[Elfsea] Painted Prayers

[HRAFNASDOT at aol.com]

Be sure you know which item you wish to purchase, as there are (at least) 3 different books which could apply to this exhibit.

1."Painter Prayers" is published by the Morgan and is essentially an exhibit catalogue.  You will be able to see each exact page that was on exhibit at the Kimball, with a good commentary and background of each item.  It also is a good overview on books of hours and is usually in stock at the Kimball. as is a good general reference book.  I would think they will have these again, since it is a stock item for them. $25 retail - but can be had a discount if you are museum members.

2. "Catherine of Cleeves", hardcover, listed on the Moragan site, is a good critical analysis of this major item for the exhibit.  Nice hardcover edition - $45 (I didn't see this one specifically at the Kimball)

3. "The Catherine of Cleeves Book of Hours" facimile slip case edition.  This is a very small, stunning replica of this book of hours.  This is how you get to see the rest of this unique book that only had two small pages on exhibit.  The Kimball only had one book when I attended - I assume they did not reorder after my purchase.  Well worth the money, for this is a very unique book of hours, with quite an amazing collection of marginals and items useful and intriguing for any S&I person.  The Kimball may not reorder this one, but it can be had on ABEBOOKS and EBAY, et al, list cost of $75.

I only put this out as it can be quite confusing if you are wanting something specific in one of these books and order the wrong one and end up spending a lot of money.  The downtown library used to have the Painted Prayers book and UTA has a copy of the Catherine of Cleeves facimile.  You can also get these on interlibrary loans if you wish to take a gander at them before you make a purchase.  They can all be had with a little work, and Barnes & Noble or Borders could probably order them for you as well

They are all great books - just very different focal points for each one.