Leaf 50. The following text is taken verbatim from the infromation card, written by Ege: This beautiful manuscript leaf was written and illuminated about the year 1535 A.D. At this late date Books of Hours were also being printed in great numbers by…
Leaf 48. "In the middle of the [15th] century this whole area [the Netherlands and Northern France] was interested in naturalism and made its illustrations so vivid that sometimes they approached those of our seed catalogues. It is not difficult to…
Leaf 47. "In assigning this leaf from a Book of Hours to the Netherlands it must be remembered that some sections of the country were once part of France, while others belonged to what is now Germany. In this leaf French characteristics predominate,…
Leaf 46. "The laymen who ordered and purchased theses books would at times stipulate the style of ornament and the amount of burnished gold to be used, and could even, to a certain extent, select the saints they esteemed most and wished to glorify.…
Leaf 45. "This manuscript leaf came from a Book of Hours, sold probably at one of the famous shrines to which wealthy laymen made pilgrimages. To meet the demand for these books, the monastic as well as the secular scribes produced them in great…
Leaf 36. "Books of Hours, beautifully written, enriched with burnished gold initials, and adorned with miniature paintings, were frequently the most treasured possessions of the devout and wealthy laymen" (Ege). "Books of this small size, two and…
Leaf 35. "Jerome, the father of the Latin Church and translator of the Bible, shows in his writings his active participation in the controversies of his day (c. 332 to 420 A.D.)" (Ege). "This fine book hand, lettre de somme, obtained its name from…
Leaf 32. "The suberb example of calligraphy in this leaf illustrates the supremacy of the Italian scribes of the time over those of the rest of Europe. It is frequently assumed that this late revival of fine writing may have been caused by the…
Leaf 31. "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…
Leaf 30. "The text of a Book of Hours consists of Gospels of the Nativity, prayers for the Canonical Hours, the Penitential Psalms, the Litany, and other prayers. The beauty of the rich borders found in some of these books frequently claims our…