08-07-2026, 12:09 PM
I must admit that the early print period is not something I know much about. But I can imagine there was a transitional period, where printed works were still somewhat sparse and you still have people around used to manual copying.
Imagine a scenario where person A has a book that was printed last year in Germany, but he's now in France and his friend B wants a copy. I assume they are not going to typeset the thing, nor do they have the woodcuts. So this might be exactly where these quick copies come in.
The reason for color annotations is basically always the same: the original work will no longer be present on the desk when the copy goes on to the coloring stage.
For this reason, we also most often see color annotations where they matter: the color of a plant's blooms, or heraldic insignia. But not for generic stuff.
Imagine a scenario where person A has a book that was printed last year in Germany, but he's now in France and his friend B wants a copy. I assume they are not going to typeset the thing, nor do they have the woodcuts. So this might be exactly where these quick copies come in.
The reason for color annotations is basically always the same: the original work will no longer be present on the desk when the copy goes on to the coloring stage.
- because the painter is someone else, maybe in a different location, who'd prefer a quick note?
- because leafing through the source MS while painting the copy is inconvenient?
- because time with the source MS needs to be limited, so painting is done when the copyist no longer has it available?
For this reason, we also most often see color annotations where they matter: the color of a plant's blooms, or heraldic insignia. But not for generic stuff.