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Sokol Books Ltd PO Box 2409 W1A 2SH Londra Gran Bretagna Tel. +44 2074995571 books@sokol.co.uk
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THE CARNABY HOURS FOURTEEN ILLUMINATED MINIATURES IN AN HENRETIAN COURT BINDING WITH AN HISTORIC PROVENANCE Enchiridio[n] preclare ecclesie Sarisburiensis… Paris; Germain Hardouin, [c. 1532]. ON VELLUM. 8vo. 164 unnumbered ll. Gothic letter, in red and black. 14 original half-page illustrations within architectural borders in gold leaf with red ink detail to large cuts, 3 smaller, all hand-painted. Elaborate decorative printed border to text, liquid-gold initials and line-filler on alternating red or blue ground. Occasional fingermarks, early marginal repairs to vellum at the foot of a few leaves, erasure of refs to Thomas à Becket and the Pope. A sumptuous copy in contemporary English morello velvet, enriched with chased silver gilt ornaments, very fine Tudor rose at centre, large ornate floral cornerpieces and remains of clasp with fleur-de-lis detail, all gilt, expertly rebacked preserving original velvet underlay, a.e.g. Red morocco chemise and box by Rivière. Contemp. ms inscriptions of the Carnaby family to endleaves (see below), bookplate of W.Foyle. A volume of extraordinary rarity and quality. The illustrations have had miniatures painted over them by hand without following the printed outlines, figures or details and constitute miniatures in their own right, the full-page gilt borders that surround them have been supplied by hand also. Of equal if not even greater rarity is the magnificent velvet and silver gilt binding indicating a commission or presentation of the highest quality, rarely seen outside Royal or the highest ecclesiastical courts. This is the only example on the market we have seen. STC 15982 (5 copies in the UK, 3 imperfect; Folger, Illinois and Yale in the US, only the last complete; none, apparently, on vellum). Not in Brunet, Brun, Mortimer, Lacombe or Fairfax-Murray.
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