As for all the volumes of the “La Biblioteca Impossibile” series, facsimile reproduction of the Libro d’ore Durazzo is achieved by means of the most sophisticated technological resources , for image processing, and also by means of markedly traditional handcrafting techniques , in order to conserve the special ‘magic of the past’ that we find in the original.
For the work’s ‘hard copy’, the publishing house selected a special paper which perfectly reproduces the effect and texture of parchment. The paper selected provides as faithful a facsimile as possible of the original in general, in terms of its colour , and tactile and material characteristics , while also ensuring strength and durability, thus enabling frequent and prolonged use (i.e. without the particular concern we would have when handling an antique object). To ensure optimal safeguarding of the original work, arrangements were made for specially air-conditioned darkened studio space with special lighting in which to photograph the book using the cameras, plates and lenses considered most appropriate for this codex.
The photographic plates were then handed over to technicians for electronic colour break-up , the colours then being ‘re-assembled’ for printing. The nuances and toning, and even the fingerprints on the parchment left by readers over hundreds of years were all left ‘as is’ – nothing was left out , the aim being that the matrices, with their infinite degrees of colour and chiaroscuro work, perfectly render the creative energy and painterly qualities of the renowned artists responsible for the codex’s splendid illumination work.
Particular care was taken over processing the gold leaf backgrounds and areas treated with gold paste or powder . As part of the painstaking efforts required to produce these facsimiles, the embellishments constitute a particularly tough challenge both for the chromolithographer (who must constantly go back to the original manuscript to verify with great precision the various backgrounds) and the printer, who, to apply the gold leaf, must use traditional gilding mechanical equipment. The gold paste and lacquer work require a further print run with special matrices. Illuminators used to apply the gold powder with a paintbrush, thus obtaining a specific ‘raised’ effect. Here, the technique of screen printing with special (gold paste or powder) inks is used, combined with the use of special embossing or letterpress machines for a further step that confers upon the embellishments a raised effect, and tactile consistency .
A further, separate, stage is reproduction of the binding , which figures, in this codex, as one of the most fascinating and elaborate works of this kind ever produced during the Italian Renaissance. In this reproduction, the two fields of the fine arts and craftsmanship come together seamlessly. The work is carried out entirely by hand and is preceded by in-depth study of all the components of the cover (fabric, enamels, gold, ferrules, bosses and clasps). The expert binder gathers together these many components for final assembly, and seeks to provide a fitting tribute the painstaking care and attention that went into the original.
Before the final stages, the work is checked and re-checked, again and again. In Genoa , together with external consultants, the publishing house’s most highly qualified experts literally ‘pored’ over Libro d’Ore Durazzo for days on end.
