Private Collection of Antiquarian Books and Manuscripts

Pages

: "Les douze vertus de la noblesse", with an armorial; "The twelve virtues of nobility", followed by an armorial. 16th century In-folio (320 x 215 mm), [24]-[2 bl.] ff. on parchment, in pen and black ink, coats of arms drawn in the same way and enhanced with watercolor in th. (folds, stains, cut on the last white f.). In ff. under a parchment bifolium. extract from a liturgical manuscript in Latin from ep. (or older?). Text in finely calligraphic French verse, celebrating the virtues of the gentleman: nobility, faith, beauty, honor, righteousness, prowess, love, courtesy, diligence, neatness, generosity and sobriety. The armorial is made up of 30 coats of arms with their stamps, captioned in Dutch. The first 10, in large format, relate to large sovereign houses (Holy Empire, Bohemia, Brandenburg, Valois, Saxony, etc.), the other 20, in smaller format, relate in particular to the former Netherlands (Duchy of Brabant, counties of Flanders, Holland, Zeeland, Hainaut, Namur...) and the royal houses of Valois, Aragon, Bohemia and Portugal. The manuscript was not finished because the initials of the verse pieces were never made., "Les douze vertus de la noblesse", suivi d'un armorial. XVIe s In-folio (320 x 215 mm), [24]-[2 bl.] ff. sur parch., à la plume et encre noire, blasons dessinés de même et rehaussés d'aquarelle à l'ép. (plis, souillures, découpure au dernier f. blanc). En ff. sous un bifeuillet de parch. extrait d'un manuscrit liturgique en latin de l'ép. (ou plus ancien ?). Texte en vers français finement calligraphié, célébrant les vertus du gentilhomme : noblesse, foi, beauté, honneur, droiture, prouesse, amour, courtoisie, diligence, netteté, largesse et sobriété. L'armorial est formé de 30 blasons avec leur timbre, légendés en néerlandais. Les 10 premiers, de grand format, concernent de grandes maisons souveraines (Saint Empire, Bohême, Brandebourg, Valois, Saxe...), les 20 autres, de format plus petit, concernent notamment les anciens Pays-Bas (duché de Brabant, comtés de Flandre, Hollande, Zélande, Hainaut, Namur...) et les maisons royales de Valois, Aragon, Bohême et Portugal. Le manuscrit ne fut pas terminé car les lettrines des pièces en vers n'ont jamais été réalisées. Prov. Joannes Budels (mention ms. "Testamentu Joannis Budels pbrj et scholastiy").

: 6 manuscript fragments; Fragments of manuscripts on parchment with text in Latin. From the six, one can arrange 3 pairs that come from the same 3 manuscripts. They were all used in bindings. One pair consists of fragments of the lower margin of two folios of fine parchment, with 3 lines of text, laid out in 2 columns. Some letters are touched in red and blue ink and there is a capital "Q" decorated in penwork. One can also see a marginal note. A second pair consists of 2 fragments of a folio that was cut vertically. The whole columns of text are legible in very small script. Initials in red and blue ink. The last pair consists of two horizontal sections of a folio, with large text laid out in two columns. Some capital letters are rubricated. All fragments are about the same height, 29 to 29.5 cm, and 8, 9 or 13 cm wide., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A445335/datastream/PDF/view

: Absdorf Rentbook.; "[Germany (Absdorf), 1529 and 1549] approximately 52 leaves, c.220mm. by 150mm., (a) 26 leaves of soft double-ply paper originally sewn in gatherings but now detached from binding, two columns, 11 lines, in a frame 170mm. by 118mm., written in red and black ink in various sizes of a large formal bookhand, notations in other hands, edges frayed and some leaves separating into their constituent layers, slight thumbing, wrapped in a stronger sheet of paper with the inscription ‘Gruntpuech der Zins und Gult zu den Guet Abtstorf gehörig/Renovirt 1528 had der geleichen Hofmaister zu Abtsdorff’, (b) 24 leaves of strong single-ply paper, collation: i–ii6, iii12, watermark: a gothic ‘P’ with a shield, close to Briquet, ‘Filigranes’, no. 8792 (Budweis, 1531), the last 8 leaves are cut away in a stepped fashion on the outer edge to make a thumb index, written in brown ink by various cursive hands, headings in an angular bookhand, some thumbing and signs of use, stitching broken, edges rather battered, wrapper of contemporary paper with inscription ‘Grundtbuech Geen Intzlestorff, hern Jorgen Grabner zugehörig angefangen 1549’, both loose in nineteenth-century binding CATALOGUE NOTE These documents are two extensive land-registers of the villages of Absdorf and Intzledorf, near St. Pölten in southern Austria, and while land-documents are common, ones of such size and scope are not. Both contain a mass of information on local rents and dues, and details of the produce of the area (mainly wine, cereal, saffron, hens, cheese, hay and garden produce). As well as an intrinsic historical value, these documents have some interest as two different approaches by two local officials to their record keeping. The ‘Hofmaister zu Abtsdorff’ who created the first book was principally concerned with creating a work of some beauty, allotting each individual landholder a whole page, having the pages ruled for only 11 lines, leaving wide margins, and writing the document (or employing a professional scribe to write it for him) in excellent German script, often with pen flourishes and cadels on the names of the individual landholders. The author of the second book (Jorgen Grabner) was under very different constraints, and produced a document that was functional rather than pleasing to the eye, with numerous additions of scribbled text and tables, crossing-outs, and erasures. This mass of information apparently left him in need of some organisation for his account, and so he added the alphabetical thumb-index. This is an early example of such a referencing system, and is notable for that fact alone." Some text & images were too far in the gutter to fully capture. Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A447642/datastream/PDF/view

: Alchemical recipes; Manuscript document on paper. Chemistry or alchemy text (mentions multiple ingredients and includes alchemical symbols, and discusses the formula to make gold). Six folios. 27.5 x 18 cm, "Original early manuscript, in German, dealing with various topics in the fields of alchemy and chemistry including such topics as the Philosopher's Stone, universal solvents, elixirs, sublimation, mercury, alkalis, calcination, phosphorus, fermentation, sublimation of sulfur, transmutation (125r) , rare earths, etc., etc. There are a number of authors mentioned eg.; Lilius (Lull?), Joannes Loutemaritz, Johannes Lemberg, Bartoldus, Maister Wisanto, and others. Including chapters titled such as: ""Lapis Philos: est Aqua""; ""Fermemtum - Terra Aer Aqua""; ""Aristotelis Epistola ad REgem Alexandrum Missa"" (38 r; on philosopher's stone, tinctures of phosphor, etc.); ""Tractatus Wimandi von Roten Schilde"" (on sunlight, phosphor, fermentation, elixers); ""De Generali via de Invencione Artis"" (87r on calcination, sublimation, incineration, coagulation, tinctures, and so on); ""De Mercurii pprietate"" (90r; mentions ""Albertinus monarch Ratisbon"" on 93r); ""In quod anis Metallum"", etc. The text also deals with pharmaceutical, putrefaction, and rare earths. The name of the author of the volume unfortunately, was crossed out on the first leaf where he states ""....begun by me...Anno 1563"" (""...angefangen von mir....Anno 1563""); done by a slightly later owner. Fine copy of the fascinating collection of essay son alchemical and chemical subjects in the vernacular and clearly not just copied from a printed work but original commentary which bases itself on information from early and contemporary authorities. It is bound in its original, very handsome, decorated binding (dated 1562 on front cover) completely unsophisticated. A number of presumably blank leaves have been excised from the end of the volume but the manuscript is clearly complete.", Small Gothic hand, black-brown ink, c.46 lines per full page. Light age browning, couple of oil stains to first two ll. and last, a little marginal finger-soiling, lower outer corner of last leaf repaired (affecting couple of letters). A very well-preserved copy, disbound., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A445258/datastream/PDF/view

: Antiphonary?; Tiny manuscript on parchment, including music and various prayers at the end (antiphonary?). Books of songs and prayers for monastic use. First canticle reads: "Lumen ad revelationem gentium, et gloriam plebis tuae Israel" (from the "Nunc dimittis"). Many beautifully decorated initials with penwork in red, blue, purple and yellow. Folios 45v and 59v show human faces in the penwork. Board and vellum binding. 10.7 x 7.5 cm., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A447764/datastream/PDF/view

: Armorial

: Bible. Hebrew. O. T. Ezekiel. [leaf]; Part of a leaf of a Hebrew Bible, text from Ezekiel 30-31, late medieval, forming the covering around a detached binding., Binding measurements: 19.5 cm x 16 cm, Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439242/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. N. T. Mark. [leaves]; (Mark, chapts. 9-10, including the Transfiguration) "ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAVES FROM A PORTABLE BIBLE IN LATIN. (France, ca. 1250) 5 3/4 x 3 3/4". Double column, 49 lines, written in a tiny gothic book hand. Each leaf featuring capitals struck with red, headlines and verse numbers in blue and red, and one-line versal initials in red or blue. Many leaves with larger (typically four-line) initials in blue or red with elaborate penwork infilling and marginal extension in the same and contrasting colors. SOME LEAVES WITH LARGER INITIALS (typically seven- and nine-lines high) IN DIVIDED RED AND BLUE, OFTEN WITH VERY LONG MARGINAL EXTENSION, sometimes the entire length of the leaf. Most leaves with at least some (and a few leaves with many) MARGINAL ANNOTATIONS IN AN INCREDIBLY TINY HAND. Leaves variably dampstained diagonally across upper portion (sometimes as little as a tenth of the leaf affected, sometimes as much as a third, the discoloration never really absent, but never really dark), vellum a bit cockled, but pleasing leaves nevertheless, the text still quite distinct, the vellum generally clean, and the margins especially ample. Available are a number of leaves from a sizable fragment of a so-called pocket Bible, a 13th century innovation that is discussed in item #9, above. Of special interest here are the annotations: while the script of our leaves is quite tiny (though no smaller than many other 13th century portable Bibles), the annotations here are half(!) the size of the text, a fact that is almost as astonishing as the fact that these marginal notes are beautifully written and perfectly legible (though requiring for most eyes the assistance of magnification). Provided with each leaf offered here is an English translation of the text present on both sides of the leaf. While no English printed version is equivalent to the Latin Vulgate text used here, we have chosen one that comes close, using the 1582 Rheims New Testament and a 1635 printing of the Douay Old Testament.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439247/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. Ezekiel [bifolium]; "Bifolium. Manuscript on vellum, 12mo (17.7 x 23.7 cm, 7 x 9.25"). [2] fA double-page spread from a small Paris Bible. Paris was the center of Bible production in the 13th century, with the text having been standardized there, and the University attracting scholars who wished to have just such a small Bible as this double leaf came from—a new thing in the 13th century. The texts on this bifolium are Ezekiel 27:11-30:3, containing prophecies against Tyre and Egypt, and Ezekiel 44:17-47:4, with directions for restoring the life of a just and righteous Israel and the beginning of Ezekiel's vision of water pouring forth from the temple. This leaf is of very fine paper-thin vellum. The text is in two columns per page of 53 lines, faintly ruled in lead, the top line written above the top rule. The outer edge of the second leaf retains its prickings. Text is written in black ink in a very small and compact Gothic script of the style typical of Bibles and other scholarly manuscripts of the 13th century. The running headers are in red and blue ink, the numbers heading each chapter are likewise in red and blue, and there are 1 ten-line initial I (in red with blue tracery), 1 four-line initial H (in blue with red tracery), and 4 two-line initials (in red or blue with tracery in the contrasting color). Key initials in the text are lined in red. Some corrections have likewise been made in the text, in black or red, and there is some marginalia in black and red in an early hand.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439250/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. I Samuel. [leaf]; 12mo (19.6 x 13.1 cm, 7.75 x 5.125"). [1] f.Paris was the center of Bible production in the 13th century, with the text having been standardized there, and the University attracting scholars who wished to have just such a small Bible as this leaf came from—a new thing in the 13th century. [BEING QUERIED: The text here is I Samuel 22:15-25:8, including the pursuit of David by King Saul and the famous scene where David sneaks up and cuts off part of the king's cloak, later showing it to Saul as proof of his good faith, that when he could have killed him, he forebore doing so.] This leaf is of fine quality (i.e., thin) vellum, with the text in two columns per page of 57 lines each, ruled in lead, the top line written below the top rule. The pricking for the rules is still present on the outside edge of the leaf. The scribe has written very small in black ink in compact Gothic script of the style typical of Bibles and other scholarly manuscripts of the 13th century, though it shows a few characteristics of later cursive Gothic. The running headers are in red and blue letters with a little pen tracery. The numbers heading each chapter (XXIII, XXIIII, and XXV) are likewise in red and blue, and there are 3 two-line initials (one on the recto and two on the verso) heading each chapter, a red E, a blue A (with a long descender), and a red M, each with elaborate and long tracery in the contrasting color. There are also notes to the rubricator on the edges. Provenance: Ex-Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege. Some spots of staining in the margins, and remnants of adhesive with vellum thinned where it was removed., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439261/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. II Chronicles. [leaf]; "4to (26.3 x 18.3 cm, 10.375 x 7.25"). [1] f. Perhaps more important than European universities as a market for Bible production were the friars: the Dominicans and Franciscans. Thus Bologna, not possessing a faculty of theology like Paris, but having the second most important Dominican house, was also, next to Paris, the most prolific producer of Bibles. This leaf in many ways could have come from Paris, but the fact of prominent chapter divisions, arguing also for a date later than ca. 1225, and the fact that the top line of text is above the top line of ruling point to southern Europe. The text is II Chronicles 16:4-18:34, including the end of the reign of Asa, king of Judah, and part of the reign of Jehoshaphat. It is worthy of note that chapter XVIIII in this manuscript begins with 18:28 in the standard numbering. This leaf is written in brown ink in a compact and rounder Gothic, in two columns of 48 lines, ruled in lead, with the prickings still present on the inside edge. The running headers are in red, as are the numbers heading each chapter; chapters also bear decorative initials: a green two-line R with red tracery for chapter XVII, a four-line red F with purple tracery for chapter XVIII (both on the recto), and (on the verso) a four-line red I with red tracery. In some places the text has been erased and corrected in black ink in a more angular hand. In the (two) left margins are three nota (?) marks consisting of a single stroke with two or three dots over it. Provenance: Ex-Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege. Some light soiling or staining in the margins. A closed cut, appr. 2.5 cm, 1" in length, from outside margin into text without loss.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439255/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. Isaiah. [leaf]; 12mo (17 x 12.3 cm, 6.75 x 4.875"). [1] f.A "Peaceable Kingdom" leaf from a small Bible: Paris was the center of Bible production in the 13th century, with the text having been standardized there, and the University attracting scholars who wished to have just such a small Bible as this leaf came from—a new thing in the 13th century. The text here is Isaiah 61:3-66:10, containing a prophecy of the restoration of Jerusalem, including the well-known Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpents meat. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."(KJV) This leaf is of very fine paper-thin vellum. The text is in two columns per page of 53 lines, faintly ruled in lead, the top line written below the top rule; it is written in black ink in an extremely small and compact Gothic script of the style typical of Bibles and other scholarly manuscripts of the 13th century. The running headers are in red and blue ink, the numbers heading each chapter are likewise in red and blue, and the 5 two-to-three-line initials (3 on the recto, and 2 on the verso) beginning each chapter are in red or blue, the Q's with long descenders, and all with elaborate long tracery in the contrasting color. A few instructions to the rubricator are to be found in the gutters. Parchment with slight cockling. Some letters rubbed, affecting legibility in one place. Two pieces of cloth tape, likely for mounting, have been attached in the inner margin of the verso, running beyond the edge of the leaf. The quality and thinness of the parchment, the minuteness of the writing, and quality of the decoration make this a particularly fine, beautiful, and delicate piece., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439258/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. Jeremiah. [leaf]; "12mo (18.5 cm, 7.25"). [1] f.Paris was the center of Bible production in the 13th century, with the text having been standardized there, and the University attracting scholars who wished to have just such a small Bible as this leaf came from—a new thing in the 13th century. The text here is Jeremiah 35:7-37:12, containing part of the prophecy of the defeat of Judah by the Babylonians. This leaf is of fine quality (i.e., thin) vellum, with the text in two columns per page, of 32 lines each, ruled in lead, the top line written below the top rule. It is written small in black ink in compact Gothic textura script of the style typical of Bibles and other scholarly manuscripts of the 13th century. The running headers are in red and blue with pen tracery. The number heading chapter XXXVI (on the verso) is likewise in red and blue, and there is also a two-line blue initial E with most elaborate pen tracery in red and blue running the height of the entire column of text and into the margin. Key initials in the text are lined in red. Provenance: Ex-Zion Research Foundation (later known as the Endowment for Biblical Research); very likely to Zion from Ege. A little cockled; text somewhat rubbed. Exceptionally nice penwork on the verso.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439264/datastream/PDF/view

: Bible. Latin. O. T. Zechariah. [leaf]; Folio (approx. 346 x 245 mm; 13.625 x 9.5") The Branch and Millennial Peace (Zechariah 6:2 - 7:1). Medieval Bible leaves with famous prophecies are scarce. Such leaves in folio format are scarcer still. And folio leaves of prophecies that also contain extensive contemporary commentary are just plain rare. This leaf has all of that and is extremely attractive as well. The Biblical text present here concerns the four chariots emerging from between the two mountains of brass. The horses of each are a different color (red, black, white, grizzled) and the symbolism is obscure to Zechariah who asks an angel to explain it all to him. The commentary on this page offers a different explanation than that given by the angel: Whereas the angels says the four chariots are the spirits of heaven, the commentary says they represent the four Evangelists. An accomplished scribe has indited the text of the Bible in a large gothic textura hand and the commentary in a much smaller version of the same style. The texts are accomplished in a rich black ink on a high quality vellum with extremely wide margins. At the top of the recto is the abbreviation for Prophetia ("PPHA") in capital letters alternatingly in blue and red. There is one capital in the text of the Bible passage (an "E") that is written in blue. Six paragraph symbols in alternating red and blue also enliven this page. The text of the commentary fills the right margin but is also interlinear in the Bible text. At the top of the verso is "Zacharias" in majuscules, the letters alternatingly present in blue or red. There is one capital in the text of the Bible passage (an "E") that is written in red. Two paragraph symbols in alternating red and blue also enliven this page. The text of the commentary fills the left margins but is also interlinear in the Bible text. The vellum that was used for this manuscript was prepared with extra care, and consequently, neither side of the leaf has obvious signs of being the one that held the sheep's fur. On such vellum as this, a scribe's good penwork appears even 800 years later to be very fresh. In very good condition. We present the leaf in a museum-recommended and -approved clear Mylar sleeve that will allow it to be enjoyed without worry of soiling it with hand oils or dust., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439267/datastream/PDF/view

: Bifolium from a Book of Hours; Manuscript vellum bifolium (two leaves) from a book of hours. The text includes parts of the Gospel readings and some prayers. Folio 2r begins with Psalm 116:1: "Laudate Dominum omnes gentes; laudate eum omnes populi." France, late 15th or early 16th century. Batarde hand. Text in one column of 17 lines. One and two-line illuminated initials, in gold, red, violet and white. 12.7 x 9 cm. Catalogued by PRB&M (short description included with the item)., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A444905/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of Hours [leaf].; (includes part of the Litany; possibly Flemish for English market, given the litany). France or Flanders. 15th century. One leaf (18.8 x 13 cm). Textualis hand. Five large one-line initials on one side, four on the other; line-fillers., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439294/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [2 leaves].; TWO ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAVES WITH UNFINISHED MARGINAL DECORATION, FROM A BOOK OF HOURS IN LATIN. TEXTS FROM NONE AND VESPERS FROM THE HOURS OF THE CROSS. (France, ca. 1415) 6 3/4 x 4 3/4". Single column, 16 lines, in a bold and attractive uncluttered gothic book hand. Each leaf with identical decoration: capitals struck with yellow, three one-line and three two-line initials in gold on a blue and magenta ground with white tracery, two line endings in the same colors, BOTH SIDES OF BOTH LEAVES WITH DELICATE DRAWINGS IN LIGHT BROWN INK OF FLORAL SPRAYS emanating from the two-line initials (and in the upper and lower margins of the recto of each leaf), THE DRAWINGS MEANT TO BE PAINTED IN, BUT THE WORK NEVER COMPLETED. Just a hint of soiling, some minor fading in the text without loss of legibility, otherwise in fine condition. These leaves, which appeared consecutively in the Book of Hours from which they were taken, are excellent specimens of the illuminator's work in progress. It is clear from these examples that the scribe's work was done first and that another artisan, no doubt with higher status, followed up by painting the border decoration (a third person may have done the initials and line endings as an intermediate step)." Book of Hours (unfinished), Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439275/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [2 leaves].; "Two leaves (10.7 x 8 cm). Hybrida hand. One two-line initial on one leaf, with ink flourishes in margins; a total of 8 small initials (red alternating with blue; one-line high) on other pages.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439270/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [2 leaves].; "Two leaves (15.7 x 11 cm). Textualis hand. Four or five one-line illuminated initials per page and line-fillers (some unusual). One two-line illuminated initial.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439278/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [3 leaves].; Italy; possibly, but not certainly, southern Italy (i.e., calendar lists St. Januarius, Anthony of Padua, and Athanasius, the Neapolitan). Late 15th or early 16th century. Three leaves (16 x 11.1 cm). Southern textualis hand. Ink-flourished initials in violet, red, and blue, with some gilding. Three two-line illuminated initials. One leaf with a square excised and filled with paper., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439283/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [leaf].; "15th century, second half, or possibly early 16th century. One leaf (12 x 8 cm.). Southern textualis (Humanist). Recto has one two-line illuminated initial on a red and blue field with illuminated marginal vinework; verso has one two-line illuminated initial on a red and green field with illuminated marginal vinework. Both pages have some letters or words in red.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439297/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [leaf].; Book of Hours (includes part of the Office of the Dead). "Textualis hand. Six one-line illuminated initials on fields of red on one side; five one-line and one two-line on the other.", Measurements: 11.6 cm x 8.7 cm, Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439300/datastream/PDF/view

: Book of hours [leaves].; "EXQUISITE TINY ILLUMINATED VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAVES, FROM A VERY FINE BOOK OF HOURS IN LATIN. (France, Tours or Paris, ca. 1530) 4 1/2 x 2 1/2." Single column, 21 lines of text, written in a very fine, tiny, upright humanistic hand. Rubrics in red, varying numbers of paragraph markers and one- and two-line initials in gold on a black ground or the reverse (and often with red filigree elaboration), frequent delicate line fillers in various combinations of gold, black and red, featuring knotted rope and pruned branch motifs, text on both sides within a knotted ropework border in gold and black with convoluted tassels at the bottom. IN EXTRAORDINARILY FINE CONDITION, ESPECIALLY FRESH, CLEAN, AND BRIGHT. These leaves come from the celebrated atelier known as the 1520s Hours Workshop. Even though they do not feature any miniatures or historiation, it is not overstating the case to say that even these text leaves are exquisite. The tiny and beautifully regular script and the delicate initials and line endings are impressive manifestations of scribal artisans working at the very top of their craft during the final flowering of illuminated manuscript production in France.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439303/datastream/PDF/view

: Breviarium in Psalmos, in Latin, manuscript on vellum [fragment]; One nearly complete vellum leaf. 196 x 167 mm. 25 out of probably 30 long lines. Caroline minuscules. The leaf had served in a binding. (Description by Prof. Marvin Colker, Dept. of Classics. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va. 1983) Provenance: Sotheby's, Dec. 11, 1979, lot 12. The fragment is stored in a binder from The Schoyen Collection, MS 626., PSEUDO-JEROME, Breviarium in Psalmos, in Latin, manuscript on vellum [west Germany, 2nd quarter 9th century] Among the earliest known witnesses to the text of the Breviarium in Psalmos, once attributed to St Jerome: an interesting textual survival given the many scribal mistakes, errors and omissions. 1 leaf, 197 x 170mm, blind-ruled for one column of 25 visible lines written in brown ink in a rounded west German Caroline minuscule, early annotations in the margin, one initial touched with green and the cropped remains of a 3-line initial at the beginning of line 2 on the recto, double bounding lines and prickings visible (some marginal staining and creasing from use as a pastedown, some text cropped). Bound in grey buckram at the Quaritch bindery. Provenance: (1) Solomon Pottesman (1904-1978); sold by order of his executors at Sotheby's 11 December 1979, part of lot 12. (2) Bernard Rosenthal, his 'I/252'. A letter by Bischoff dated 15 May 1983 accompanies the documentation of this lot. (3) Bernard Quaritch, Bookhands V, cat.1147 (1991), no 4. (3) Schøyen Collection, MS 626. Text: The manuscript tradition and the authorship of the Breviarium in Psalmos is somewhat complicated. Once attributed to Jerome, it is now accepted as an amalgam of Jerome's Commentarioli in psalmos and his Tractatus sive homiliae in psalmos, as well as drawing on other authors. Arguments have been made for an Irish authorship: characteristics of the text, such as the repeated designation of certain verses of the Psalms as 'vox Christi, vox ecclesiae' and its Christocentric exegesis indicate an Irish origin. In the commentary on Psalm 15, the Breviarium incorporates Jerome's Commentariolus but then goes on, in Irish fashion, to speak of the inscription ('titulus') which was on the cross in 'the three languages', Hebrew, Greek and Latin. For more on the possible authorship of the Breviarium see B. Fischer, Bedae de titulis psalmorum liber, 1971, p.93 and M.J. McNamara, The Psalms in the Early Irish Church, 2000, p.49. There are several extant manuscripts of the Breviarium in Psalmos. The most comprehensive census of these lists some 14 manuscripts from the 9th century, and of these only 7 are of comparable date to the present fragment. These are: Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek Aug. Perg. 26 and Aug. Perg. 99 (both beginning of 9th century); Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana C.301.Inf. (late 8th or early 9th century); Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Clm 6276 (beginning of 9th century), Clm 14314 (2nd quarter 9th century), Clm 14369 (2nd quarter 9th century) and Clm 18168 (late 8th or early 9th century). The text is a commentary on Psalm 83 (Patrologia Latina 26, cols. 1072-1073). Script: The script is a competent west German hand dated by Bischoff to the 2nd quarter of the 9th century. Ascenders are thickened at the top with a slight serif veering on a wedge in form. It slopes slightly and the ductus is fairly smooth. To judge from the 's' and 'a' forms, it was rapidly written, and although the pen is lifted between letters, some of the m-forms in particular indicate cursive and writing at speed, as do a number of both deliberate and inadvertent ligatures. The manuscript is notable for its many scribal mistakes, peculiar word divisions, and errors of omission, suggesting that this was not the original text, but one copied by a scribe unfamiliar and uncomfortable with his exemplar, itself perhaps written without word divisions in a Frankish uncial or half uncial. There are, for example, 5 lines of text omitted from the bottom of the recto, and a further 25 lines, virtually an entire page, between 'in loquo [sic for 'loco'] quem [dis]posuit' and 'Ad agonem hoc est ad certamen'; also 'incor desuo posuit' is written instead of 'in corde suo posuit', among other things. As such, it is a fascinating and valuable survival for the light it sheds onto methods of copying, the quality and skill of the copyist, and the effect this could have on the final text., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A443163/datastream/PDF/view

: Breviary [leaf].; "12mo (15.6 cm x 11.4 cm, 6.125 x 4.5"). [1] This leaf is from a lectionary giving the lessons from matins, and, given its size, is likely from a breviary. It begins with part of the second and the third short lesson for matins on the Tuesday in the octave of the Ascension and continues with the lessons for the Wednesday in the octave (altogether Rev. 1:16–20). Then, for the octave day, follows a sermon of St. Leo for the feast of the Ascension, and part of the Venerable Bede’s homily on the gospel “Behold I send the promised of my father . . .” (Luke 24:49 ff.). On the recto are seven initials: 1 four-line blue initial “P”, 1 red two-line “E”, and 3 one-line blue initials alternating with 2 one-line red initials; on the verso 1 two-line initial I, 1 two-line initial E, and 4 one-line blue alternating with 3 one-line red initials. The lines are ruled in gray-brown, with the first line of text below the top ruling. The text is written in a round gothic bookhand with many abbreviations, in black ink with the rubrics in bright red. The recto is numbered xlviii, in red, in the upper right-hand corner. In the center of the bottom margin of the verso is the catchword “babti” in black surrounded by tracery. Spanish illuminated leaves from this period are very uncommon. A light stain in the lower outer margin, and bare remnants of adhesive higher up on the recto.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439306/datastream/PDF/view

: Breviary [leaf].; Vellum folio from a breviary. Multiple capital letters in red and blue ink, decorated with fine penwork. There is a flaw in the lower margin. 14.5 x 9.9 mm. (Mounted on a matte.) Inventory: Text in Latin written in two columns on very fine vellum in an extraordinarily small gothic script - so small that there are 5 lines of text to the centimetre. Six two-line initials alternating in red and blue extensively embellished internally and externally with fine, assured pen flourishes in the contrasting colour extending into the margins. The versal initials alternate in red and blue and were added after the scribe had finished the text written in black., "A tiny manuscript on vellum leaf, Italy. Recto: Text in Latin written in two columns on very fine vellum in an extraordinarily small gothic script - so small that there are 5 lines of text to the centimetre. Six two-line initials alternating in red and blue extensively embellished internally and externally with fine, assured pen flourishes in the contrasting colour extending into the margins. The versal initials alternate in red and blue and were added after the scribe had finished the text written in black. Verso: As Recto, with one 10-line initial ‘I’ in red and two two-line initials, all with ext6ensive penwork." The text is heavily abbreviated, to the extent that there are more abbreviated than entire words, making it difficult to read without a profound knowledge of the liturgy. The text does include the sung “Te decet”. Condition: The leaf is in very good/ excellent condition. There is an (original) oval hole in the vellum in the bottom margin, possibly caused by a flaw (wound?) in the animal supplying the vellum, as well as a 1x6 mm. hole that the scribe and decorator have worked around., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A444910/datastream/PDF/view

: Breviary for Roman use (Blue Dragon Breviary).; 132 x 92 mm, 221 leaves + 1 flyleaf at front and back, complete, I-XVI10, XVII8, XVIII-XXI10, XXII10-1 (lacks 1 blank), XXIII2+3, justification 75 x 60 mm, ruled in blind lines for two columns of 30 lines, in a very regular, tiny and experienced hand with many abbreviations in a Southern Textualis in two sizes; catchwords. Rubrics red, versals touched in yellow, two-line initials alternating in red and blue, most of which with penwork decoration. 3 illuminated initials: 1 figurated nine-line initial F (fol. 1) with full border in the margin consisting of a four-sided bar around the text and flowers, birds, parrots, spray, pollen and tendriled hairlines, 1 seven-line initial P (fol. 25), 1 five-line initial D (fol. 166v). The opening of fols. 166v-167 was enhanced with a charming and captivating decorative grotesque of St Michael and the Dragon in monochrome green tones. The underlying pen and ink drawing is very accomplished and made to appear as if part of the original decoration. Very clean and wide margins, prickings still visible in upper and lower margins, fine parchment, very few stains or darkening of vellum, overall crisp condition, illumination in fine condition as well, the green dragon a very little flaked. Modern calf, blind tooled, one clasp. Incipit: “Incipit in nomine domini breviarium usum consuetudinem romane curie in primo sabbato de adventu Ad vesperas Capitulum// Fratres scientes quia hora est …” => beginning of the ecclesiastical year on first of advent Explicit: “Et posui seyr [sic!] montes eius in solitudinem et hereditatem eius in drachones deserti. Explicit dominicale officium tocius anni” => verse from the daily proper of the mass. The manuscript contains the Proprium de tempore, the temporal of the Roman breviary with no further local specifications. The rubrics mark the beginnings of liturgical sections and sometimes give notifications for the day. Both the neat script and the very thin high quality vellum suggest it was intended as a portable reference tool, perhaps for a wealthy priest or scholar. The three initials mark the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in advent, the liturgy for the Nativity of Christ “Primo tempore alleviata est terra zabulon …” and the opening of the liturgy for Pentecost “Deus qui hodierna die corda fidelium …”. The decorated initials, the first with a portrait of St Paul, including the border decoration on the first folio, link the manuscript to northern Italy. The blue and green acanthus leaves springing from the initials, the form and design with sprouting buds and green leaves on top, the mauve corpus and the burnished golden grounds argue for a workshop outside the centres of book illumination of Ferrara or Milan around 1450. In the absence of a calendar, the litany and the sanctoral, the painted decoration and its style are the only indicators to location and date. Our artist might have been a follower of masters like Giorgio d’Alemania, who was active in Ferrara between 1441 and 1462, in Modena around 1476. It is interesting to note that the liturgy of Pentecost, doubtless a major feast day, is enhanced with an illuminated initial (fol. 166v), rather than Easter Sunday, which is regarded as the most important feast of the ecclesiastical year. And while the encounter of St Michael with the dragon would have matched the symbolism of the Resurrection, as Christ had vanquished the powers of the evil in rising from the dead, it seems a bit out of place in connection with Pentecost. This extraordinary marginal decoration must have been added to the manuscript at a point when the liturgical function of the book was not its prime purpose. The well accomplished combination of spiraling floral ornament and the animated form of dragon and human figure, one almost emerging from the other, evokes the spirit of the Italian baroque, as it is found, for example, in Polifilo Zancarli’s and Odoardo Fialetti’s so-called ‘Vertical Grotesques’. A series of ornament etchings at the British Museum and Harvard Art Museum and was published in Venice between 1600 and 1630. (Many of his grotesque designs can be browsed on the website of The Metropolitan Museum of Art). The playfulness of the design could well point to the early 17th century. On the other hand, there is a very striking similarity with a particular dragon from a late Renaissance calligraphy book, now in the Newberry Library at Chicago: Wing MS ZW 545.S431, letter S. This was written in England in 1592 by John Scottowe, who died in 1607. Our dragon is astonishingly similar to one there, its form only slightly adjusted to the marginal space it covers in the present manuscript. Without knowing the precise provenance, it will probably be impossible to prove how a pattern from a late 16th-century English calligraphy book could have found its way into a mid 15th-century Italian breviary, but this motif with only slight variations was known in Europe before 1600, and could have been added at that date. Either the model of this dragon was very widely spread among scribes and calligraphers, or, the manuscript was once in the collection of an English calligrapher. The green and blue monochrome tones of the modelling hint at an artist who intended to somehow ‘medievalize’ his work and perhaps adjust it to the period of the manuscript. The colouring is typical neither for the 17th nor 15th century. Provenance: The original provenance of the manuscript is hard to establish as the breviary does not include a calendar or a litany. Moreover, it seems to be complete without the sanctoral. The very few annotations usually only amend the text, but do not profile an early owner. A number in pencil on the front pastedown 128/12954 [47905] is in a German handwriting, so we may assume that the manuscript was in a German private collection. (Lit: La miniatura a Ferrara, ed. F. Toniolo, Ferrara, 1998), Some text was too far in the book's gutter to be captured., Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A440808/datastream/PDF/view

: Breviary or book of hours [leaf]; "12mo (in all appr. 14 x 18.5 cm, 5.5 x 7.25"). [2] ff. Written in a beautiful clear Italian humanistic hand, this double leaf is probably from a breviary or book of hours. It begins with part of the responsory following the sixth lesson in the office for the dead, and continues with the antiphon incipit, “Complaceat tibi,” and the beginning of Psalm 39 (40), as the seventh psalm in that office (opening the third nocturn). The second leaf in this bifolium continues with Psalm 41:2, Psalm 41 being the ninth psalm at matins of the dead (i.e., the third psalm of the third nocturn). While humanistic hand—a distinctive element of the Renaissance style—is more usually associated with classical manuscripts, it was, as this leaf exemplifies, also used for liturgical and devotional texts. The recto of the first leaf has 1 two-line initial E in gold on a reddish purple background with blue inside the strokes of the E, both the blue and the pink having white tracery within. This leaf also contains a total of 14 decorative one-line initials, 6 gold and 8 blue, the latter with fine red tracery. The few short rubrics are in a brownish red. The text, 15 lines to the page, is lightly ruled in blind with a stylus; the top line of text is above the first line of ruling. The stylus was drawn across the hair side of the parchment, and the top lines of ruling run through the gutter. In a simple white mat with both sides of both leaves visible. Vellum a lovely creamy white on the flesh side (the verso of the first and the recto of the second leaf); the hair side is darker, especially in the top margin. Remnants of binding thread remain in the lower part of the gutter.", Full pdf available, https://dl.mospace.umsystem.edu/mu/islandora/object/mu%3A439309/datastream/PDF/view

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