Facsimiles from the University of North Texas Special Collections Library
Assorted facsimiles
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Songbook of Joan the Mad
The Songbook of Joan the Mad was likely commissioned by Joan of Castile, who was married to Phillip the Handsome. The manuscript was completed in 1511 and is attributed to the Master of the David Scenes in the Breviary Grimani and Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, who worked out of Bruges. The songs recorded within the handheld songbook were favorites of Joan of Castile and performed at their court. The songs address the different themes of love, yearning, betrayal, sadness, and religion. The songbook is illustrated throughout with biblical scenes of Christ's Passion, tearful eyes, and lovers.
The facsimile of the Songbook of Joan the Mad is a full-size color reproduction of the entire original manuscript. The original leather binding is replicated including the bird and animal motifs and vegetal scrolling. There are 56 miniatures illuminated in gold throughout the facsimile. The handheld facsimile is contained within a brown velvet cushioned box with gold lettering on the binding of the box.
Original MS: Master of the David Scenes in the Breviary Grimani, Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, Antoine de Gavere
Facsimile: UNT Willis Library Sandborn Reading Room, Call Number: ML96.5 .C343 2007
Original MS: Bruxelles, Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, MS IV 90
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones
Facsimile: 2006
Original MS: 1511
NA
Valencia: Patrimonio Ediciones
Squarcialupi codex
54 pages, illustrated, 10 x 12 cm
Middle French, Flemish, and Latin
Dutch Illustrated Music Manuscript
Handheld illustrated songbook
Bruges, Gothic, Northern Renaissance, c. 16th century
Prepared by Tania Kolarik
Squarcialupi Codex
This manuscript is one of the most refined of the Italian music manuscripts copied during the first 20 years of the 15th century by the scriptorium of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. The Squarcialupi Codex is richly illuminated with gold leaf applied throughout. This manuscript is the largest source of music of the 14th century and contains the work of some of the greatest composers of the time, including Francesco Landini and Giovanni da Cascia.
The facsimile of the Squarcialupi Codex provides the contemporary viewer with not only a window into luxurious music compositions, but also the book-making process, as it is unfinished. The illuminations are brightly colored, mimicking the original, but the use of a reflective gold acts to hammer home to the viewer the abundant use of gold leaf employed in the Squarcialupi Codex. The facsimile and commentary are housed together in a large box measuring 320 x 460 mm, with a leather-covered spine with gold stamping.
Monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence
Facsimile: UNT Willis Library Sandborn Reading Room, Call Number: ML96.4 .S8 1992
Original MS: Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, MS Palatino 87
Florence: Giunti Barbera
Facsimile: 1992
Original MS: 1410-1415
Facsimile Editor: F. Alberto Gallo
Lucca: Libreria musicale italiana
12 hommages a Paul Sacher: pour violoncelle
The Douce Apoclaypse
2 v. (287 p; 216 leaves of music): ill; 43 cm
Facsimile: Italian
Commentary: Italian, English
Music Manuscript Facsimile
Owned by Florentine organist Antonio Squarcialupi
Italian, Renaissance, 15th century
Prepared by Carly Burdette
Barberini Exultet Roll, or Easter Proclamation
The Barberini Exultet Roll is a hymnal used for Christian religious practice and performed at Easter Mass. It is a song about how “the heavenly crowd of angels shout for joy,” as Jesus rose from the grave and ascended into heaven. It was created for the Catholic Church at the monastery of Monte Cassino in Italy on the commission of Abbot Desiderius. The roll form makes it easy to carry around and was meant to be unrolled as it was read from a pulpit, allowing the scenes to be viewed by the congregation.
The facsimile is installed in a mechanized display case, which consists of a wood base and plastic casing. The commentary is housed within the wooden base along with an Easter candle that is placed within a drawer on the side of the base. The display case allows the contemporary viewer to take the place of both the viewer as the scroll is unrolled and the clergyman who read/sung the hymnal from the pulpit.
Benedictine abbey, Monte Cassino
Facsimile: UNT Willis Library Sandborn Reading Room, Call Number: ND3380.4.B37 E36 2008
Original MS: Vatican City State, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Barb. lat. 592
Zürich: Belser
Facsimile: 2008
Original MS: c. 1087
Commentary: Guglielmo Cavallo, Heide Stamm
Zürich: Belser
Joshua Roll
5 sheets, 64-83 x 28 cm
Latin
Liturgical Manuscripts
Scroll used for Easter Vigil
Italian, Romanesque, c. 1087
Prepared by Alex Anderson
Joshua Roll
The Imperial Court School of Byzantium produced the 10th century Joshua Roll during the Macedonian Renaissance, which took place after the end of iconoclasm. The roll depicts the Old Testament Book of Joshua as a continuous frieze. It is likely inspired by Greco-Roman art, particularly by classical triumphal columns. The production of the manuscript aligns with the Byzantine army taking back control of the Holy Land from the Arabs, which suggests that the Joshua Roll may have been created to celebrate the military victory.
The facsimile of the Joshua Roll is housed within a protective box that extends out to serve as a display case. It is spaced out precisely for each of the 15 segments of the scroll to be viewed individually. The facsimile is true not only in size and color, but also reproduces the original form of the scroll with either end attached to two woodcores.
Imperial Court School of Byzantium
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: Z114 .V3 vol. 43 1983
Original MS: Vatican City State, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Pal. graec. 431
Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt
Facsimile: 1983
Original MS: c. 10th century
Commentary: Otto Mazal
Graz: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt
Leo Bible
1 scroll: 42 x 30 x 17 cm
Facsimile: Greek
Commentary: German
Sacred Texts
Scroll celebrating success of Byzantine armies in the Holy Land
Byzantine, c. 10th century
Prepared by Tania Kolarik
Winchester Psalter
Psalter of Henry of Blois, St. Swithun's Psalter
The Winchester Psalter is attributed to Henry of Blois who was the Bishop of Winchester. The psalter contains thirty-eight full-page miniatures portraying scenes from the Old Testament, the Life of the Virgin, Life of Christ, and several scenes covering the Second Coming and Last Judgment. Most miniatures of the manuscript were drawn in watercolor tints against painted backgrounds, which is a special English technique of the 11th-13th century. On the other hand, two miniatures, the Death of the Virgin and the Virgin Enthroned, use different techniques and styles. The two miniatures use Byzantine iconography and style with borders of geometric ornament.
The facsimile is a full-color replication of the Winchester Psalter currently located in the British Library. The luxurious modern binding consists of Indian goatskin and blocked with a 2-colour design by Joe McLaren. This richly embellished facsimile was produced by the Folio Society to be an art object in its own right.
Original MS: Henry of Blois
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: ND3357.W5 .H362 2015
Original MS: London, British Library, Cotton MS Nero C IV
New York Graphic Society Ltd.
Facsimile: 2015
Original MS: 12th century
Commentary: Kristine Edmondson Haney
British Library, New York Graphic Society Ltd.
The Luttrell Psalter
32.4 x 22.9 cm, 80 pages
Facsimile: Latin, Anglo Norman
Commentary: English
Psalter
Byzantine iconographic, geometric ornament borders, water-color tints against painted backgrounds.
English, Romanesque, 12th century
Prepared by Doo Wan Kwon
The Tailor's Book, Il Libro del Sarto
Il Libro del Sarto translates to “The Book of the Tailor.” Its best-known contributor, Ioanne Iacomo del Conte (1520 -1592), used the manuscript as his workbook and also collected illustrations that could be displayed to customers. Del Conte’s career as a tailor and illustrator are reflected in the binding of Il Libro del Sarto, consisting of a leather belt, which neatly clasps around this handsome portfolio. Il Libro del Sarto’s unique binding expresses this manuscript’s performative nature and expresses its functionality as a tailor’s workbook.
This facsimile provides a window into the secular fashion world of 16th century Milan. It is accurate in conveying the look and feel of the portfolio with its leather binding and textured pages to replicate the feel of parchment.
Original MS: Ioanne Iacomo del Conte, Giovani Jacopo del Conte, Giuseppe Arcimboldo
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: GT964 .S27 1589x
Original MS: Venice, Querini-Stampalia Library
Valencia: Ediciones Grial
Facsimile: 2004
Original MS: c. 1540 – 1570s
Commentary: Ruth de la Puerta Escribano, Paolla Venturelli, & Doretta Davanzo
Valencia: Ediciones Grial
Libro de los trajes de C. Weiditz (1529)
21 x 29.5 cm, 324 pages
Italian
Secular Illustrated MS
Middle-Late 16th C. Milanese Fashion and Textiles
Italy, Elizabethan Era, c. 1558-1603
Prepared by Ethan Cramer
The Gutenberg Bible
Johannes Gutenberg, who introduced movable type, began printing the Gutenberg Bible in the mid-15th century in Mainz. As medieval handmade books were still the main way of crafting manuscripts, Gutenberg did his best to replicate the look of medieval manuscripts already in circulation. The originals were usually stained cowhide leather with hand-tooled embellishments. However, while the majority of the originals were printed on handmade paper, some were still printed on traditional vellum. It is estimated that 170 calfskins were required to make the parchment for one printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
This facsimile consists of two volumes that are hand bound in full oxblood moroccon leather. Although this facsimile is technically a copy, the attention to detail and the Intaglio printing process used is astounding. To insure the colors of the text and images were vibrant the publishers ran each page through the printing process seven times. It features vibrant colored inks and a lacquer protected copper-bronze powder in place of the gold leafing. As well, to replicate the gold leafing, they tested different formulas to come up with a one-of-a-kind lacquer-protected copper-bronze powder they used during publishing. Each page section was also hand sewn into the spine of the facsimile during the binding process. This facsimile was not simply massed produced using automated machines but was hand made using various time-consuming processes to insure accuracy and attention to detail.
Original MS: Johannes Gutenberg
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: Z241 .B58 1961 V. 1, V. 2
Original MS: Paris, Bibliotheque Mazarine, Inc. 16
Pageant Books and Cooper Square Publishing New York, NY
Facsimile: 1961
Original MS: 1454
NA
Pageant Books and Cooper Square Publishing New York, NY
Douce Apocalypse
46.9 x 31.8 x 8.3 cm
Latin
Holy Bible, Old and New Testament
Incunabula, Early Printed Books
Germany, Renaissance, c. 1400s
Prepared by Brain Wiseman
Book of Beasts
The Liber Bestiarum, or the Book of Beasts, was mean to be used to study the natural world and God’s creations. It is important as an academic tool and as an art object. This book allows scholars, students, and collectors to learn and study the medieval recordings of animals and human life. Similarly, people can appreciate and enjoy the many illuminations of real and mythical animals. The luxuriousness of the Bestiary supports the idea that it was probably crafted for an aristocratic patron.
The facsimile continues to promote its original luxury as it is bound in full goatskin leather of the finest Nigerian grade. It is blocked in gold among the colors of red, green and blue with traditional raised bands on the spine. David Eccles designed the illustrated binding with gilding on all three edges.
Original: Unknown master scribe and artist
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: PA8275.B4 H36 2008
Original MS: Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 764
London: The Folio Society
Facsimile: 2008
Original MS: mid-13th century
Commentary: Christopher de Hamel, Translation: Richard Barber
Bodleian Library
Bestiarium: Oxford Ashmole 1511
282 pages, 30.5 x 19.7 cm, 137 folios, 135 miniatures
Facsimile: Latin
Commentary: English
Bestiary
Illuminated Manuscript
England, Gothic, mid-13th century
Prepared by Karla Bernal
Prayer Book of Philip II
The Prayer Book of Philip II was created in the scriptorium of the Royal Monastery of El Escorial for Philip II. The manuscript contains 45 miniatures with decorated borders of architectures, animals, and floral motifs throughout. The luxury of the court of Philip II is conveyed through the use of gold embellishment. The Mannerist painter, Giulio Clovio, inspired the illuminators of the Royal Monastery.
This facsimile provides a glimpse into the decadent Mannerist courtly style of King Philip II of Spain. Although the facsimile does not use actual parchment, the texture of the paper mimics the look and feel of the original parchment. The book is bound in red velvet, with an authentic reproduction of the exterior silver furniture, which acts to replicate the weight of the prayer book with its silver.
Original MS: Andrés de León, Julián de la Fuente el Saz, Martín de Palencia
Facsimile: UNT Special Collections Library, Call Number: BX2080.A35 P55 1570a
Original MS: San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Real Biblioteca del Monasterio, MS Vitrina 2
Madrid: Testimonio Compañia Editorial
Facsimile: 1995
Original MS: c. 16th century
Commentary: Martín González, J.J., Ruiz Asencio, J.M.
Testimonio Compañia Editorial
Book of Hours of Queen Isabella of Spain
33.3 x 23 cm
Facsimile: Latin
Commentary: Spanish
Private Devotion Books
Book of Hours, Illuminated Manuscript
Spain, Renaissance, c. 16th century
Prepared by Meghan Holmes