| This Book of Hours leaf shows an excellent example of the use of a "catchword" to assist the bookbinder in proper ordering of the gatherings.
This is an authentic, hand-written and decorated, Latin leaf on vellum. This illuminated parchment leaf has thirteen lines of Scripture text (Psalm 19:14-15, 24:1-6) that are ruled in a faint, pale red ink, written in black ink in a handsome gothic bookhand, with one 2-line line and eight 1-line-high decorated initials in burnished gold on red and blue geometric grounds, arranged alternately with white tracery infills, five linefillers in pink and blue geometric grounds arranged alternately with white tracery infills and burnished gold.
At the bottom of the verso is a "catchword" to assist the binder in matching this gathering to the next one. When the end of a gathering of eight or so pages was reached, the scribe made a mark, or "catchword" at the foot of the last page to assist the binder in matching it to the succeeding one. The verso ends with "quaerentium eum quaerentium" the next page will begin with "faciem Dei Iacob diapsalma" to complete the verse. If you look closely at the bottom of this page you will see the catchword "faciem Dei.."
The vellum leaf is in good condition with generous margins. There are also minor traces of aging, soiling, edge flaws, original flaws in the parchment etc. There are many spots in the margins. |
