Books of Hours = Livres d'Heures. [ A Venue of Art, Ltd, bookseller's catalogue, 2014 ]

A Venue of Art, Ltd, London, bookseller's catalogue, 2014. Edition of 800 copies. Laminated illustrated wrappers, 8vo, 27 cm. 103, [1] pp ; ills (colour). 18 items. Text in English and French. From the introduction - "The present catalogue includes a variety of manuscripts, with decoration diverse in its extent and quality. They range from modest books with no gold or figurative decoration (e.g. no.1) to lavish ones with as many as seventeen large and twenty-five small miniatures (no.4). Their provenances have a similarly varied range: a few keep their secrets well hidden and have so far revealed very little information about their previous owners (e.g. nos.3,8,9), while others proudly proclaim a very distinguished history (e.g. nos.6,7,12,14). Most, however, fall somewhere between these two extremes: usually there are clues, but they cannot all be fully elucidated, such as inscriptions that have been erased, or heraldry that cannot be confidently identified. Happily, research for this catalogue has allowed several old secrets to be revealed, and an example is the Book of Hours owned by the Laigue family in Lyons c.1500 (no. 4), as their heraldry occupies a full page, but it had not previously been deciphered. Many of the general descriptions in the first part of this catalogue refer to previous owners; a more detailed provenance is provided in the full technical descriptions at the back of the volume." The books of hours offered comprise: ; 1. Augustinian Hours, Florence 1467; 2. Cremona - Florence Hours c. 1480; 3. Prayerbook with miniatures by Attavante c. 1490; 4. Pierre Laigue Hours, Lyon G 1500; 5. Printed Hours, Lyon 1558; 6. Marie de Monsoy Hours, Auvergne c. 1500; 7. Jean Martin Hours, Paris c. 1500; 8. Printed Hours, G. Eustace, Paris 1516; 9. Printed Hours, G. Hardouln Paris c. 1515; 10. Printed Greek Hours of the Virgin, Paris 1538; 11. De Valbelle Hours, Use of Orléans, c. 1500; 12. Medici-Marcoussis Hours, Paris c. 1500; 13. Foyle Hours, Use of Coûta nces, c, 1460; 14. Chalïon Psalter-Hours, Rouen c. 1260; 15. Rouen Hours, c. 1510; 16. Amiens Hours, c, 1480; 17. Chalons Family Hours, Cambrai c. 1460; 18. Marie de Hanequart Hours, Flanders c. 1460; Near Fine. Price-list laid in.