ABSTRACT
A peculiar feature in the German bindings, has acquired some celebrity from its preservation of the large margins, so sought after by the Bibliographer. The bindings differing totally in appearance to those before described, are the Eastern, and may be classed under three heads: the Indian, the Chinese, and the Turkish. The Indian books are usually written on the leaves of plants or trees, generally the palmyra, on which the letters are engraved with a stylus. The more elegant books are in general wrapped up in silk cloth, and bound round by a garter, in which the natives ingeniously contrive to weave the title of the book. It is covered with coloured paper, with grotesque coloured figures. The cover or case of the Chinese bindings is formed of a brown pasteboard, made of a species of smooth and strong paper. Some of their books are covered with red brocade, ornamented with flowers of gold and silver.
