Illuminated Caxtons and the Trade in Printed Books

In a recent survey of English illumination in incunabula, I discussed the prevalence with which illuminators could be identified as decorators of both manuscripts and early printed books.¹ This practice (comprising the application of gold and pigments rather than the coloured ink of the ‘rubricator’ or ‘flourisher’) offered yet further evidence for continuities in the book trade after the advent of printing.² One individual, however, was a misfit in my theme of ‘medieval’ artists in ‘modern’ books, being an apparent specialist in the illumination of incunabula. It seemed significant that in an appended handlist of only thirty-six illuminated incunabula, eight should be the work of a single artist, particularly in view of the association with William Caxton. This artist, whom I referred to as the ‘Incunables Limner’, was responsible for the illumination added to five copies of Caxton’s edition of Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend,³ and to three Continental imprints from Strasbourg and Parma.⁴ Since then, I have identified the artist in a further two Continental books printed in different locations: Basel and Verona.⁵ It is my purpose here to explore what case can be made for the significant possibility that imported books decorated by the Incunables Limner were products of Caxton’s overseas trade; related to this will be my suggestion that the artist’s ability to specialize in the illumination of printed books resulted from his regular employment by William Caxton. The period discussed, c. 1476–c. 1484, is defined by the dates of the six imprints, but arguably the range could be narrowed to c. 1481–c. 1484 on the basis that nine of the ten books were illuminated after 1481.

The ‘Incunables Limner’ and parallels with Caxton’s rubrication and binding

The conjunction of five copies of a Caxton imprint and five copies of different Continental imprints is a grouping made on the basis that all ten appear to have been decorated by the same artist. The customary design employed by this particular illuminator (or ‘limner’) was that of a gold initial on a compartmented ground of rose and blue with, respectively, silver and white highlighting; the accompanying borderwork was simple but effective, comprising gently undulating green-lobed feathering with barbed quatrefoil (Fig. 1) and/or barbed roses (Fig. 2) balanced by a repeated single-leaf motif. The leaf form with smooth margins (Figs 1–5) presumably served as an unfussy means of filling large spaces at regular intervals along the vine, an apparently thoughtful design for dealing with the chief feature of print: quantity. Even where minor elaboration of the leaf occurs—crenated margins with a twist or upturned tip, or a trifoliate shape (Figs 6–10)—the distribution is uniform. In the extra space afforded by the three-quarter borders of Bristol Public Library’s copy of Pliny, for example, we see only duplicates of the crenated leaf and the barbed-flower. This ‘infill’ strategy contrasts with the variegated gold and colour motifs typically evident within single campaigns of work by contemporary manuscript illuminators.⁶

There is a sixth copy of Caxton’s Golden Legend, now in the British Library, with an illuminated initial executed to the same design used in the five copies decorated by the Incunables Limner (Fig. 3). The many variations in details of execution would seem to suggest two colleagues working in imitation of a pattern set by one or other of them.⁷ It is likely that both artists worked simultaneously, as a better means of supplying demand, although this is not certain. Part of the edition was printed in two settings, and the two issues were probably completed between November 1483 and March 1484.⁸ Whether or not they worked side-by-side, the output of both artists is an important demonstration of the attempt to standardize illumination from one copy to the next. There is an obvious parallel to be drawn with another aspect of the decoration of Caxton’s editions: rubrication. A consistency in the style of red and blue ink initials and paragraph marks was first noticed...