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Guillaume Eustace (French, 1497-1538), Book of Hours, 1508, Hand-colored wood block printing on…
Book of Hours
Guillaume Eustace (French, 1497-1538), Book of Hours, 1508, Hand-colored wood block printing on vellum, tooled leather binding with metal fittings, 7 1/2 × 4 7/8 × 1 1/2 in., The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, New York, Bequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde, 1971.235. Photography by Michael Fredericks.

Book of Hours

Publisher Guillaume Eustace French, 1497 - 1538
Date1508
MediumHand-colored wood block printing on vellum, tooled leather binding with metal fittings
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 × 4 7/8 × 1 1/2 in. (19.1 × 12.4 × 3.8 cm)
ClassificationsBooks
Credit LineBequest of Charlotte Pruyn Hyde
Object number1971.235
On View
Not on view
SignedGuillaume Eustace's name is printed in the lower border of the frontispiece. It is overlaid by a motto, probably a later addition, applied in gold leaf. Above this border is his printer's device or mark which is a pair centaurs flanking a fruiting tree from which is suspended a shield bearing his monogram.
InscribedThe inside of the front cover has some cursive writing in pen that is heavily faded and largely illegible. The inside of the back cover has writing by the same hand that is also very difficult to read although two dates ---1722 and 1718---are distinguishable. In the LR corner is the book’s accession number printed in pencil. The UR corner has “7000 f” written in pencil. The UL corner has “719H[?]” written in purple pencil.
MarkingsSee Signed
DescriptionThe front and back covers are dark brown leather blind-tooled with six vertical registers of a repeating decorative floral motif within a border of rinceau decoration. The four corners of each cover have metal fittings and the foredge is gilt (now largely faded). Each text page has twenty-three lines. There are fourteen full-page color illuminations depicting scenes from the life of Christ and twelve pages each with a small illumination representing the months of the year. Both the text and the images are carved in woodblocks. The text was not printed with moveable type. The text pages facing the full-page illuminations are given painted decorative floral borders. Numerous pages have illuminated initials. A full-page black and white woodcut depicting death and several figures surrounded by writing in French is found after the illustrations of the months. The title page has the printer's device or mark of Guillaume Eustace which consists of two centaurs, one carrying a club and the other carrying a bow, one on each side of fruit tree from which is suspended a shield with the Eustace's initials. Below this image is a border with the words “SPES.MEA.DEVS[deus]” written in gold lettering over the name of the publisher, Guillaume Eustace, printed in black.

The full-page color illuminations depict, in the following order: A Miracle of Saint John the Evangelist, The Betrayal of Christ, Annunciation, Visitation, Crucifixion, Pentecost, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation in the Temple, Flight into Egypt, Dormition of the Virgin and an unidentifiable scene depicting a pauper or leper approaching a royal banquet with the view of a shepherd witnessing a miraculous vision through the window. Each of these illustrations is bordered with gilt architectural enframements and many aspects of the illustrations, such as details in drapery folds or leaves, are highlighted in gold.

The book is stored in a modern brown slipcase with “Livres d’Heures/Estienne” printed on the spine along with the date of 1508. The Estienne family are well-known Parisian printer/publishers of this period and later and were previously believed to be the printer of this volume. However, identification of the bookplate as that of Guillaume Eustace as well as no finding of a bookplate like this for the Estienne family well as the presence of his name, albeit somewhat disguised under the gilt motto described above, confirms that this is not correct.
Exhibition History"A Passion for the Printed Word: The Book Collection of Louis Hyde," Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, Aug. 11 - Nov. 3, 2002.

"Worth A Thousand Words: The Art of Illustration from The Hyde Collection," Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, October 28, 2011 - Feb. 19, 2012.

"Growing Up in a Renaissance Palazzo: Childhood in Italy 1400-1600," Charles R. Wood Gallery, The Hyde Collection, Oct. 5, 2024-Jan. 5, 2025.
ProvenanceGlens Fall, NY, Louis F. Hyde
1934, Glens Falls, NY, Mrs. Charlotte P. Hyde
1963, Glens Falls, NY, The Hyde Collection Trust (Bequest of Charlotte P. Hyde)