Gasparo Contarini, The commonwealth and government of Venice, 1599 - binding

Description:A hard-wearing vellum binding of Shakespeare's time.

This volume is in its original binding of flexible vellum, with a hand-sewn spine. Vellum (a kind of leather from very young, still-born, or foetal animals) is a hard-wearing material frequently used to bind law books, or volumes that expected heavy use. Small holes remain near the edge of the covers which indicate that originally the book had thin leather ties to hold it closed when not in use.
Full title: Gasparo Contarini, The commonwealth and government of Venice. Written by the Cardinal Gaspar Contareno and translated out of Italian into English by Lewes Lewkenor, With sundry other collections, annexed by the translator, With a short chronicle of the lives and raignes of the Venetian dukes. London, Imprinted by John Windet for Edmund Mattes, 1599.