Metalcut, with some hand-colouring. Printed by Thielman Kerver. Page from a printed book of hours, printed in Paris, 1498-1502.

Leaf from a printed book of hours.

The leaf is constructed from separate page ornaments and printed images margins, with hand rubrication applied to some letters in blue and red and gold.

The recto of the leaf begins with the text from the Hours of the Virgin II for Matins(?) 'Dixit autem maria ad angelum. Quomodo fiet istud quoniam..' and ends with a 'Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui alla...' Illustrations include, below centre a battle scene, in the right margin, top to bottom, 1. an image of God the father holding trumpets, and two angels, one blowing a trumpet (Revelation 8:7); 2. the four horsemen of the apocalypse(?)(Revelation 6:1-8); 3. St John having his vision. In a panel below an image of war. Other ornaments include, leaf and floral elements and geometric pattern, also a column which is similarly decorated and also with a potted plant and a diaper pattern.

The verso of the leaf begins with the text 'ps. Jubilate deo omnis terra...' and ends 'Ad sextam. a. Ne timeas ...' Illustrations are a stag hunting scene in the left margin and below, a scene of people dancing in front of trees, both set against a dotted background. Ornaments include humanoid figures, leaf and floral elements and geometic patterns, also in the columns.

Metalcut was one of the earliest techniques used for printing images in books. A relief process, it involved cutting and punching into soft metal such as lead, most likely the same metal as was used to print text. The process was used around 1500 for printing the lavish French books of hours, which imitated the look of illuminated manuscripts. In this book of hours, however, the decorative borders combining classical Renaissance styles with Northern gothic styles make a feature of the black and white medium, instead of being printed outlines intended to take hand colouring. The dark dotted pattern (manière criblée) of the background is typical of the effects achieved using the metalcut technique.
The borders, were constructed of different smaller sections which were set into the forme along with the type. This allowed them to be mixed and matched throughout the book to vary the decorations and make them appear unique from one page to the next, as with hand drawn decorations in manuscripts. Here, the hunt scene and the chevron patterned pillar were each repeated twice on different pages. Printing was still an expensive process so having smaller blocks that could be mix and matched was cost effective.

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