Fine Books and Manuscripts

Chancery folio (268 x 197 mm). Collation: a8 b6 c-e8 f6 g-h8 i6 i8 k-l6 m-z A-F8.6 G6 H-N8.6 2a-2h6.8 (a1r title, a1v blank, a2r table, c1r Legenda aurea, N1v explicit, N2r additional texts, 2a1r title, 2a1v blank, 2a2r Martyrologium, h8r colophon, h8v blank). 316 leaves. 45 lines and headline, double column. Type: 18:290G, 15:175bG, 17:86G, 16:80G. Opening initials on a2 and c1 in red or blue with contrasting penwork decoration, other 2- to 4-line initials in red or blue, red capital strokes, some printed guide-letters. (Title with a few small repairs and inner margin renewed, last letter of the third-to-last line and last two lines of colophon erased, a few pale stains.) Late 19th-century blind-tooled tan pigskin, spine gilt, edges red, by W.H. Smith with his ticket (joints starting, with some amateurish repairs, some light wear).Koelhoff's edition of the popular collection of saints' lives, the Golden Legend, to which is appended for the first time the martyrologium of Usuardus. The colophon is dated 'in vigilia sanctissimorum trium Regum', interpreted by A. Labarre as 22 July, correcting previous interpretations of 5 January (cf. Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 1975, pp.77-80). C 6465 (Voragine only); HCR (Usardus only) 16111; BMC I, 229 (IB. 3615); CIBN J-96; Bod-inc J-060; Goff J-123.