LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF WARNER’S FOUR-PART ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1903, ONE OF ONLY 500 COPIES, WITH 60 EXQUISITE FOLIO CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC PLATES

WARNER, George F. Illuminated Manuscripts in the British Museum. Miniatures, Borders, and Initials Reproduced in Gold and Colours. London: Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1903. Four parts bound in one. Folio (11-1/2 by 15-1/2 inches), contemporary three-quarter red morocco, elaborately gilt-decorated spine, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt.

Limited first edition in parts of this lushly illustrated work on the illuminated manuscripts in the British Museum, each part one of only 500 copies printed, with 60 chromolithographic plates (many heightened in gold) printed by inventor of lithography William Griggs, handsomely bound by J. Larking.

“The 60 plates which make up this volume illustrate an attractive branch of mediaeval art, representing miniatures, borders and ornamental letters from some of the finest illuminated manuscripts in the British Museum. As was explained in the first of the four series in which they originally appeared, the full effect of illumination can hardly be realized without gold and colour, and it was therefore resolved to preserve these essential features so far as it can be done by mechanical means. With this object chromo-lithography, based of course upon photographs, was selected as the process of reproduction, and, although the difficulty of giving a brilliant burnish to the gold has proved insuperable, it is hoped that in other respects satisfactory results have been obtained. Except that under each century examples of the same school have been grouped together, the plates stand in order of date, covering from first to last no less than 800 years” (Preface).

The lithographer of this work, William Griggs, “invented photo-chromo-lithography by first printing from a photo-lithographic transfer a faint impression on the paper to serve as a ‘key,’ separating the colours on duplicate negatives by varnishes, then photo-lithographing the dissected portions on stones, finally registering and printing each in its position and particular colour, with the texture, light and shade of the original. He greatly cheapened the production of colour work by a simplified form of this discovery, viz. by a photo-lithographic transfer from a negative of the original to stone, printed as a ‘key’ in a suitable colour, superimposing thereon, in exact register, transparent tints in harmony with the original… But for his ‘brilliant and painstaking work, chromo-lithography as a means of illustrating books would be almost a lost art, like that of coloured aquatint’ (Hardie, English Coloured Books, 255-6)” (DNB). With general title page bound at front and series title pages bound at rear. First issue of Series I, with publication date of 1899 and with verso of series title page stating that it is one of 300 copies; an additional 200 copies of Series I were printed after Series II, III, and IV were each printed in a limitation of 500 copies, in order to ensure that each part of the work would have 500 copies available for collectors. Original owner signature and purchase notes, dated 1903.

A few leaves with minor marginal paper repair along upper edge. A lovely, large illustrated volume in very nearly fine condition.