Book binding finishing tool. King George III crown. Stylised design of orb and cross, pearls on crown arch with cross and fleur-de-lys on band, ermine around base. Worn engraved design.

George III’s bindery was located in the basement rooms below the Octagon Library at Buckingham House, added in 1766-7. Five rooms were allocated to ‘Bookbinders’ in a plan sent to the King in March 1776. Although it is normally stated that the Royal Bindery was established between 1780 and 1786, it is therefore likely that it was in existence from the 1770s, if not the late 1760s. When, in 1828, the King’s Library and its staff were transferred (with Armstrong as clerk) to the British Museum, the binding tools appear to have been retained in royal ownership. The Royal Bindery was re-established at Windsor when the Royal Library was transferred there under William IV.

Many of the finishing tools supplied for George III’s bindery have survived, and a number remain in use to this day. In 1940, at the suggestion of the binding historian G.D. Hobson, the Royal Librarian, Sir Owen Morshead, had copies made of ink impressions of the tools, rolls, pallets and panels belonging to the bindery. Over seven hundred items are listed; it is likely that the majority of these tools date from the reigns of George III and George IV, although a small number are of a later date.

It is not known, for the most part, who made finishing tools for George III’s bindery, though a few are signed by R. Brook (probably Richard Brook, Seal Engraver to the Royal Family, c.1800-1820). The striking royal crown may be seen on the board of Ovid’s 'Metamorphoses' and on several other volumes of prints and drawings; it is likely that the identifying letters ‘G’ and ‘R’ and the figure ‘III’ above were provided by three separate tools.

Catalogue entry adapted from 'George III & Queen Charlotte: Patronage, Collecting and Court Taste', London, 2004.