The medieval Book of Hours was made in the second half of the fifteenth century, probably in Bruges, and perhaps for a marriage. It’s one of the more gloriously decorated medieval books in UGA’s collection, but while you are oohing and ahhing over the borders, take a look at the handwriting as well. This is a lovely, rounded script that is more legible to the modern eye than most medieval scripts. The books includes a number of Easter eggs for you to search for as well – look out for daisy warriors, dragon princesses, clues that perhaps it was made for a marriage, and a message left by the scribe. The Laudes Beatae Mariae Virginis is a book produced by the Kelmscott Press, perhaps the most famous of the fine arts presses. Kelmscott Press was the brainchild of William Morris, himself a major figure in the Arts and Crafts movement. Morris wanted Kelmscott Press books to capture the quality and craftsmanship of medieval manuscripts and printed books, and he accordingly put extensive thought into every aspect of the book’s production: the inks used, the paper chosen, the type created, the method of creating woodcuts. The Kelmscott typefaces were modeled on medieval script and early print type. Most Kelmscott Press printings were secular works, both contemporary (including Morris’s own writings) and medieval (most famously the exquisite Kelmscott Chaucer). Laudes is therefore unusual for being a collection of prayers. It’s also unusual for including blue ink, the only one of UGA’s eight Kelmscott Press books to do so. Check out the colophon (in the back) for details on the source of its text. The Kelmscott Press helped generate a whole movement in letterpress and fine print books, books that were intended to be aesthetic objects. Special Collections contains many books from this tradition, but for our final “beautiful [prayerful] words” I have chosen Geoffrey Chauer’s A.B.C, as printed in 1967. We don’t tend to think of Chaucer as a religious poet, but his “ABC” is an alphabetic poem in honor of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. This book was produced by the Grabhorn-Hoyem Press, the “second generation” of a letterpress printer established in San Francisco in the twentieth century. Attend to the “note bene” at the beginning of the book for more about its beautiful script, as well as the colophon in the back. References “‘The Ideal Book’: William Morris and the Kelmscott Press.” The William Morris Society, 2025. https://williammorrissociety.org/the-ideal-book-william-morris-and-the-kelmscott-press/ Grabhorn Press Libguide. Santa Clara University Library, 2025. https://libguides.scu.edu/grabhorn
