Enchiridio[n] preclare ecclesie Sarisburiensis…

BOOK OF HOURS 1532 Paris; Germain Hardouin, 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. Only a tiny proportion of surviving books of hours are of the Sarum or Salisbury use which was restricted to the southern half of England prior to the Reformation and of those only a very small minority are de-luxe copies on vellum. This edition has the further peculiarity of a few of the prayers and rubrics set in English. Most printed books of hours have uncoloured illustrations, as they were printed, a few are rubricated and have their woodcuts or engravings coloured. Brunet (V col. 1628) conjectures in relation to an earlier edition by the same printer that the colouring of letters in red and gold was done by Germain Hardouin himself - his earliest colophons describe him as a painter rather than printer - presumably he employed others to do so later on. In the present case however the work is not that of a colourist. 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. Mortimer Fr. 16th C vol2 at p.384 supposes that the vellum copies of certain Hardouin editions were specifically intended for illumination and records one copy of 1510 which has been similarly if less carefully treated. Nevertheless original illustrations in printed books of hours are very rare.

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.

We know from the inscription on the verso of the fly leaf that the book was a gift to Dorothy, Lady Carnaby following the death of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland in 1541, probably from his long-suffering widow, their two households having been closely associated. It is most likely that the volume was a memento of the late earl, the head of one of the most powerful and important families in England and its binding reflective of his exalted station.

Northumberland had been betrothed to Anne Boleyn, the future second wife of Henry VIII, during his time as a page to Cardinal Wolsey. However, forbidden to pursue the alliance by both his father and Wolsey, he was compelled to marry elsewhere. Later he was unfortunate enough to be chosen to pass judgement on Anne when accused of adultery. Having contributed to the guilty verdict that would lead to her execution, Northumberland is said to have fainted, dying within the year. Reynold Carnaby fared somewhat better. As the King's representative in Hexhamshire, following the dissolution of Hexham monastery in 1536 he was given the monastic lands and all the buildings except the priory itself, subsequently purchasing Northumberland's Aydon Castle in 1541. He died without a male heir in 1543, as commemorated on the final pastedown by his widow, recording the date of his death and stating 'Mente vivro/Saro fidele/Siate fermo'. The front inscription also mentions two of his daughters, Catherine and Ursula, both of whom went on to marry well, Catherine becoming Baroness Ogle.
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.

L739

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