FACSIMILE PUBLICATION ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS, EARLY (6 Ergebnisse)

No. 1 OF 980 COPIES. 391 x 273 mm. (15 3/8 x 10 3/4"). 1,035 pp. (in the facsimile). Two volumes (including commentary volume in German). Stately replica blind-stamped pigskin, covers with multiple floral frames, small rampant lion stamped in black ink on each central panel, raised bands, brass and leather clasps. WITH NUMEROUS LARGE MINIATURES depicting battles, sieges, assaults, floods, fires, and the burning of two unfortunates at the stake. â In mint condition. The Great Burgundian Chronicle, also called the "Zürcher Schilling" (after the author and after Zürich, where it is kept), is the most original and thorough book from the period on the Burgundian Wars between the Swiss Confederation and Charles the Bold. It was executed around 1480 in the tradition of the Bern chronicles begun by Konrad Justinger in 1420, and it is the most comprehensive of all chronicles ever carried out by Schilling. The Great Burgundian Chronicle gives a unique witness as the expression of a genuine patriot, and does so without the heavy censorship that characterizes later, "official," versions of the text. One of the most important features of the manuscript's illustrations is the landscape in which the events take place. It hardly ever corresponds to topographic reality, but is rather based on the artist's imagination. The viewer sees the depicted scenes from above, being treated to fanciful versions of little towns, villages, and castles, all carefully inserted into a lovely (but imaginative) landscape of rolling hills.

No. 195 OF 980 COPIES. 206 x 168 mm. (8 1/8 x 6 5/8"). Four volumes (each with separate volume of commentary in English and German). With commentary by Mark L. Evans. Publisher's red velvet, flat spine, two silver gilt clasps, each volume housed in a matching velvet box with the commentary volume (in paper wrapper), gilt coat of arms on upper cover of each box. With 138 borders and 48 miniatures by Birago, and two borders and 16 miniatures by Horenbout. â In mint condition. This is a very fine facsimile of a Renaissance Book of Hours with an intriguing history and decoration by two different and distinguished illuminators, one Italian and the other Flemish. The Sforza Hours was originally commissioned from Italian miniaturist Giovan Pietro Birago (fl. 1471-1513) by Bona Sforza, wife of the Duke of Milan, around 1490. A surviving letter from Birago to an unknown nobleman complains that part of the manuscript was stolen by an unscrupulous "Fra Jacopo," and demands restitution in the enormous amount of 500 ducats. No one knows if Birago was ever reimbursed for his loss, but the duchess bequeathed the partial manuscript to her nephew's wife, Margaret of Austria. In 1506, Margaret, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, moved to the Netherlands, where she served as Regent for the future Charles V until his coronation in 1520. In 1517, she set about completing the Sforza Hours, hiring scribe Etienne de Lale to provide the missing text pages and illuminator Gerard Horenbout (ca. 1465-1541) to paint miniatures and two borders. Horenbout had produced the miniatures in the Breviary of Eleanor of Portugal and those in the Hours of James IV of Scotland. He also briefly worked as painter in the court of Henry VIII. Horenbout included a small portrait of Charles V in one of the borders here, leading art historians to believe that Margaret gave the book to the emperor to commemorate his coronation. The manuscript resurfaced in Madrid in 1871; it was purchased by an Englishman and was donated to the British Library by a later owner. As noted in the library's online exhibit of the work, "The manuscript is outstanding for its rich decorative scheme and an unusually high number of its text pages have minutely detailed borders, initials and vignettes in deep blues, greens and rich reds, to complement the many full-page miniatures.".

No. 7 OF 980 COPIES. 162 x 105 mm. (6 3/8 x 4 1/8"). [472] pp. (in the facsimile). Two volumes (including commentary volume in German). SUMPTUOUS REPLICA ROYAL PURPLE VELVET, SET WITH LARGE JEWELS, covers adorned with gilded metal filigree lozenge centerpiece containing a large oval lapis lazuli, gilded cornerpieces set with cabochon rose quartz, two golden clasps featuring silver hearts with chain link fasteners incorporating a rectangular piece set with a blue stone, edges gilt and gauffered in a diapered pattern. In a padded, satin-lined blue velveteen jewel box with silver and enamel heraldic crest on the upper cover (the commentary volume concealed beneath the velveteen lining). Rubrics and Calendar text in blue and gold, Kalends and a handful of four- to five-line initials in gold on a blue and green background with foliate decoration, numerous two-line initials in colors and gold, 12 medallions depicting the labors of the month, seven six-line historiated initials in gold accompanied by a floral quarter panel border in pink, blue, green, and yellow with many gold bezants, five large historiated initials in an elaborate full border teeming with flowers, putti, and gold bezants, with a small vignette in the tail-edge border, and MORE THAN 20 EXQUISITE MEDALLION PORTRAITS of various sizes, as well as FOUR LARGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES in golden frames surrounded by an extremely ornate border full of fruit, flowers, garlands, birds, putti, bezants, and much gold, with similar vignette and medallions. â In mint condition. This is a splendid facsimile of the Book of Hours given by Lorenzo the Magnificent (1449-92) to his daughter Luisa (1477-88) in 1485. The text was written by the distinguished humanist scribe Antonio Sinibaldi, who did a great deal of work for the Medicis and who signed and dated the manuscript. To provide the illumination, Lorenzo commissioned Francesco Rosselli (1445-ca. 1513), who had worked on the famed Bible of Federico da Montefeltro. The result was a jewel of Renaissance art, which was then wrapped in velvet and gems before being presented to the young recipient. The illumination was exceedingly elaborate, the borders representing a memorable wealth of decoration. After the death of Luisa and Lorenzo, the manuscript at some point ended up in the Netherlands--Ferdinand de Merode, Comte de Montfort, inscribed his name on the flyleaf in 1660. The book fell into the hands of infamous book thief Guglielmo Libri in the 19th century, and was subsequently purchased by the 4th earl of Ashburnham. After the earl's death, the Italian government acquired the work and returned it to Florence, where the original presently resides in the Medicean Laurentian Library.

No. 201 OF 980 COPIES. 216 x 152 mm. (8 1/2 x 6"). 136 leaves (in the facsimile). Three volumes (including two volumes of commentary, one in German and one in Italian). SUMPTUOUS RED MOROCCO, central panel of each cover with thin open-work black leather in an ornate vine pattern laid over blue and gold silk, creating a stained glass effect, the leatherwork incorporating floral circles painted in red and gold, three large medallions arranged down the center of the panel, those at head and tail of red morocco painted in a black, gold, and blue pattern and with a large, round semi-precious stone at the middle, the central medallion comprising a miniature on silk, that on the upper cover of the Archangel Gabriel, that on the lower cover of the Virgin Mary; raised bands, spine diapered in blind, with a single gilt dot at the center of each lozenge; floral silver cornerpieces and two clasps, red morocco doublures framed in silver, doublure panels with intricate decoration in gilt and black, large central medallion of open-work black leather over blue silk with a molded leather profile of Julius Caesar at center, ivory watered silk endleaves, all edges gilt and gauffered. In a padded, silk-lined cream-colored suede box with an enamel medallion on the upper cover. BEAUTIFULLY DECORATED THROUGHOUT: with many ornamental initials, elaborate floral extensions and partial borders, a tondo miniature at the foot of each calendar page, seven historiated initials with full borders, and five full-page miniatures, each by a different Italian master. â In mint condition. This sophisticated Book of Hours was produced in 1503 at the behest of Bonaparte Ghislieri, a member of an important Bolognese family. In commissioning it, Ghislieri wanted to bring together several of the most famous artists of the period, each of whom was called upon to create a full-page miniature. The intention was to offer a sort of miniature anthology of the best that the Bologna school of illumination could produce at the time. Consequently, we see a succession of works by: Amico Aspertini (Adoration of the Shepherds), Lorenzo Costa (King David and his Lyre), Il Francia (Francesco Raibolini) (Saint Jerome), Matteo da Milano, (Annunciation), and Perugino, (St. Sebastian). This last is the only miniature ever painted by Raphael's teacher. Bologna was also the home of the scribe, Pierantonio Sallando, who taught grammar at the University of Bologna and was to become a famous professor of writing. The codex passed from the Ghislieris to the Albani family of Urbino, where it is documented in the 18th century; the following century it reached England, where it was purchased by Henry Yates Thompson in 1897. Since 1941 it has been kept in the British Library.

457 x 324 mm. (18 x 12 3/4"). 136 leaves (in the facsimile volume). Two volumes (including commentary volume in German). Companion volume by Rainer Kahsnitz. Facsimile attractively bound in the publisher's gold slubbed silk, both covers with brass cornerplates featuring a stylized quatrefoil leaf, front cover with the same plate used, on the diagonal, as centerpiece, wide raised bands; FACSIMILE VOLUME HOUSED IN A STRIKING LEATHER BOX WITH cork lining and a top in which is set A CONVINCING 8 x 5" REPRODUCTION OF THE ECHTERNACH GOSPEL COVER, FEATURING THE 10TH CENTURY OTTONIAN IVORY CRUCIFIXION, AROUND WHICH IS A WIDE FRAME WITH JEWELS set in gold filigree between intricately decorated enamelled plaques; companion volume with vellum spine and rose boards depicting in 28 squares roaring lions in Medieval style. Text in 23 1/2 karat gold, more than 500 initials in colors, gold, and silver, full-page initial at the opening of each Gospel, four "carpet" openings adorned with the colors and patterns of Byzantine fabrics, and 60 miniatures illustrating Christ in Majesty with the Evangelists and the Prophets, parables told by Jesus, and scenes from the life of Christ. Prospectus with folder containing sample leaf laid in. â The corners of the box showing a hint of wear, but the facsimile volume in virtually mint condition. The monks of Echternach, a community founded in Luxemburg in the late seventh century by the English missionary St. Willibrod, produced outstanding illuminated books, one of the grandest of which is this Golden Gospel, named for the golden lettering of the text. Our marvelous facsimile, which does not stint the use of gold leaf, effectively reproduces the delicate colors of the original, in which orchid pink and mint green predominate. The Gospel dates to the early 11th century (the ivory used on the cover of the original book is from a few decades earlier) and is executed in the style of illumination developed during the so-called Ottonian Renaissance of the 10th century, when the German Empire (in which Echternach was then included) was ruled by one Saxon Otto or another: Otto I (936-973), Otto II (973-983), or Otto III (983-1002). One interesting feature of these Gospel illustrations is that the influence of Byzantine Greek art is noticeable; this is due to the arrival in Germany in 972 of the 12-year-old Greek princess Theophano to marry the future Otto II. The Greek influence is particularly strong in the depictions of the evangelists, seated at their desks, surrounded with a classicizing architectural frame, and surmounted by their winged symbols. The four creatures reappear, along with four prophets at their desks, in the eight tondos surrounding the Christ in Majesty, also Greek in style. Whereas these scenes are formal and hieratic, the narrative scenes are done in a lively, vernacular style, and clearly more than one artist worked on this masterpiece. Christ is shown with long black hair, his large hands often raised in a gesture of healing and teaching, followed by disciples wearing a rainbow of garments. Our very substantial and heavy facsimile--the box and two volumes together weigh almost 40 pounds--is an extraordinary piece of work, and it represents facsimile production at its finest, especially in our strictly limited version that reproduces the late 10th century binding done in Trier, considered to be the finest book cover of the Ottonian era. No. 8 OF 150 SPECIAL COPIES in the deluxe binding (of 850 total copies).

387 x 279 mm. (15 1/4 x 11"). commentary volume: 290 x 210 mm (11 1/2 x 8 1/4"); prospectus(?)folio volume: 430 x 300 mm. (17 x 12"). 111, [1], 124 leaves (in the facsimile). Three volumes (including a commentary volume in German and a prospectus). IN AN ESPECIALLY FINE REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL CARVED IVORY BINDING, upper cover with a headpiece showing two angels holding a medallion of Christ, tailpiece depicting the Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds, large triptych with the Virgin and Child at center flanked by a bearded saint on each side; lower cover with similar headpiece, but with the tailpiece depicting the visit of the Magi and central triptych with Christ triumphant, an angel on either side; both covers encased within metal frames; raised bands, black leather spine. In a padded black leather folding box with color medallion on upper cover. Text in gold, framed by decorative color columns bordered in silver and gold, three full pages of decorated text, and four full-page miniatures. â In mint condition. This facsimile is surely among the most magnificent examples of its type, being deemed sufficiently grand to be used by Pope Benedict XVI as a present to Queen Elizabeth during his visit to Britain in 2010. A monumental work of Carolingian art, known both as the Lorsch Gospels and the Codex Aureus, the original manuscript is one of the rare books of the early Middle Ages entirely written in gold ink. Described as an "evangelium pictum cum auro scriptum habens tabulas eburneas" ("illustrated Gospel Book, written in gold with ivory covers"), it was produced ca. 810 in the scriptorium of Charlemagne at Aachen. It first appeared in a book record of Lorsch Abbey dating back to around 860. Between the text and the decoration, the book could hardly be more golden or more luminous. Reflecting the height of creativity at the time, the covers consist of two ivory plates masterfully carved at the court of Charlemagne around 810. The binding was removed when the manuscript was stolen from the Bibliotheca Palatina in Heidelberg during the Thirty Years War. The front cover is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the rear cover at the Vatican Library, which also holds the manuscript. No. 208 OF 333 COPIES with the special replica binding. (There were also 60 copies without the reproduction binding.).