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Illuminated Manuscripts

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One of 27 on Imperial Japan Paper

Andrews, William Loring HEAVENLY JERUSALEM, A MEDIAEVAL SONG OF THE JOYS OF THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT, WITH ANNOTATIONS BY WILLIAM LORING ANDREWS.
New York Charles Scribner's Sons 1908 8vo. stiff paper wrappers, top edge gilt, stiff paper chemise, slipcase. xxviii, 78, (2) pages.
First edition, limited to 152 copies of which this is one of the 27 copies to be printed on "Imperial Japan Paper." With engravings by Sidney L. Smith and other illustrations, rubricated initials and an illuminated copy of a page from a 15th-century musical manuscript. Chemise has spine missing. Book is in very fine condition.
Price: $ 385.00 other currencies Order nr. 55196

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(British Museum) CATALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. NEW SERIES.
3 volumes. London Printed by order of the Trustees 1834-1840 Folio modern cloth spine with original marbled paper-covered boards and paper cover labels. (iv),viii,168 pages and 8 leaves of plates; (ii),vi,(ii),159+(1) followed by (4) leaves of plates; (iv),234 pages.
First editions. A catalogue of the illuminated manuscripts from the Arundel and Burney collections in the British Museum. Antiquary Thomas, Earl of Arundel (1592-1646) collected more than 500 manuscript volumes many of which relate to English History. He was an early supporter of Indigo Jones and friend of Robert Cotton. The collection of Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817) was acquired by the British Museum in 1818 for 13,500 pounds. His collection contains approximately 520 manuscripts many of which are early copies of Greek and Latin classics. Elaborately illustrated with hand-colored lithographs printed by J. Netherclift. The third volume provides an extensive index to the first two. The second and third volumes have a note in ink on front pastedown "Signet Library." Covers rubbed with wear along edges. Minor foxing of preliminary and end pages.
Price: $ 475.00 other currencies Order nr. 75796

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(British Museum) CATALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. NEW SERIES.
3 volumes. London Printed by order of the Trustees 1834-1840 Folio disbound (iv),viii,168 pages and 8 leaves of plates; (ii),vi,(ii),159+(1) followed by (4) leaves of plates; (iv),234 pages.
First editions. A catalogue of the illuminated manuscripts from the Arundel and Burney collections in the British Museum. Antiquary Thomas, Earl of Arundel (1592-1646), collected more than 500 manuscript volumes, many of which relate to English History. He was an early supporter of Inigo Jones and friend of Robert Cotton. The collection of Reverend Charles Burney (1757-1817) was acquired by the British Museum in 1818 for 13,500 Pounds. His collection contains approximately 520 manuscripts, many of which are early copies of Greek and Latin classics. Elaborately illustrated with hand-colored lithographs printed by J. Netherclift. The third volume provides an extensive index to the first two. Ink inscription in first volume. Edges of all three volumes chipped and torn.
Price: $ 250.00 other currencies Order nr. 77150

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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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Donlevy, Alice PRACTICAL HINTS OF THE ART OF ILLUMINATION.
New York A.D.F. Randolph 1867 oblong 8vo. original cloth, title gilt-stamped on front board 58 pages with illustrations
First edition. A guidebook to illumination, this text includes the author's preface, eight chapters that discuss materials, lettering, coloring, borders, past styles and symbolism. The illustrations, drawn and designed by the author, include 32 figures, seventeen examples and five plates. Donlevy (1846-1929) was an artist, lecturer and an advocate of industrial art education whose papers are available at the New York Public Library (NYPL website). Boards loose. Spine torn. Front endpapers loose. Water stains throughout text do not impair legibility. Very scarce book.
Price: $ 450.00 other currencies Order nr. 108484

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Eames copy

Dziatzko, Karl. SAMMLUNG BIBLIOTHEKSWISSENSCHAFTLICHER ARBEITEN
24 (bound in 10, of 38). Berlin A. Asher & Co. 1887-1919 8vo. cloth varied pagination
A significant collection of first editions from the important series begun by Karl Dziatzko (1842-1903), who was the first professor of library science in Göttingen University, Germany. This set includes volumes 1-17, 21, 24-25, 28, 31, and 37/38. Contains texts on various issues pertaining to printing, illuminated manuscripts, publishers, printers, etc. Some volumes with illustrations. Includes indexes. Many editions with original paper wrappers loosely inserted or bound in. Signed by W. Eames (American bibliographer, 1855-1937) on the front pastedown. Loosely inserted is a commemorative booklabel which indicates that this set came from the reference library of H.P. Kraus purchased by Oak Knoll Books at the auction sale.
Price: $ 650.00 other currencies Order nr. 76148

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(Gutenberg Bible) BIBLIA SACRA.
2 volumes. Patterson Pageant Books 1961 folio red cloth as issued. not paginated.
Facsimile edition. Printed in an edition limited to 1000 numbered copies of which 996 were for sale. This edition is the first ever printed in the United States. It reproduces a copy considered by authorities to be one of the most beautifully illuminated of the forty-seven copies known to exist. It derives from the Insel Verlag edition which was based on the copy in the Koniglichen Bibliothek in Berlin, and the copy in the Standischen Landesbibliothek in Fulda. The text pages have been printed by lithography in red, blue and black. There are also about 100 illuminated pages finely printed by sheet-fed gravure. The paper used is 100 percent rag content made especially for this edition.
Price: $ 5,000.00 other currencies Order nr. 107040

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Heck, Christian and Rémy Cordonnier LE BESTIAIRE MÉDIÉVAL: L'ANIMAL DANS LES MANUSCRITS ENLUMINÉS.
(Paris) Citadelles & Mazenod (2011) folio. cloth, dust jacket, slipcase, top edge gilt 619+(1) pages
First edition, limited to 2000 copies. A study of illustrations of animals in medieval illuminated manuscripts. Frontispiece, table of contents, introduction, a selection of full color illustrations of 100 animals. Endnotes to chapters I through V, list of manuscripts illustrated, bibliography, general index, acknowledgments. Ex-library copy with markings.
Price: $ 450.00 other currencies Order nr. 116158

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Heck, Christian and Rémy Cordonnier GRAND MEDIEVAL BESTIARY: ANIMALS IN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS.
New York, NY Abbeville Press 2012 folio. cloth, dust jacket, slipcase, top edge gilt 619+(1) pages
As the 587 colorful images in this magnificent volume reveal, animals were a constant - and delightful - presence in illuminated manuscripts throughout the Middle Ages. Many proto-zoological illustrations, of great charm but variable accuracy, are found in the bestiaries, or compendiums of animal lore, that were exceedingly popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But animals are depicted in every other sort of illuminated manuscript as well, from the eighth-century Echternach Gospels, with its geometrically schematized symbols of the Evangelists, to the early fifteenth-century Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, with its famously naturalistic scenes of peasant and aristocratic life.

In his insightful opening chapters, the noted art historian Christian Heck explains that the prevalence of animals in illuminated manuscripts reflects their importance in medieval thought, an importance due in part to the agricultural society of that age, in which a variety of speciesand not just docile petswere the daily companions of man. Animals also had a greater symbolic significance than they do today: in popular fables, such as those of Reynard the Fox, they held up a mirror to the follies of mankind, and on the religious plane, they were understood as an integral part of Gods creation, whose attributes and behaviors could be taken as clues to His plan of salvation.

The main part of the book explores the complex and fascinating iconography of the individual creatures most frequently depicted by medieval miniaturists. It is arranged in the manner of a proper bestiary, with essays on one hundred animals alphabetized by their Latin names, from the alauda, or lark, whose morning song was thought to be a hymn to Creation, to the vultur, which enjoyed a certain respect due to its impressive appearance, but whose taste for carrion also made it a symbol of the sinner who indulges in worldly pleasures. The selection includes a number of creatures that would now be considered fantastic, including the griffin, the manticore, and of course the fabled unicorn, tamable only by a gentle maiden.

Not merely a study of art history, The Grand Medieval Bestiary uses a theme of timeless interest to present a panorama of medieval life and thought that will captivate even the most sophisticated modern reader.

Review

"This is a huge and beautiful book that feels almost like a trip to the Cloisters between two covers." -New York Daily News

"Rarely have earnest scholarship and sheer wonder come together as comfortably as they have here. And as magical as the original artworks surely are, this unique volume is literally better than the real thing, since it allows us to ogle them closely." -Fine Art Connoisseur

"Every year I try to reserve the adjective "stunning" for one book. This is it." -The Seattle Times holiday gift guide

About the Author
Christian Heck, a senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France and former curator-in-chief of the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar, is an authority on illuminated manuscripts.

Rémy Cordonnier, a researcher at the University of Lille, specializes in medieval iconography.
Price: $ 195.00 other currencies Order nr. 118741

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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) DISPOSITIVES D'OEUVRES D'ART
Five boxed sets Paris Unesco 1963 8vo. plastic boxes
Five plastic boxes containing 150 color slides from the former collection of H.P. Kraus. Each box with 30 color slides and a descriptive pamphlet in French, English, and Spanish with historical background and description of each slide in each series. With Unesco, Series 4, which contains Iranian illuminated manuscripts from c. 1410-1596; Series 14, which contains slides of 12 Czech illuminated manuscripts from c. 1085-1364; Series 17, which contains slides of 6 Ethiopian illuminated manuscripts c. 1350-1450; Series 18, which contains slides of 11 Turkish illuminated manuscripts from c.1200-1730; Series 24, which contains slides of Austrian Medieval wall paintings from c. 1089-1280. All of the slides have faded and turned pink.
Price: $ 250.00 other currencies Order nr. 76027

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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) REPRODUCTIONS FROM ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS.
5 volumes. London British Museum 1923, 1923, 1925, 1928, 1965 small 4to. cloth-backed board wrapper enclosing text and plates. Each volume contains 16 preliminary pages and 50 full-page plates.
Third edition of the first three volumes and first editions of the 4th and 5th. Wear to slipcases. With the Randeria bookplate in each volume.
Price: $ 195.00 other currencies Order nr. 26338

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(Illuuminated Manuscripts) Morgan, Nigel EARLY GOTHIC MANUSCRIPTS, 1190-1250. With 1250-1285.
A Survey of Manuscripts Illuminated in the British Isles. 2 volumes. (New York) Harvey Miller Publishers 1982, 1988 tall 4to. cloth, dust jackets. 276; 374 pages.
First U.S. editions. With 330 illustrations in the first volume and 462 illustrations in the second volume with some in color. Jacket spines faded; chipped around edges.
Price: $ 500.00 other currencies Order nr. 102980

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(Incunabula) Delisle, Léopold CATALOGUE DES LIVRES IMPRIMÉS OU PUBLIÉS À CAEN AVANT LE MILIEU DU XVIe SIÈCLE
2 volumes. Caen H. Delesques 1903-1904 8vo. later full cloth, leather spine labels, original paper wrappers bound in xiv, 354+(2); cxxxii, 178+(2) pages, plates
First edition. (Besterman, 5094). A two-volume catalogue of the printing and incunabula in Caen, followed by discussions of printers, booksellers, and noteworthy libraries. Includes 403 bibliographical references. Delisle (1826-1910) was a curator of the manuscripts collection in the Bibliothèque Impériale, and is admired for his scholarship in illuminated manuscripts and early printed books. Elaborately illustrated with engravings illustrating the early printings in Caen. Wear to spine labels. Text in French. Bookplate on front pastedown indicates that this book came from the reference library and stock of H. P. Kraus.
Price: $ 175.00 other currencies Order nr. 76167

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James, Montague Rhodes A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE MANUSCRIPTS IN CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE.
7 volumes. Cambridge The University Press 1909-1913 4to. stiff paper wrappers variously paginated
A bibliography of the collections of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, England. Each volume contains a note by the author, a short list of manuscripts described therein, and a listing of addenda and corrigenda. Each entry contains information on location within the library, a description of the manuscript, collation and a listing of its contents.
Part 1: Nos. 1 to 100.
Part 2: Nos. 101 to 156.
Part 3: Nos. 157 to 250.
Part 4: Nos. 251 to 350.
Part 5: Nos. 351 to 450.
Part 6: Nos. 451 to 538.
Part 7 contains a preface by the author, table of contents, introduction. an appendix to the introduction, tables of the "numberings of the manuscripts in the various catalogues," a list of manuscripts with "pictures or noteworthy decorations," a list of sources of manuscripts, addenda and corrigenda, Prefatio (in Latin), and a general index.
Wrappers tanned around edges, with some tearing along spine.
Price: $ 225.00 other currencies Order nr. 109468

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James, Montague Rhodes THE WESTERN MANUSCRIPTS IN THE LIBRARY OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE A DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE.
4 volumes. Cambridge The University Press 1900 4to. cloth; title, author's name, volume and Cambridge arms gilt-stamped on spine xxvi, 549+(1); xxviii, 428; xxxii, 532; xvi, 17 plates, 40 pages
A bibliography of the manuscripts in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge University. Those manuscripts are kept in three cases, designated B (theological), R (historical, miscellaneous and oriental), and O (a collection donated by Robert Gale in 1738). Volume 1 includes class B, entries 1-417; Volume 2, class R, entries 418-1024; Volume 3, class O, entries 1025-1506. Volume 4 includes a description of the plates, addenda to the manuscripts (Porson manuscripts in class C), general addenda and corrigenda, 17 black and white plates and a general index. Each volume includes a preface by the author, a table showing the numbering of the manuscripts in the Catalogi Manuscriptorum Angliae and the library's shelf-marks, a list of donors and corrigenda. All entries include descriptive information, the shelf-mark, and contents. Boards faded; front board of Volume 2 bumped. Text very lightly tanned.
Price: $ 950.00 other currencies Order nr. 109460

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Koehler, Wilhelm (editor) DIE KAROLINGISCHEN MINIATUREN.
5 volumes in 6 with 5 plate volumes Berlin Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft 1963 4to.; plate volumes folio. cloth, editor and title stamped on spine; decorative stamping on front boards xii, 434, (2); xii, 349+(1) with plates; 100, (4); 176; 121+(1); 212, (2) pages
Text in German. Reprint of 1930 edition. A thorough and exhaustive study of miniatures produced during the Carolingian era of medieval European history. Volume 1 (in 2) covers the School of Tours. Volume 2 the Court School of Karls des Grossen (Charlemagne). Volume 3 the Vienna Coronation Gospels and the Metz manuscripts. Volume 4 the Court School of Lothar (795-855) and individual manuscripts from Lotharingia. Volume 5 the Court School of Karl des Kahlen (Charles the Bald) (823-877). Each volume includes a foreword, bibliography, a directory of manuscripts, index of names and places and a directory of "figurative representations in the manuscripts." Each text volume accompanied by a volume of black and white plates. Bookplate on front pastedown of each volume. Some of the plate volumes are damaged at bottom of spine.
Price: $ 2,500.00 other currencies Order nr. 109427

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LAPIDARIO DEL REY D. ALFONSO X. CODICE ORIGINAL.
(Madrid Imprenta de la Iberia, á cargo de J. Blasco 1881) 4to. modern half calf with brown cloth covered boards, five raised bands. xx, (x), facsimile, 83 pages.
The facsimile edition of the Lapidary contained in the first 94 sheets of the ms. H.I.15 of the Library of El Escorial (Madrid), at original size (29,1 x 40,2 cm), on parchment paper printed in colors in reproduction of its 638 full-coloured miniatures and initial letters in the original. The first book to come out of Alfonso's workshop, in 1253, was written by Alfonso X the Wise. It is the first book written in Castilian prose, or early Spanish, and the first relevant scientific book written in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe. Well preserved copy.
Price: $ 1,500.00 other currencies Order nr. 107225

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Leroquais, Abbé V. LES PONTIFICAUX MANUSCRITS DES BIBLIOTHÈQUES PUBLIQUES DE FRANCE.
4 Volumes Paris (Protat Frères) 1937 4to. original stiff paper wrappers with glassine wrapper; fourth volume is a cloth-backed board portfolio containing the plates. (iv),cliv,304; (iv),462; (iv).161,(2); xiii pages + 140 leaves of plates in black and white
First edition. A multi-volume work surveying pontifical manuscripts held in the public libraries of France (Besterman 3572). An introduction (over 150 pages long) helps establish for the reader the significance of pontifical manuscripts. After defining the term "pontifical" as a liturgical book containing all the rituals and ceremonies, culled from a variety of predecessor sources and collated together into one convenient book, that might be performed by a bishop, with the exception of the Mass and the Divine Office, the introduction proceeds into specific investigation of the arrangement of such books, the different types of ceremonies contained therein (e.g., ordinations for those distributing communion during the Mass, for readers, exorcists, acolytes, subdeacons, deacons, and priests; episcopal consecration; and dedication of churches), ways to identify and date such a book, and typical decoration. The descriptive catalogue of the 233 pontifical manuscripts from the ninth through the eighteenth centuries (beginning in Volume One and continuing through the end of Volume Two) offers in-depth informative entries arranged according to place of location. A separate section in Volume Two deals with those books that are not properly called "pontificals" (sacramentaries, breviaries, missals, etc.), but that contain similar kinds of information. Volume Three contains a table of contents, in the form of a list of manuscripts, arranged alphabetically according to present location; a list of churches and abbeys thought to be the places of generation for the manuscripts; and a general index. The portfolio, numbered volume four, illustrates many of the volumes discussed in the preceding volumes in its 140 black and white plates. Overall, a compendious and complete work for its chosen subject matter and date of creation. Printed on laid paper. Bottom of spine of volume one is partially chipped away. Bookplate. Unopened copy.
Price: $ 2,000.00 other currencies Order nr. 109425

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