Book of Hours (Use of Rome).

Written in a Batarde script. Each page adorned with initials in burnished gold on alternately red and blue grounds, line endings and outsides borders with rinceaux, blue and gold acanthus leaves, green and gold leaves bearing pink, red and blue flowers, referring to the style practiced in Tours, for example, in the Books of Hours of Master du Boccace, in Munich, c. 1470 (Jean Fouquet. Peintre et enlumineur du XVe siècle, ss. la dir. de Fr. Avril, cat. expo. Paris, BnF. Mars-juin 2003, cat. 2, 45).

Sixteen-century French brown calf strapwork binding, gilt fillet frame on covers, center of the covers filled with a gold tooled entrelac (strapwork) pattern, surrounded and filled with a semé of gold dots. Some of the straps are infill painted black, spine gilt.The style copies the contemporary entrelac or strapwork bindings made popular by the collector Jean Grolier who was the treasurer of France. (cf. Burlington Fine Arts Club Exhibition of Bookbindings, 1891, H.12).
Upper hinge worn, lower hinge partially broken but not loose, spine, crowns and corners worn.


TEXT
ff. 1-2, Musical score.
ff. 3-14v, Calendar in French with one Saint a day : May 2nd S. Gacien Bishop of Tours, August 5th S.; Gacien, November 10th S. Martin of Tours, December 3rd S.; Gacien, December 18th S. Gacien.
ff. 15-22v, Gospel Sequences, (Saint Jean on the island of Patmos wanting)
ff. 23- 90, Hours of the Virgin (use of Rome) ; the Annunciation at Matins between ff. 22-23, the Visitation at Lauds between
ff. 41-42, the Crucifixion at the Hours of the Passion between ff. 54 and 55 are wanting, probably also wanting : the Hours of the Holy Spirit, at Prime the Nativity between ff. 55 and 56, at Terce the Annunciation to the Shepherds between ff. 59 and 60, at Sext the Adoration of the Magi between ff. 63 and 64, at None the Presentation in the Temple between ff. 63 and 64, at Vespers the Flight into Egypt between ff. 69 and 70 and at Compline the Coronation of the Virgin between ff. 78 and 79, followed by variants for the Advent time.
ff. 91-108, Penitential Psalms followed by Litanies with Saint Gacien et Saint Martin de Tours
ff. 110-158, Office of the Dead (use of Rome)
ff. 160-162, Suffrages to Peter and Paul (one miniature wanting at the beginning), to Saint André , to Saint Apolline (one miniature wanting at the beginning), to Saint Marguerite, to all Saints.

Folios 2v, 90 et v, 108v, 109 et 109v, 158v, 159, 159v, 162v, -166v blank. Miniatures removed.