Search Results: Illuminated Manuscripts from Wykeham Books

Verlag M. Dumont Schauberg, Köln, first edition, 1975. Laminated illustrated wrappers, folio,. 333 pp, numerous black-and-white ills. Textblock split between pages 10 and 11 and section from p11 to end detached from spine, contents slightly agetoned, lamination on wrappers torn and wrapper flaps creased.

Les Enluminures, New York, first edition, 2013. Laminated pictorial wrappers with flaps, 8vo, 21 cm,. 31, [1] pp, colour ills. 10 items. From Sandra Hindman's introduction - "The purchase en bloc of a coherent group of alchemy manuscripts from the collection of Joost R. Ritman . inspired the present volume. The manuscripts (with the exception of cat 4) were once part of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermética in Amsterdam, the library Ritman founded to bring together manuscripts and printed works in the field of the Hermetic tradition, more specifically the "Christian-Hermetic" tradition. Alchemical language was carefully crafted both to conceal and to reveal, and even the bizarre imagery can be 'decoded' - as its authors intended- into ideas about the world and the way it works. Professor Lawrence Principe's contributions to this volume present a useful up-to-date guide to the often [misunderstood] subject and argue for the righttful position of alchemy in the… Read More

Offprint from Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen. 43. (2001). Tapebacked printed wrappers, large 8vo,. pp 109-131 (printed and numbered on rectos only). Pinhole to front wrapper, otherwise Very Good.

Bracken, London, 1994 reprint of 1845 with new introduction by Rowan Watson. Cloth, folio, 29 cm,. 95 pp, ills (some colour). A facsimile, with a new introduction by Rowan Watson, of the work first published as: Alphabets, numerals and devices of the Middle Ages byW. Pickering, 1845. From the blurb - "The great antiquarian scholar and draughtsman Henry Shaw (1800-1873) was to a large degree responsible for the huge interest shown in illumination by the Victorian public. One of the first to make graphic studies of medieval letter forms, he drew extensively upon a wide range of sources including illuminated manuscripts and early printed books. His most ambitious work, Alphabets (1845) provides models of lettering and ornament for use by designers, artists, architects and, in Shaw's words, 'the various classes of decorators' engaged in restoring or emulating 'noble specimens of Ancient Art'. Henry Shaw was a perfectionist; many of the plates he either tinted himself or… Read More

Edizioni Nova Charta, Verona, original journal issue, 2006. Laminated illustrated wrappers, 4to,. 79, [1] pp, colour ills. Very Good.

Medieval Institute Publications - Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, first edition, 1992. Two-tone cloth, 4to, 32 cm,. xiv, 576 pp, ills. The manuscripts covered are: 1. Athelstan Psalter (plates 1.1 to 1.18) London, British Library Cotton MS Galba A. XVIII and Oxford, Bodleian Library MS Rawl. B. 484, f. 85.; 2. Harley Psalter (plates 2.1 to 2.102) London, British Library MS Harley 603 Canterbury, Christ Church; 3. Bury Psalter (plates 3.1 to 3.49) Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica, Vaticana MS Reg. lat. 12 Canterbury, Christ Church?; Bury St. Edmunds; 4. Paris Psalter (plates 4.1 to 4.11) Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale MS lat. 8824 Canterbury? xi med.; 5. Boulogne Gospels. (Plates 5.1 to 5.28) Boulogne-sur-Mer, Bibliotheque Municipale MS 11 (St. Bertin); 6. Arenberg Gospels, (Plates 6.1 to 6.17) New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M.869; 7. Trinity Gospels (plates 7.1 to 7.24) Cambridge, Trinity College MS B. 10. 4 (215) Canterbury, Christ Church ? xi*; 8. Eadui Codex (plates 8.1 to 8.21)… Read More

Centre de Recherches Anglo-Normandes, Osaka, first edition, 1977. Cloth, gilt cover illustration and title, publisher's blindstamp on rear board, small 4to, 25 cm,. 253, [3] pp, colour ills. Reproduction in Old French; summaries in French and Japanese. Top edge spotted, otherwise Very Good. Laid in are the errata slip, a printed acknowledgement slip, and a typescript letter to an unnamed professor requesting a review.

Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, first edition, 2016. Cloth, 4to,. xxviii, 388 pp, 175 ills (chiefly in colour). From the publisher's description: Art in a Time of War seeks to fill an important gap in our knowledge of painting in fifteenth-century France. Focusing on the work of 'the Master of Morgan 453,' an accomplished, if unnamed, manuscript illuminator, Clark identifies, compares, and analyzes all extant books that can be attributed to the painter and reconstructs his career on the basis of a wide range of liturgical as well as art-historical criteria. In examining collaborations and workshop practices involving many different illuminators who hailed not only from Northern France but also from the Netherlands, Clark's work also sheds light on complex artistic interchanges between France, Flanders, and England at a time of profound political change. The survey of the career of the Morgan 453 Master and his intense artistic milieu is… Read More

Art Alliance Press, Philadelphia, 1973. Cloth, 4to, 32 cm,. 356 pp, 216 ills, including 30 colour plates. From the blurb: "Illuminated manuscripts - books written and illustrated or decorated by hand - have a very particular place in the history of civilization. From early times, even before the beginning of the Hellenic culture from which our own Occidental traditions have largely developed, such books were known in one form or another. And until the introduction of the printing press in the fifteenth century - and, along with it, methods of illustrating printed books capable of similar multiple impressions - the illuminated manuscript was the unique form in which ideas could be interpreted at once in the lettered symbols that are words and in the pictorial symbols that are miniatures, these symbols combined in coherent and unified patterns. The handwritten and illustrated book thus has a threefold role in the history of human expression: in the history of painting, the history of decoration,… Read More

Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, first edition, 1985. Cloth, gilt cover-titles in English and Hebrew, folio, 39 cm,. 40 pp, 98 plates of facs. Includes facsimile of British Library MS. Additional 14762 and a parallel Hebrew transcription and English translation, English introduction and notes. Small bookseller label on rear inside board, Fine in Near Fine publisher's cloth slipcase with English and Hebrew titles in gilt.

British Library, London, first edition, 2002. Laminated illustrated wrappers, small 4to, 25 cm,. 64 pp, colour plates. From the blurb: "Astrology in Medieval Manuscripts describes the dazzling complexity of western medieval astrology and its place in society, as revealed by a wealth of illustrated manuscripts and historical background. As new.

Faksimile Verlag Luzern, Lucerne, facsimile edition, 2006. Limited facsimile edition of 980 copies numbered in Arabic numerals from a total edition of 1060. 2 vols, red velvet with engraved metal clasps by Steinbrener Bookbinders of Schärding,. facsimile: 289 leaves (i.e. 578 unnumbered pages), ills; commentary:. A splendid facsimile, with accompanying commentary volume, of the Bedford Hours, one of the finest illuminated manuscripts of the 15th century. It has some 1250 illuminated medallions and 38 large-format miniatures. The Latin text is embellished with numerous gold initials and decorative line-fillers; French explanations of the miniatures appear in red, blue and gold and the whole is enhanced by fine scrollwork with vine and acanthus leaves, colourful flowers and small animals. The binding is modelled on the binding executed for Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, with the clasps engraved with his arms. Set No. 147. Minor blemishes to the pile of the velvet covers appearing as small… Read More

College Art Association in association with University of Washington Press, Seattle, first edition, 1996. Cloth, 4to, 29 cm,. x, 139 pp, 4 colour plates and 106 black-and-white ills. From the blurb - "The first surviving illuminated manuscript of the French translation of Boccaccio's De mulieribus Claris - known as the Cleres femmes (now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris), is the subject of this book. The manuscript was commissioned by a Parisian merchant, Jacques Raponde, as a New Year's gift for the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Bold. This innovative aspect of the commission, where a merchant rather than a prince acted as the patron of the manuscript, provides the subject for the first part of Buettner's study. In addition to sketching the Valois rulers practice of collecting illuminated manuscripts and to tracing the reasons for the successful reception of Boccaccio's work in this courtly milieu, the author delineates the role of merchants in Parisian artistic production… Read More

Harvey Miller, London, first English edition, 1986. Cloth, large 8vo, 28 cm,. 221, [2] pp, 210 illustrations, 32 colour plates with gold. From the preface by J.J.G. Alexander : "This book is an introduction to one of the most significant art-forms of the Middle Ages by one of the world's greatest authorities on the subject, Professor Otto Pacht. It is not a history of book illumination in the conventional sense but a unique account of facts and ideas gathered during several decades of teaching and research. Based on lectures given at the University of Vienna, the present text not only examines all types of decoration and illumination from the point of view of format and style, but also goes far beyond the factual. The author explains the basic vocabulary and concepts by which this art-form is to be understood, and offers deep insights into the fundamental philosophy, theology, technology and cultural ambience that underlie the production of book illumination throughout its long history. In… Read More

Peter Nevill, London, first English-language edition, 1962. Cloth, gilt cover-title, large 4to, 34 cm,. 143, [1] pp, 132 mounted colour ills. From the blurb: "Few of the arts have offered as rewarding and faithful a picture of the culture of their times as has manuscript illumination. And few have contained as concise a history of the painting of a particular era. Here, in a handsome volume containing over 130 beautiful colour plates, we find a history and an interpretation of the exacting art of illumination. What is illumination? How did it begin and develop? How did it grow from mere illustrations accompanying a text to a pictorial record which shows us, down to the last detail, the life of the Middle Ages - from views of gaily clad courtiers setting out on a hunting expedition to scenes of humble people ploughing, planting and gathering the harvest. Why did this particularly vital art form eventually disappear? These questions are answered fully by the authors in a fascinating text. They… Read More

M. Moleiro Editor, Barcelona, limited edition facsimile, 1999 and commentary. Limited edition of 987 numbered copies. 2 vols, facsimile: original blind-stamped calf, folio, 31 cm; commentary: cloth, 4to,. facsimile: 298 pages and 115 miniatures, most heightened in gold, commentary: 496,[1] pp, ills. A superb high-quality facsimile of (and separate commentary on) 'The book of Treasures', which is an encyclopaedia by Brunetto Latini (circa 1230-1294), a Florentine politician, poet, historian and philosopher, teacher and friend of Dante's, written in French during the author's exile in France (1260-1267). From the publisher's description: " It consists of three books: the first begins with the biblical history, the history of Troy, Rome and the Middle Ages, followed by a natural history: a comprehensive compilation of information about astronomy and geography. It also addresses certain animal and bird species in depth. The second book concerns ethics: it features the thinking… Read More

Sotheby's, London, auction catalogue for LOT 43 in the sale held on 7th December 1999. Laminated illustrated wrappers, 4to,. 24 pp, plates, ills. 1 lot. The separate catalogue entirely devoted to Lot 43 in the sale: Western manuscripts and miniatures, being a Book of Hours, Use of Rome, in Latin, from Paris c1410-11. Near Fine.

Thames and Hudson, London, 1978 reprint of 1977 first edition. Cloth, gilt cover device, large 8vo, 32 cm,. 192 pp, 89 illustrations, 72 in colour, facs. From the blurb: "Of all the precious illuminated manuscripts that survive from the later Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Books of Hours form the largest single category: the personal prayerbooks of a devout and status-conscious society. Their content come from the official service books of the Church, but they were not made under priestly control, and they therefore reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery. No two are alike; every one, modest or magnificent, has something individual to tell us. John Harthan begins with a fresh and wide-ranging study of the background to Books of Hours, their making, their content, their decoration and their social and devotional meaning. There follows an anthology of over ninety manuscript pages, reproduced in full colour from thirty-four Books of Hours, with the author's descriptive,… Read More

Thames and Hudson, London, 1978 reprint of 1977 first edition. Cloth, gilt cover device, large 8vo, 32 cm,. 192 pp, 89 illustrations, 72 in colour, facs. From the blurb: "Of all the precious illuminated manuscripts that survive from the later Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Books of Hours form the largest single category: the personal prayerbooks of a devout and status-conscious society. Their content come from the official service books of the Church, but they were not made under priestly control, and they therefore reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery. No two are alike; every one, modest or magnificent, has something individual to tell us. John Harthan begins with a fresh and wide-ranging study of the background to Books of Hours, their making, their content, their decoration and their social and devotional meaning. There follows an anthology of over ninety manuscript pages, reproduced in full colour from thirty-four Books of Hours, with the author's descriptive,… Read More

Thames and Hudson, London, 1978 reprint of 1977 first edition. Cloth, gilt cover device, large 8vo, 32 cm,. 192 pp, 89 illustrations, 72 in colour, facs. From the blurb: "Of all the precious illuminated manuscripts that survive from the later Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Books of Hours form the largest single category: the personal prayerbooks of a devout and status-conscious society. Their content come from the official service books of the Church, but they were not made under priestly control, and they therefore reveal a unique combination of sacred and secular imagery. No two are alike; every one, modest or magnificent, has something individual to tell us. John Harthan begins with a fresh and wide-ranging study of the background to Books of Hours, their making, their content, their decoration and their social and devotional meaning. There follows an anthology of over ninety manuscript pages, reproduced in full colour from thirty-four Books of Hours, with the author's descriptive,… Read More