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Excerpt from English Embroidered Bookbindings
Exhausting and futile struggle with France, Eng land was torn asunder by the wars of the Roses, and by the time these were ended the school of illumination, so full of promise, and seemingly SO firmly established, had absolutely died out. When printing was introduced England possessed no trained illuminators or skilful scribes such as in other countries were forced to make the best of the new art in order not to lose their living, nor were there any native wood-engravers ready to illustrate the new books. I have never myself seen or heard of a 'caxton' in which an illuminator has painted a preliminary border or initial letters even the rubrication, where it exists, is usually a disfigurement; while as for pictures, it has been unkindly said that inquiry whence they were obtained is super¿uous, since any boy with a knife could have cut them as well.
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