FINE BINDING, Embroidered, dos-à-dos. The Psalter or Psalmes of David & The Whole Booke of Psalmes: Collected into English Meeter by T. Sternhold and I. Hopkins.London: Printed for the Companie of Stationers, 1606 & 1612, respectively. 12mo (76 x 48 mm). The two works, bound dos-à-dos, in one. Woodcut device to titles, 17th-century full embroidered binding of floral blooms in long straight stitches of primarily red, yellow and green silk threads outlined with silver filigree, main stem one strong silver twist, all edges gilt and gauffered slightly touched red. Modern book box ornamented with decorative period portraits. Condition: margins shaved close affecting some text, occasional pencil mark, leaves slightly toned; hinge cracked at head of Psalter, some areas worn or lightly soiled. rare. A well-preserved and exceptionally bright 17th-century embroidered binding. A very similar book is illustrated in Cyril Davenport's English Embroidered Bookbindings, published 1899. Davenport writes, "During the 17th century, little 'double' books were rather favourite forms for Common Prayers and Psalms especially... there are several instances where embroidered books have been bound this way, the earliest I know being a copy of the Psalms and Common Prayer, printed in 1606-7." This dos-à-dos is likely a contemporary example of early embroidered books.