Tag Archives: MSS

¶ Morris — Manuscript notebook

January 5, 2018

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Morris, William. Manuscript notebook, chiefly notes on books in British Museum.

Provenance: Morris. — Unlocated.

Reference: MS catalogue (2), no. 6.

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¶ Bible (early 14th century) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Anglo-Norman, early 14th century. 531 leaves.

Book labels of Morris, Hodson, and Hornby; signature of Hornby, Shelley House, Chelsea, May 1909. On first page of text, written along spine: “Ex Libris Cesaris De Missy: Londini: Anno 1745: Codex. MS. D.”

Provenance: Rev. César de Missy, — S. Baker and G. Leigh, 18 March 1776, lot 1620. — Justin, Comte de MacCarthy-Reagh. — Comte de MacCarthy-Reagh sale, De Bure, 27 January 1817, lot 54. — H.R.H. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex. — Edward Hailstone. — Hailstone sale, Sotheby, 23 April 1891, lot 341. — Quaritch catalogue 138, December 1893, no. 22 (£200). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 170 (sold to Quaritch for £302). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 50 (sold to Quaritch for £630). — Quaritch catalogue 259, November 1907, no. 3 (£850). — C. H. St John Hornby (probably acquired 1909). — John Roland Abbey. — Abbey sale, Sotheby, 25 March 1975, lot 2951. — Ader-Picard-Tajan, 11 December 1981, lot 43 —Sotheby, 2 December 1986 lot 38 .— J. Paul Getty (Wormsley Library, private collection, England) — Mark Getty (Wormsley Library).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 12 (£200). —  Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_623) [which mistakenly believes that the Bible is in the British Library].


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Uomini famosi (c. 1440) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Uomini famosi (fragment).

Illuminated manuscript. Provence, c. 1440. Two detached leaves with nine colored drawings by Barthélemy d’Eyck.

Other leaves from the same manuscript are scattered about in various institutions.

Provenance: Morris. — Charles Fairfax Murray (acquired in an exchange with Morris, 1896). — Murray sale, Sotheby, 18 June 1919, lot 50 (purchased by Sydney Cockerell). — Sydney Cockerell. — H. P. Kraus (acquired in 1956). — Sotheby, 2 July 1958, lots 19–20. — (Since Sotheby divided the two leaves into separate lots, thereafter they have separate histories.)

Lot 19: Private collection, Netherlands.

Lot 20: A. Scharf. — Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (RP-T-1959-16) [purchased in 1958 by the Jubileumfonds (Jubilee Fund) and presented to the museum].

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¶ Bible (14th century) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manscript. Southern France, late 13th century. 387 leaves.

With a bibliographical note by Sydney Cockerell and a typed poem about the book, signed F.C.B., entitled “A 13th. Century Vulgate.”

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 38 (sold to Heppenstal for £18). — C. W. Dyson Perrins. —Perrins sale, Sotheby, 15 June 1907, lot 56. — Charles Butler. — Butler sale, Sotheby, 18 March 1912, lot 2171. — W. E. Moss. — Moss sale, Sotheby, 2 March 1937, lot 99. — Sir George H. Radford. — Ursula Radford. — Society of Antiquaries of London (MS 956) [by bequest from Ursula Radford; presented by her niece, Mrs. Chloe Morton, 6 October 1994]. (There is a problem in this provenance: W. E. Moss is described as an owner in a 1937 Sotheby sale, but Sir George Radford had died in 1917, and the book seems to have remained in his family until 1994.)

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 2, no. 23 (£100) [?]. —  National Archives. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2459).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (14th century) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 14th century. 593 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 35 (sold to Pickering for £30). — Laurence Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 49 (sold to Cockerell for £49). — Sydney Cockerell. — John Charrington. — Cambridge University Library [gift from Charrington, 1918].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 2, no. 25 (£14 10s.). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3973 and SDBM_39978).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (c. 1270) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Bible (incomplete).

Illuminated manuscript. Northern France, c. 1270. 273 leaves.

With a bibliographical note by Sydney Cockerell. Inscribed “Wm Morris, Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London” (vol. 1) and “Sydney C. Cockerell, Richmond, Surrey, Dec 7 1906” (vols. 2–3.) Morris owned only the first volume; Cockerell reunited it with what he believed were the remaining two volumes of the set.

Provenance: Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. — Cistercian monastery Marie de Marquetta-Lille (gift from Philip the Good). — George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough. — Duke of Marlborough sale, Evans, 24 May 1820, lot 325. — Edwin Henry Lawrence. — Lawrence sale, Sotheby, 9 May 1892, lot 41. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 168 (sold to Quaritch for £139). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 45 (sold to Quaritch for £390). — Quaritch (sold to Sydney Cockerell, 1906). — Sydney Cockerell (sold to Quaritch, 18 January 1957). — Quaritch catalogue 767, 1957 (sold to Rau on 20 February 1956 for £900). — Rau. — Peter Ludwig. — Getty Museum (MS. Ludwig I 8, v1).

References: de Hamel, Christopher. “Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Library of Sir Sydney Cockerell.” British Library Journal 13 (1987): 186–210. (See p. 200.) — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3964).

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Getty Museum


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ New Testament (1170) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Bible (New Testament).

Illuminated manuscript. Auxerre, France, 1170. 198 leaves.

Provenance: Abbey of St Marianus, Auxerre. — Monastery of the Holy Trinity of Champmol, Dijon. — James Edwards. — Edwards sale, Evans, 5 April 1815, lot 818 (sold to William Roscoe, Liverpool, for £12 12s.). — William Roscoe. — Roscoe sale, Winstanley, 19 August 1816 (sold to Robert Benson for £13). — Robert Benson. — W. A. S. Benson. — Morris (purchased from Benson for £250). — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1155 (sold to Leighton for £225). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 5 December 1906, lot 617 (sold to Quaritch for £670). — Quaritch catalogue 259, November 1907, no. 1 (£850) — Quaritch catalogue 290, June 1910, no. 49 (£850). — C. H. St. John Hornby. — John Roland Abbey. — Abbey sale, Sotheby (New York), 4 June 1974, lot 2907. — H. P. Kraus catalogue, 1978, no. 18. — Peter Ludwig. — Getty Museum (MS Ludwig 14) [acquired 1983].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 6, no. 87 (£250). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_1224).

Digital images: Getty Museum.

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Getty Museum


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Gratian — Decretales (14th century) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Gratian. Decretales.

Illuminated manuscript. Northern France, 14th century. 354 leaves.

Morris signature (Folkestone, 26 June 1896). Morris recorded its acquisition in two diary entries (British Library Add. Ms. 45411): “Came from Qu[aritch]: 2 MS.S Gratian & Philips Psalter” (22 June 1896), and “think I shall buy the Gratian a fine book” (23 June 1896). The Times described it as “almost the last book purchased by Mr. Morris” (“The Late Mr. William Morris’s Library,” 7 November 1896, p. 13).

Provenance: Marqés de Astorga. — de Astorga sale, Paris, 7 May 1870, lot 14. — Ambroise Firmin-Didot. — Firmin-Didot sale, Hotel Drouot /Pawlowski, 26 May 1879, lot 38. — Prince Liechtenstein. — Morris (purchased 1896). — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 558 (sold to Quaritch for £255). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 4 December 1906, lot 275 (sold to Quaritch for £440). — Quaritch catalogue 269, October 1908, no. 415 (£650). — Henry Walters. — Walters Art Museum (W.133).

References: de Ricci, 1:825, no. 407. — Schoenberg 40008 (SDBM_MS_3974).

Digital images: Walters Art Museum.

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Walters Art Museum


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Guilelmus Peraldus — Summa de vitiis et virtutibus (14th century) [MS]

October 17, 2017

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Guilelmus Peraldus. Summa de vitiis et virtutibus.

Illuminated manuscript. 14th century. 222 leaves.

Provenance: Busleyden College, Leuven. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 932 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £11). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned]. — Sotheby, 22 June 1982, lot 42 — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 5, no. 68 (£10). — MS catalogue (2), no. 922, p. 93. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_825).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Antiphonarium (14th century) [MS]

October 16, 2017

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Antiphonarium.

Manuscript. Italy, 14th century. 129 leaves.

No Morris book label.

Provenance: Morris. — Robert Steele (gift from Morris). — Steele sale, London, 15 June 1903, lot 544 (bought in). — Hodson catalogue, 4 November 1903, no. 572. — Dan Rider. — F. G. James. — Unlocated.

Reference: de Ricci, 2:123, no. 1. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_9929).

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¶ Bible (c. 1290) [MS]

October 16, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Paris, c. 1290. 337 leaves.

Provenance: Quaritch catalogue, 15 November 1895, no. 351 (£315). — Quaritch catalogue, January 1896. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 88 (sold to Pickering for £61). — Pickering & Chatto catalogue, 24 December 1898. — Henry Yates Thompson. — Sydney Cockerell (acquired from Thompson, 4 May 1905, in an exchange). — Emery Walker (purchased from Cockerell, 1922). — Sydney Cockerell (by bequest from Walker; purchased by Quaritch, 18 January 1957, for £400). — Quaritch catalogue, 1957 no. 4 (sold 28 April 1959 for £1,000). — Sotheby, 12 December 1967, lot 18 (sold to Maggs for £1,100). — Swann Galleries, 30 November 1978, lot 29. — Bruce Ferrini (acquired 1987). — John Feldman (purchased from Ferrini). — University of Colorado, Boulder (Feldman deposit). — Holy Land Experience (Orlando, Fla.).

References: de Hamel, Christopher. “Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts from the Library of Sir Sydney Cockerell.” British Library Journal 13 (1987): 186–210. (See p. 199.) — Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 15 (£120). — Schoenberg (SDBM_254386)


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (14th century) [MS]

October 16, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 14th century. 632 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 37 (sold to Pickering for £40). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 51 (sold to Leighton for £120). — Unlocated.

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3977).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Jean, de Meun — Le testament (c. 1400) [MS]

October 16, 2017

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Jean, de Meun. Le testament maistre Jehan de Mehun.

Illuminated manuscript. France, c. 1400. 80 leaves.

Provenance: Joan of Navarre. — Thomas, Lord Fairfax. — Fairfax sale, Christie, 10 January 1831, lot 109. — Richard Heber. — Heber sale, Evans, 10 February 1836, lot 1114. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1836, no. 842. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1837, no. 895. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1838, no. 232. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1839, no. 410. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1840, no. 757. — Robert S. Turner. — Turner sale, Adolphe Labitte, 12 March 1878, lot 254 (sold for 580 francs). — Labitte/Techener, 20 May 1889, lot 76.— James Whitchurch. — Whitchurch sale, Sotheby, 14 December 1894, lot 787. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 792 (sold to Cockerell for £29). — Sydney Cockerell. — Henry Yates Thompson. — Sydney Cockerell. — Cockerell sale, Sotheby, 3 April 1957, lot 9. — Quaritch catalogue 767, 1957, no. 15. — Quaritch catalogue 820, 1961, no. 11. — Philip Hofer. — Houghton Library, Harvard University (Houghton MS Typ 749).

References: de Ricci, Seymour. Manuscrits de la collection Henry Yates Thompson. Paris, 1926. — Houghton’s online bibliography. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2060). —


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Prolianus — Astronomia (15th century) [MS]

October 16, 2017

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Prolianus, Christianus. Astronomia.

Illuminated manuscript. Germany, c. 1470–80. 77 leaves.

Morris signature on front endpaper; no Morris book label.

Lord Balcarres commented in a letter, 6 July 1894: “Morris deeply lamented to me that he had ever parted with the Prolianus, now in our hands, which he bought some years ago from Q[uaritch] for something like £20. As Morris said, the volume would have fetched 300£ or 400£ had it been in this [i.e. in the Fountaine] Sale” (quoted in James and Taylor, p. 23*).

Provenance: Quaritch. — Morris (purchased from Quaritch for approximately £20). — Ellis & White (sold to the Bibliotheca Lindesiana [private collection of Alexander William, 25th Earl of Crawford and 8th Earl of Balcarres, and James Ludovic, 26th Earl of Crawford and 9th Earl of Balcarres]). — Bibliotheca Lindesdiana. — John Rylands University Library  of Manchester(Latin MS 53).

Reference: James, M. R., and Frank Taylor. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Latin Manuscripts in the John Rylands University Library. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Munich: Kraus Reprint, 1980. [PDF version available from the University of Manchester.] See no. 53.

Digital version: The John Rylands offers one, but it requires a university password.

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¶ Gospels of St. Luke and St. John (c. 1210) [MS]

October 15, 2017

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Gospels of St. Luke and St. John, glossed.

Illuminated manuscript. Northern France, c. 1210. 157 leaves.

Provenance: Giovanni Battista Leva. — John Tudor Frere. — Frere sale, Sotheby, 14 February 1896, lot 1035. — Quaritch catalogue 160, June 1896, no. 731. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 520 (sold to Leighton for £10 10s.). — Alfred Higgens. — Higgens sale, Sotheby, 2 May 1904, lot 62. — B. S. Cron. — Sydney Cockerell. — Cockerell sale, Sotheby, 18 January 1957. — George A. Goyder. — Goyder sale, Sotheby, 8 July 1970, lot 103). — Jörn Günther catalogue, 19 August 2002. — Jörn Günther catalogue 8, 2006, no. 1. — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 7, no. 108 (£25). —  Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_1433).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Le coustumez du baillage de Senlis (c. 1495) [MS]

October 15, 2017

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Le coustumez du baillage de Senlis.

Manuscript. France, c. 1495. 59 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1061 (sold to Ellis for £1 14s.). — Unlocated.

Reference: Ellis valuation, fol. 6, no. 84 (£5).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Muris — Theorica proportionum musicalium (15th century) [MS]

October 14, 2017

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Muris, Johannes de. Theorica proportionum musicalium et canones minutiarum.

Illuminated manuscript. 15th century. 16 leaves.

Provenance: Guglielmo Libri. — Libri sale, Sotheby, 28 March 1859, lot 702. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 912 (sold to Breslauer for £4). — Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 4, no. 64 (£1). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_5303).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Exemplification (1564) [MS]

October 14, 2017

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Exemplification.

Illuminated manuscript. Spain, perhaps Seville, 1564. 27 leaves.

This manuscript has a mysterious history. Since it does not appear in the 1898 Sotheby sale and is not mentioned in Bennett’s privately printed catalogue of his collection, it seems likely that Morris gave or sold the manuscript to a friend before his death. The full entry in Clapinson and Rogers (see below) reads: “53031 Exemplification, on vellum, of an inspeximus by Philip II of charters of the monastery of St. Mary of Graces and the Redemption of the Captives, Seville, 1564. i + 27 leaves. Owned by William Morris; bought from Mrs. S. Vansluis, 1951. MS. Spanish c. 15.”

Provenance: Morris. — Mrs. S. Vansluis. — Bodleian Library (MS. Spanish c. 15) [purchased from Vansluis, 1951].

Reference: Clapinson, Mary, and T. D. Rogers. Summary Catalogue of Post-Medieval Western Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library Oxford: Acquisitions, 1916–1975. 3 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991. (See 2:1170.)

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Photographed by WSP at the Bodleian Library

 

 

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¶ St. Athanasius — Contra gentiles (c. 1470) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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Athanasius, Saint. Contra gentiles.

Illuminated manuscript. Italy, probably Venice, c. 1470. 105 leaves.

Provenance: Jean-Baptiste de Bearzi. — de Bearzi sale, Edwin Tross auction, 31 May 1855, lot 186 (34 francs). — Guglielmo Libri. — Libri sale, Sotheby, 1 August 1859, lot 211. — Quaritch catalogue, 1860, no. 2233 (£5 5s.). — Quaritch catalogue, November 1888, no. 17 (£20). — Quaritch catalogue, September 1893, no. 143. — Quaritch catalogue, December 1893, no. 94 (£16). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 78 (sold to Leighton for £25 10s.). — E. Stainton. — Stainton sale, Sotheby, 26 July 1920, lot 518 (sold to Quaritch). — Quaritch catalogue, 1931, no. 2 (£63). — Quaritch catalogue no. 474, 1933, no. 6 (sold to Philip Hofer for £50). — Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Typ 289) [bequeathed by Hofer, 1984].

References: de Ricci, 2:1695, no. 14. — Digital Scriptorium — Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 8 (£15). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3015).

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Houghton Library


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (14th century) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Perhaps France, 14th century. 368 leaves.

Provenance: Edward Hailstone. — Hailstone sale, Sotheby, 23 April 1891, lot 342 (sold for £28 to Leighton). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 171 (sold to Pickering for £77). — Charles Butler. — Butler sale, Sotheby, 18 March 1912, lot 2167. — Unlocated.

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3525).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ D’Andrea — Commentaries on Canon Law (14th century) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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D’Andrea, Giovanni. Commentaries on Canon Law.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 14th century. 251 leaves.

Sydney Cockerell recorded in his diary, 11 October 1895: “He [Morris] bought a folio 14th c French MS. Novella Joannis Andreas for £25.” (The first commentary is by Andreas Johannes.)

Provenance: Jacques Spifame. — Jacques-Auguste de Chevannes. — Thomas d’Islan. — Chandon de Brialles. — M. Ditau. — Demiglieu. — Morris (purchased for £25, October 1895). — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 387 (sold to Quaritch for £38). — Robert W. Blathwayt. — Blathwayt sale, Sotheby, 20 November 1912, lot 130. — British Library (Add. MS. 38644).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 7, no. 110 (£40). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3505).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (New Testament) (c. 1260) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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Bible (New Testament).

Illuminated manuscript. England, c. 1260. 90 leaves.

Provenance: Simon Jeames. — Quaritch catalogue 138, December 1893, no. 17 (£5). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1023 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £11 10s.). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned]. — Dawsons of Pall Mall catalogue, 1945. — Christie, 2 June 2010, lot 204 (sold for £25,000) . — Unlocated.

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_7350).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Statuta regni angliae (c. 1446) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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Statuta regni angliae.

Illuminated manuscript. England, c. 1446. 271 leaves.

Note by Morris on flyleaf: “An English Book of good quality as to writing and ornament. The illuminated borders and armouries very characteristic of the place and period (1450), the red and blue letters very good. William Morris, Kelmscott House, Upper Mall, Hammersmith, 1891.”

Provenance: Edward Hailstone. — Hailstone sale, Sotheby, 23 April 1891, lot 2526. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1137 (sold to Leighton for £40).— Alfred Higgins. — Higgins sale, Sotheby, 2 May 1904, lot 225. — C. W. Dyson Perrins. — Dyson Perrins sale, Sotheby, 9 December 1958, lot 23. — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 6, no. 83 (£42). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2013).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Petrus Comestor — Historia scholastica (14th century) [MS]

October 12, 2017

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Petrus Comestor. Historia scholastica.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 14th century. 278 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 371 (sold to Heppenstal for £16). — Sotheby, 29 June 1905, lot 583. — Emery Walker. — Sydney Cockerell. — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 3, no. 39 (£18 10s.). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_5934).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Bible (c. 1280) [MS]

October 11, 2017

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Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Spain, c. 1280. 395 leaves.

Provenance: Fray Bartolome de la Puente. — John M. Crawford. — Ricardo Heredia, Comte de Benahavis. — Heredia sale, Hôtel Drouot, 22 May 1891, lot 9 (bought by Quaritch). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 87 (sold to Pickering for £36). — Judge Granger. — Granger sale, Sotheby, 17 December 1919, lot 714 (sold to Maggs). — Maggs catalogue 1920, no. 7 (£165) [Internet Archive]. — William C. Van Antwerp. — Van Antwerp sale, American Art, 1 May 1922, lot 18 (sold to Gabriel Wells). — C. A. and V. Baldwin. — Sotheby, 11 July 1960, lot 139. — Carr and Hazel Liggett. — Ohio University Library (Archives & Special Collections BS75 1200x) [donated by the Liggetts as Ohio University Library’s millionth volume].

References: de Ricci, 1:149, no. 1. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_508). [Schoenberg has unfortunately conflated this manuscript with another manuscript Bible owned by Morris (lot 88 in the Sotheby 1898 catalogue).]


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Riga — Aurora biblia metrificata (13th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

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Riga, Peter [Petrus]. Aurora biblia metrificata.

Illuminated manuscript. France or Spain, late 13th century. 226 leaves.

Provenance: William Bragge. — Bragge sale, Sotheby, 7 June 1876, lot 38 (sold for £98). — François-Jean Olivier. — Olivier sale, 30 March 1886, lot 672. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 862 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £22). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned]. — Hesburgh Library, Notre Dame University (MS. 08).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 5, no. 81 (£23 10s.). — Faye and Bond, pp. 186–87, no. 8. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_8124).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Psalter (13th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

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Psalter.

Illuminated manuscript. Germany, 13th century. 152 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 867 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £45). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned]. — Sotheby, 29 July 1946, lot 113. — Daniel Sickles. — Sickles sale, Parke-Bernet, 17 November 1947, lot 201. — Unlocated.

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2269).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

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Book of hours.

Illuminated manuscript. Netherlands, late 15th century. 209 leaves.

Provenance: Madame Van Huerne de Puyenbeke (née de Schietere de Lophem). — Ambroise Firmin-Didot. — Pawlowski & Paul, 11–16 June 1883, lot 10. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 437 (sold to Edwards for £40). — Rev. Christie Chetwyn Atkinson. — Keble College Library, Oxford (77) [bequeathed by Atkinson, 1911].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 3, no. 49 (£10). — Parkes, M. B., comp. The Medieval Manuscripts of Keble College Oxford. London: Scolar Press, 1979. (See pp. 311–17, no. 77.) — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_11483).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Alexander, de Villa Dei — Doctrinale (15th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

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Alexander, de Villa Dei. Doctrinale.

Illuminated manuscript. Northern Italy, early 15th century. 54 leaves.

Provenance: Pesaro family. — Sotheby, 26 February 1821, lot 175. — Henry Drury. — Drury sale, Evans, 19 February 1827, lot 188. — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1828, no. 5 (£37). — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1830, no. 14594 (£16). — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1831, no. 12751 (£10). — Thomas Thorpe catalogue, 1832, no. 22 (£8). — Richard Heber. — Evans, 10 February 1836, lot 3 (sold for £1). — John Trotter Brockett. — Sotheby, 16 June 1843, lot 16 (sold for £9).— Thomas Rodd catalogue, 1845, lot 5 (£9). — Edward Hailstone. — Sotheby, 23 April 1891, lot 327. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1190 (sold to Breslauer for £8 10s.). — Breslauer & Meyer catalogue, 1901, lot 464 (80 DM). — Georges Andrieux catalogue, 5 December 1931, lot 5. — Hauswedell catalogue, 29 September 1950, lot 41. — Sotheby, 16 May 1955, lot 105 (sold for £224). — Laurence Witten (purchased from Maggs, 1956). — Thomas E. Marston (purchased from Witten, 1956). — Beinecke Library, Yale University (Marston MS 64).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 1 (£3 10s.). — Faye and Bond, pp. 71–72, no. 64. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2104). — Shailor, Barbara, ed. Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Binghamton, N.Y.: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1984. (See 1:131–32.)


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¶ Hegesippus — Hystoria egisippi de excidio Jerusalem (12th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Hegesippus — Hystoria egisippi de excidio Jerusalem (12th century) [MS]

Hegesippus. Hystoria egisippi de excidio Jerusalem.

Illuminated manuscript. Winchester, England, 12th century. 115 leaves.

Morris’s instructions to Quaritch were to pay no more than £150, and both he and Sydney Cockerell were surprised when the manuscript realized such a low price at Sotheby’s. Cockerell commented in his diary, 15 June 1896: “The Hegessipus [sic] MS in 12th c. Winchester binding only fetched £13 at Sotheby’s on Saturday!” Two days later he wrote, “In aftn. went down to Folkestone, to stay with W.M. at the Norfolk Hotel, which has proved very comfortable for him. . . . I took down the Hegessipus with the 12th c. binding, with which he was much pleased.”

When Bennett sold a large portion of the Morris library in 1898, F. S. Ellis grumbled, “What a dolt & idiot must that Bennett be to know no better than turn out that Hegesippus. Had the book sale been on the Ex[ecut]ors acc[oun]t of course I should have taken pains to explain to people the value of the book, but as we have already done so to Chatto I do not feel bound to say more to him about it & wd. ask you not to change it. It will probably go for a large sum—but possibly not & I shall send a moderate comm[ission] for it on the chance. Of course I could not afford to give what I consider its real value” (Ellis to Cockerell, 9 November 1898 [British Library Add. Ms. 52715]). The Athenaeum, in its account of the 1898 sale, offered a similar observation: “The surprise of the sale was perhaps the MS. of Hegesippus, ‘De Excidio Judaeorum, Lib. V.,’ in the original Winchester binding of the twelfth century, and this has gone to Mr. Yales Thompson’s choice collection. It occurred in the Phillipss sale of 1891 [sic], but the interesting character of the binding was not pointed out in the catalogue, so that it attracted no general notice and was knocked down for 13l.” (17 December 1898, p. 868).

Provenance: Thomas Thorpe (sold to Sir Thomas Phillips). — Sir Thomas Phillipps. — Phillips sale, Sotheby, 10 June 1896, lot 609 (sold for £13 to Quaritch for Morris). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 580 (sold to Henry Yates Thomson for £180). — Henry Yates Thompson. — Thompson sale, Sotheby, 23 March 1920, lot 31 (sold to Quaritch for £740). — Charles William Dyson-Perrins. — Winchester Cathedral [gift from Dyson-Perrins, early 1948].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 7, no. 105 (£100). — Ker, 4:601. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3068)


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

October 11, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

Book of hours.

Illuminated manuscript. Netherlands, 15th century. 274 leaves.

Provenance: Earl of Ashburnham. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 438 (sold to Heppenstal for £6 15s.). — Michael Tomkinson. — Tomkinson sale, Sotheby, 3 April, 1922, lot 484. — John Howell catalogue, 1924 (sold to George A. Poole). — George A. Poole. — Lilly Library, Indiana University (Poole 264).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 7, no. 114 (£10). — Faye and Bond, p. 178, no. 12. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_8036).


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¶ List of abbeys and churches (c. 1490) [MS]

October 10, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ List of abbeys and churches (c. 1490) [MS]

A list of abbeys and churches.

Manuscript. Italy, c. 1490.

Morris’s full entry for this manuscript is “966 A list of Abbies & Churches &c. MS on vellum. 1st leaf lacking c 1490 Italian.” An appended note is probably in the handwriting of Sydney Cockerell: “J.A. 2661. Bought by J. R. Abbey 11-10-47 [?] for £150.”

Provenance: Morris. — J. R. Abbey (purchased for £150). — Unlocated.

Reference: MS catalogue (2), no. 966, p. 90.

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¶ Breviary (15th century) [MS]

October 10, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Breviary (15th century) [MS]

Breviary.

Illuminated manuscript. Netherlands, 15th century. 351 leaves.

With a bibliographical note by Sydney Cockerell.

Provenance: Abbey of Marienwater’s Hertogenbosch (Netherlands). — Frederik Muller (Amsterdam), 27–31 January 1860, lot 126. — William Bragge. — Bragge sale, Sotheby, 7 June 1876, lot 491. — Thomas Shadford Walker. — Walker sale, Sotheby, 23–24 June 1886, lot 345. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 815 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £15). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned]. — British Museum (purchased 1943). — British Library (Egerton 3271).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 5, no. 80 (£10). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_8108).

Digital images: British Library.

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British Library


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¶ St. Augustine — Commentary on the Psalms (12th century) [MS]

October 10, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ St. Augustine — Commentary on the Psalms (12th century) [MS]

Augustine, Saint, Bishop of Hippo [Saint Augustinus]. Commentary on the Psalms 101–50 (Ennarationes in psalmos).

Illuminated manuscript. Germany, 12th century. 179 leaves.

Provenance: Thorpe catalogue, 1832, lot 119. — J. Ponce. — Ponce sale, Techener catalogue, 17 November 1845, no. 35. — W. and T. Bateman. — Bateman sale, Sotheby, 25 May 1893, lot 233 (purchased by Morris). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 148 (sold to Quaritch for £50). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 28 (sold to Quaritch for £48). — Quaritch catalogue 357, February 1920, no. 378. — Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. — Beatty sale, Sotheby, 24 June 1969, lot 45. —Alan G. Thomas catalogue 23, 1969, no. 3. — Thomas catalogue 26, 1971, no. 1. — Thomas catalogue 31, 1973, no. 6. — Thomas catalogue 34, 1975, no. 3. — Thomas catalogue 36, 1977, no. 1. — Philip Hofer (purchased from Bromer, 1979). — Houghton Library, Harvard University (MS Typ 703) [Hofer bequest, 1984].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 9 (£50). — Light, Laura. The Bible in the Twelfth Century: An Exhibition of Manuscripts at the Houghton Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard College Library, 1988. (See pp. 43–45.) — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_1508).


Sotheby 1898:

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¶ Boethius — De arithmetica (11th century) [MS]

October 10, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Boethius — De arithmetica (11th century) [MS]

Boethius. De arithmetica. [and] Vitruvius Pollio. De architectura.

Two illuminated manuscripts bound together. Probably England, 11th and 12th centuries. 67 and 73 leaves.

Provenance: Sir Simeon Stuart [probably either the 3rd baronet, d. 1779, or the fourth, d. 1816]. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 306 (sold to Quaritch for £61). — Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (Ms. lat. 601).

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 2, no. 29 (£60). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_11482).


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¶ Pope Gregory IX — Decretalium (13th century) [MS]

October 10, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Pope Gregory IX — Decretalium (13th century) [MS]

Gregory [Gregorius] IX, Pope. Decretalium.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 13th century. 354 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 561 (sold to Quaritch for £67). — Quaritch catalogue, July 1899, no. 12 (£420). — Bruce S. Ingram. — Sotheby, 19 May 1936, lot 24 . — Quaritch catalogue 532, 1937, no. 241 (£350). — Quaritch catalogue 629, 1945, no. 5. — Robert George Morton. — University of Liverpool Library (F.3.13).

References: Ker, N. R. Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries. 5 vols. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969–2002. (See 3:315–16.) — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_2473).


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¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

Book of hours.

Illuminated manuscript. Flanders, 15th century. 235 leaves.

Signed “Wm. Morris, Kelmscott House, July 4th, 1895” on flyleaf. Note in pencil by Sydney Cockerell: “Bought at Sotheby’s, July 4, 1895.”

Provenance: Musée Napoléon, Paris. — Sotheby, 4 July 1895 (sold to Morris). — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 439 (sold to Henry Wellcome for £10 10s.). — Henry Wellcome. — Wellcome Library [deaccessioned 1945]. — Dorine Proske-van Heerd (Amsterdam) catalogue 3, no. 8. — William Foyle. — Foyle sale, Christie, 11 July 2000, lot 62 (purchased by Célesta Fine Art).— Célesta Fine Art (Amsterdam) catalogue 3, no. 8. — Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Netherlands (KW 79 K 30) [purchased from Célesta Fine Art, 2012].

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_6436).

The Hague_KB_79 K 30 - fol. 14r.jpg


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¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Book of hours (15th century) [MS]

Book of hours.

Illuminated manuscript. Poitiers, 15th century. 92 leaves.

Provenance: Renée Legier de la Sauvagière. — Henri Lambert. — Lambert sale, part 2, Adolphe-Jules Durel, 3 April 1884, lot 913. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 487 (sold to Quaritch for £49). — Christie, 9 July 2001, lot 14. — Sotheby, 18 June 2002, lot 48. — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 7, no. 104 (£20). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_7262).


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¶ Antiphonaria (13th & 15th centuries) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Antiphonaria (13th & 15th centuries) [MS]

Antiphonaria.

Two illuminated manuscripts. Italy (?), 13th and 15th centuries. 180 and 236 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 125 (sold to Littlewood for £9 5s.). — H. M. Peach catalogue 21, c. December 1908 (£30). — Unlocated.

Reference: Schoenberg (SDBM_39986 and SDBM_40001)


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¶ Cicero — Orationes et vita (c. 1470) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Cicero — Orationes et vita (c. 1470) [MS]

Cicero. Orationes et vita.

Illuminated manuscript. Italy, perhaps Naples, c. 1470. 177 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 358 (sold to Waring for £81). — Michael Tomkinson. — Tomkinson sale, Sotheby, 3 July 1922, lot 1266. — Sotheby, 11 December 1956, lot 14. — Sotheby, 6 December 1971, lot 27. — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 3, no. 35 (£90.). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_1347).


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¶ Pope Gregory I — Moralia in Jobum (12th century) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Pope Gregory I — Moralia in Jobum (12th century) [MS]

Gregory I, Pope [Gregorius Magnus]. Moralia in Jobum lib. I–XXVII.

Illuminated manuscript. 12th century. 5 vols.; 732 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 470 (sold to Leighton for £27 10s.). — Laurence W. Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 4 December 1906, lot 280 (sold to Quaritch for £49). — Unlocated.

References: Ellis valuation , fol. 3, no. 43 (£30). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3965).


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¶ Cicero — Orationes (15th century) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Cicero — Orationes (15th century) [MS]

Cicero. Orationes.

Illuminated manuscript. Florence, 15th century. 228 leaves.

Provenance: Girolamo Lagomarsini. — Convent of San Marco (Florence). — Friedrich Ludwig von Keller. — Ambroise Firmin-Didot. — Quaritch catalogue, November 1880, no. 59. — Quaritch catalogue, September 1886, no. 35746. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 357 (sold to Quaritch for £27). — Laurence Hodson. — Hodson sale, Sotheby, 3 December 1906, lot 128 (sold to Sydney Cockerell for £50). — Sydney Cockerell. — John Gribbel. — David Wagstaff. — Beinecke Library, Yale University (Beinecke MS 93) [gift from Mrs. David Wagstaff].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 3, no. 37 (£ 20). — Faye and Bond, p. 289, no. 93. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3976). — Shailor, Barbara, ed. Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Binghamton, N.Y.: Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies, 1984. (See 1:134–36.)

Digital images: Beinecke Library.

Beinecke Library


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¶ Alexander, de Villa Dei — Grammatica Latina rhythmica (15th century) [MS]

October 9, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Alexander, de Villa Dei — Grammatica Latina rhythmica (15th century) [MS]

Alexander, de Villa Dei. Grammatica Latina rhythmica [i.e. Doctrinale puerorum].

Illuminated manuscript. Italy, 15th century. 63 leaves.

Provenance: Joannes Paulus Marconus Venetus. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 418 (sold to Leighton for £5 10s.). — Sotheby, 11 April 1938, lot 303. — P. G. and J. D. Gordan. — Maggs catalogue, 1938, no. 151. — P. G. and J. D. Gordan. — Collection of the late Phyllis and John Gordan, New York, N.Y.

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 4, no. 57 (£5). — Faye and Bond, p. 404, no. 151. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_6760).


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¶ Gregory IX — Decretales cum glossa (13th century) [MS]

October 7, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Gregory IX — Decretales cum glossa (13th century) [MS]

Gregory [Gregorius] IX. Decretales cum glossa.

Illuminated manuscript. France, 13th century. 326 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 563 (sold to Quaritch for £68). — A. J. Mettler. — Mettler sale, F. Muller, Amsterdam, 5 April 1935, lot 5 (sold to Huis Bergh Castle). — Huis Bergh Castle (0217).

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Huis Bergh Castle


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¶ Bible (13th century) [MS]

October 7, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Bible (13th century) [MS]

Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Italy, 13th century. 370 leaves.

The description in MS catalogue (2) (see below) is “Bible MS. circa 1260 (an Italian hand; with fine illuminated letters some cut out).”

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 34 (sold to Leighton for £24 10s.). — E. Stainton. — Sotheby, 26 July 1920, lot 511. — Leighton catalogue no. 2, 2 May 1921, no. 433. — John Frederick Lewis. — Free Library of Philadelphia (Lewis E 036).

References: de Ricci, 2:2026, no. 8. — Digital Scriptorium (includes images). — Ellis valuation, fol. 2, no. 19 (£25). — MS catalogue (2), no. 64. — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_3011). — Wolf, Edwin, II, comp. Descriptive Catalogue of the John Frederick Lewis collection of European Manuscripts in the Free Library of Philadelphia. Philadelphia, 1937. (See p. 34, no. 36.)

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Digital Scriptorium


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¶ Bible (c. 1280) [MS]

October 6, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Bible (c. 1280) [MS]

Bible.

Illuminated manuscript. Northern France, c. 1280. 451 leaves.

Provenance: Durand family. — Nicholas Chevalier. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 169 (sold to Pickering for £47). — Sydney Cockerell. — Boston Public Library (MS f. Med. 1) [purchased from Cockerell, 1900; acquired, 1901].

References: de Ricci, 1:917, no. 1. — Ellis valuation [same manuscript listed twice], fol. 1, no. 16 (£80) and fol. 2, no. 18 (£100). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_11480).

Digital version: Digital Commonwealth.

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Digital Commonwealth


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¶ Carusi — Ambrosianum (1408) [MS]

October 6, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Carusi — Ambrosianum (1408) [MS]

Carusi, Bartolomeo. Ambrosianum.

Illuminated manuscript. Milan, 1408. 380 leaves.

Note by Sydney Cockerell: “Previously Charles Butler of Connaught Place and Warren Wood, Hatfield.”

Provenance: Charles Butler. — Warren Wood. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 120 (sold to Quaritch for £36). — Lawrence Hodson. — Charles Fairfax Murray. — Fitzwilliam Museum (MS. CFM 9) [gift of Murray 1904].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 1, no. 11 (£20). —  Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_11479). — Wormald, 1:16–17.


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¶ Firdausi — Shahnama (1621) [MS]

October 6, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Firdausi — Shahnama (1621) [MS]

Firdausi, Abu’l-Qasim. Shahnama.

Illuminated manuscript. Northern Iran, perhaps Astarabad, 1621. 440 leaves.

Signature of “Wilfrid Scawen Blunt | 1900.”

Provenance: Chinese ownership. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 529 (sold to Quaritch for £47). — Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. — Fitzwilliam Museum (MS. 311) [bequest from Blunt, 1922].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 3, no. 41 (£40). — Fitzwilliam’s Illuminated Manuscripts. — MS catalogue (2), no. 32. — Wormald, 1:301–03.

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Fitzwilliam Museum


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¶ Il libro di Sydrach (15th century) [MS]

October 6, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Il libro di Sydrach (15th century) [MS]

Il libro di Sydrach.

Illuminated manuscript. Italy, probably Venice, 15th century. 124 leaves.

Provenance: Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1076 (sold to Quaritch for £30). — Charles Fairfax Murray. — Fitzwilliam Museum (MS. CFM 16) [gift from Murray, 1905].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 6, no. 85 (£12). — Schoenberg (SDBM_MS_24119). — Wormald, 1:28–30.


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¶ Severus — Vita S. Martini (12th century) [MS]

October 6, 2017

Comments Off on ¶ Severus — Vita S. Martini (12th century) [MS]

Severus, Sulpicius. Vita S. Martini.

Illuminated manuscript. England, 12th century. 146 leaves.

Provenance: E. Umfreville. — Morris. — Richard Bennett. — Sotheby 1898, lot 1118 (sold to Money for £27). — Frank McClean. — Fitzwilliam Museum (118) [McClean bequest, 1904].

References: Ellis valuation, fol. 6, no. 86 (£10). — James, pp. 255–57. — Schoenberg (SDBM_40029)


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