The facsimile faithfully reproduces the nineteenth-century pure-silk velvet binding with wrought, embossed and gilded silver ferrules, clasps and medallions, not to mention the polychrome porcelain Towneley family coats of arms.

The ferrules feature a fan vault motif, and the clasps represent a double lancet window surmounted by a triangular three-spired tympanum.

These motifs indicate a revival of the Gothic style, which had such a marked impact on early nineteenth-century English architecture.