Dismembered Manuscripts Books of Hours sold as Single Leaves 2002-2006 Collecting fragments from eBay Sellers

Some new manuscripts on the open market 2006:
• 'Northern France c.1450' Book of Hours, use of Rome. (Probably of a much later date, c.1475-85).
  xxxff. 130 x 85 mm, 14 lines (), written in an elegant bastarda script ('lettres bourguignonnes')
  adorned with fine penwork initials. Major initials with a decorated painted and gilted borderpiece.
  Provenance unknown, only one miniature known (sold Bloomsbury Auctions 601/2007 lot 20).
  Leaves are all in a poor state of preservation, rubbed and worn, painted borders are cropped.
  
• "Style of the Master of Jean Rolin II" Book of Hours, Latin and French, called 'Paris c.1450' is really use of Rouen and probably made there (see extracts from the contents).
  144 ff. 160 x 120 mm, 15 lines textura (92 x 60 mm)
  Fine panel borders by all two-line initials in an unusual style of original high quality.
  Provenance so far unidentified, in lack of miniatures (18th c. owners signature in ink: F. Hubert).
  All leaves were once foliated on recto in brown ink by a 19th cent. owner, just above the outer border of the textual area.
  Some folio numbers have been clumsily effaced, leaving a dark spot.
  [One gathering sold at Reiss & Sohn 105/I lot 676, acquired by the eBay retail seller 'mirelle1' in Ermelo].
  
• "Troyes c.1450 (or c.1470)" Book of Hours, use of Troyes, probably Troyes c.1475.
  xxxff. 151 x 112 mm. 14 lines textura (80 x 65 mm).
  Painted and gilted borders by all major initials, decorated in a typical Troyes provincial style.
  Provenance unknown. No miniatures known at present.
  
• "Guernier Hours", Book of Hours, use of Paris, Latin and French [Northern France, c.1475-85]
  141 ff., 133 x 88 mm, 16 lines (70 x 48 mm), french lettre bâtarde in dark brown ink.
  Provenance: Sale Sotheby's: Western Illuminated Manuscripts the property of the John Carter Brown Library, London 18 May 1981, lot 3 [Bought by Alan G. Thomas].
  Ex Sotheby's: Western Manuscripts, Sale L06240, 6 July 2006 lot 86.
  Fragments sold Reiss & Sohn 107/2006 lots 2008-2013. Three miniatures sold at Bloomsbury Auctions 601/2007 lot 22, 23, 24.
  
• "Guyot Hours" Heures à l'usage de Nantes, - France c.1485-1510.
  194 ff. 120 x 80 mm. 15 lines (64 x 40 mm), provincial bastarda script.
  Painted panel borders on most pages (decoration partially repainted after 1500 to conceal original ownership). Complex mixture of contents and styles (Nantes and Rouen?)
  Provenance: Ex Sotheby's: Western Manuscripts & Miniatures, Sale LO6240, 6 July 2006 lot 88.
  Sold as single leaves on eBay, called 'Rouen c.1485' (N-W). Three miniatures sold at Bloomsbury Auctions 601/2007 lot 17, 18, 19;
  
• Heures à l'usage de Nantes, Book of Hours, use of Nantes, France c.1475-1495.
  121 ff. (of 128ff.) 125 x 80 mm. lacking seven leaves with miniatures, 15 lines, textura.
  Provenance: Sold complete by Seller: 'fine.books' ('medievalbooks.org') on eBay September 10th, 2006 (Item number: 260026888724 ):
  PSALMS Medieval French Vellum Manuscript BOOK OF HOURS 1400-1425 ~ 242 PAGES ~ 1300 GOLD INITIALS & LINE STOPS
  Winning bid: US $6,200.00 Ended: Sep-10-06 09:00:00 PDT - Broken up and sold by Tuscany Books on eBay since 5 Oct. 2006.
  Voir le blog de PECIA: Depecage d'un Livre d'Heures à l'usage de Nantes (jean-luc deuffic) avec des commentaires.
  
• "Burgundy c.1480-90" Horæ ad usum Romanum c.1500.
  >146 ff. 117 x 75 mm. 19 lines bastarda text (72 x 45 mm).
  A late commercial product of modest quality without general interest, apart from a few historiated initials.
  Perhaps a commercial copy after a printed edition. Provenance unknown.
  

Some dismembered manuscripts sold on eBay as single leaves 2002-2006.

• Use of Paris 1429 (Codex eBay) Book of Hours, in Latin and French
  203ff. (after removal of miniatures) 187 x 135 mm, 14 lines textura
  
• Utrecht c.1420 (Delft? penwork, c.1440-1460) Book of Hours, in Dutch
  >200ff. 12 x 8,4 cm. 2 cols. of 24 lines (78 x 53 mm) (Unknown provenance)
  
• Beauvais Hours also known as the 'Sotheby's Hours'
  - Book of Hours, use of Beauvais, Rouen 1430-1432 (Supposed Hours of Bishop Pierre Cauchon)
  Sold Sotheby's 14 July 1981 lot 114, 240ff. 196 x 135 mm. 18 lines textura.
  (Dispersed since 2002, numerous single gatherings and miniatures sold at various auctions)
  
• Amiens Hours c.1430-1440 - Book of Hours, use of Amiens, Amiens c.1430-40
  86ff. (fragment without calendar). 187 x 135 mm. 15 lines - textura in 2 degrees (106 x 74 mm)
  (Unknown provenance)
• Amiens c.1430-1440 ('Upholland Hours')
  197ff. 172 x 120 mm. 12 lines, textura (95 x 58 mm)
  Sold Christie's 2 Dec. 1987 lot 33 (Now dispersed)
• Amiens c.1440-1450 Book of Hours, use of Amiens (?)
  116 ff. 157 x 113 mm. 11 lines in textura (99/100 x 62 mm)
  Sold Sotheby's 22 June 1999 lot 92
• Paris c.1450 - Book of Hours, use of Paris. Vignettes in outer borders
  xxx? ff. 204 x 145 mm, 15 lines (87 x 54 mm) and 17 lines - One large miniature known (Provenance so far unknown)
• Paris c.1450 - Book of Hours, use of Paris. 3/4 borders around baton
  xxx? ff. 16 lines textura
  (Provenance unknown, divided and sold as single leaves 2002-2005)
• "Paris c.1460" (France c.1470-90), with painted borders
  xxxff., c.143 x 98 mm. 17 lines. (Information incomplete. Seller: Tuscanybooks)
• 'Paris c.1470' - Book of Hours, use of Macon, c.1465-1475.
  xx ff. 166 x 122/124 mm 16 lines, textura
  (Provenance unknown, Seller: Tuscanybooks)
• Paris c.1460 - Book of Hours, use of Paris, with outer border (Paris c.1460-1470)
  214ff. 153/55 x 110/14 mm. 14-15 lines, textura
  Ex Sotheby's 1972, 10 July lot 47.
  
• Paris c.1490 (Geometrical Borders) Book of Hours, use of Paris c.1490, Latin and French
  155ff. c.151 x 107 mm. 19 lines, elegant bastarda script (c.85 x 55 mm) A few of the large miniatures are known.
  Provenance: Ex Sotheby's Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, 20 June 1989 lot 63.
• Paris c.1480 - Book of Hours, use of Paris, Paris c.1480-90 [Ex William Foyle Lot 49].
  188 ff. 176 x 123 mm, 16 lines (102 x 74 mm)
  Ex Christie's 11 July 2000 lot 49
• Paris c.1500 (Geometrical outer borders) Book of Hours, use of Paris c.1500, Latin and French, with devise: VBI FIDES / IBI AMOR
  182 ff., 179 x 127 mm.,16 lines (118 x 70 mm), textura.
  Ex Sotheby's, Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, 5 July 2005 Lot 104.
  
• Limoges c.1465 - Hore ad usum Romanum (Calendar and Litany for Limoges use). Limoges c.1475-1485
  176 ff. 12 lines (All leaves sold by Tuscany Books)
  
• Limoges c.1475 - Book of Hours, use of Rome.
  178 ff. 165 x 115 mm, 15 lines (87 x 54 mm) Bastarda script.
  Ex Sotheby's 2 Dec. 2003 lot 85. Single leaves sold on eBay
• Troyes c.1475 Grotesques borders - Book of Hours, use of Troyes? c.1475-1500
  xx?ff. 162 x 126 mm. 15 lines, textura
  (Scattered leaves from a dismembered ms. sold 2002-2005)
• Rouen c.1500 - Book of Hours, use of Rouen, Rouen c.1500
  87 ff. (incomplete) 175 x 124 mm. 20 lines (110 x 70 mm). With a few miniatures.
  Ex: Sotheby's Western Manuscripts and Miniatures, 2 Dec. 2003 Lot 89
  
• Use of Rouen (passim)
  The number of dispersed leaves from Rouen Hours, produced c.1490-1525 is immense. Recently has a great number of books of hours produced in Rouen before 1490 been dismembered and are now for sale as single leaves on eBay. Some of these are of considerable interest to scholars, no matter how poorly they are preserved.
  
• Rouen c.1475-85 Book of Hours, use of Rouen.
  137 ff. 160 x113mm, 15 lines textura (93 x 62mm), panel borders in all outer margins.
  Ex Sotheby's Western Manuscripts and Miniatures 5 July 2005 lot 99
  (Two miniatures were at auction at Reiss & Sohn 26 April 2006 lot 677 and 678).
• 'Paris c.1520' (Cordeliers borders) Book of Hours, use of Chartres, c.1520.
  xxxff. 165 x 109 mm, 18 lines humanist script (115 x 63 mm)
  Written in imitation of humanist printing types. All pages with a border of knotted ropes (Cordeliers)
  Some large miniatures made with illuminated pasted-in woodcuts.
  
• 'Breviary from Rome 1265' - Norwich Breviary In Latin (England 15th cent.)
  261ff. 2 cols. of 34-35 lines.
  Sold Bonham's and Butterfield, 14 Oct. 2003 Lot 5005. Dismembered a few weeks later and sold on eBay 2003-2005, as dating from "Rome in the year 1265".
• 'Benedictine Breviary 1380' - Breviary In Latin (15th c.)
  xxxff. 2 cols. of 32 lines.
  Dismembered by Tuscany Books 2003-2005. Due to the poor quality of the pictures can it easily be confused with the previous item.

The trade with single leaves from dismembered medieval manuscripts has accelerated during the last years.
Many Books of Hours were sold as parts, whole gatherings of text, and single miniatures at various auction houses,
some were predominantly dispersed as single leaves on eBay.
Many of the dismembered manuscripts are rarely containing any information unknown to scholars, they are often poorly preserved, and their decoration is of an average artistic standard.
A few of the Books of Hours has, however, turned out to be of significant cultural and historical interest.
Discovery of such books with unrecorded contents would not have been possible, if some of the leaves not had passed a few skilled sellers who, in contrast to most other sellers in the past, regulary has supplied some fairly good pictures of the items.
Pictures have thus recorded and published documentation, that otherwise would have been lost forever. And thanks to jpegs of good quality has valuable information been brought to the attention of scholars.
Statistics from 2002-2005 has shown that prices obtained are direct proportional with the quality and resolution af the pictures displayed on the sellers web site.
For the student of manuscripts, online auctions have an interesting side-effect: anyone minded to do so can collect scores of the often high-quality photographs/scans that promote the sale of each leaf which, in theory, would allow the virtual reconstruction of the book and the creation of a complete digital facsimile.
Perhaps what are needed are individuals willing to take it upon themselves to collect and archive such images, or institutions willing to sponsor such work.
See: Cutting up manuscripts for ... profit.