THE HOLKHAM BIBLE PICTURE BOOK

First edition, first printing. Signed by W. O. Hassall. Original full red morocco with five raised bands and gilt titles to the spine and blind stamped designs to the upper and lower boards. Top edge gilt. Deckled edges. Illustrated with reproductions of the 42 leaves of the Holkham Bible in colour and black and white. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, the extremities a little rubbed, with a tiny split to the hinge near the top of the upper board. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owners' stamps or inscriptions. An excellent example.

Issued in a limited edition of 100 copies, this example is numbered 13 and is signed by William Owen Hassall in blue ink on the limitation page. Hassall was a librarian and archivist specialising in medieval manuscripts who held the position of librarian to the Earl of Leicester at Holkham from 1937 to 1983. He was also assistant librarian in the Department of Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library from 1938 to 1980. The exceptional 14th century illuminated Holkham Bible was obtained by Thomas Coke, the 1st Earl of Leicester, in 1816 and was housed in the library of Holkham Hall until it entered the collections of The British Library in 1952. This beautifully produced volume, enriched by Hassall's authoritative introduction and commentary, was the first facsimile of the manuscript to be issued.