illustrative of this period
of French illumination, viz. Add. 18853, 18854, and 18855. These three
MSS. formed part of the purchase which included the Bedford Offices.
18853 is a Book of Offices executed apparently for Francis I. In some of
the borders is a large F with the _Cordeli?re_ of the third Order of St.
Francis and a rayed crown, and on folio 97 v. a large monogram
consisting of the letter F, with two crossed sceptres and palm branches,
surmounted by the crown-royal of France.
Nothing is known of the history of the MS. from 1547 to 1723, when it
was in possession of the Regent Philippe d'Orl?ans. Possibly it had
remained as an heirloom in the family. Philippe gave it to his natural
son the Abb? Rothelin, a great lover of rare books and a noted
collector, at whose death it was bought by Gaignat, another collector,
who sold it to the Duc de la Valli?re, and so, step by step, it came at
length to Sir John Tobin, of Liverpool, and thence to the British
Museum.
The partly sculpturesque character of the border-frames are of the kind
just referred to, with festoons and garlands of flowers, and drapery,
monograms, and emblems in full rich colours; the architecture and other
ornaments sometimes finished with pencillings of gold.
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