In-8o format, ii + 224 + ii unnumbered paper leaves, no visible watermark, complete, 28 quires (collation a-z8, A8, A-B8, aa-bb8), leaves in quires a-z include printed folio numbers, signed in the first half of each quire with either a miniscule or majuscule letter, followed by a roman numeral (no signature on titlepage), (justification, text ruled in brown ink c. 127 x 74 mm.), printed in black ink in a type resembling Gothic bastarda script on 24 lines, 1- to 2-line initials, rubrics and captions in decorated borders printed in red, Kerver’s unicorn printer’s device printed twice (sig. a1 and bb8v), 32 SMALL METALCUTS, 58 LARGE METALCUTS (mostly 19 line, one repeat, c. 110 x 75 mm), tips of upper outer corners to opening few leaves neatly repaired, soiling to title and final leaf, a few occasional smudges. Bound in modern red morocco, spine with five raised bands, “Heures” and “1549” tooled in black on spine, some light wear, spine fading very slightly, otherwise in very good condition. Dimensions 170 x 110 mm.
This attractive, profusely illustrated, and unrecorded Parisian Book of Hours was printed by the widow of Thielman Kerver, Yolande Bonhomme, who was perhaps the most successful female printer in the sixteenth century, described as “a forceful and determined woman.” She believed illustration was a critical factor and this imprint employs mostly the “up to date” Renaissance prints by Jean Pichore. This imprint is important because it is the first known to us in which Yolande credits herself as the printer, without the name of her deceased husband.
Provenance
1. Printed in Paris by Yolande Bonhomme, the widow of Thielman Kerver, and dated March 16, 1549 in the colophon on sig. z8v (f. 184v), “ian mil.v.c.xlix le xvi jour de mars”; the date 1549 also appears on the title page, sig. a1, on sig. B4v (f. 204v), and at the end, on sig. bb8v (f. 224v), “M.d.xliv.”
2. Belonged to Albert Ehrman (1890-1969), a diamond merchant who created the Broxbourne library in his home in Hertfordshire, whose armorial bookplate, with the motto, “Pro Viribus Summis Contendo,” is found inside the front cover. A note from Ehrman reading “Horae on paper are uncommon,” appears on the front flyleaf, f. i. A pale blue stamp with Erhman’s initials, inside back cover. Ehrman dated the start of his collection to “shortly after the end of the First World War, when we were living […] at Broxbourne in Hertfordshire.” In 1978, part of the collection was presented to the Bodleian Library, through the Friends of the National Libraries, by John Ehrman, and is now known as the “Broxbourne Collection.” Ehrman wrote about his collection in the 1954 edition of The Book Collector, “Contemporary Collectors.”
3. Inside back cover, in ink, “<5?>29,” changed to “1729.”
Text
[sig. a1], f.1, [Titlepage], “Ces presentes heures a lusaige de Paris toutes au long sans riens requerir/ Nouuellement imprimees a Paris auec plusieurs belles histoires/ tant au Calendrier/ aux heures nostre Dame/ aux heures de la Croix/ aux heures du sainct esperit/ aux sept pseaulmes que aux vigiles.”; [below Kerver’s device is the date, 1549];
sig. a1v, f.1v. [Almanac / Table of movable feasts for 1549-1561 in five columns], Almanach pour xiii ans, …;
sig. a2, f.2, [Zodiac and bloodletting practices], incipit, “Quant la lune est en aries leo et sagittarius il faict bon seigner au colerique…”;
sig. a2v-b6, ff. 2v-14, Calendar in Latin, one page per month, 28 lines, feasts in two columns, below the feasts are Cisiojanus verses in French, “En ian. uier. que les roys ve. Nus. sont...” (cf. Rudy and Stuip, 2010), below which are verses on the zodiac; on the facing page, below the miniature, verses of the anonymous French poem Douze âges de l’homme, composed in the beginning of the sixteenth century, incipit, “Les six premiers ans que vit lhomme au monde...”;
sig. b6v-b7v, ff.14v-15v, Seven prayers of St. Gregory;
sig. b7v-c3v, ff. 15v-19v, Gospel Pericopes: b7v-c1, ff. 15v-17 John; c1v-c2, ff. 17v-18 Luke; c2-c3, ff. 18-19 Matthew; c3-c3v, ff. 19-20 Mark;
sig. c4-d2, ff. 20-26, Passion according to John;
sig. d2v-k6v, ff. 26v-79v, Hours of the Virgin (use of Paris) with the short Hours of the Cross and the Short Hours of the Holy Spirit integrated; d2v, [verses Isaiah 11:1-2], “Egredietur virga de radice Jesse et flos de radice eius ascendet: et requiescet super eum spiritus Domini, spiritus et intellectus.”, d3, f.27, Matins; e6-e7, f.38,Canticum sanctorum Ambrosii et Augistini; e8, f. 40, Lauds; f8, f. 48, Prime; g5, f. 53v, Terce; h2, f. 58, Sext; h6v, f. 62v, None; i3v, f.68v Vespers; k1v, f. 73v, Compline;
sig. k7-m2, ff. 79-89v, Penitential Psalms;
sig. m2v-m6, ff. 90-94, Litany;
sig. m6v-q5, ff. 94v-115, Office of the Dead (use of Paris);
sig. q5v-t4, ff. 115v-148 Suffrages: Holy Trinity, Holy Father, Christ, Holy Spirit, Salve sancta facies, short prayers to Christ, Obsecro te, O intemerata, Missus est Gabriel, short prayers to the Virgin, Stabat mater, St. Michael, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, Sts. Peter and Paul, St. James, all apostles, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, St. Christopher, St. Sebastian, all martyrs, St. Nicholas, St. Claude, St. Anthony, St. Denis, St. Roch, St. Fiacre, St. Anne, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Catherine, St. Margaret, St. Barbara, St. Genevieve, and St. Apollonia;
sig. t4-v1, ff. 148-153, Short petitions in Latin for different situations and for the entourage with rubrics in French, S’ensuivent plusieurs devotes oraisons que sont necessaires a dire a nostre seigneur Jesu christ. Premierement tu diras au matin, Quand tu ysras hors de ta maison d’y, Quand tu prendras de l’eaue benoiste d’y, Quand tu seras devant le crucifix d’y, Quand le prestre se retourne d’y, A l’elevacion du corps nostre seigneur, Quand on lieve le calice, followed by the prayer of St. Boniface;
sig. v1v-v4v, ff. 153v-156v, Hours of the Conception of the Virgin;
sig. u5-x1, ff. 157-161, Heures de Notre Dame de Pitié (Hours of Our Lady of Pity), incipit, “Tous vrays catholiques et devots serviteurs de la benoiste vierge Marie...”;
sig. x1v-z5v, ff. 161v-181, Prayers in French and Latin: sig. x1v, ff. 161v, Memoire de la trinite; sig. x2-x4v, ff. 162-164v, Fifteen Joys of the Virgin; sig. x5-x8v, ff. 165-168v, “O Royne qui fustes mise...”;
sig. y1-y3, ff. 169-171, “A toy royne de hault paraige...”; sig. y3v, ff. 171v, “Glorieuse vierge Marie...”; sig. y4-y5v, ff. 172-173v, “Doulx Dieu, doulx pere...”; sig. y6-y7, ff.. 174-175, “Mon Dieu mon createur je cognoys...”; sig. y7v-z1, ff. 175v-178, “O Dieu createur du ciel et de la terre...”;
sig. z2v-z3, ff. 178v-179, “Mon benoist Dieu, je croy de cueur...”; sig. z3v-z4, ff. 179v-180, “Glorieuse Vierge Marie, mere de Jesu Christ...”; sig. z4v, f. 180v, “Ave rosa sine spinis...”; sig. z5, f. 181, “O Domine Jesu Christe fili Dei vivi crucifixe...”;
sig. z6-z8, ff. 182-184, [Table of contents];
sig. z8v, f. 184v, [Colophon], Cy finissent ces presentes heures a lusaige de Paris nouuellement imprimees, toutes au long sans rien requerir, avecques plusieurs belles histoires nouvelles. Cest a scavoir les histoires des douze moys de lan, les histoires des heures nostre Dame mises a prime, tierce, sexte, nonne, vespres, et complie, les histoires des heures de la croix, et du sainct Esperit, des sept Pseaulmes et aux lecons des vigiles des mortz. Item avecques plusieurs belles oraisons tant en latin que en francois comme il appert par la table icy mise. Item a la fin loffice de la conception nostre dame. Et ont este imprimees a Paris par Jolande bonhomme veufve de feu Thielman Kerver, demourante audict lieu, a lenseigne de la Licorne a la grant rue sainct Jacques au dessus des maturins. Et furent achevees lan mil.v.c.xlix le xvi iour de mars.”;
sig. A1-A8v, ff. 185-192v, Prayers in French: sig. A1, f. 185, Deuotes oraisons de nostre dame. Nous lisons que une femme devote a la vierge…;” sig. A1v, f. 185v, Por le premier Ave Maria; sig. A2, f. 186, Pour le second Ave Maria, incipit, “O Glorieuse de dieu pleine de tous bien…”; sig. A2v, f. 186v, Le troysieme Ave Maria, incipit, “O tres digne princesse, dame de pitie…“; sig, A3, f. 187, Aultre oraison a la vierge marie, incipit, “Glorieuse vierge Marie a toy …”; sig, A3v, f. 187v, Oraison a ma dame saincte Geneuiefue, incipit “Vierge doulce, vierge benigne,/ Uierge saincte, vierge tres digne,/…”; sig. A4v-A5, ff. 188v-189, Oraison a notre seigneur iesu christ, incipit, “Iesuchrist de la divine puissance…“; sig. A5v-A7v, ff. 189v-191v, Jacques Boussy. Sensuyt leschelle de perfection ou raison parle, incipit “A celle fin que vous ayez/ Tres parfaicte felicite,/…”; sig. A8, f. 192, Vaine gloire parle, incipit “Je suys gloire appelle…“; sig. A8v, f. 192v, Humilite parle a lame raisonnable, incipit, “Ma fille baille moy la main/ Sy tu veulx estre bienheuree/ Du tresnoble roy sovverain/ …”;
sig. A1-B4v, ff. 193-204v, Prayers in French and Latin: sig A1-A5v, f. 193-197v, Sensuyuent aulcunes belles preparations pour deuotement recepuoir le sainct sacrement de lautel, incipit, “Moyse se deschaussa pour entrer dedans le buysson…”; sig A6, f. 198, Aultre devote oraison de sainct sacrement, incipit, “Seigneur dieu qui iustifie le pecheur…”; sig. A6v. f. 198v, Aultre oraison du sainct sacrement, incipit, “Seigneur dieu ie ne suis pas digne que tu loges…“; sig. A6v-A7, ff. 198v-199, Devote orasion du benoist sacrement, incipit, “O dieu le pere eternal ie congnoys …”; sig. A7v-B1v, ff. 199v-201v, Louenge tres digne et tres devote au benoist sainct sacrement de lautel, incipit, “Le divin sacrement est tres grant…“; sig. B1v-B3, ff. 201v-203, Oraison tres devote de la benoiste passion de nostre seigneur Jesuchrist, incipit, “O tresdoulx et pour prier pour les ames de purgatoire…“; sig. B3v-B4v, ff. 203v-204v, Oraison tres devote pour prier pour les ames de purgatoire, incipit, ”Mon tres souverain seigneur mon benoist et piteux redempteur…”;
sig. B4v, f. 204v, [Colophon], Cy finent les preparations pour devotement recepuoir le saict sacrement de lautel Imprime a Paris par Yoland Bonhomme demourant en la rue sainct Jacques a la licorne M.D.xlix.;
sig. B5-B8, ff. 205-208, Oraison de Saincte Geneuiefue. Devote oraison a la vierge saincte Geneuiefue, incipit, “Glorieuse vierge de France/ Geneuiefue de bonte pleine,/ …”;
sig. B8v, f. 208v, “Les iours moralisez, incipit, “Pour tous iuger generalement…“;
sig B8v, f. 208v, Oraison a la vierge marie, incipit, “Noble dame mere du redempteur…“;
sig. aa1-bb5v, ff. 209-221v, Commendationes. Commendationes defunctorum officium singulare et devotum, incipit, “Subuenite sancti dei occurrite angeli…”; sig. bb6-bb6v, ff. 222rvv, Orationes devote pro defunctis, incipit, “Salvete vos omnes fideles anime…“; sig. bb7-bb8, ff. 223-224, Les dix comandemens de dieus …, incipit, “Le Premier comandament…”; sig. bb8, ff. 224, Les commandemens de saincte eglise, incipit, “Les dimenches messe orras…”;
sig. bb8v, f. 224v, [Colophon], Les recommendacez des trespasses nouuellement imprimees a Paris par Yolande Bonhomme veufve de feu Thielman Kerver / demourant en la grant rue sainct Jacques / au dessus des Maturins / a lenseigne de la Licorne. M.d.xlix;
There are no recorded copies of our imprint in Bohatta, 1924 (cf. however, no. 1222, Paris, Jolande Bonhomme, 1546 [1547], one copy listed British Museum), Brunet, 1860-1865, Lacombe, 1907, Pettegree and Walsby, 2007, or in the Universal Short Title Catalog (Online Resources). Volume 5, the final volume of B. Moreau, Inventaire chronologique des éditions parisiennes du XVIe siècle: d’après les manuscrits de Philippe Renouard, Paris, 1972-2004, concludes in 1540.
Illustration
Subjects as follows:
Thirty-two small metalcuts:
sig. c1v, f. 17v, Luke;
sig. c2, f. 18, Matthew;
sig. c3, f. 19, Mark;
sig. q6, f. 126, God the Father blessing;
sig. q6v, f. 127v, Resurrection of Christ;
sig. q7, f. 127, Pentecost;
sig. q7, f. 127, Holy Face of the Lord
sig. r2v, f. 130v, Virgin and Child;
sig. s3, f. 139, St. Michael;
sig. s3v, f. 139v, St. John the Baptist;
sig. s3v, f. 139v, St. John the Evangelist;
sig. s4, f. 140, Saints Peter and Paul;
sig. s4, f. 140, St. James as pilgrim;
sig. s5, f. 141, St. Stephen;
sig. s5, f. 141, St. Lawrence;
sig. s5v, f. 141v, St. Christopher carrying Christ Child;
sig. s6, f. 142, Martyrdom of St. Sebastian;
sig. s6v, f. 142v, St. Nicholas resuscitating three youths;
sig. s7, f. 143, St. Claude;
sig. s7v, f. 143v, St. Anthony beaten by devils;
sig. s8, f. 144, St. Denis;
sig. s8v, f. 144v, Roch with a dog and an angel;
sig. t1, f. 145, St. Fiacre holding a spade and a book;
sig. t1v, f. 145v, St. Anne teaching Mary to read;
sig. t1v, f. 145v, St. Mary Magdalene;
sig. t2, f. 146, St. Catherine;
sig. t2v, f. 146v, St. Margaret;
sig. t3, f. 147, St. Barbara;
sig. t3v, f. 147v, St. Genevieve;
sig. t3v, f. 147v, St. Apollonia;
sig. A1v, f. 185v, The Virgin and Child;
sig. B5, f. 207, St. Genevieve;
In addition to Kerver’s unicorn device, which is printed twice, at the beginning and end (sig. a1 and bb8v), there are 58 large illustrations (57 metalcuts and one woodcut), including 12 scenes in the calendar in large oval medallions, set within decorative rectangular frames, illustrating the poem Douze âges de l’homme (the twelve ages of the life of man), with a quatrain of the poem below each image. The remaining large unframed rectangular images are almost full-page, printed above four lines of French verse:
sig. a2, f. 2, Bloodletting (from an early woodcut by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne for Thielman Kerver);
Calendar medallions:
sig. a2v, f. 2v, Children playing;
sig. a3v, f. 2v, Teaching children;
sig. a4v, f. 4v, Hunting;
sig. a5v, f. 5v, Courting;
sig. a6v, f. 6v, Couple riding;
sig. a7v, f. 7v, Wedding service;
sig. a8v, f. 8v, Couple surrounded by their children;
sig. b1v, f. 9v, Man paying a worker;
sig. b2v, f. 10v, Man reduced to misery in front of his empty barrels;
sig. b3v, f. 11v, Rich family eating;
sig. b4v, f. 12v, Old sick man with a doctor;
sig. b5v, f. 13v, Man at his deathbed surrounded by the doctor and his family;
Rectangular metalcuts:
sig. b6v, f. 14v, Christ with the cross, tomb and the instruments of the Passion (Metalcut by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne for Thielman Kerver);
sig. b8v, f. 18v, St. John on Patmos (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. c4, f. 20, Arrest of Christ (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. d2v, f. 26v, Tree of Jesse (Metalcut by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne for Thielman Kerver);
sig. d3, f. 27, Annunciation (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. e7v, f. 39v, Visitation (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. f6, f. 46v, Arrest of Christ (Metalcut by Jean Pichore; the same as on sig. c4);
sig. f7, f. 47, Saving souls from Hell (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. f8, f. 48, Nativity (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. g3v, f.51v, Christ before Pilate (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. g4v, f. 52v, Resurrection (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. g5v, f. 54v, Annunciation to the Shepherds (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. g8, f. 56, Ecce Homo (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. h1, f. 57, Resurrected Christ appearing to Mary (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. h2, f. 58, Adoration of the Magi (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. h4v, f. 60v, Carrying of the Cross (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. h5v, f. 61v, Noli me tangere (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. h6v, f. 62v, Presentation in the Temple (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. i1v, f. 65v, Crucifixion (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. i2v, f. 66v, Resurrected Christ breaking the bread (Luke 24) (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. i3v, f. 67v, Flight into Egypt (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. i7v, f. 71v, Descent from the Cross (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. i8v, f. 72v, Doubting Thomas (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. k1v, f. 73v, Coronation of the Virgin (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. k4v, f. 76v, Burial of Christ (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. k6, f. 78, Pentecost (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. k7, f. 79, Bathsheba bathing (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. k8v, f. 80v, Uriah killed in battle (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. l2, f. 82, David with prophet Nathan (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. l4, f. 84, David in prayer (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. l5v, f. 85v, David makes a sacrifice (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. l7v, f. 87v, David promises the throne to Solomon, his son with Bathseba; his elder sons with other wives observe the scene (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. I8v, f. 88v, David hands the crown to Solomon (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. m6v-m7, f. 94v-95, Three living and three dead (Metalcuts by Jean Pichore);
sig. n6, f. 102, Expulsion from the garden of Eden (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. n7, f. 103, Adam and Eve with children; Adam digging ; Abel killing Cain (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. n8, f. 104, Adam kneels before God (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. o4, f. 108, Funeral service in the Notre-Dame de Paris (Metalcut by Jean Pichore) (the quatrain below the image explains how during his funeral service, the soul of a canon of Paris announces that he is damned by his vice);
sig. o5, f. 109, Birth; Dying person (Job 14) (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. o6, f. 110, Men purging their years of selfish pleasure before they can go to heaven (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. p2, fol. 114, Last rites (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. p3, fol. 115, Job on Dunghill (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. p4, f. 116, Newborn child is upset about the evils of the world and regrets his life (Job 10:18) (Metalcut by Jean Pichore);
sig. q5v, f 125, Trinity with the signs of the Four Evangelists (Metalcut by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne for Thielman Kerver; the labels “pater,” “filius,” “Deus,” and “spiritus sanctus” are printed in red;
sig. v1v, f. 153, Immaculate Virgin Mary (Metalcut by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne for Thielman Kerver).
Yolande Bonhomme continued the highly successful publishing enterprise established by her husband, Thielman Kerver (active 1497-1522), after his death in 1522 and until 1557. During this period of thirty-five years, she published two hundred titles. Thielman Kerver, who was originally from Coblentz in Germany, had become particularly well known for his Books of Hours, of which he published 124 editions between 1497 and 1522. When Thielman married Yolande, around the time he began printing in Paris in 1497, he entered an old Parisian bookselling family, whose roots in bookselling can be traced back to the fourteenth century (Beech, 1985, p. 80).
Yolande printed liturgical books for Paris and for numerous provincial French cities, but also for the international market, especially in the 1520s and 1530s. She considered the illustration of prime importance, stating in a 1533 Book of Hours that it contains pictures which please everybody (Lacombe, 1907, p. LXXXIII). The size of her printing business was important: she possessed five presses and probably employed between fifteen and twenty-five workers and apprentices (Beech, 1985, p. 84). Her inspiring career leading a large publishing house has been studied by Beatrice Beech, who describes Yolande as “a forceful and determined woman who not only directed a complex firm but who diligently pursued her debtors, took risks, made money, and invested it” (Beech, 1985, p. 89). Yolande Bonhomme was not unusual in her role, because some fifty widows who ran Parisian publishing houses in the sixteenth century have been identified, although she was probably the most successful (cf. Beech, 1985, pp. 79, 90).
It is interesting to note that Yolande retained her deceased husband’s device and usually identified herself simply as the widow of Thielmann Kerver. By 1534, she occasionally names herself along with her husband, as in a 1534 imprint of the Bible, “… yolande bonhomme vidue spectabilis viri Thielmanni Kerver …” (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Tanner 158). In a Breviary in 1551, nearly three decades after her husband’s death, she credits herself in the device, omitting Kerver’s name: “… apud Yolanda Bonhomme in Jacobea …” (Oxford, Bodleian Library, Antiq.g.F.1551.1) (compare figs. 1, 2, and ill.). However, in the second of the three colophons on f. 204v (sig. B4v) in our imprint, Yolande credits herself alone, thus (to our knowledge) making it the earliest known example of her explicitly crediting herself by name instead of as the “widow” of her deceased husband.
Under Yolande Bonhomme’s direction the Kerver publishing house continued producing work of distinctive quality, characterized both by the superior quality of the blocks and presswork. The 1525 edition is a fine example of the craftsmanship, using metalcuts by two artists in two different styles. A few incunable cuts by the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne are still in use, through which the edition continues the tradition of the very earliest printed Books of Hours. In addition to these, the 1525 edition contains the last set of cuts produced by Kerver’s workshop for Books of Hours, realized in 1519 after designs by Jean Pichore. Our copy is not hand-colored, thus revealing the fine engravings at their best.
The Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne is known by many other names in the literature, including the Master of the Apocalypse Rose of the Sainte-Chapelle, the Master of the Chasse à la licorne, the Master of the Life of Saint John the Baptist, and is now considered identical with the painter Jean d’Ypres. He worked in numerous media, including painted altarpieces, stained glass windows, designs for tapestries, illuminated manuscripts (his eponymous Book of Hours is Paris, BnF, NAL 1320 of 1498), and designs for woodcuts. His style, as well as his repertory of models, establishes him as the artistic heir of the Master of Coëtivy, possibly identical with the painter, Colin d’Ypres (active 1450-1485). The documented career of Jean d’Ypres from c. 1490 to 1508 corresponds with that of the Master of the Très Petites Heures of Anne de Bretagne. The volume and diversity of his artistic production in the international arena of the Parisian art market at the beginning of print culture suggest a flourishing workshop rather than a lone individual.
Most of the remaining metalcuts in this book were designed by the workshop of Jean Pichore. Although Pichore was mainly an illuminator and the head of a large and productive workshop in Paris, he also designed metalcuts. Pichore was active in Paris, although Cardinal Georges d’Amboise, archbishop of Rouen was one of his major clients. He is documented as working on two manuscripts, the first volume of Augustine’s De civitate Dei of c. 1501/03 and the Chants royaux for Louise of Savoy of 1517 (both in the BnF). Pichore managed a large family enterprise responsible for the illumination of a great number of classical, secular, and religious works and he played an important role in supplying “Renaissance” designs for printed Books of Hours. The new style of Pichore was adopted by Kerver (and also other printers such as Simon Vostre and the Hardouin brothers) (Tenschert and Nettekoven, 2003 and Zöhl, 2004). The calendar roundels are by a third, yet unidentified artist.
Printed Books of Hours were one of the mainstays of Parisian publishers and printers in the Renaissance; countless editions were produced between 1488 and 1568. The new technology of printing introduced Books of Hours, a prayer book for the laity, to a broader audience. Members of the growing urban middle class were eager clients for these books.
Literature
Beech, B. H. “Yolande Bonhomme: A Renaissance Printer,” Medieval Prosopography 6:2 (1985), pp. 79-100.
Bohatta, H. Bibliographie der Livres d’Heures: Horae BMV, Officia, Hortuli Animae, Coronae BMV, Rosaria und Cursus BMV des XV und XVI Jahrhunderts, Vienna, 1924 (this edition not listed).
Brunet, Charles Jacques. “Notice sur les Heures Gothiques Imprimées à Paris à la fin du quinzième siècle et dans une partie du seizième,” Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livre, Paris 1860-1865, Vol. 5, col. 1553-1684
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hwajtp&view=1up&seq=848&size=125
Claerr, T. “Imprimerie et réussite sociale à Paris à la fin du Moyen Âge: Thielman Kerver, imprimeur-libraire de 1497 à 1522,” Diplôme de conservateur de bibliothèque, Paris IV-Sorbonne, 2000.
Ehrman, Albert. “Contemporary Collectors II: The Broxbourne Library,“ The Book Collector (1954,) pp. 190-197.
Lacombe, P. Livres d’heures imprimés au XVe et au XVIe siècle, conservés dans les bibliothèques publiques de Paris, Paris, 1907 (this edition not listed).
Available online: https://archive.org/details/livresdheuresimp00laco_0
Moreau, B. Inventaire chronologique des éditions parisiennes du XVIe siècle: d’après les manuscrits de Philippe Renouard, vol. 3, 1521-1530, Abbeville, 1985.
Mortimer, R. Harvard College Library, Department of Printing and Graphic Arts, Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts. Part II: Italian 16th Century Books, 2 vols, Cambridge, Mass., 1964.
Nettekoven, I. Der Meister des Apokalypsenrose der Sainte Chapelle und die Pariser Buchkunst um 1500, Turnhout, 2004.
Pettegree, A., M. Walsby and A. Wilkinson, eds. French Vernacular Books: Books published in the French language before 1601, Leiden, 2007.
Renouard, P. Répertoire des imprimeurs parisiens, libraires, fondeurs de caractères et correcteurs d’imprimerie, Paris, 1965. Available online (Gallica),
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65711282
Rudy, K. M. and R. E. V. Stuip. “Martin fights in July, and he strikes St. Vaast with the font: A Cisiojanus and a Child’s Alphabet in Oxford, Bodleian, MS Rawlinson Liturgical E 40,” Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes 19 (2010), pp. 493-522.
Tenschert, H. and I. Nettekoven. Horae B.M.V.: 158 Sundenbuchdrucke der Sammlung Bibermühle, Rotthalmünster, Antiquariat Heribert Tenschert, 2003.
Zöhl, C. Jean Pichore: Buchmaler, Graphiker und Verleger in Paris um 1500, Turnhout, 2004.
Online Resources
Francesca Galligan, “Invisible women: Yolande Bonhomme, 16th-century publisher,” The Conveyor, May 29, 2018
https://blogs.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/theconveyor/invisible-women-yolande-bonhomme-16th-century-publisher/
Universal Short Title Catalogue https://www.ustc.ac.uk/
BOH 231
