The book offers an in-depth examination of the production, distribution,
and use, from the late fifteenth century to the present, of the 74 editions of
Books of Hours printed in Italy in the fifteenth century, 198 copies of which
have survived. They are today in 82 libraries in 16 countries in Europe and
North America. Special attention is paid to the transmission of the texts in
print, their stemma editionum, the cycle of illustrations, and the identification
of buyers and users, including the question of the price of these first printed
copies in comparison to that of contemporary manuscript copies. Viewing
this genre from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century, the study
contextualizes the success of these editions over the long term and the
phenomenon of the rapid replacement of older incunabula by newer editions.
It probes the place of Books of Hours within the first printed provision of
liturgical books, the circulation of the Roman Use, the dissemination of the
Venetian calendar in Italy and beyond, and looks also at the changes inspired
by the Council of Trent. The book includes a complete transcription of all
the calendars and 88 plates in colour.
Product code: 9788822264688
ISBN |
9788822264688 |
Publisher |
Casa Editrice Leo S.Olschki |
No. Of Pages |
754 |
Dimensions (HxWxD in mm) |
H240xW170 |