Book of Hours - [Post Incunable] Miniato e Stampato su Pergamena - 1512

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THE AGE OF GOLD OF THE BOOK OF HOURS - THE LAST SPLENDOR OF THE MEDIEVAL BOOK OF HOURS
A rare Book of Hours printed on parchment and hand-illuminated in the early decades of the sixteenth century, testimony to the unique encounter between the medieval manuscript tradition and the birth of printing.

Among the most fascinating products of Renaissance typography, the Book of Hours printed on parchment represents the final season of medieval book art. Destined for aristocratic and affluent patrons, they combined the precision of printing with the richness of hand-painted illumination, preserving the appearance of great illuminated manuscripts while belonging to the era of typography. The present specimen, datable to the first quarter of the XVI century, preserves a substantial part of its original decorative apparatus, with floral borders, miniature initials, and contemporary rubrication that make it a precious testimony to luxury book production at the dawn of the Renaissance.

WHY IT MATTERS
For over three centuries the Book of Hours was the most widely read private book in Christian Europe. Through these volumes prayer left the monasteries to enter the homes of princes, nobles, merchants, and wealthy merchants. The parchment editions constitute one of the most fascinating moments in the history of the book: printing did not immediately replace the manuscript, but assimilated its artistic language, entrusting the completing work of each copy to the illuminators. Each specimen thus became an irreproducible work, different from all others.

WHY THIS COPY
This specimen presents numerous characteristics particularly valued by collectors:
- parchment printing;
- text in black and red gothic type;
- five silhouettes with figurative initials;
- ten hand-illuminated borders with floral motifs;
- large illuminated initial;
- numerous decorated initials and hundreds of red and blue watermarks;
- elegant modern full-leather binding executed in an antique style by the master bookbinder Keith Felton.

INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
The illuminated parchment Book of Hours today belongs to the most sought-after segment of international book collecting.
Complete copies frequently reach very high prices, while even important fragments like the present are increasingly hard to find on the market.
The interest extends to collectors of manuscripts, incunabula, art history, medieval illumination, and the history of printing.

Estimated market value:
€ 6,000–8,000.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
In octavo; 72 parchment leaves.
Text in red and black Gothic type on 24 lines. Five silhouettes with figurative initials. Ten hand-illuminated borders with floral motifs. Large illuminated initial and numerous decorated initials; hundreds of red and blue watermarks.
Modern full red leather binding in a Renaissance style by Keith Felton.
Conditions: substantial fragment but incomplete. Losses to the upper margins of the first six leaves; marginal lacuna with partial loss of decorative border on one leaf; further marginal loss on another leaf; widespread staining; occasional ink smudges and miniature losses.

FULL TITLE
Book of Hours. Libro d’Ore miniato e stampato su pergamena. Probably Paris, first quarter of the XVI century.

THE STORY
When movable type revolutionized book production, the tastes of patrons remained deeply tied to the manuscript tradition. Printers therefore continued to print on parchment works destined for the most prestigious clientele, leaving wide margins that were subsequently decorated by the illuminators. Each copy thus left the workshop different from the others, transforming a typographic product into a truly unique piece. This balance between technical innovation and artistic tradition lasted only a few decades, making these Book of Hours one of the most refined expressions of the early Renaissance.

THE AUTHOR
Like most Book of Hours, this collection has no author in the modern sense. The texts derive from the medieval liturgical tradition and include the Office of the Blessed Virgin, the Penitential Psalms, the Office of the Dead, the Gospels, and numerous devotional prayers that accompanied the daily spirituality of European laypeople.

THE PRINTING
Probably printed in Paris in the first quarter of the XVI century, the volume uses elegant Gothic type set on twenty-four lines, with printing in red and black according to the best liturgical tradition. The entire decoration was completed manually after printing through miniatures, rubrication, and floral borders, preserving the look of an authentic manuscript.

RARITY
Edizioni dei Libri d’Ore stampate su pergamena survive in significantly smaller numbers than those on paper. The daily use for which they were intended caused over the centuries the loss or fragmentation of many copies. Extended and richly miniated fragments like the present are now sought after by both private collectors and museum institutions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bohatta, Liturgische Bibliographie.

Leroquais, Les Livres d’Heures Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale.

Lacombe, Livres d’Heures Imprimés au XVe et au XVIe Siècle.

Wieck, Painted Prayers.

De Hamel, A History of Illuminated Manuscripts.

PERCHÉ ABBIAMO SCELTO QUESTO LIBRO
We do not simply select ancient books. We seek works that represent a decisive moment in the history of European civilization. This Book of Hours testifies to one of the most fascinating moments in the history of the book: when the printing revolution had not yet erased the art of the illuminators and every copy continued to be finished by hand, making each specimen unique. It is the perfect meeting point between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, between manuscript and typography, between private devotion and book art.