c 1240-50 Bible Leaf, in Leather Bound Leaf Book

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A lovely original leaf from a medieval manuscript pocket Bible, written in Paris c. 1240-50. Presented in a leather bound leaf book with a six-page essay by Bruce Ferrini. Limited edition number 44 of 1000; Published in Akron, Ohio, 1994. Leaf size: 150x100 mm – 6 x 4 inches – Book size: 230x158mm – 9 x 6.25 inches.

An attractive and historical medieval Bible leaf in nice condition, handsomely presented. The binding was custom made in full stamped leather in medieval style by Pat Bruno, Bookbinder of Sacramento CA.

The leaf is written in Latin gothic micro-minuscule script, ruled in red & written in brown ink in two columns of 44 lines on animal vellum.  Rubricated chapter numbers, two multi-line illuminated Lombard style initials extending into the margin in red & blue. The text is written in extremely tiny & very well formed letters, so small that there are twelve lines of text to the inch!

This leaf contains II Kings (King James II Samuel) 1:19 – 3:17:  “Quomodo ceciderunt…”  (How are the mighty fallen! … Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions…How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished…And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.…).

The front (recto) contains a scribal omission added in the left marginthis omission is surrounded by a red box indicating that the “transcription had been systematically checked for accuracy” (De Hamel, Scribes and Illuminators, p. 43).

The manuscript Bible from which this leaf came was a very high-quality production, scribed in the Johannes Grusch Workshop in Paris. The calligraphy is excellent, and the vellum is of the finest style, extremely thin and very white. Other leaves from this same manuscript were exhibited in the Jeanne Blackburn Collection at the Cleveland Art Museum (pl. 7 & 8).

  • Inventory# IM-12879
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