Of course the only way of attributing a binding to Roger Payne
(vs. "Roger Payne style"), short of documentation (which is
delightfully full for some of Payne's work) is by comparing it to
his authenticated work. If you are really starting at ground
zero, as your posing may imply, you can consult the illustrated
reference books, say, the Folger binding catalogue, where two
pieces of relevant work are catalogued and illustrated, and the
authorities cited therein, most notably Mirjam M. Foot's _The
Henry Davis Gift_, vol. I, and Cyril Davenport's _Roger Payne_.
Payne of course is covered in Howard M. Nixon and Foot's _History
of Decorated Bookbindings in England_ and in Foot's _Studies in
the History of Bookbinding_. The sketch in Roberts and Ether-
ington probably provides enough information to rule out work
obviously not by Payne. You also might want to consider some-
thing like Nixon's "Binding Forgeries," cited at Brenni 1363. I
daresay that cataloguers at the large auction houses and book-
sellers who deal in bindings (half a column of Americans are
listed in the ABAA Membership Directory) are pretty sharp on the
subject because putative Roger Payne bindings come not infre-
quently on the market (but of course you are not looking to sell
your book).
What a nice subject to investigate. Good luck in authenticating!
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Donald Farren voice 301.951.9479
email p00244@xxxxxxxxxxx fax 301.951.9479
4009 Bradley Lane, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
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