File:Brass clasp with miniature, 19th century (5352561085).jpg

English: In a nod to earlier times, this 19th-century English binding of brown goatskin is edged in brass and includes a brass clasp. An inscription inside the book reads: "Carrie Wilkie the gift of her dear Mother on completing her 18th year." The woman pictured in the miniature is possibly Carrie Wilkie's mother. Underneath the clasp you can see that the edges of the text have been covered with gold leaf.

This book was bound in Oxford or London by James Hayday (1796-1872) who first appears in the London directories in 1825 as Hayday & Boyer. From 1829 he worked on his own, and by 1840 Hayday had also established a firm at Oxford. He enjoyed considerable prosperity up until 1848, when his business went into decline. In the years 1837-1838 he is known to have employed between 30 and 40 people, including 10 finishers, a large number for this time.
Hayday was known for his fine bindings during the first half of the 19th century, and as with his contemporaries, these bindings were pastiches of earlier styles.
Donated to the Alexander Turnbull Library in 1940 by Elizabeth Laing.

Upper cover and fore-edge of ‘The Book of Common Prayer’ (Oxford: Printed at the University Press, sold by E. Gardner and Son, 1853). REng BIBLE 1853.