SOLD MANUSCRIPTS

Hokitika Guardian, 28 October 1932, Page 3

SOLD MANUSCRIPTS

MEDIAEVAL CRAFTSMANSHIP. AN ; INTEREStING^cdiLECTION. Id Wellington at valuable collection of old Scrfptuirdl msfou scripts and early printed Bibies which will be on public exhibition from Wednesday at. Bible House, inand them and marvel at : ship wilt fiav'e iA Middle A ges mWe^iiflii■ which can be got', from; books. From to to-day is- hardly be appreciated a comparison! of the ttime Scriptures vr&e written on vellum in some mediaeval monastry, with the year 1932, when the British and Foreign Bible Society issues the Bible, in 620 different languages. The collection belongs to Mr A. Clemas, of Mnsterton, who has sent the volumes to the Rev. David Calder, Dominion secertary of the British adn Foreign Bible Society. r Mr Clemas,’s collection belonged in turn to his grandfather and father, and he himself has added to it several interesting items. It has been brought to Wellington in order that those who are interested may have the chance of examining it. rr F Pen ch'rß®okrott Hour». . One of the most beautiful of the early manuscripts is a' French Book of HouVs of tlio 15th century, written in a clear, bold Gothic hand on 162 leaves of Vellum. Cn the title-page appears “Hot,ae Beatae Marine Virginia, ad jusiun. cum calenWio” j

and the book itself contains the liturt gical devotions proper to certain days. The size of the book is small quarto, and tfie binding is a morocco one dating frog) the late 17th -century. Two striking features are the almost perfect script and the beautiful coloured decorations. Twelve remarkable miniatures on religious . subjects aie executed in bright colours and burnished go.d, and the effect of the whole worn is astonishing. Another fine manuscript is a 15th century book of the Psalms in Latin, with a calendar for English use. Like the Book of Hours it is full of colours aijd gold, and contains seven limnuiiated capital letters from which borders of charming and delicate decorations extend round the whole page. The Psalter once belonged to a member of the Order of St. Clare, and it contains an inscription aaying that it rvas ‘“not to be solde, lent or given away." The Order was disbanded by Henry VIII, and the manuscript eventually found its way to the library of the Duke of Norfolk.

12th Century Manuscript. The oldest of the manuscripts, however, is the Gospel of St. Matthew in Latin, which was written about A.D. 1130 in a clean miniscule book-hand on vellum. The work is done with meticulous caro and is most impressive. The original binding in plain boards of oak-wood, fastened together with vellum thongs, is still intact. It is thought that the Gospel is a “reading” copy from some early monastic scriptorium. Another extremely valuable it6m is the entire Bible in Latin, written on vellum. It i$ a fine book in first-class condition and was at one time in the library c-f the Duke of Bavaria, . , I Among the early printed Bibles are those from Venice, printed in 1478, from Nurnberg. printed bout 1480,

and such famous English Bibles as the Great Bible (16540), the “Bugge” “Breeches” Bible, and the GreatV , These are some of the most substantial items in Mr Clemas’s collection.