Printed Book Of Hours (Use Of Rome); In Latin And French, Imprint On Paper -

PRINT AND CHANGING TASTE ON THE THRESHOLD OF MODERN FRANCE. Printed on paper, in Latin and French, Paris, THIELMANN KERVER, 1556 (almanac for 1556-1563). Dimensions 160 x 100 mm. 179 ff., printed on paper in red and black, Roman letter type, paper ruled in light red, 18 LARGE WOODCUTS, 1 SMALL WOODCUT, BORDERS ON EACH PAGE, including title-page, of headpieces, side-strips and footpieces with birds, flowers, animals and a variety of FRENCH ROYAL INSIGNIA. BINDING: sixteenth-century binding of gold-tooled brown polished calf over pasteboard, preserving contemporary boards, smooth spine with gilt fleurons and fillets (rebacked), edges gilt, edges cracked, likely due to rebacking. ILLUSTRATION: Printed in Paris by Thielmann Kerver II (the Younger), this is a good example of how a printer's material and woodblocks were passed on and reused throughout the sixteenth century. The material can be traced back to the famous printer and graphic artist Geoffroy Tory (c. 1480-1533), something of a "French Leonardo," who was reared in Bourges but soon settled in Paris and began printing circa 1507. The woodcuts reused here from his stock are good examples of this new Italianate aesthetic (with a clear interest in ornaments "à l'antique") that existed parallel to the traditional Gothic "French" aesthetic. PROVENANCE: Printed in Paris in 1546 by Thielmann Kerver II (died 1572/1573), active in Paris as libraire-juré from 1544 to 1566. It was then in a private European collection. CONDITION: Overall good condition, first quire loose although not detached, some foxing, a few stains. Full description and photographs available. (BOH 68).