THE ILLUMINATED MS. BOOK
In the Middle Ages the illuminated MS. book occupied a very prominent
position. The printing-press was not then in existence, so the
manuscript book was without a rival. To-day the printing-press is to
the forefront and the manuscript book is practically unheard of. There
is, nevertheless, no reason why the art of illumination should not be
practised in the same manner as was formerly the case. It is true that
beautiful books are produced by the printer, but there ought also to
be a demand for books beautiful, written and illuminated by artists of
the present day. An illuminated manuscript has many advantages over
the printed book, one of which is the fact that it is unique instead
of being one of many. There is no need to enumerate the many other
advantages that the manuscript book possesses.
The best material upon which to write a manuscript book is undoubtedly
vellum, although fine hand-made paper may be substituted if it is not
desirable to go to the expense of procuring vellum for this purpose.
A paper that is soft and flexible should be selected in preference to
one that is hard and stiff. Anything approaching cardboard should be
avoided.
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE OF ILLUMINATED MS. OF BLAKE’S “SONGS OF
INNOCENCE.”
BY SIDNEY FARNSWORTH.]
The first thing to decide in writing a manuscript book is the size of
the page. After this is settled, the size of the lettering should be
taken into consideration. If the manuscript is to be on vellum this
should be bought ready cut to the size required. It is much cheaper to
buy vellum in this way than to buy the skin and cut it for oneself. The
reason for this is because the manufacturer can cut up a more or less
imperfect skin into small pieces, but when a whole skin is required
this must be perfect in every respect.
The best vellum for manuscript books is the kind known as Roman vellum,
a very soft and flexible kind of vellum. For title-pages, and any other
pages which are likely to be covered with elaborate work, a slightly
heavier vellum may be advisable.
For general purposes a good size for the page is 10 in. by 7½ in.,
_i.e._, the vellum sheets should be cut 10 in. by 15 in. It is as well
to leave a slight margin for drawing-pins in addition to this. One of
these sheets should be ruled out, as shown in (_a_), Fig. 44, with a
sharply-pointed H.B. pencil. The lines should be ruled very lightly
so that they may be erased with the slightest possible touch of the
rubber. After one sheet has been carefully ruled out in this manner,
the others can be marked out in a similar fashion by pricking through.
Manuscript books are generally written in eight-page sections, formed
by folding one sheet within the other, as in (_b_).
The proportion of the margins may vary according to circumstances, but
it is best to make them fairly wide. The inside margin is made smaller
than the outside one, because the two inner margins come together, thus
forming a wide margin between the two pages of lettering. It should,
however, be made wider than half the size of the outside margin, to
allow for the folding of the leaves when the book is bound. A good
arrangement for the commencement of a MS. book is shown in Fig. 44
(_b_), (_c_), or (_d_). The title is written on page 1. Pages 2 and 3
are blanks. The frontispiece and title-page occupy pages 4 and 5. Page
6 is another blank, and the manuscript starts on page 7. The title may
be written simply in red, or red and black. This should not be written
quite in the centre of the page, a larger space should be left at the
bottom, as if this is equal with the top it will look as if a larger
space had been left at the top.
[Illustration: FIG. 44.]
For the frontispiece a miniature may be used, illustrating some passage
in the book; or a coat-of-arms or some symbol may be worked in
surrounded by decoration. The title-page should have the title and the
author’s name, but the artist should not put his name here. When he has
finished the MS. he may write at the end a colophon, stating his name,
and when and where the book was written. It is best when writing out
the manuscript to leave the title-page and frontispiece until the rest
of the matter has been written.
[Illustration: TITLE-PAGE OF ILLUMINATED MS. OF BLAKE’S “SONGS OF
INNOCENCE.”
BY SIDNEY FARNSWORTH.]
No elaborate planning of pages is necessary. A good number of pages
should be ruled out with lines ready for writing, and the manuscript
should be written straight away with the quill pen. Spaces are left
for initial letters, miniatures, etc., as the writer feels they are
fitting and necessary. The student should be very careful to write out
the pages in the proper order, as it is very easy to make mistakes by
writing on the wrong pages. For example, if he is not careful he is
very liable, after having written the second page of a section, to go
on writing on page 7, instead of page 3, which is on another sheet of
vellum folded inside the first. A good method for avoiding this is to
number the pages lightly in pencil with large figures at the head of
each page.
When writing out the words, the vellum should be fastened to the
drawing-board with drawing-pins, a pad formed with several sheets of
blotting-paper being placed under the vellum to ensure easy writing.
If possible, place the copy just above the writing level, where it can
easily be seen.
If it is necessary to find out how many pages the manuscript is likely
to run into, a rough calculation can easily be made by ruling out a
sheet of paper and lightly pencilling in a page of the writing. It
will then be an easy matter to count up the number of words to form an
estimate of the number of pages required.
The student should always, before commencing to write, read through the
matter and decide what initials he will have, also whether he will have
any miniatures, etc. In fact, he ought to be able, before he commences
work, to visualise the whole of the manuscript completed. If his mental
image of the finished book is a grand one he will be inspired to do his
utmost to make the actual one as much like the one in his imagination
as possible.
After the writing has been done, the initial letters, borders,
etc., may be drawn lightly with pencil. After this, the next stage
is the gilding. Before this is done, however, the vellum should be
carefully fastened tightly to the drawing-board with a large number of
drawing-pins to prevent it from cockling.
When the gold has been laid and burnished, the colouring is proceeded
with, and the page is finished.
The colophon is written at the end, a blank page being left between it
and the last page of writing. This should be in quite simple lettering
without any ostentatious show of decoration. The wording may be as
follows: “This book, written out by me ---- in ----, for ----, was
finished on the ---- day of ----, Anno Domini, 19--.”
Of course, there is no need to word the colophon always in this manner.
This is merely a form suggested. In the case of a book where several
have taken part in the work, mention should be made of this. It is not
a bad plan also to include the name of the binder, in the event of the
book being bound by a good craftsman. Some examples of colophons are
shown in Fig. 45.
It is a mistake to make all the pages elaborate in style; in fact it is
best to make the majority of them quite simple in treatment, with here
and there one that is more ornate in character.
[Illustration: FIG. 45.]
The writing is the principal thing in the book, therefore nothing must
be added that will in any way detract from this. If the addition of
decoration has this effect it would be much better to leave the writing
quite plain. It is impossible to lay down any rules to govern the use
of decoration in the manuscript book. It is largely a matter of feeling
one’s way. If the decoration is well-considered and suited to the
words it will help, rather than detract from, the lettering.
It should be remembered that the primary object of a book is to be
read. If the book fails in this respect it will also most certainly
fail from the standpoint of beauty. One of the first essentials of
anything that lays claim to beauty is that it shall serve its purpose.
Therefore care should be taken that nothing be done that will, in any
way, tend to make the book less readable.
The decoration should be strongly influenced by the subject-matter of
the book. Some illuminators appear to have one idea only with regard to
illumination. No matter what the words are, the same kind of decoration
is used. They seem to make no distinction whether the subject is a
mediæval romance or something quite modern. This is a great mistake,
and shows a lack of thought and imagination on the part of the artist.
The ideas expressed in the words should also be felt in the decoration;
in fact, the book when completed should form one harmonious whole.
When miniatures are introduced these also should harmonise with
the decoration. It is not advisable to make these resemble small
water-colour paintings that have no connection with the rest of
the ornament. On the other hand, these should not be drawn in too
conventional a manner. They should be essentially decorative in
treatment, and careful study from nature should prevent the student
from making these too hard and rigid in character. Complete unity
should run throughout all the work.
[Illustration: TWO PAGES FROM THE ILLUMINATED MS. OF BLAKE’S “SONGS OF
INNOCENCE.”
BY SIDNEY FARNSWORTH.]
Even in the writing itself it is possible to express something. For
example, some prose looks best if written with a fairly heavy massed
writing, whilst other of a lighter character seems to be best if
written with the lettering less heavy and more loosely arranged. Poetry
generally seems to require to be written with a lighter type of letter
and with the lines of lettering wider apart. It is, however, not wise
to lay down hard and fast rules with regard to this: one should be able
to feel what is the best thing to do.
When writing the MS., and, indeed, right through every stage, absolute
quiet is necessary to concentrate one’s mind on the work. One should
endeavour to give it one’s undivided attention.
A test as to whether an artist has succeeded is to observe, when the
book is shown to anyone, whether the words are noticed at all, or if
the decoration only is admired without any apprehension as to what the
words are about. If the latter is the case, then, to some extent, the
artist has failed. A manuscript that has been illuminated in the right
spirit should enable the reader to understand and appreciate the words
better.
After the MS. is completed it should be carefully bound by an
experienced binder. It is as well to choose a good craftsman for this
purpose, and one who has had some experience in binding manuscripts
containing raised gold, as it is very easy for a binder to spoil the
manuscript if he is not accustomed to handling work of this kind. To
make the whole thing a success it is necessary that the binder should
be an artist as well as the illuminator.
A simple method of binding MSS. in limp vellum, without special
appliances, is described in the next chapter.