Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

4to (225 x 168 mm). A SUPERB ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM IN A RICHLY TOOLED AND DECORATED BINDING, 12 leaves (i.e. written or decorated on 22 pages, including colophon), plus 4 blank vellum leaves at front and 4 at rear, written in a semi-gothic script in black, with some initial letters, words or pagination in red, 3 FULL-PAGE VIGNETTE MINIATURES; red silk protective liners at the ends of the manuscript protecting the illumination on the opening and closing leaves.

IN AN EXCEPTIONAL BINDING BY RIVIERE. Contemporary blue levant, each cover with outer borders comprising a stylized floral pattern in gilt pointelle framed in onlaid tan morocco, surrounding a large central arabesque panel decorated with a symmetrical foliate design in olive, red and aquamarine morocco onlays and bordered in onlaid tan morocco, corner areas between the central panel and outer border decorated in an all-over geometric gilt design, spine in six compartments with 5 raised bands, gilt-lettered in one, a repeated gilt pointelle panel bordered in onlaid tan morocco in the rest, board edges with single gilt fillets, turn-ins with borders of braided interlace design in gilt pointelle, framed within tan morocco borders; cream watered silk doublures and liners, edges gilt, stamp-signed on upper turn-in: "bound by Riviere & Son" (some slight discoloration from adhesive on silk liners; front silk liner becoming a little detached from vellum free endleaf); housed in a water-silk lined straight-grained morocco clamshell case. Provenance: Katharine Gordon Adamson (lettered on doublure in gilt); sold, Parke-Bernet, 2-4 April 1941, lot 367 (lot tag laid in); Kroch & Bretano's (typed catalogue note laid in, signed by Alfred Kroch).

THE HEIGHT OF EDWARDIAN ENGLISH BOOK ART IN A SPECTACULAR BINDING, this unique manuscript showcases the greatest English calligrapher and miniaturist, celebrating and illuminating the greatest epic poem of the Poet Laureate of the Victorian Age. The title-page contains a large historiated initial "M" enclosing a fine large miniature showing Sir Bedivere holding the head of the dying King Arthur in his arms, within an elaborate floral border in colors and burnished gold framed with crossed swords and surmounted with an Arthurian helmet in silver and gilt; in the lower right is a heraldic shield containing Arthur's coat-of-arms of 13 gold crowns. The facing page opens the text with a large illuminated initial "S" in colors and burnished gold with an elaborate, full decorated border historiated with dragons and fantastic creatures in colors and heightened with burnished gold. The final page of the poem's text is bordered on three sides incorporating an illuminated initial "S" and a large vignette at foot portraying Arthur's funeral barge with the weeping maidens bending over the dead king; the text throughout is decorated with 6 other illuminated initials mostly decorated in colors and burnished gold, some with partial borders, the decoration in bright, bold colors of orange, purple, blue and green, mostly in a Gothic style.

This manuscript dates from the period almost immediately after the illuminator Alberto Sangorski professionally separated from his brother Francis's bookbinding from Sangorski and Sutcliffe, and instead went to work for Riviere (Sangorski and Sutcliffe's chief competitor); indeed, it might very well be Alberto Sangorski's first collaboration with the Riviere firm.