HENRY NOEL HUMPHREYS (1810-1879)

This was the first in a series of original illuminated books by the artist and naturalist Humphreys, who was influenced by his study of medieval manuscripts during a stay in Italy as a young man. The work, a retelling of some New Testament stories, was printed entirely by chromolithography--the text was written out in a script reminiscent of a gothic hand, and the lush borders are based on organic, vegetative forms. The openings alternate between plates of many colors and those of gold and black.

The Parables of Our Lord is the earliest illuminated book known to have appeared in a papier mache binding in the year of its publication. These bindings, which recall carved ebony medieval book covers or the carvings on cathedral choir stalls, were part of the Victorian gothic revival. They were made of black plaster composition over papier mache.