Gower, Confessio amantis (Caxton): London, British Library, G.11627 = IB.55079

Summary:

Physical Description:

Object Description:

Form: Codex

Material: Paper

Size: 317 mm x 228 mm (dimensions of all - size of leaves)

Collation:

BMC XI

Condition:

'The last few lines of text on both sides of leaf C1 have been gone over in pen and ink, inaccurately, after damage by staining. Leaves 1.2, c2, and t8 have been made up from another copy, and a duplicate of leaf 11 has been inserted, the original leaf being slightly mutilated. Leaves [*]2, 5-7, 1.3-4, and h7 are hinged, but the watermarks do not reveal whether they have been made up.' (BMC XI, 143)

Rubrication and decorated initials:

Number of hands:

Summary:

Hand:

rubrication

Scope:

Hand:

pen-and-ink facsimile

Scope: minor (leaves [*]3, 4 and C2, C3, C4, C5)

Hand decoration:

None.

Additions:

Leaves 1.2, c2 and t from another copy; a duplicate of leaf t1.

Leaves 1.5-b8 are numbered.

Four lines of verse written by 'Mr John fremen(?) [...] 1570' on b1v.

Binding Description:

'Bound in gold-tooled straight-grain olive-brown morocco, with the arms of Thomas Grenville; vellum doubulres'. (BMC XI, 143)

Accompanying Material:

An etching drawing of Gower's tomb in Southwark Cathedral, entitled 'The Monumnet of John Gower the Poet as it stood in 1809', published by 'Messrs Rivington St Pauls Church Yard Septr. 1st 1809'.

History:

Provenance:

(?)John Fremen, 1570.
Sir Hnas Sloane, c. 1705-53 (see BL Sloane MS 3972C, III, 795, which gives the press-mark H.185 to this book).
Marked as a suplicate in 1804; sold in the British Museum duplicate sale of February 1805 (Cat., p. 15, lot 429) to 'Weymouth'.
Thomas Grenville.

Acquisition: