Excellent condition with no wrapper. FIRST EDITION. Sixty stunning unnumbered hand-coloured plates (including extra-illustrated title page and one large folding plate) reproducing specimens of illuminated manuscripts and printed books from the Middle Ages from the British Museum and private collections. 4to. 11 x 8.5 inches. Dark green cloth, title in gilt, and label to spine. Covering the 6th to the 17th centuries. Book: name in ink to front endpaper. Corners are slightly worn. The top and tail of the spine slightly chipped. Plates are all present, elaborately printed in gold and colours - they are magnificent. Coloured plates in order: 1. Title page. 2. Fragment of a Greek manuscript - 6th century. 3. As above. 4. As above. 5. As above. 6. Capital letters from Latin and Saxon Gospels ("St Cuthbert's Gospels") 8th century. 7. Saxon Letters and Ornaments from a Psalter - 10th century. 8. Borders - 11th century. 9. Border from Greek Gospels - 11th century. 10. Capital letters from Latin Bible - 12 century. 11. Large capital letters from Latin Passionale, the 12th century. 12. As above. 13. As above. 14. As above. 15. As above. 16. As above. 17. As above (folding plate). 18. Capital letter from Latin Bible. 19. Specimen from a Psalter of the time of King Edward I. 20. As above. 21. Figures from a Latin Breviary - 14th century. 22. Borders from a Latin Psalter - 14 century. 23. As above. 24. Capital letters from a manuscript of Latin Poems - 14th century. 25. As above. 26. A pair of beautiful initial letters depicting portraits of Edward III & The Black Prince / King John of France. 27. Border fragments from "Lectionarium" - 14th century. 28. Alphabet of small capitals - 15th century. 29. As above. 30. Specimens representing the Crucifixion and the Burial of the Dead from a book of Hours - 15th century. 31. Border specimens from Latin Hours - 15th century. 32. As above. 33. Initial letter and border - 15th century. 34. Border and letter from Filocopo of Boccacio - 15th century. 35. An Arabesque border specimen from Latin Hours. 36. Orders and initial letters - 15th century. 37. Initial letter and facsimile from Virgil - 15th century. 38. Facsimile and ornament, printed on vellum - 1465. 39. Elegant border and initial letter from the Italian translation of Pliny's 'Natural History' 1476. 40. Alphabet of small capital letters c1480. 41. As above. 42. Elegant examples of arms and borders from 'Chronicle of Froissart' in use towards the close of the 15th century. 43. Arms of two of the Knights of the Golden Fleece / Arms of Edward III - 15th century. 44. Edward IV arms within a border of flowers /arms and border specimen from the middle of the 15th century. 45. Orders from Latin translation of Eusebius - 1482. 46. Initial letters from Latin translation of Eusebius - 1482. 47. Order from Latin Breviary - 15th century. 48. Order, arms, and facsimile, 15th century. 49. Orders from a Latin Service Book, 1484 - 1492. 50. As above. 51. Order, illumination, and facsimile from Latin Hours - 15th century. 52. Examples of borders from Poems of the Duke of Orleans, taken from a manuscript in the royal library. 53. As above. 54. Order from the Sforziada, 1490. 55. Initial letters from the Sforziada, Milan 1490. 56. A pair of initial letters from Aulus Gellius, 1479 - 1494. 57. Capital letters from a miscellaneous manuscript c 1500. 58. Order from Latin Hours, 1527. 59. Orders from Latin Service-Book, 1557 - 1570. 60. Order from Latin Service Book, 1623 - 1644.