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  Antonozzi, Leopardo DE CARATTERI.
Nieuwkoop HES & DE GRAAF 1971 22x30 cm oblong Decorative wrappers (vi, iv), 44, 2 pages.
Facsimile of 1638 edition published in Rome. Edition limited to 300 handnumbered copies. With numerous calligraphic specimens. Part of the Penman's Paradise series. Typographical design: Aldert Witte.

Sales rights: Available outside North America from HES & DE GRAAF Publishers.

Price: $ 100.00 other currencies Order nr. 103724

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  Bartram, Alan TYPEFORMS: A HISTORY.
New Castle, Delaware and London Oak Knoll Press and The British Library 2007 9.5 x 10 inches cloth, dust jacket 128 pages
First edition. This book is the long-awaited successor to the classic An Atlas of Typeforms, the great visually-led history of type that Alan Bartram and James Sutton produced in 1968. Much has changed in the last 40 years, not least the teaching of typography and the means by which it is created. Because current design methods do not require the drawing and tracing of letterforms in order to produce layouts, we have lost our close connection with them. Few understand their history, their appearance, and how and why they have developed as they have. Nearly 75 different types are shown in their original metal forms, just as they were in the Atlas of Typeforms. But an entirely new feature is the author's attempt to place the types in their historical context. By including photographs of contemporary inscriptions on buildings and monuments, Alan Bartram explores the relationship between printed and architectural letterforms and their parallel course from the Renaissance until Victorian times. The opportunities offered for graphic and type designers in the digital age are greater than ever before. But without an understanding of the visual make-up of letterforms and some knowledge of their fascinating history, designers cannot fully exploit the potential of type. In this book, Alan Bartram educates us in these critical areas. Co-published with The British Library.
Sales rights: North and South America; available elsewhere from The British Library

Price: $ 55.00 other currencies Order nr. 95866

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  BIBLIO, EXPLORING THE WORLD OF BOOKS
Eugene, OR Aster Publishing Corporation 1998 4to. paper wrappers. 80 pages.
VOLUME 3, NO.1, JAN. 98. BIBLIO changes its subtitle. IN THIS ISSUE: K. Blewster on Oprah Winfrey and books with a second article on book clubs, A. Hanson on Edward Gorey, N.A. Basbanes on Swedish libraries, C. Sell on booksellers along the Oregon coast, M. Angelou on art and censorship, D. Lindley on cuneiform writing, AND MUCH MORE.
Price: $ 4.95 other currencies Order nr. 51999

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  Bohatta, Hanns BIBLIOGRAPHIE DER LIVRES D'HEURES (HORAE B.M.V.) OFFICIA, HORTULI ANIMAE, CORONAE B.M.V., ROSARIA UND CURSUS B.M.V. DES XV. UND XVI, JAHRHUNDERTS.
(Mansfield Centre Maurizio Martino n.d. but 1995) 8vo. cloth. (viii), 92 pages.
Reprint of the 1924 second edition published by Gilhofer & Ranschburg in Wien. A bibliography of 15th and 16th century Books of Hours.
Price: $ 60.00 other currencies Order nr. 43536

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  (Calligraphy) Drucker, Johanna. THE ALPHABETIC LABYRINTH, THE LETTERS IN HISTORY AND IMAGINATION.
London Thames and Hudson Ltd (1995) small 4to. cloth, dust jacket. 320 pages.
First edition. An examination of the history of lettering, printing and calligraphy. It covers the many imaginative, often idiosyncratic ways in which the letters of the alphabet have been assigned value in political, spiritual, or religious ways over thousands of years. It is richly illustrated with images never used before and includes a chapter which will be fascinating to historians and to those who are interested in typography. Indexed.
Price: $ 45.00 other currencies Order nr. 60338

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  (Calligraphy) Gourdie, Tom. CALLIGRAPHY FOR THE BEGINNER.
New York Taplinger Publishing Company (1979) 8vo. stiff paper wrappers. (ii), 60 pages.
A basic practical manual for those who have never tried this art before.
Price: $ 5.95 other currencies Order nr. 23230

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  (Calligraphy) Henning, William E. AN ELEGANT HAND, THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICAN PENMANSHIP & CALLIGRAPHY.
Edited by Paul Melzer New Castle, DE Oak Knoll Press 2006 4to. cloth, dust jacket 320 pages
This work chronicles the history of the Golden Age of American penmanship and calligraphy. The author guides the reader through the lives and careers of some of the most important American penmen, including Platt Rogers Spencer, the Father of American Handwriting, and Spencer's gifted student, George A. Gaskell, whose books and periodicals reached hundreds of thousands of students throughout the second half of the 1800s. Paul Melzer, the editor of this work, added more than 400 examples taken from original specimens to handsomely illustrate Henning's manuscript.
Price: $ 59.95 other currencies Order nr. 68991

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  (Calligraphy) Knight, Stan HISTORICAL SCRIPTS FROM CLASSICAL TIMES TO THE RENAISSANCE.
New Castle, Delaware Oak Knoll Press and John Neal, Bookseller 1998 4to. hardcover, dust jacket 112 pages.
Reprint with minor corrections of second edition. The craft of calligraphy has a 2000-year history in the Western world. Up to the time of the Renaissance, calligraphy was the only means of preserving literature, and so, it played a vital role in the spread of learning, culture, and religion. Historical scripts were not rigidly-fixed "styles;" they represented the high peaks in an endlessly shifting landscape. Throughout centuries, styles of writing were continually being modified and developed in response to a multitude of influences encompassing political, religious, aesthetic, intellectual, sociological, and pragmatic changes in the ways that books were made and scripts were written. The modern calligrapher, typographer, historian, and anyone interested in western lettering and documents benefits from studying the methods, skills, and attitudes of generations of historical scribes who produced such outstanding and accomplished works for so many centuries.
Revised and expanded, this book is an excellent survey of bookhands with its full-page, enlarged illustrations and solidly researched sources. It is a useful text for studying the history of manuscripts as well as the details of letter construction. This work also helps one make judgments about the technical condition of letter writing and its qualities of rhythm and movement, possible only when consulting an original manuscript. The author has gone to considerable lengths to obtain photographs that are well-focused and lit so that the tactile qualities of surfaces, ink tone, and flow are revealed. The author has chosen examples of formal writing that show a coherent and reasonably consistent relationship between methods of tool use and letter formation, making the construction of a script much easier to grasp in practice. He has also made the effort of selecting writing without idiosyncrasies of style.

Price: $ 39.95 other currencies Order nr. 52752

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  (Calligraphy) Nash, Ray AMERICAN PENMANSHIP, 1800-1850. A HISTORY OF WRITING AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF COPYBOOKS FROM JENKINS TO SPENCER.
Worcester American Antiquarian Society 1969 8vo. cloth. xii, 303 pages.
Best bibliography of the subject.
Price: $ 35.00 other currencies Order nr. 7237

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  Cresci, Giovanni Francesco IL PERFETTO SCRITTORE.
2 parts in 1 volume Nieuwkoop HES & DE GRAAF 1972 oblong 4to. decorative stiff paper wrappers (iii, 51, 40, 1) unnumbered leaves. li pages. 64 pages
Facsimile of the 1570 edition published in Rome. Edition limited to 300 handnumbered copies. Typographical design: Aldert Witte. With numerous calligraphic specimens.

Sales rights: Available outside North America from HES & DE GRAAF Publishers.

Price: $ 115.00 other currencies Order nr. 103725

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  CYRILLUS FABLES IN ULRICH VON POTTENSTEIN`S VERSION, DAS BUCH DER NATÜRLICHEN WEISHEIT.
`t Goy-Houten HES & DE GRAAF 1998 4to stiff paper wrappers. 26 pages.
"A newly discovered illustrated manuscript of the Cyrillus-Fables in Ulrich von Pottenstein's middle high German translation, with 96 watercolour wash illustrations, accompanied by other texts, in a dated sixteenth-century binding, formerly in the celebrated library of Count Johann Nepomuk of Wilczek in Burg Kreuzenstein, Southern Bavaria or Tyrol, c. 1425-30." With 18 illustrations in color. (Antiquariaat FORUM and Les Enluminures).

Sales rights: Available outside North America from HES & DE GRAAF Publishers.

Price: $ 27.50 other currencies Order nr. 103239

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  (Dante) Dante THE DIVINE COMEDY.
Volume 1: Inferno. Volume 2: Purgatorio. Volume 3: Paradiso. Translated by Robert and Jean Hollander, Illustrated by Monika Beisner. Verona, Italy Edizioni Valdonega 2007 8.5 x 12.25 inches cloth, slipcase 700 pages
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the leading figures of world literature. His Commedia, probably written during the last 15 years of his life is - by common consent - the greatest literary work in the Italian language; it is also one of the towering achievements in any field of human endeavor. Often translated (and into many languages), the Comedy (the adjective "Divine" was added by an editor to the author's title in 1555) attracts new readers every year. This translation--a labor of love and the first ever by two poets--was begun in Florence in 1997 and completed in Hopewell in 2006.
This new edition of Dante's great work brings together for the first time the three volumes of the Hollander translation with the art of internationally recognized illustrator Monika Beisner. Beisner has created 100 detailed paintings for this publication, making her the first woman credited with illustrating the entire work. The set begins with an introduction by Carlo Carena and a foreword by Academy Award winning actor Roberto Benigni, known for his lectures and dramatic recitations of Dante's poem. The third volume ends with an appreciation by writer and cultural historian Marina Warner entitled "Monika Beisner: Illuminating Stories." Warner writes, "The hundred miniatures took her seven years to complete and the achievement is dazzling. The present volume reproduces her work full-size, with no strokes or drawing visible, but a pure glow of dense color, applied with brushes so small they consist of a half-dozen sable hairs. Monika Beisner has been scrupulously loyal to Dante's text, rendering gesture and position as described in the poem as well as its unsurpassed precision of spatial, geographical and temporal coordinates."
Monika Beisner was born in Germany, where she studied painting in Braunschweig and Berlin. Fellowships allowed her to continue her studies in New York and London, where she now lives. Her illustrations for children's books have earned her an international reputation and she has exhibited worldwide. Her illustrations of Dante's Commedia have been published in Germany and Italy. She has completed illustrations for Ovid's Metamorphoses. Her next step will be into the world of Gilgamesh.
Jean Hollander has taught literature and writing at various colleges and universities. Her third book of poems will be published later this year. In addition to this translation, she has published translations of works by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Robert Hollander, Professor in European Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University, has published a dozen books and some eighty articles on Dante and/or Boccaccio. He is founder and director of two Internet sites, the Dartmouth Dante Project and the Princeton Dante Project.
The three volumes-Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso-are bound in full cloth with a dust jacket and are in a cloth-covered slipcase. The work has been set in Centaur and printed in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. The first seventy-five are available as a deluxe issue, accompanied by an extra suite of illustrations, on Gardapat Kassica paper by Cartiere del Garda, numbered with roman numerals, signed by the artist, and boxed in a portfolio. The complete production has been carried out in Verona by Stamperia Valdonega Group. Distributed for Edizioni Valdonega, Verona.

Price: $ 700.00 other currencies Order nr. 95860

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  (Dante) Dante THE DIVINE COMEDY.
Volume 1: Inferno. Volume 2: Purgatorio. Volume 3: Paradiso. Translated by Robert and Jean Hollander, Illustrated by Monika Beisner. Verona, Italy Edizioni Valdonega 2007 8.5 x 12.25 inches cloth, slipcase 700 pages
Deluxe edition, accompanied by an extra suite of illustrations, on Gardapat Kassica paper by Cartiere del Garda, numbered with roman numerals, signed by the artist, and boxed in a portfolio.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is one of the leading figures of world literature. His Commedia, probably written during the last 15 years of his life is - by common consent - the greatest literary work in the Italian language; it is also one of the towering achievements in any field of human endeavor. Often translated (and into many languages), the Comedy (the adjective "Divine" was added by an editor to the author's title in 1555) attracts new readers every year. This translation--a labor of love and the first ever by two poets--was begun in Florence in 1997 and completed in Hopewell in 2006.
This new edition of Dante's great work brings together for the first time the three volumes of the Hollander translation with the art of internationally recognized illustrator Monika Beisner. Beisner has created 100 detailed paintings for this publication, making her the first woman credited with illustrating the entire work. The set begins with an introduction by Carlo Carena and a foreword by Academy Award winning actor Roberto Benigni, known for his lectures and dramatic recitations of Dante's poem. The third volume ends with an appreciation by writer and cultural historian Marina Warner entitled "Monika Beisner: Illuminating Stories." Warner writes, "The hundred miniatures took her seven years to complete and the achievement is dazzling. The present volume reproduces her work full-size, … with no strokes or drawing visible, but a pure glow of dense color, applied with brushes so small they consist of a half-dozen sable hairs.… Monika Beisner has been scrupulously loyal to Dante's text, rendering gesture and position as described in the poem as well as its unsurpassed precision of spatial, geographical and temporal coordinates."
Monika Beisner was born in Germany, where she studied painting in Braunschweig and Berlin. Fellowships allowed her to continue her studies in New York and London, where she now lives. Her illustrations for children's books have earned her an international reputation and she has exhibited worldwide. Her illustrations of Dante's Commedia have been published in Germany and Italy. She has completed illustrations for Ovid's Metamorphoses. Her next step will be into the world of Gilgamesh.
Jean Hollander has taught literature and writing at various colleges and universities. Her third book of poems will be published later this year. In addition to this translation, she has published translations of works by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Robert Hollander, Professor in European Literature, Emeritus, at Princeton University, has published a dozen books and some eighty articles on Dante and/or Boccaccio. He is founder and director of two Internet sites, the Dartmouth Dante Project and the Princeton Dante Project.
The three volumes-Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso-are bound in full cloth with a dust jacket and are in a cloth-covered slipcase. The work has been set in Centaur and printed in a limited edition of 500 numbered copies. The first seventy-five are available as a deluxe issue, accompanied by an extra suite of illustrations, on Gardapat Kassica paper by Cartiere del Garda, numbered with roman numerals, signed by the artist, and boxed in a portfolio. The complete production has been carried out in Verona by Stamperia Valdonega Group. Distributed for Edizioni Valdonega, Verona.

Price: $ 1,500.00 other currencies Order nr. 95872

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  Dekker, C., R. Baetens, S. Maarschalkerweerd-Dechamps ALBUM PALAEOGRAPHICUM XVII PROVINCIARUM. PALEOGRAFISCH ALBUM VAN NEDERLAND, BELGIË, LUXEMBURG EN NOORD-FRANKRIJK.
Utrecht | Turnhout HES & DE GRAAF 1992 folio cloth 448 pages.
Examples of paleography. With 313 facsimiles.

Sales rights: Available outside North America from HES & DE GRAAF Publishers.

Price: $ 145.00 other currencies Order nr. 103240

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  Dunning, John THAT SUMMER WITH MICHAEL
Santa Barbara Santa Teresa Press 2004 8vo. stiff paper wrappers (ii), 24, (2)
Edition limited to 535 copies of which this is one of 500 numbered in Arabic numerals, printed on white paper and signed by the author. Printed as a benefit publication for the Antiquarian Booksellers' Benevolent Fund; a non-profit charity. This is a recollection of Dunning's friendship with Michael Shaara ( The Killer Angels) over one summer and, simultaneously, a meditation on writing and what it is to be a writer. Dunning, owner of the Old Algonquin Bookstore in Denver for many years, is perhaps best known for his mysteries involving former policeman turned book dealer, Cliff Janeway.
Price: $ 25.00 other currencies Order nr. 79270

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  Hindman, Sandra and Michael Camille, Nina Rowe, Rowan Watson MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATION IN THE MODERN AGE: RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION.
(Evanston, IL Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art 2001 small 4to. stiff paper wrappers xxviii, 329+(1) pages in addition to 32 leaves of color plates
First edition. Three hundred years ago, now treasured medieval manuscripts were scorned, neglected and left to vandals. An exhibit held at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art early in 2001, sought to explore new ideas and perspectives on the destruction and reconstitution of illuminated manuscripts in the 18th and 19th centuries in France and England and in the early 20th century in America. Although many questions remain unanswered, the research presented in this Catalogue to accompany the exhibition helps define the field of study for the future. With 159 black-and-white illustrations and 38 beautiful color plates, bibliography and index.
Price: $ 45.00 other currencies Order nr. 63389

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  Horst, K. van der, William Noel, W.C.M Mütherich THE UTRECHT PSALTER IN MEDIEVAL ART. PICTURING THE PSALMS OF DAVID.
`t Goy-Houten HES & DE GRAAF 1996 9.75 x 12.5 inches cloth 284 pages.
With authorative contributions on the historical, stylistic, and iconographic context of this masterpiece of Carolingian Renaissance by R. McKitterick, K. van der Horst, K. Corrigan, F. Mütherich, and W. Noel, and including the catalogue of the 1996 exhibition on the Utrecht Psalter at the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht. With 267 illustrations in colour and black & white.

Sales rights: Available outside North America from HES & DE GRAAF Publishers.

Price: $ 170.00 other currencies Order nr. 103242

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) Alexander, Jonathan J. G. THE FARNESE LECTIONARY.
Facsimile with accompanying hardcover commentary Modena Franco Cosimo Panini 2008 folio red velvet binding (silver ferrules, clasp strips and coat of arms), clamshell case 64 pages, 6 plates
One of 550 copies. The majestic liturgical book known as the Lezionario Farnese, produced in Rome shortly after the mid-sixteenth century for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, represents a high point for the art of illumination. Given its size the work is of monumental proportions and the wealth of embellishments, we may consider the Lectionary a codex of exceptional merit. Splendid embellishments By commissioning this truly sumptuous work, Alessandro Farnese brought into being a codex which, for hundreds of years, served as one of the Missals used by the Popes and princes of the Church during the solemnities held at the Sistine Chapel. In its splendid full-page illuminations and wonderful gilded frames adorned with putti, masks and floral motifs we note the influences of the grand art of the Renaissance and, in particular, the work of Michelangelo and Raphael. A widely acclaimed illuminator With its impressive embellishments, the Lezionario Farnese represents one of the masterpieces of Giulio Clovio (1498-1578), the most widely acclaimed illuminator of the late sixteenth century. Clovio was praised by the Florentine historian, Giorgio Vasari, in the second edition of his Lives of the Artists, as the Michelangelo in little. Vasari cites the Farnese Book of Hours and the Lectionary as the most important of the works of Clovio, who, after leaving his native Croatia in 1516, achieved great renown as an illuminator. The Neo-Gothic binding The original binding went missing with the arrival of Napoleons troops. The codex was then re-bound in 1809-1810 in a red velvet Neo-Gothic cover of considerable beauty and refinement (the work of the London binders, Benjamin II and James Smith). We may note the wrought and gilded silver ferrules and clasps and, on the front cover, the polychrome porcelain coats of arms of the Towneley family, the last owners of this work. Patronage The Lectionary was a commission from Alessandro Farnese (1520-1589), the grandson of Pope Paul III Farnese (who ordained Alessandro as cardinal at the age of fourteen). In the early 1540s, Clovio entered the service of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, considered by historians the most important patron and connoisseur of the arts of mid-sixteenth century Rome. Clovio served the cardinal for the rest of his life, and bequeathed his fine collection of codices and artworks to his patron.

The Commentary: The work is accompanied by a book with commentary, edited by Jonathan J. Alexander, with writings by Jonathan J. Alexander, Nicholas Barker, Elena Calvillo and Clive Wainwright.

Facsimile with accompanying commentary with clamshell box.

Price: $ 17,500.00 other currencies Order nr. 105362

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) De Marchi, Andrea THE DURAZZO BOOK OF HOURS.
Facsimile with accompanying hardcover commentary Modena Franco Cosimo Panini 2008 8vo velvet binding with precious stones and gilded silver, clamshell case 201 pages, 6 plates
One of 980 copies. The Libro d'Ore Durazzo, which takes its name from its last owner, is a small masterpiece by the painter and illuminator, Francesco Marmitta. This remarkable work is in two ways quite different from all other devotional codices for private use. One is the use of purple parchment. The other is chrysography, or writing in letters of gold the work of the master calligrapher, Pietro Antonio Sallando, who taught at the University of Bologna.

The illumination work of a goldsmith and jeweller: The illumination work is by the painter from Parma, Francesco Marmitta (circa 1462/1466-1505) also a renowned jeweller and inlayer, and the creator of other splendid works such as the stunning Missal of Domenico della Rovere, belonging to the museum of the municipality of Turin (Museo Civico di Torino). The leafs of these masterpieces reflect the artists sensitivity and delicacy, his marked interest in landscapes, and his taste for jewellery, medals and cameos, illustrated with extraordinary skill.

Embellishment of the highest order: Marmittas references to the revived classic tradition indicate a meditative approach. This aspect comes to the fore in his use of purple and of gold lettering, and is also underscored by his use of motifs such as trophies, medallions, cameos and bucrania. However, as a painter, the approach adopted for the Calendar and Offices of the Virgin reveals his awareness of the latest tendencies reflected in the culture of the figurative arts in Bologna, and a special interest in the work of Amico Aspertini.

The refinement of the binding: The works lavishly elegant binding dates back to the time of the codex itself, and the love of embellishments is as evident here as in the illuminations. The binding features wrought and embossed silver, in part gilded, on crimson velvet. It also features a splendid profusion of classical motifs (acanthus and palmette motifs, ears of wheat, grapes, vases, masks, scarabs and bucrania). The silver clasps are adorned with two small rubies.

Patronage: A number of stylistic clues seem to indicate that the Libro dOre Durazzo was commissioned by a patron from Parma. We may also note Parmigianinos well-known Portrait of a Collector (London, National Gallery), in which the collector holds in his hand precisely this codex. It is believed that the codex accompanied Francesco Marmittas second son, Jacopo, to Portugal. However, in the nineteenth century it was in Genoa. Firstly, it was in the hands of the merchant, Antonio Bacigalupo, who inherited it from his father, Francesco, and then in the hands of the Marquis Marcello Luigi Durazzo a collector, who, having purchased it from Bacigalupos widow, then bequeathed it to the Biblioteca Berio.

The Commentary: The work is accompanied by a book with commentary, edited by Andrea De Marchi, with writings by Beatrice Bentivoglio-Ravasio, Andrea De Marchi, Davide Gasparotto, Laura Malfatto, Laura Nuvoloni and Federica Toniolo.

Facsimile is present with the accompanying commentary and a clamshell case.

Price: $ 9,000.00 other currencies Order nr. 105363

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) Medica, Massimo THE BOOK OF HOURS OF BONAPARTE GHISLIERI.
Facsimile with accompanying hardcover commentary Modena Franco Cosimo Panini 2008 8vo morocco binding adorned with silver and enamel work and semi-preciuos stones, clamshell case 274 pages
One of 980 copies. This extremely refined masterwork of the Italian Renaissance (1503) was commissioned by Bonaparte Ghislieri, who belonged to a leading family of Bologna. Also Bolognese was the calligrapher, Pietro Antonio Sallando (a grammarian at the citys university and a renowned calligraphy master).

A treasury of masterpieces: Ghislieris intention was to produce a small anthology of the finest illuminations in central and northern Italy. To this end he called upon a number of the leading artists of this period, each of whom was to produce a full-page illumination. Thus, we find works by Amico Aspertini (Adoration of the Shepherds), Perugino (San Sebastiano), Lorenzo Costa (David with lyre), Francesco Francia (San Gerolamo), and, in all likelihood, Matteo da Milano (Annunciation).

Marvellous embellishments: Notable, too, are the embellishments framing the illustrations, produced with an abundance of floral motifs and references to the classic tradition. Indeed, a number of pages include fragile, fantastic, grotesque figures inspired by the decor of the Grotte (caves) of the Esquiline Hill in Rome (the site of the buried remains of Neros Domus Aurea, or Golden House, which, when uncovered in 1480, immediately attracted the attention of the artists of that period).

The elaborate binding: The morocco binding, with its finely executed floral motifs on polychrome silk satin, is quite remarkable. The covers are adorned with two bezels or settings for semi-precious stones and two centrally positioned roundels for the figures of the Annunciation.

Patronage: The works original owner (as indicated by the coat of arms) was Bonaparte Ghislieri, who was elected a senator in Bologna following the assassination of his father, Virgilio, in 1523. When the codex was produced, Bonaparte Ghislieri was still rather young and it may be that this Libro dOre had been commissioned by Bonapartes father for his sons use. The codex passed from the house of Ghislieri into the hands of the Albani family of Urbino, where, according to record, it was to be found in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century, the work reached Britain, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. It has been at the British Library since 1941.

The Commentary: The work is accompanied by a book with commentary, edited by Massimo Medica, with writings by Giancarlo Benevolo, Peter Kidd and Massimo Medica.

Facsimile is present with the accompanying commentary and a clamshell case.

Price: $ 11,250.00 other currencies Order nr. 105364

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) Mulas, Pier Luigi THE TORRIANI BOOK OF HOURS.
Facsimile with accompanying hardcover commentary Modena Franco Cosimo Panini 2009 Large Miniature Bound by hand (gilded silver binding covers and spine), clamshell case 30 pages, 333 pages
One of 980 copies. With its extraordinary binding and highly elaborate illumination work, while very small, this precious Book of Hours must be considered an absolute masterpiece.

The splendid binding The Torriani Book of Hours is just one of a small handful of manuscripts of this period which still have their original bindings. It is therefore an exceedingly rare item. The two binding covers, with their gilded silver filigree work, are adorned with cameos representing Saint Catherine and Saint Lucy. Inside the binding covers, we also find 14 enamel inserts representing the Kiss of Judas, the Way to Calvary and twelve busts of saints. The wealth, luxury and refinement of the times is clearly illustrated by the Torriani Book of Hours, alongside other devotional works of this kind produced by the jewellers workshops of Milan under the House of Sforza.

The refinement of the embellishments Thirty illuminations adorn this small devotional codex for private use. Twelve are Calendar illustrations. For the eighteen Offices of the Virgin we find six full-page illuminations and twelve pages with illuminated initials featuring architectural and floral motifs, putti, birds and rabbits.

A masters workshop The illustrations for the Torriani Hours may be ascribed to the Milanese bottega (workshop) of the master, Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis. This leading workshop operated in full awareness of the latest developments in the field of painting in Lombardy at the close of the fifteenth century, and, in particular, of the art of Leonardo da Vinci (with whom de Predis worked in 1483, on the Virgin of the Rocks). The embellishments of the borders, with their markedly naturalistic representations of animals, jewels and floral sprays, are the work of the young Matteo da Milano one of the leading illuminators of Milan who received commissions from the most important Houses of Renaissance Italy.

Patronage The codex was commissioned by the Milanese Della Torre or Torriani house, an illustrious family of Lombardy which, for some time, ruled over Milan. Further confirmation of the Milanese origin of the work is to be found in the inclusion of certain features such as local saints, in the Calendar, and the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Milans old cathedral, surmounted by a statue of Saint Ambrose (the Patron Saint of Milan). However, the identity of the lady for whom the codex was made, perhaps a lady of the court of Ludovico Sforza, is unknown.

The Commentary: The work is accompanied by a book with commentary, edited by Pier Luigi Mulas, with writings by Marco Collareta, Jean-Baptiste Lebigue and Monica Visioli.

Facsimile is present with the accompanying commentary and a clamshell case.

Price: $ 8,750.00 other currencies Order nr. 105361

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) LE ORE MEDICI ROTHSCHILD. Complete reproduction of the James A. de Rothschild Collection, Waddesdon Manor, England.
Facsimile with accompanying hardcover commentary Modena Franco Cosimo Panini 2011 small 8vo full velvet, all edges gilt, metal book casing, enamel designs, leather slipcase 235 pages, 223 pages
Towards 1485, Lorenzo de 'Medici commissioned the most successful miniature painters of Florence for which they were to create three luxurious Books of Hours to be allocated to his daughters as wedding presents. Of these little books, the first, now housed in Monaco, was given to Lucretia, who married Jacopo Salviati. The second, currently at the Laurentian Library, was designed for Luisa, betrothed to Giovanni di Pierfrancesco de 'Medici and died before the wedding. The third was a wedding present for Mary Magdalene, married to Count Franceschetto Cibo, natural son of Pope Innocent VIII. The story of his gift to his three daughters, commonly referred to as The Three Moons, is the touching testimony of the loving gesture of a great Renaissance master. Magdalene de 'Medici in Florence, born July 25, 1473, was the favorite daughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent . Her marriage to Franceschetto Cibo, the son of Pope Innocent VIII, was of fundamental importance for the Florentine family. The significance of the marriage was to gain more prestige and have closer relations with the pope. With this wedding, the second son of Lorenzo, John, would later become Pope under the name of Leo X. On the occasion of the wedding, Lorenzo gave Mary Magdalene a small, refined prayer book which is now preserved in the Rothschild collection of Waddesdon Manor, located in England. The book was designed with more beauty in mind than the other two books, but unfortunately it is now devoid of the original binding which was lost centuries. The Franco Cosimo Panini Editore has miraculously restored the appearance of this book in every detail, thus bringing to light this extraordinary jewel dedicated to Mary Magdalene de 'Medici.

In the usual iconography of the annunciation, the book is accompanied by the figures of Mary Magdalene and St. John the Baptist, patron saint of Florence, depicted on the front and back plates in polychrome enamels. The clasps are redesigned in the form of twisted ropes and five raised bands adore the spine of the binding.

The illustrations are the work of several artists, among them being the great Florentine miniaturist Mariano del Buono.

The Rothschild Hours Doctors are the twelfth in the series entitled "The Library Can Not," the most authoritative and valuable collection of facsimiles dedicated to the Renaissance. Like all facsimile editions, the Rothschild Hours Doctors has been fully reproduced to all of the features of the original manuscript. Maximum attention was given to the color details of the illustrations. The binding of the book was entrusted to expert workshops, which used the same techniques used in the late fifteenth century. Skilled workers such as binders, silversmiths, goldsmiths, and engravers have brought to light one of the most valuable books of the Florentine period. It was reproduced in a limited edition of only 550 numbered copies.

This lovely facsimile is accompanied by an additional volume with lovely illustrations and a detailed history of the family, marriage, and 15th century techniques used to produce this book.

Price: $ 11,500.00 other currencies Order nr. 108859

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) Sullivan, Timothy M. and Rebecca M. Valette. REFLECTIONS ON THE CONNOLLY BOOK OF HOURS.
Chestnut Hill, MA University Press of Boston College 1999 small 4to. stiff paper wrappers 64 pages
First edition. The Connolly Book of Hours is a beautiful example of fifteenth-century French manuscript art preserved in the collection of the John J. Burns Library at Boston College. Comprised of gospel readings, commemorative prayers for the saints and the Little Office of Our Lady, this Book of Hours provided a wide range of topics for the decorations of the medieval artist. This publication, the first to bring the glories of the Connolly Hours to the attention of the public, examines the historical context of the creation and use of illuminated manuscripts, details several of the lesser known Latin prayers used in the book, and offers modern French and English translations of the three vernacular prayers that conclude the text. Reflections by members of the Boston College community on the personal meaning they found in these brilliantly rendered illuminations accompanies each of the thirty-two color facsimile plates and descriptive iconography.
Price: $ 19.95 other currencies Order nr. 63805

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  (Illuminated Manuscripts) Wieck, Roger S. A HOURS OF HENRY VIII, A RENAISSANCE MASTERPIECE BY JEAN POYET.
New York George Braziller Publisher (2000) small 4to. cloth, dust jacket. x, 194 pages.
First edition. This is considered one of the most magnificently illustrated lay books of daily devotions and prayers from this period. It contains 55 beautifully illustrated hand-painted images in color, which accompany the calendar, prayers to the Virgin Mary and the saints, extracts from the Bible, and prayer for the dead. Wieck gives a thorough explanation of the importance of the manuscript and Poyet's artistic achievements along with all of Poyet's other works. Included are detailed commentaries by Wieck, Voelkle and Hearne on the Book of Hours and its miniatures, with a history of the manuscript which was once in the collection of Henry VIII. The bibliographies are divided into four sections: Jean Poyet, arranged in four parts, Books of Hours and Liturgy, Saints and Iconography, and Full-Citation List.
Price: $ 60.00 other currencies Order nr. 61026

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  (Johnston, Edward) Holliday, Peter EDWARD JOHNSTON: MASTER CALLIGRAPHER
New Castle and London Oak Knoll Press and the British Library 2007 8.5 x 11 inches hardcover 412 pages
First edition. Edward Johnston (1872-1944) was a man of letters - master calligrapher, typeface designer and creator of the lettering and branding for the London Underground. He was also a great teacher and philosopher. Many were, and still are, influenced by his down-to-earth ideas on calligraphy and lettering, and those who studied in his classes at the Central School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London took his ideas and views into their own classes and to their own students. Great calligraphers and letterers of today throughout the world are still influenced by Edward Johnston's work.

This detailed book by art and design historian Peter Holliday looks afresh at Johnston's work and legacy. It considers his friendships and his philosophy, the people he worked with and the influence he had on them and others. Importantly it gives details of the setting up of the craft community at Ditchling in Sussex and the craftspeople who were all drawn to the village as a result. During his career, Peter Holliday taught at Ravensbourne College of Design and worked at Ditchling Museum. He contributed to and edited the book Eric Gill in Ditchling published by Oak Knoll in 2002. Holliday passed away in November 2003 while creating this book, and the task of completing it passed to his sister, Susan Skinner. As a fellow calligrapher, she recognized the importance of this book on Johnston. With the information left to her by Holliday, Skinner contacted Sam Mullen to help her complete this book. Skinner and Mullen lightly edited Holliday's work using his impeccable research and have left the original Preface, written in 2002, untouched.
Co-published with The British Library. Sales Rights: Worldwide except in the UK; available in the UK from The British Library.

Price: $ 49.95 other currencies Order nr. 92516

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