Even the oldest “books” of baked clay were enclosed in shells of similar material. The papyrus, or parchment rolls of classical antiquity were kept in vases, with a title slip attached to the “umbulicus” round which they were wound; in larger libraries they would be lying on shelves along the walls.

Binding as we know it to-day is supposed to have evolved from the diptycha which had reached perfection about the time when the roll was superseded by the codex of folded vellum leaves. It was natural to put these valuable ivory plates to some use in the churches as protection for the sacred books. The bindings there throughout the Middle Ages resembled jewellery rather than binding in the sense we use that word now; made with enamel and precious stones. The shape of the top and bottom covers differed because the latter had to be flat. But at the same time the binding of to-day was evolving. The sheets of vellum were folded once and put one inside the other, four together forming a quire, sewn on strips of leather, and encased in wooden boards, which were covered with skins of deer, first as a half-binding, later all over. The decoration of these first bindings in leather was probably (a few are still extant) done by the cuir-ciselé method. The skin was dampened, cut lightly, and shaped with tools into various patterns. This form of decoration went out of fashion but returned and reached perfection, especially in Germany, between 1350 and 1500. Books were expensive things and, for safety, were chained to desks or shelves. The titles were written on the fore-edges, so as to show when the books were lying down. Books were still very large.