Manuscript on paper of 1) Sonnet by the Franciscan Alessandro de Ritiis, or by his compatriot from L'Aquila, Buccio di Ranallo, lamenting the loss of a loaned book. 2) Polistorio, attributed to the Dominican Bartolomeo da Ferrara (1308-1444).
Description:
In Italian., Watermarks: Briquet Arbalete 746., Script: Written in fere-humanistic script by a single scribe, above top line., Fully illuminated title page, f. 6r. Floral border in inner and upper margin, black inkspray with blossoms, green, blue and purple with white highlights and gold balls. Bar border between text columns, gold and red, extends from buds (mauve, green and blue with white highlights) with stylized foliage, purple, blue and green and gold with white highlights; surmounted in upper margin by half-length figure of Virgin with Child. In outer margin, elaborate partial border of stylized foliage and flowers, green, blue and purple with white and yellow highlights and gold balls, framing central wreathed medallion with triton blowing a curved horn, on gold ground with penwork filigree. In center of lower border, arms of the Marcello family of Venice (azure, a bend wavy or) on deep red ground within wreathed medallion, both with yellow highlights. Arms symmetrically flanked by 2 putti plucking fruit from wreathed medallion and holding rods, green, blue, and purple with scrolls bearing the mottoes "sola virtus" and "dulcia poma" in red, and two triton-putti, one playing a flute, the other a stringed musical instrument. One historiated initial, 6-line, of stylized foliage in green, purple, and blue with white filigree on gold ground, with a half-length figure of a crowned and bearded man, perhaps the Emperor Augustus. The design of the upper and inner border and of the historiated initial is conservative in style and close to the work of Leonardo Bellini., and Binding: Fifteenth century, Italy. Parchment stays are adhered inside the quires. Rear pastedown (now lifted): parchment leaf from a lectionary, Italy (North?), 1050-1100; a parchment leaf, perhaps from the same manuscript, is concealed under front paper pastedown. Each leaf, with a stub, is folded around the front and back flyleaves, sewn, and glued down under the pastedowns. Original sewing on five tawed skin, slit straps laid in channels on the outside of beech boards and nailed. Yellow edges. Plain wound, natural color endbands are sewn on leather cores. Covered in brown calf with narrow corner tongues. There is a large, eight-petalled fitting in the central blind-tooled panel and four corner fittings have flower and agnus dei designs on them. The concentric outer frames are filled with rope interlace or small roses. The Marcello arms were stamped on each board on an inlaid leather shield which is wanting on the upper board. Spine: bands outlined with triple fillets, an X of three fillets in the panels. Four fastenings, the catches on the lower board, the upper one cut in for red fabric straps, attached with star-headed nails.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Bartolomeo, da Ferrara.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Italian literature, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of an atlas produced by the Genoese cartographer Battista Agnese (1514-1564) in Venice
Description:
In Latin and Italian., Script: inscriptions in black or red ink in Humanistica Cursiva under Gothic influence, and in Capitalis (the latter sometimes in gold)., Shield in yellow and blue with "Cosmo-Grra-Phia" in red. The maps show varying degrees of colouring., An atlas produced by the Genoese cartographer Battista Agnese (1514-1564) in Venice. Includes 23 maps in various colors, with many representations of people, ships, and landmarks., and Binding: de luxe binding, 19th or 20th century, by Rivière & Son: gold-tooled red morocco over pasteboard; gold-tooled title on spine:"PORTOLANO / DA / BATTISTA / AGNESE", and at the bottom: "1559".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Agnese, Battista, active 16th century.
Subject (Topic):
Atlases, Cosmography, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscript maps, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Nicolaus de Lyra, Postilla super psalterium; Postilla super libros prophetorum
Description:
In Latin., Script: copied by two scribes: A copied ff. 1r-95r (with the exception of f. 40) in Gothica Cursiva Antiquior Libraria; and B copied ff. 97r-272r in the same type of script, but closer to Anglicana., Decoration: Illuminated initials in red, purple, blue, and gold leaf. Elaborate marginal vine-and-floral ornamentation at beginnings of chapters in red, blue, green, brown, and gold leaf. Occasional multi-colored pictures and diagrams. Traces of indexing tabs on the first leaf of every book. See catalog description for further detail., and Binding: 19th century parchment over pasteboards. Each cover has a central embossed design of an interlocking lozenge and rectangle in red and black with floral ornamentation in gold and blue. Red leather labels on spine with embossed gold letters.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Nicholas, of Lyra, ca. 1270-1349.
Subject (Topic):
Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern), Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Nicolaus de Lyra, Postillae on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, and I-IV Kings
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written by several scribes in gothic bookhand., 19 pen-and-ink drawings with washes in red, green, blue and pale yellow, some inserted into the text column, others up to half-page size dealing with the Tabernacle in the Desert and the Temple of Solomon: the drawings serve to clarify the written text by depicting differences in interpretations between Jewish and Catholic exegesis; contrasting drawings are usually juxtaposed and labelled with the respective source for each., Many fine flourished initials, red and blue divided, 9- to 3-line, with penwork designs in red, blue and/or purple; somewhat smaller less ambitious initials alternate red and blue with designs in the opposite color. The minor decoration appears inconsistently, with running headlines, rubrics, paragraph marks and underlining of Biblical texts, in various colors or totally absent., and Binding: Modern restoration? Limp vellum case with earlier title (mostly illegible) running lengthwise on spine and later title added at top of spine: "Fr. Nicolai de Lyra ord. min. Commentaria in Libro historico Sacrae Scripturae".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Nicholas, of Lyra, ca. 1270-1349.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Scholasticism
Manuscript on paper of a collection of prayers and hymns, compiled in 1518 by the humanistic-minded Benedictine monk Vitalis of Rothenthal (Rubrevallensis) (fols. 1-110).
Description:
In Latin., Script: copied by one hand in Gothica Semihybrida Libraria with Bastarda/Fractura features. Art. 1 is written in s. XVI2 Gothica Semihybrida Currens. Art. 74 is printed in black and red in Gothic Textura., Decoration: Headings and stroking of the majuscules in red. Each prayer opens with a 3-6 line calligraphic initial (cadel) in red; more rarely with a plain initial in the same colour. Guide letters. In Book of Hours, f. 126v (facing f. 1r of the printed foliation), full-page woodcut, hand coloured in green, blue, yellow and red, of the Virgin and Child in the Sun, standing on the Moon., Binding: original blind-tooled brown pigskin over wooden boards; spine with two double raised bands. The covers decorated with a frame of foliage enclosing a central rectangular panel containing three rosettes; the rosettes are repeated in the three compartments of the spine. Two engraved brass clasps attached to the rear cover, with engraved brass catches on the front cover; the corner pieces are missing., Watermark of the manuscript part: perhaps var. Briquet 2172., and Bound with a printed Book of Hours (Vienna, Hieronymus Vietor and Iohannes Singrenius for Leonardus and Lucius Alantse, 1513 September 14).
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Benedictines. and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Prayer books
Manuscript on paper (watermarks obscured by binding and trimming) of prayers and hymns to the Virgin Mary
Description:
In Italian and Latin., Script: Written by one scribe in round gothic bookhand., Four poorly executed initials in gold and colors on ff. 1r, 2r (two), and 4r; the last accompanied by green and gold dots. Red initial strokes; rubrics throughout., and Binding: single quire tacketed to a piece of folded vellum.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Devotion to., Hymns, Italian, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on paper of Prayers to be said at various times during the Mass. Composed by Paul Pellisson-Fontanier (1624-93).
Description:
In French., Script: Written by the master calligrapher Jean Pierre Rousselet, a follower of Nicholas Jarry, active in Paris between 1677 and 1736., Two full-page miniatures and nine historiated headpieces in gouache, all in frames best described as resembling the frames of 18th-century mirrors; the frames blue and purple with white highlights and gold side-pieces decorated with red flowers in diamonds; floral swags at bottom. Tail pieces with swags, as above and filled with gold, on f. 48v with the Holy Spirit as a dove. 3- and 2-line initials, blue with white highlights on gold; 1-line initials in red. Titles in gold, red and blue capitals; running headings and rubrics in red., and Binding: 18th-19th centuries. Black goatskin, gold-tooled. A red label and salmon pink doublures and flyleaves. Gilt edges.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Pellisson-Fontanier, Paul, 1624-1693. and Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Liturgy, Devotional literature, French, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Missals
In Latin., Script: Copied by one hand in Northern Gothica Textualis Formata. Rubrics in Gothica Hybrida Formata (Bastarda). Music notation in Nota Quadrata., Red rubrics. Heightening of majuscules in yellow. Alternately red and blue1-line plain initials on ff. 176r-177r. Flourished initials (height: 1 stave + 1 text line) alternately red with purple penwork and blue with red penwork. Cadels (same size) in a rectangular frame decorated with foliage on a yellow background. On f. 1r damaged large golden initial (2 staves + 2 lines of text) on a blue background containing coat of arms of Hugo Gontard, a canon in the collegiate church of St. Genesius (St. Genez) at Clermont-Ferrand in 1515 and "abbot" of the said church, 1519-1545., Many pages badly damaged and faded, especially f. 1r., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Marbled leather over cardboard, repaired. Gold-tooled spine with title on red leather label: "LIVRE D'HEURES". Brown marbled paper endpapers.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Liturgy, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, Music, and Processionals (Liturgical books)
Manuscript on parchment of Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, preceded by prologues. With two short prayers
Description:
In Latin., Script: Written in hybrida script by a single scribe. Arts. 2-3 added by later hands., For prologues and beginning of each book partial borders constructed of a thin bar, unburnished gold, pink or green with burnished gold balls, terminating in sprays of stylized foliage, green, pink, and blue with gold accents. One large illuminated initial, f. 1r, 13-line, blue with light blue foliage shading against a red and pink ground; foliage serifs in green. 6 smaller illuminated initials, blue, pink, green or gold against blue or pink ground with white or gold filigree and/or gold crosshatching. Numerous pen-and-ink initials, 2-line, alternate in blue with red penwork designs and gold with blue penwork designs. Running titles in red and blue. Headings in red. Initials touched with yellow., and Binding: Fifteenth century, Bohemia. Sewn on three supports, with two half bands near head and tail, fastened to wooden boards. Yellow edges and kermes pink place marks. Covered in brown calf, blind-tooled with floral designs, with a central and four large corner fittings on each board. Spine: supports defined with double fillets; four leafy flower bud tools pointing inward in the two central panels. Two fastenings, the catches on the upper board and the lower one cut in for tawed skin, cream colored straps (only stubs remain). Small pieces of liturgical manuscript (Northern Italy, 14th century) used for front and rear pastedowns. Head and tail of spine and the upper joint very unobtrusively repaired.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Wisdom literature
