Italian Giant Bibles and Blank Books: Links
Friday links:
"Italian Giant Bibles, Lay Patronage, and Professional Workmanship." You had me at Giant. This is a fascinating academic piece on the creation and distribution of a group of medieval manuscript Bibles:
In each Bible, the texts are ornamented with large, painted initials composed of vividly colored patterns – stylized leaves, flowers, interlace – arranged in long rectangular or curving fields and bordered by fine yellow bands that typically bend into crown-like knots at the letter’s extremities. Inspired by the decorative repertoire of Carolingian Tours, these “Geometrical” letters, as Edward Garrison baptized them, counterbalance the unadorned solemnity of the main script, a large-lobed late Caroline minuscule devoid of obvious regional or local traits (minuscola carolina non-tipizzata). Roman capitals occasionally mixed with uncial spell out the tituli and incipits in minium, black ink, or an alternation of the two.
"Blank Books." (h/t: 18th Century Bibles) Since I've been writing quite a bit about notebooks and such at my other blog, these exquisite blank books caught my attention. On one of the half calf bindings with your choice of marbled paper would be a very nice way to keep notes. Check out the mottled brown leather in the photos -- I love that!
