---
product_id: 11859266
title: "A History of Illuminated Manuscripts Paperback – September 26, 1997"
brand: "christopher de hamel"
price: "€ 60.56"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.ie/products/11859266-a-history-of-illuminated-manuscripts-paperback-september-26-1997
store_origin: IE
region: Ireland
---

# A History of Illuminated Manuscripts Paperback – September 26, 1997

**Brand:** christopher de hamel
**Price:** € 60.56
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** A History of Illuminated Manuscripts Paperback – September 26, 1997 by christopher de hamel
- **How much does it cost?** € 60.56 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ie](https://www.desertcart.ie/products/11859266-a-history-of-illuminated-manuscripts-paperback-september-26-1997)

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## Description

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## Images

![A History of Illuminated Manuscripts Paperback – September 26, 1997 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51RuPdICcgL.jpg)
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    The Best Available History of Illuminated Manuscripts
  

*by T***H on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 23, 2008*

Christopher De Hamel's "A History of Illuminated Manuscripts" (now in its second edition) is certainly the definitive history for lay readers, but it is probably the best starting place for aspiring professionals as well.  It is well-written, faultlessly researched, and copiously illustrated.  I happily use it in my university course on illuminated manuscripts together with Ingo Walther's "Masterpieces of Illumination" (published by Taschen)--in my opinion, the perfect companion piece.  The second edition of De Hamel's book is structured as was the first: an informative introduction is followed by chapters which divide and discuss the manuscripts according to their intended users (missionaries, emperors, monks, students, aristocrats, everybody, priests, and collectors); an extended bibliography precedes several useful indexes.  This Phaidon paperback edition is a beautiful book, with a white paper cover adorned with a full-color dust-jacket.  Many new illustrations have been added, and there are many more color illustrations than there were in the first edition.  More importantly, the text has been updated to reflect ongoing research in the field.  My only complaint about this edition is that many of the important full-color and full-page illustrations in the first edition (to which I often referred in my classes) have either been reduced in size or eliminated entirely in the new edition.  There are also significant (and inexplicable) differences in the color reproduction of illuminations between the first (David R. Godine, Publisher) edition and this second (Phaidon Press) edition--sometimes the differences are so radical that only a close inspection (or a familiarity with the actual documents) reveals they are photographs of the same manuscript.  And since many of these manuscripts are from private collections (to which Mr. De Hamel apparently gained access by reputation or through associations established during his tenure at Sotheby's), it would be impossible for most readers to know which of the differing reproductions are the more accurate.  My own experience would suggest that not all the changes in the new Phaidon edition are indeed improvements.  Publishing faults aside, this is a fine book by a scholar with impeccable credentials and a gift for clarity and sensibility in his writing.  I highly recommend it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Not What One Would Expect...and All the Better for It!
  

*by N***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 2, 2012*

After purchasing and perusing Introduction to Manuscript Studies by Raymond Clemens and Timothy Graham, I purchased the book under review, Christopher De Hamel's A History of Illuminated Manuscripts.  The former book is wonderful and prepared me for De Hamel's, but De Hamel is so thorough that he includes much of the same information that is in the book by Clemens and Graham.  To explain this review's title:  I was expecting to find a strictly chronological study, but instead found a work divided into chapters according to the reasons for making manuscripts in the Middle Ages, or, to put it another way, a work organized...as the author himself states in his introduction..."from the point of view of the people who needed them."  The result is a felicitous one...and one which ends up, whether in spite of or precisely because of the author's approach, being basically chronological after all.  The best way to give a prospective reader an idea of what he or she has in store, I believe, is to quote the chapter headings in order:  "Books for Missionaries," "Books for Emperors," "Books for Monks," "Books for Students," "Books for Aristocrats," "Books for Everybody," "Books for Priests," and, finally, "Books for Collectors."  De Hamel's reputation in the field, I would say, is well-earned.  The volume is packed with information, written in a lively style, and filled with breathtakingly gorgeous color reproductions that enable one both to experience the full impact of a complete illuminated manuscript page and to examine such in detail.  Phaidon Press has again done a marvellous job.  This book would be worth the price even if one intended only "to look at the pictures."

### ⭐ 







  
  
    It's in French and I ordered an English version
  

*by R***S on Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 13, 2023*

The book is beautiful, but I bought an English book and it arrive in French.  Seller won't take it back so I have a pretty picture book that I can't read. Crappy customer service!!!

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*Product available on Desertcart Ireland*
*Store origin: IE*
*Last updated: 2026-03-18*