Calligraphy book bound in an antiphonal leaf

 

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Calligraphy book bound in an antiphonal leaf

Italy, 1774

Script: Gothic

Parchment with ink and paint

Notation: Square

 

This book of calligraphy samples is bound in an antiphonal leaf inscribed with Psalm 85. Medieval music leaves were frequently used for scrap from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century. Liturgical decisions would be made in a monastic community, rendering some parts of services useless and the pages would be used as binding and scrap material or even as scratch materials for jotting down recipes and the like. The person who used this book for calligraphic practice probably felt that the antiphonal leaf was attractive and chose to use it for the binding itself.

Free Library of Philadelphia Lewis E 55