Book of Hours (Use of Paris)

Office of the Dead, Vespers

F-345l

Toronto, ON, The Robertson Davies Library at Massey College, Gurney FF 0001

General Information

Title Book of Hours (Use of Paris)
Material Parchment
Place of Origin France
General Remarks

Residual glue left by Otto Ege when he mounted the leaves. Ruling is visible. 

Original Condition

Page Height 184 mm
Page Width 128 mm
Height of Written Area 100 mm
Width of Written Area 40 – 69 mm
Number of Columns 1
Width of Columns 40 – 69 mm
Number of Lines 15
Line Height 4 – 6 mm

Current Condition

More about the Current Condition

good condition. Residual glue visible from mounting tape 

Book Decoration and Musical Notation

Description

Florals and leaves on the side. Ivy in gold, black gall ink for lines, flowers in blue, red, and green. 

Five decorated initials in red, gold, and blue and ornamentals on recto. Decorated rectangular boxes at line 2 and 5 on recto. One initial larger (18 mm x 18 mm) than other four (7 mm x 11 mm). The word "an" in red on line 11 and 13 on recto. Lines 11-13 visibly smaller and slightly different lettering. 

On Verso: Rectangular boxes decorated in red, gold, and blue on line 1, 8,  and 11. Florals and leaves on the side. Ivy in gold, black gall ink for lines, flowers in blue, red, and green. 6 decorated initials in red, gold, and blue and ornamentals all the same size (6 mm x 10 mm). On Verso only end of the third line there is a small sun symbol drawn in blue and red ink spiral. 

History

Remarks

Note by Otto Ege:

Book of Hours (Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis)

In the second half of the XVth century, the devout and wealthy laymen had a wide selection of Books of Hours from which to choose, both manuscript volumes and printed texts. These were often sold, in large cities, in book stalls erected directly in front of the main entrance of the cathedral. The first printed and illustrated Book of Hours appeared in 1486. It was a crude work, but later noted printers such as Verard, Du Pre, Pigouchet, and Kerver issued in great numbers Books of Hours with numerous illustrations and rich borders. The decorations were frequently hand coloured and furthered embellished with touches of gold. These Books of Hours created a strong competition for the more costly manuscript copies. 

Other available descriptions

  • Simmons School of Library and Information Science (Boston, Massachusetts) LIS 464 (Fall 2021) observations
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