The Croÿ-Arenberg Hours (image courtesy of Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books, Basel).
The 2026 European edition of TEFAF will take place in Maastricht (Netherlands) on March 14-19. TEFAF, The European Fine Art Foundation, has been hosting art shows since 1988 and now has shows in New York as well as in Europe. It supports fine arts all over the world, including providing grants for art restoration. While the New York show focuses on modern and contemporary art, the Maastricht show covers 7,000 years of art.
Of course, this leads to the question, what does a fine arts fair have to do with books? Books mostly are textual in nature, but some cross the line to being works of art. It may be because the appearance of the physical book is a work of art or the illustrations within are art. A few dealers specialize in or feature books along the borderline of books and art. One such dealer is Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books. They have published a press release about their participation describing some of the items they will be bringing to the fair. They describe them as “masterpieces,” a good description, and we note that they are also very old, half a millennium or more.
There is an unusual herbal from northern Italy dating from 1500-1520. It contains almost 400 watercolor drawings of plants, along with a few fruits, some insects, and a lizard to devour the pests. Gunther believes this may have been used to guide apprentices at a high-end workshop. They are highly naturalistic illustrations, with some having labels identifying the species in different languages. Gunther explains that the lifelike illustrations bear “witness to the late 15th and early 16th centuries illustrators' renewed interest in the accurate observation of nature."
The Croÿ-Arenberg Hours: Gunther says this book “represents one of the finest examples of Flemish illumination” and, most likely, “was made for a high-ranking member of the English royal court. The commission for this book was undoubtedly motivated by the patron’s desire for uniqueness and luxury.” Gunther further notes that “most of the large miniatures are the work of the Master of the Older Prayer Book of Maximilian I, a leading artist in celebrated manuscript projects.” This beautiful Book of Hours dates to 1508-1520.
The St. Pantaleon Legendarium: It is a very early manuscript and Gunther tells us “this masterpiece of medieval bookmaking holds numerous breathtaking illustrations, including a full-page penwork diagram with 14 roundels with portraits of saints and other personalities, arranged genealogically. This manuscript is really old, dating to 1140-1180, with one added quire circa 1050.
Dr. Jorn Gunther Rare Books is a leading specialist in Medieval manuscripts. They bring 40 years of experience in the the field from their headquarters in Basel, Switzerland.
The list of 276 exhibitors provided by TEFAF also contains a few other rare book dealers, all important figures in the field of art books, including Daniel Crouch Rare Books (UK), Stéphane Clavreuil Rare Books (UK), Peter Harrington (UK and US), and Librairie Camille Sourget (France).
Sotheby's Fine Books & Manuscripts Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Balthus, Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights, New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1993. 6,600 USD.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. Complete Works, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company & Chapman & Hall, LD, 1850. Limited Edition set of 30 volumes. 7,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono. Handwritten Letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to their Chauffer. 1971. 32,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Winston Churchill. First edition of War Speeches, Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1941. Set of 7 volumes. 5,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Andy Warhol, Julia Warhola. Holy Cats First Edition, Signed by Andy Warhol. 1954. 30,000 USD.
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