"[Illuminated Leaf]", Hardouin, Gilles

By the 1490s Paris was the undisputed center of publication of the greatest "best selller", the Book of Hours. As demand grew, a group of printers developed a "hybrid" method, adapting features of borh manuscript and printing. Printed vellum Book of Hours are very scarce as they were only produced between 1496 and 1530. This leaf is from such a book. A premier example of early printing on vellum, with its rich ensemble of printed text and engraved surrounding scenes with finely executed illuminated capitals and hand painted minitaures within the text. The large format quarto leaf contains part of the prayers to the Saints: Saint Anthony, Saint Anna (mother of Virgin Mary), Saint Maria Magdalena, and Saint Catherine (jewel of Greece and daughter of King Costus of Alexandria). Recto contains a miniature of Anna teaching Mary to read and the verso an equally delightful scene of Catherine holding a book.

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Condition: A+