The McCarthy Collection, Volume II: Spanish, English, Flemish and Central European Miniatures

This handsome book is the second of a three-volume set exploring the McCarthy collection, arguably the largest and most important private collection of illuminated cuttings, miniatures, and leaves in the world. Volume I (published 2018) presented Italian and Byzantine entries; Volume III (published 2021) is devoted to French entries. The present volume is dedicated to the holdings of single leaves and cuttings from Spanish, English, Flemish, and Central European manuscripts from the twelthth to late fifteenth centuries. Richly detailed with plentiful illustrations, it is a notable contribution to medieval scholarship.

Following the publication in 2018 of The McCarthy Collection: Italian and Byzantine Miniatures, the second volume of the McCarthy collection covers medieval illuminated cuttings, miniatures, and leaves from the late twelfth to the late fifteenth centuries. Sixty-three items are described, divided between eight Spanish (and perhaps Portuguese) entries, eleven English ones, ten from the southern Netherlands, and finally thirty-four from across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Bohemia. 

In many cases the recto and verso of each item is reproduced, as the verso often provides vital textual, paleographical or art historical clues to the date and place of origin, or traces of their later provenance. Great efforts have been taken to trace and list sister leaves and cuttings, some of which are also reproduced, or parent volumes. 

Volume I (published 2018) has eighty Italian and eight Byzantine entries; Volume III (published 2021) is the largest volume, with approximately ninety-five French entries.