illuminate my book hunt

October 15, 2015 4:25 PM

I am looking for the best book about ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS. Not a reproduction of an illuminated manuscript but an informative history.

The ideal book would have lots of glossy examples, with information presented in an approachable way. Nothing too dry or text book like. Bonus if it is history heavy rather than skewing toward the art of the books.

Obviously I can look at Amazon reviews, but I was hoping yous could help me narrow my search. Thanks much.

posted by tippy to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Christopher De Hamel's A History of Illustrated Manuscripts does this very well. It's informative, engaging, approachable, and has great images. De Hamel discusses manuscripts in the context of the different types of people that would have been producing and/or using them - missionaries, emperors, monks, students, aristocrats, everybody, priests, and collectors.

If you want to dive further into manuscripts, the advanced reading lists from Rare Book School classes on the topic are an excellent resource:

The Book in the Manuscript Era
Introduction to Illuminated Manuscripts
posted by radiomayonnaise at 5:59 PM on October 15, 2015