This leaf is from the brief transitional period when the new technology of printing with movable type was combined with the more labor intensive methods of hand painting. The earliest printers were trained in the manuscript tradition and incorporated the conventions of historiated initials and illustrations into their early work. At first they left those spaces blank for the illuminator to complete entirely by hand. Later they developed printing methods (using woodcuts or iron engravings) to decorate the leaves.

Unusual vellum leaf printed in Gothic textura type with illuminated capitals and line fillers in red, blue and burnished gold leaf. The text is in Latin and is surrounded by elaborate iron engravings that include plants, animals, birds, and several biblical scenes. Printed vellum Book of Hours leaves are very scarce, as they were only produced between 1496 and 1530. Beginning with the large "A" on recto, the text translates in part as:

O Lord, we beseech Thee, mercifully lend us Thy help: and through the intercession of Thy blessed martyrs and with all your saints, grant that we may be freed from all adversity and rejoice with them in eternal joy.

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Condition: B+

Light toning and soiling.