[Post Incunable] - Hore Dive Virginis - 1516

PARISIAN BOOK OF HOURS ON VELLUM – 18 LARGE ILLUSTRATIONS, 33 SMALL FRESSES AND RUBRICATED FRAMES
Refined Parisian edition on vellum of the famous Book of Hours by Thielman Kerver, enriched by 18 large full-page illustrations, 33 minor vignettes, elaborate decorative borders, and hand-coloring in red, blue, and gold.

ABSTRACT
Magnificent Parisian vellum edition of Hore dive virginis Marie secundum verum usum Romanum, printed by Thielman Kerver in 1516. The volume belongs to the highest season of the illuminated French devotional book of the early sixteenth century, when printed books deliberately sought to compete with the visual prestige of illuminated manuscripts. The iconographic program is exceptionally rich: 18 large full-page illustrations, 33 minor figures, and a continuous sequence of elaborate figurative and ornamental borders that transform almost every page into an autonomous composition. Of particular fascination are the ancient and more recent hand-coloring interventions, with rubrications and decorations in red, blue, and gold, which give the volume a character still close to the miniature tradition. The printing on vellum, a much more costly support than paper and intended for highly valued copies, further increases the material and collecting importance of the book.

WHY TO BUY
VELUM – prestigious example printed on the most prized support.
18 LARGE ILLUSTRATIONS – a richly figurative cycle accompanied by 33 minor vignettes.
HAND COLORING – rubrications and decorations in red, blue, and gold.
THIELMAN KERVER – one of the leading figures of the Parisian illustrated Book of Hours.

MARKET VALUE
The Thielman Kerver Books of Hours printed on vellum belong to the most sought-after tier of early sixteenth-century French devotional production. Value depends decisively on completeness, the quality of impressions, the preservation of the vellum, the presence of the large illustrations, and any antique coloring. The present exemplar preserves a particularly rich iconographic apparatus and also shows rubrications and traces of antique manual coloring. 9,000 – 12,000 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION – COLLECTOR’S COPY
Entirely vellum-stiched. Back leather binding, with hinge defects. Thielman Kerver printer’s device on the title page. Extraordinary illustrative apparatus composed of 18 large full-page illustrations and 33 minor figures. Each page is enclosed within elaborate figurative and ornamental borders consisting of numerous decorative elements. Initials and line fillings rubricated by hand in red, blue, and gold; traces of more recent coloring on the illustrations also present. Almanac and calendar captions in French. Missing C8 paper. In old books with a centuries-long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 206; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Hore dive virginis Marie secundum verum usum Romanum.
Parisiis, Thielman Kerver, 1516. Libro d’Ore secondo l’uso romano.
AA. VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
In the early sixteenth century the Book of Hours was Europe’s primary private devotional book. Born from the medieval manuscript tradition, it normally contained the Virgin Office, Penitential Psalms, Office of the Dead, suffrages to saints, and numerous prayers for daily practice. With the advent of printing, Paris became the main European center for the production of illustrated Books of Hours. French publishers developed volumes in which images, borders, initials, and decoration deliberately sought to reproduce the visual richness of illuminated codices. This exemplar represents a particularly significant testimony of this transition: vellum printing and manual color interventions maintain a strong link with the manuscript, while the multiplication of images fully belongs to the new Renaissance typographic culture.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE PRINTER
Thielman Kerver, originally from Koblenz and active in Paris from the late 15th century until the 1520s, was one of the most famous printers and booksellers specializing in Books of Hours. His editions are distinguished by the quality of the figurative apparatus, the intricate decorative borders, and the elegance of the typographic composition. Kerver played a decisive role in transforming the Book of Hours from a luxury manuscript object to a refined product of Renaissance typography. After his death, the publishing activity was continued by his widow Yolande Bonhomme and his sons, keeping the Kerver name among the most prestigious in Parisian publishing of the 16th century.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The production of Parisian Books of Hours from the late fifteenth to the early sixteenth century represents one of the most important chapters in the history of the illustrated book. Kerver was among the protagonists of this evolution, producing numerous editions for both the French market and international markets. The vellum-stamped exemplars were luxurious versions, often further enriched by rubrications, colorings, and manual interventions. This exemplar precisely preserves this dual nature, typographic and almost illuminated, thanks to the combination of vellum printing, a vast figurative apparatus, and color decoration.

RARITY
IMPORTANT PARISIAN BOOK OF HOURS ON VELLUM. Kerver vellum copies are markedly more desirable than ordinary paper copies, especially when they retain a rich illustrative apparatus and color interventions. The present volume possesses 18 large full-page illustrations, 33 minor figures, illuminated borders along the entire text, and rubrications in red, blue, and gold. The absence of paper prevents it from being complete, but it does not diminish the notable artistic and bibliographic interest of the whole.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
This Book of Hours records one of the most fascinating moments in the history of the European book: the transition from medieval illuminated manuscripts to the Renaissance illustrated book. Vellum, manual color, and the use of gold still belong to the luxury-codex culture, while the serial reproduction of images and borders testifies to the printing revolution. The figurative apparatus is not mere ornament; it accompanies meditation and visually structures prayer. Each opening of the volume thus becomes a combination of text, image, border, and color, in a model that made Parisian Book of Hours produced by early sixteenth-century printers famous across Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Bohatta, Bibliographie der Livres d’Heures. Lacombe, Livres d’Heures imprimés au XVe et au XVIe siècle. Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, III. Mortimer, Harvard College Library, French Sixteenth Century Books. Renouard, Imprimeurs et Libraires Parisiens du XVIe Siècle.