EACH WITH A FULL-PAGE MINIATURE

Paris: Widow of Thielman Kerver, 1523 [calendar covering the years 1523-42]. 170 x 111 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 3/8"). Single column, 26 lines in a roman typeface.
Each leaf with multiple one- to three-line initials, ALL WITH FULL METALCUT BORDERS on one side, incorporating vignettes and decorative designs, including the Dance of Death, and vining flowers and acanthus entwining animals and human figures, AND the other side of each leaf WITH A FULL-PAGE MINIATURE surrounded by an architectural border. Printed in red and black. ◆A little soiling in places and the occasional additional trivial imperfection, otherwise in fine condition.

These leaves contain attractive full-page metalcut miniatures with highly desirable imagery, including the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Resurrection, the Three Dead, Betrayal, and Deposition, all executed with a fine degree of detail and attractive composition. Besides their obvious aesthetic appeal, these leaves also help to tell the story of the gradual shift from manuscript to print and encourage further study of the iconography, typography, and artistic processes involved. Printer Thielman Kerver the elder (d. 1522) came from Koblenz to Paris around 1497, and began printing works for the foremost Parisian publisher, Jean Petit, who was preeminent in the Paris book world for some 35 years, beginning about 1495. ISTC lists Kerver as the printer of 70 works, nearly half of them Books of Hours. After his death, Thielman's widow, Yolande Bonhomme, took over the shop and continued to print Books of Hours and other devotional and liturgical works, including the first Bible to be published by a woman (1526). For additional leaves at different price points, please check our website..