I have just been inspired by a TV program to show you three books that I tried to photograph at Buckland Abbey last week. The program, The Century that Wrote Itself, sets out to trace ‘our modern sense of self back to when ordinary people first took up the quill’. These books were not written by ordinary people, but one at least would have been written with a quill.
This one is my favourite and its the oldest, a medieval Antiphonal from Italy in the late 14th century. An Antiphonal is a winter choir book giving the sung parts of the service for each day from the first Sunday of Advent to the feast of Pentecost.
Lucid Gypsy 
i love to see old books and imagine the labour that went in to producing them … scores of young people with good visions working through the years with quills and colours 🙂
I cannot believe how beautiful these books are. No way can I picture how painstakingly someone created these works. If I didn’t know better I would imagine some kind of press because every letter is so perfect, as if printed in the fonts of today. And easily instead of letter by letter, word by word with pen and hours before the end.
What lovely pictures, Gilly. I do love old books, don’t you? And they do indeed represent who we are.
Just remarkable~so glad you shared, I cherish old books.
How wonderful!
I did a course on calligraphy and illustrative manuscripts always fascinate me!
I am in agreement with you the Antiphonal from Italy is wonderful. it is a treasure. The way the letters and colors are integrated is a work of art. Thanks for sharing these. These are books I never would have seen.
Blessings,
Issy xoxo
Exceptional typography! I agree with Issy, work of art!!!!
Beautiful post, Gilly!
🙂
Wonderful! It’s brimming with history! They are beautiful!
the last one seems to be a real treasure!
It’s amazing. The time and skill that went into these.
Amazing
A priceless part of history. We need to preserve as much books of the past and the stories they tell.
What a beautiful book, Gilly. So different from today’s cheap paper backs. We are going backwards, aren’t we? 😦
Priceless! Margie