L'ALLEGRO & IL PENSEROSO
by (ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER - MODERN). MERCER, F. W., Scribe and Illuminator. MILTON, JOHN
- Used
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
McMinnville, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
[England], 1930. 198 x 150 mm. (7 7/8 x 6"). [17] leaves. Single column, 21 lines in a small script.
Quarter vellum over blue linen boards, smooth spine with gilt titling, all edges gilt. Title page with A FULL BORDER composed of line and dot rules and filled with gilt bezants, small, colorful arches, and penwork embellishment, the lower half of the page with a penwork floral spray inside a smaller border, each page of text with a simple line and dot border and a colorful head-piece featuring a different design, many with gold accents. Tissue guards between each leaf. ◆Vellum binding just slightly soiled, a hint of wear at corners, but these faults negligible, and internally like new.
This charming little work appears to be a mock-up on paper for a manuscript that, presumably, would later be executed on vellum, offering an intriguing look into the artistic process of a professional illuminator and calligrapher. Although there are no notes or inscriptions in the book to confirm our hypothesis, its appearance suggests a work in progress: the pencil rules and outlines have all been left in place, the application of paint looks more roughly blocked out than polished, some of the designs have been left unfinished, and in a few cases, one can see changes in the design between pencil and ink. It is possible that this work was the prototype for a manuscript by the same artist that was sold by Bloomsbury in May of 2009. That auction featured several other manuscripts by Mercer (about whom we were able to find no biographical information), all of which were inscribed to Vyvyan Holland, the youngest son of Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd..
Quarter vellum over blue linen boards, smooth spine with gilt titling, all edges gilt. Title page with A FULL BORDER composed of line and dot rules and filled with gilt bezants, small, colorful arches, and penwork embellishment, the lower half of the page with a penwork floral spray inside a smaller border, each page of text with a simple line and dot border and a colorful head-piece featuring a different design, many with gold accents. Tissue guards between each leaf. ◆Vellum binding just slightly soiled, a hint of wear at corners, but these faults negligible, and internally like new.
This charming little work appears to be a mock-up on paper for a manuscript that, presumably, would later be executed on vellum, offering an intriguing look into the artistic process of a professional illuminator and calligrapher. Although there are no notes or inscriptions in the book to confirm our hypothesis, its appearance suggests a work in progress: the pencil rules and outlines have all been left in place, the application of paint looks more roughly blocked out than polished, some of the designs have been left unfinished, and in a few cases, one can see changes in the design between pencil and ink. It is possible that this work was the prototype for a manuscript by the same artist that was sold by Bloomsbury in May of 2009. That auction featured several other manuscripts by Mercer (about whom we were able to find no biographical information), all of which were inscribed to Vyvyan Holland, the youngest son of Oscar Wilde and Constance Lloyd..
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Details
- Bookseller
- Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- ST17129-024
- Title
- L'ALLEGRO & IL PENSEROSO
- Author
- (ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER - MODERN). MERCER, F. W., Scribe and Illuminator. MILTON, JOHN
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Place of Publication
- [England]
- Date Published
- 1930
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
Terms of Sale
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
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About the Seller
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Biblio member since 2006
McMinnville, Oregon
About Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts
Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books an Manuscripts was established in 1978 on a ping pong table in a basement in Kalamazoo, Michigan. From the beginning, its founder was willing to sell a range of material, but over the years, the business has gravitated toward historical artifacts that are physically attractive in some way--illuminated material, fine bindings, books printed on vellum, fore-edge paintings, beautiful typography and paper, impressive illustration. Today, the company still sells a wide range of things, from (scruffy) ninth century leaves to biblical material from all periods to Wing and STC imprints to modern private press books to artists' bindings. While we are forgiving about condition when something is of considerable rarity, we always try to obtain the most attractive copies possible of whatever we offer for sale.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Vellum
- Vellum is a sheet of specialty prepared skin of lamb, calf, or goat kid used for binding a book or for printing and writing. ...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Inscribed
- When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has been...
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