ALTERNATIVE TITLES – Gaston Phoebus: The Master of Game – Livre de la Chasse de Gaston Fébus – Libro de la Caza de Gastón III de Foix-Bearne – Buch der Jagd von Gaston Phoebus.
PHYSICAL FEATURES – Codex on parchment, size 381 x 290 mm, 127 folios (254 pages).
ORIGIN – France (Paris).
DATING – 15th century (approx. 1406-1407).
FORMER OWNERS – Louis I, Duke of Orléans; Francis II, Duke of Brittany; Isabella I, Queen of Castile; Ferdinand II of Aragon; Philip I, King of Castile (uncertain); Philip II, King of Castile (uncertain); Real Biblioteca del Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial (uncertain); George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough; Sir Thomas Phillipps; Thomas Fitzroy Phillipps Fenwick; Abraham Simon Wolf Rosenbach; Miss Clara Sargent Peck.
GENRE – Treatises / Secular books, Games.
CONTENT – Treatise on hunting written between 1387 and 1389 by Gaston III Fébus (Phébus or Febus), eleventh Count of Foix, and dedicated to Philip II the Bold (1342-1404), Duke of Burgundy. The manuscript also contains prayers in French and Latin at ff. 111-126.
LANGUAGE – French, Latin.
SCRIPT – Gothic script, text in 2 columns.
DECORATION – 87 large miniatures, many illuminated initials.
ILLUMINATORS – Bedford Master workshop. Eberhard König thinks that the Bedford Master worked on the codex after another artist (probably the Josephus Master) had already conceived the subjects.
STYLE – Gothic.
EXTERNAL LINKS – The Morgan Library & Museum (digitized manuscript) – The Morgan Library & Museum (CORSAIR Online Collection Catalog).
Data sheet: Illuminated Facsimiles
Book of Hunting
FACSIMILE EDITION
Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document – The facsimile reproduces as close as possible the physical characteristics of the original document, with the aim to substitute it in the scientific research and in the libraries of the bibliophile collectors. Trimming and composition of the leaves reproduce the profile and structure of the original document. The binding might not correspond to that of the original document as it appears at the present moment.
Publisher – Faksimile Verlag (Lucerne/Munich, 2005).
Manufacturer – The digitisation, printing and reproduction, patination and chiselling of the gold parts were carried out by Print & Art workshops in Graz.
Limited edition – The facsimile was published in a single limited edition of 980 copies numbered with Arabic numerals for sale worldwide. A further 80 non-commercial copies numbered with Roman numerals were reserved for the publisher.
Certificate of authenticity – The authenticity certificate with the copy number is printed on the colophon of the facsimile.
Binding – The binding made for the manuscript of the King of France Louis XII (Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Ms. lat. 4777) served as a model for the embroidered silk and parchment binding. The binding fabric was produced exclusively for this edition by Gessner AG in Wädenswil. The embroidered lilies were applied by the embroidery workshops of Jakob Schlaepfer, St. Gallen. The volume was sewn by hand in the Burkhardt bookbinding workshops in Mönchaltfort/Zurich.
Commentary – Commentary in German and French, 2 volumes in slipcase, size 29 x 21 cm, 446-227 pages, colour and black and white photos, ISBN 3-85672-101-0 (only the commentary, without the facsimile). Essays by: Christe, Yves; D’Escayrac-Lauture, Antoine; Voelke, William M.; Avril, François.
Slipcase – Plexiglas case.
ISBN – 3-85672-100-2 (only the facsimile, without the commentary).
Copyright photos: Illuminated Facsimiles
