RARE BOOKS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 193, 15 August 1936, Page 12

RARE BOOKS.

MEDIEVAL CRAFTSMANSHIP

DISPLAY IN AUCKLAND

Manuscripts many centuries old, fascinating in their beauty and workmanship, are included in a valuable collection of old Scriptural manuscripts and early printed "Bibles which will be on exhibition in the .shop window of Messrs. John Court, Limited, next week, through the courtesy of Mr. John Court, lhe display, it is said, gives a glimpse o the life of the Middle Ages, when the Scriptures were painstakingly written on vellum in some quiet monasteiy, more intimate than the conception which can be gained from most history books. . . The oldest of the manuscripts is the Gospel of St. Matthew, in Latin, written about 1130 A.D., on vellum. The work was done with meticulous care, and the original binding, made of plain oak boards, fastened with vellum thongs, is still intact. It is thought that the ■Gospel is a "reading" copy from some early monastic scriptorium. Another extremely valuable exhibit is the entire Bible in Latin, also written on vellum, and at one time in the library of the Duke of Bavaria. It has some fine coloured miniatures and hundreds of intricate capitals. , ;• Again oh vellum is a manuscript of hymns whose early musical notations make them particularly interesting. The period represented is the fifteenth century, the typical work of which gives real glamour and colour to the whole collection. There are two examples ill a book of Psalms and a Book of Hours that are really exquisite —the latter is probably the most wonderful thing in the. collection. Each of its 102 pages has been described as "a miracle of art." Every line is decorat«l, every letter is the product of artistic genius and infinite patience. There are 12 full page miniatures, of a beauty that is said to be breathtaking.

Among other exhibits are a number of early printed Bibles, of which there have been many since printing began. The "Great Bible" is a large folio, and there are also copies of the . "She," the "Bugge" and the "Brec<:lit-i" Bibles, so naimed because of certain peculiarities. There is a first printing of the Irish Bible.