Melville House Books

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The (UK) Guardian reports that the British Library bought a 16th-century British manuscript that was sought by a US buyer. After mounting a public appeal to keep the book in the UK, the library “finally bought it with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and the Art Fund charity,” according to the Guardian, for £600,000.

The book is described as “A unique alphabet book, offering a selection of spectacular and bizarre fonts to the luxury medieval manuscript illuminator stuck for inspiration.” The Guardian goes on to describe the text: “The 46 leaves of parchment may have been a demonstration of a luxury book workshop’s skill, ready to show off to a potential customer, or a complete pattern manual for a craftsman to copy. It contains gold embellished borders, title pages, and 14 alphabets wreathed in flowers and foliage, made up of humans or serpents, fish, dragons and other animal figures.”

The Guardian spoke with Kathleen Doyle, curator of illuminated manuscripts at the library, who described the acquisition as “tremendously exciting”. The book sheds light on how illuminated manuscripts where produced. “It is the most complete set of designs for manuscript decoration known to have survived from late-medieval Britain.”

The book languished for centuries in Earl of Macclesfield’s library, a 15th-century text concealed within an 18th-century binding. Now it will be available for all to see in the British Library’s treasures gallery as of this Friday. And you can get an advance glimpse of some of the amazingly beautiful images here.

Valerie Merians is the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.