note (deco)
Major initials, occuring across from full page illuminations, 7-line, white-patterned blue against pink and gold backgrounds, infilled with lush multicolored acanthus leaves, some trilobe leaves and flowers in a style reminiscent of English work. Secondary initials, 3- and 1-line, in gold on patterned pink and blue grounds; initials within the text washed in yellow; ribbon line fillers in pink, blue and gold. Rubrics in red.
provenance
Written in the middle of the fifteenth century, possibly in Bruges for export to England. Coat of arms placed in the lower margins of ff. 7v-8, very slightly overlapping the flowers of the border decoration: per pale, 1 argent a chevron or between 3 pheons the two in chief lying fesswise point to point and that in base erect sable; 2 or two lions combatant argent supporting a bezant. The first (although with a chevron gules) is given by J. Papworth, Ordinary of British Armorials (London 1874) 462 as Kyffin, co. Salop, agreeing with the note on f. 177 by the widow of "Gyffrey Kyffen" (d. 1479). Later notes on the same leaf show that the manuscript belonged to John Somers, 1st Baron Somers (1650/1-1716), whose library passed to his brother-in-law, Sir Joseph Jekyll (1663-1738); his sale, London, 26 February 1739, probably n. 5000 to James West (1704?-1772); the West sale, London, Langford, 27 February 1773, possibly n. 78. Thomas Windus acquired the book (ca. 1820?) from the booksellers John and Arthur Arch; the name Ansley Windus is neatly penned on f. i above an erasure; Thomas Windus sale, 27 February 1858, n. 197. A partially erased note reads "I bought this book at Leigh and Sotheby at auction for…" and seems to be signed "W. L__?___"; another partially erased note, in blue ink, appears to read "T__?___ Henry __?___." Sale of Edwin Henry Lawrence, Sotheby's, 9 May 1892, n. 299 to Quaritch. Belonged to Robert Hoe: Bierstadt (1895) 33 ; Cat. (1909) pp. 21-22 ; his sale, Anderson, New York, 1911, pt. I, n. 2128 to G. D. Smith; precise date and source of acquisition by Henry E. Huntington unknown.
