Single leaf from Book of Hours, likely Low Countries or Northern France, 15th c.
(195 x 145 mm) Single leaf on parchment. 14 lines in Latin written in Gothic textualis. Single two-line initial in blue with red pen ornamentation. Small blue line filler. Mounted verso-side up with two tabs of tape to form a hinge. Piece of historic mylar mounted with two tabs of tape to form a window. Set in limp card slip with viewing window framed in red. 20th century text centered in medieval-style type with greetings from Fanny and Philip Duschnes. Some crumpling and tearing to card frame. Overall GOOD condition.
Philip Duschnes was a prominent Madison Ave bookseller in the early to mid-20th century. His legacy is complicated, like his colleague and collaborator, Otto Ege, both of whom believed that alongside a chicken in every pot, every American should have the opportunity to own a bit of the medieval-- for cultural and educational purposes. This ambition was facilitated by breaking medieval manuscripts to create portfolios of leaves. The Beauvais Missal and St. Albans Bible have been famously dispursed thanks to Duschnes' efforts.
Likely a biproduct of his creation of these portfolios, this leaf served as a holiday greeting from Duschnes and his wife. The leaf itself is from a 15th century Book of Hours, likely from the Low Countries or Northern France. It is entirely possible with further research that the parent book, disbound by Duschnes or Ege, can be identified.