Photo Essay 2 - Yale Center for British Art

I visited the Yale Center for British Art on June 30th and was very excited to see their collection of rare books and manuscripts. As an English and Humanities double major who plans on enrolling in a masters program in Library Information Science upon graduation, I hope to someday work digitally preserving such an outstanding collection of rare books and manuscripts. While I had planned on writing about this collection of rare books, and knew I would have to limit myself to a few selections, I didn't imagine it would be so difficult to choose my favorites!

The first work that grabbed my attention was William Caxton’s 1476 first printed edition of Chaucer’s Canterbury tales. I adore this work by Chaucer and it was thrilling to see a first edition in person. This edition is noted for being the first book printed in England by that country’s first printer. The precise lettering was decorated with small flourishes throughout the page and made me appreciate the simple beauty that can be found in the witten word. The image below is a page from the Wife of Bath’s tale.

Below is the second edition of Caxton’s Canterbury Tales which was issued in 1483. This edition includes 23 wood cuts. This illustrated page is also taken from the Wife of Bath’s tale.


The next work I was taken with was Helmingham’s Herbal and Bestiary, a picture book completed ca. 1500. This book contains beautifully detailed drawings of plants and animals illustrated in water color and red ink as can be seen in the images of both the dragon and griffon below. These animals are drawn in such a friendly and approachable way (the dragon looks positively cute and cuddly) that I’m led to think that this was a book that was often shown to children.

The next work that impressed me was Le Livere du Roy Modus et de la Royne Racio. This was considered the greatest medieval book on sport and was written by Henri de Ferreres. This is quite notable because at the time hunting played a huge role in the daily lives of people both for food and recreation. The copy below was made around 1420 and is beatufully written and illustrated in vivid watercolor. The figures are extremly realistic and very detailed so that the reader can easily understand the material that is being covered.

The 1486 copy of Le Livre du Roy Modus et de la Roynee Racio shown below was the first printed edition of the book. It contains fifty four beautifully detailed woodcuts. While I often prefer illustrations over woodcuts, in this printed version, the woodcuts' simplicity aids in the book's ability to clearly convey the various techniques it describes.
One of my passions is historical costume so, not surprisingly, I found myself drawn to and rather amused by the changeable portraits of Ladies and Gentleman (1819).

I also got a good laugh from Nikolas von Heideloff’s “Morning Dresses from Gallery of Fashion" (1797). These fashion plates were created with hand-colored aquaint and delicately depict the costume of the late eithteenth century. This particular page depicts two ladies showing off their day dresses in Hyde Park, "the place" to be seen at that time. It's also interesting to note that although the illustrations were drawn over 200 years ago, not much has changed since then. The fashion may be extremely different, but women still show off their style around the city regardless of the weather conditions!


One display I had been particularly eager to view was William Blake's illuminated poetry. I've long been taken with Blake's unique style and the way it portrays fluid motion, deep passion, and emotion. I own a book of his illuminated poetry which I flip through quite often, but seeing an original in person was a very moving experience. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of Giant Albion" (1804-30) which can be seen below, is a relief etching in watercolor, gold, pen, and ink. I love Blake’s unique style even when it is an image of a man being disemboweled!


Songs of Innocense and of Experience was completed in 1795. I love how the man in the painting on the left appears as though he has been disturbed. Blake's cover art for this compilation is stylized and colorful. His curved lines give a sense of calmness and serenity and the illustrations overflow with rich textures and vivid colors.