Book cover — Book Covers, Germany, mid nineteenth century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
mid nineteenth century
Book cover in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number 8-1872), made in Germany, dated mid nineteenth century. The museum's brief description reads: Two book covers, ivory, attached to the book for which they were made; Germany, probably middle of the nineteenth century..
Museum description: Two book covers representing Confession and Communication. Attached to the book for which they were made, "Schoene Trostsprueche fuer die Aengstigen Gewissen" by M. Vitus Dieterich. The front cover shows the Communion, with a kneeling man in a fur-collared robe receiving the Host from a standing priest. The space is partitioned with a curtain and a crucifix can be seen behind the priest's shoulder.
On the back cover is a man, also in a fur-collared robe, is shown in the act of Confession to a prelate seated on a grand throne. The ivory panels are glued to waste scraps of printed text bound in with the spine, and two hinged copper clasps with twisted fastenings are set into shallow recesses on the inside edges. The panels are in excellent condition. The museum records it as Carved elephant ivory, measuring Height 4.8 cm; Width 3.5 cm.
These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
These are two ivory book covers (front and back), made in Germany, probably in the middle of the nineteenth century. The book covers are representing Confession and Communion and attached to a book, 'Schoene Trostsprueche fuer die Aengstigen Gewissen, by M. Vitus Dieterich.' Veit Dietrich (1506-1549), the Lutheran theologian and writer. A colophon on the last page gives the date and place of production (by the printer Johann Beck in Erfurt): Gedruckt zu Erffordt / durch Johann Beck / wonhafftig zum weissen Schwane unter den SChillern. Anno 1597. Maskell stated confidently in 1872 that the covers 'are attached to the book for which they were made', a claim also repeated by Longhurst in 1929. The style of the panels does not equate to that of the last years of the sixteenth century and is instead clearly derived from South German models of about 1510-20, such as works by Peter Vischer the Younger and others in Nuremberg and Augsburg, as is the dress of the figures. It would appear that the panels were made in the nineteenth century to enhance the appearance and value of the book they now contain.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- ivory
- Dimensions
- Height 4.8 cm; Width 3.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Carved elephant ivory
- Place recorded
- Germany
Identification
- Museum object name
- Book cover
- Museum object number
- 8-1872
- Museum system number
- O166882
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.