but has a watermark of
1820. For another letter to Hering from Pickering
see Laing MSS. 646/188^ concerning an unspecified proposition which Hering has not
answered.
J. W. Carter, Binding Variants in English Publishing, 1820-igoo (London, 1932), p. 20.
C. Ramsden, 'Bookbinders to George III and his
immediate descendants and collaterals', The
Library, xiii (1958), pp. 191-2.
Royal Archives, Windsor, MSS. 28544, 28564.
Ibid., MS. 28705.
T. F. Dibdin, Bibliographical Tour, vol. iii,
pp. 349 56. See the account of L()rd Spencer's
library in T. F. Dibdin, Bibliotheca Spenceriana
(London, 1H14-15) and his Aedes Althorpianae
(London, 1822).
Letter in collection of Lord Spencer at Althorp.
Letter to the author from B. P. C. Bridgewater,
Secretary of the British Museum, 6 June 1966,
who writes that Charles Hering's name does not
occur in the Trustees' minutes in the otfice tiles of
the time.
Jaffray Typescript, p. 71.
Quoted in E. Howe and J. Child, op. cit., p. 108
from The Reply of the Journeymen Bookbinders
(London, 1831).
H. C. Bartlett and A. W. Pollard, A Census of
Shakespeare (New Haven, 1939).
Robson's London Directory (1834).
See the First Annual Report of the Bookbinders'
Pension Society (London, 1831), p. 8 for a
testimonial to Charles Hering, Jr., following his
death.
70 G. 1). 1 lohson, l\ti^lish Ititiiiirifis, i^()o iq^oin the
Library ojj. R. •//'/'(;)'(1 .ondon, 1440), p. 162. (-f.
the discussion in E. Howe, op. cit., p. 47.
71 C. R;inisilcn, Frcmh Bool-hiru/cn lySq /S4<S
(London, i()5o), pp. l o j 4. l'\tr Muller sec
PP- >44-572 Ibid., p. 10 V
']} S. dc Ricci, British ami Miscellaneous Signed
Bindings m the Mortimer L. SchijJ'Coliectwn (New
^'ork, 1^35). p. (>8.
74 The Si.xth Anrmai Report of the Bookbinders''
Pension Society (London, 1836), p. 8.
75 From ihc baptismal records of St. Martin's in
the Fields and the wills of D r . William Hcring, a
surgeon, and Harriot Sophia Hering. I have been
able to identity the senior Hering's other eight
children; C.harles Price, a bookbinder; James,
a b(Kikbindcr; Henry, a bookbinder; George
Edwards, an artist; Robert Frederick, an architect wbo in t84O presented plans for the building
ot the Bookbinders' Prii\idcnt Asylum; Elizabeth
Eggar; Jane; and Mary Ann.
76 The Napoleon Medals was jointly published by
Ilering and P. and D. Colnaghi, fine-art dealers.
77 See V. Nolte, Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres
(London, 1854), pp. 392-406, and his 'Memorial
of Facts connected with the History of Medallic
Engraving and the Process of M. Collas' which is
the appendix to H. F. Chorley, The Authors of
England, A Series of Medallion Portraits by
Achille Collas (London, t838); and W. A. Munford, Edward Edwards 1812-1886, Portrait ofa
Librarian (London, 1963), pp. 23-4.
78 The advertisement for both engravings was
inserted in E. Edwards, The Napoleon Medals
(London, 1837).
79 V. Nolte, op. cit., p. 404.
80 Jaffray MSS., John jaffray Scrap Books, c. 1850.
81 See the firm's advertisements as printsellers in
The An Union, i\ {1S42), pp. 142 f., 148,246; and
v(i843), pp. 45,278,295. See also The Post-Office
London Directory (1844-74).
82 Great Britain, Somerset House, Probate Registry, Probate-Act Book, 1893.
60