farfel_n03_178_219

219
Sept. '85
Rossignol Paris
280F = $28
Latin Breviary, or pocket missal, end of 13th C, France.
5 x 7 1/8". On Vellum. Written in a Gothic hand, in 2
columns of 30 lines each, with 2 line capitals alternating
in red + blue. f. 199

Proprium de tempore.
Stephani proto martyris Dec. 26
S. Johannis apostoli et evangelistae Dec 17

The use of papyrus was at its peak in Egypt during the rule of the Ptolemies.
The manufacture of papyrus sheets developed before 3000 BC +
maintained its supremacy until 500 A.D. Between the 1+7th C
papyrus was gradually replaced by parchment + vellum.
maximum ht - 47 cm - limited by the length of the stem
- horizontal fiber on inside of roll (write on this side) - recto.
vertical fibers on outside - verso.
Cyperus papyrus - s sedge which grows in stagnant water with
all its roots totally submerged (largest member of the family)
Until very recently papyrus was extinct in Egypt. Indeed, the
plant is not indigenous to Egypt + it flourished there because it
was intensively cultivated. Papyrus flourished in Egypt for at
least 4000 yrs. At the present time papyrus flourishes in the
Sudan, Ethiopia, some parts of N. Africa, Sicily + Syria.