This calfskin leather book cover would have belonged to an officer, due to literacy not being high among the ordinary sailors, plus the price of books meant that only the rich could afford them.
It is one of only two covers found on the Mary Rose to incorporate human likenesses within the design. Within small panels on the front and back are the letters “MD”, originally assumed to represent 1500 in Roman numerals, but now believed to represent Martin Doture, a London-based bookbinder and stationer during the period 1527-57.