MS. Holkham misc. 49

Boccaccio, Decameron, in Italian
Italy, Ferrara; c. 1467
illuminated by Taddeo Crivelli for Teofilo Calcagnini

Catalogue information | Bodleian filmstrips | Image captions | Image quality | Image sizes

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Images scanned from Bodleian filmstrip Roll 390.3, and from single slides, as indicated

© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 1 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 5r Giornata 1. Initial H[umana]. Miniature: outside the church of S. Maria Novella, Florence, six seated ladies, one standing lady, three young men, all named. Border with roundels of swan with knotted neck; stag; weir, two white doves, putti heads.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 5r As above.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 2 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 5r (detail) Upper part of page.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 3 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 5r (detail) Lower part of page.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 4 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 5r (detail) Detail of miniature.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 5 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 9v Giornata 1. Initial P[ampinea], with her 'portrait'.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 6 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 19r Giornata 1. Initial A, and initial R.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 7 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 20r Two pen-flourished initials.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 20v Giornata 2. Initial S, with 'portrait' of Phylomena.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 20v (detail)
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 8 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 46r Giornata 3. Initial L, with 'portrait' of Neyphile.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 46r As above.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 64r Giornata 4. Initial K with 'portrait' of Phylostrato.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 9 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 64v As above.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 10 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 80v Giornata 5. Initial E with 'portrait' of Fiametta.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 80v (detail)
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 11 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 89r Giornata 5. Initial F. 'Di S. Spirito di Reggio' written in margin.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 12 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 96v Giornata 6. Initial A with 'portrait' of Elissa.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 13 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 101r Giornata 6. Initial L and initial S.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 14 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 105r Giornata 7. Initial O with 'portrait' of Dyoneo.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 105r As above.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 105r (detail)
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 15 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 118v Giornata 8. Initial G with 'portrait' of Lauretta. Initial S.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 118v As above.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 118v (detail) Giornata 8. Detail of swan badge and motto in bottom border.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 16 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 137v Giornata 9. Initial L, with 'portrait' of Emilia.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 137v (detail) Giornata 9. Detail of satyr in border.
© Source: Roll 390.3 frame 17 Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 148r Giornata 10. Initial A, with 'portrait' of Pamphylo.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 148r As above.
© Source: special-order slide Small \| Medium \| Large	fol. 148r (detail) Detail of border.

Catalogue information

A full catalogue description of this manuscript is currently being prepared. As an interim measure we have provided skeletal 'checklist' information, which includes a bibliography that will direct users to sources of further details.

Bodleian filmstrips

The 35 mm. filmstrips or slides from which these images are scanned derive mostly from a stock of more than 30,000 images, as published by the Bodleian Library over the last forty years or so.

The Library recommends the filmstrips for private study or teaching purposes, but cannot guarantee that they are of a quality suitable for further reproduction. Details, including a price-list, can be found at the Western manuscripts Photographic Services page.

Image captions

The captions accompanying the images on this page are taken from handlists prepared over the decades by a number of staff and volunteers to accompany the published filmstrips. They are intended to serve here as a guide to content of the images, but have not been systematically rechecked.

Image quality

Since most of the images presented here have been scanned from the Library's stock of existing slides and filmstrips; their quality is not always up to the highest standards of new photography. Nonetheless, it is hoped that even the scans from the oldest filmstrips will provide users with a great deal of further material for visual reference, in a convenient form. Users who require higher quality images may order photographs in the normal way: see the Photographic Services page.

Sometimes two or more thumbnails may show the same subject. Such apparent duplicates are included for archival purposes: they will derive from shots of the same item, taken at different times, and may therefore show differences of lighting, colour contrast and general quality.

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The images were scanned from existing 35 mm. transparencies using a Nikon LS-2000 slide scanner, at a resolution of 2,700 dpi, in 24-bit colour, which produces an uncompressed TIFF image file a little under 30MB in size. The shelfmark, folio reference, and copyright notice were then added to each file manually using Adobe Photoshop, and saved as an uncompressed TIFF. A batch process using Photoshop creates the JPEG compressed files.

Note that the apparent quality of the images as viewed on-screen is in part dependant upon the quality of the monitor used to view them, and the apparent colour-values are likewise dependant on whether the monitor has been correctly calibrated, and the ambient lighting conditions of the room.

Image sizes

The JPEG thumbnail images on this page are 200 pixels in length along their longest side, use no more than 256 colours, and the files are each about 15-20KB in size. Clicking on each of these images will load a larger version, 500 pixels in length.

The larger versions of each image, respectively 500, 1000, and 1500 pixels along the long side, can be viewed by clicking on the 'Small', 'Medium', and 'Large' links beneath each caption. The images of 500 pixel-length are each about 50-100 KB in size; the 1000 pixel ones about 200-350 KB, and the 1500 pixel ones are about 500-750 KB. We recommend that users start by selecting the smaller sizes before attempting to download the larger ones, since the latter may seem slow to load: this depends on the speed of each user's internet connection and computer system.

MSS. Holkham
'Checklist' information on MSS. Holkham misc.
Western manuscripts to c. 1500
Western manuscripts
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