Hope you had a joyful friends and family filled Thanksgiving. I did.

Now it’s on to Black Friday shopping, for me at my local Barnes and Noble. 

B&N is the only national book retailer in Omaha. Even so, it is limited to trending books. 

I took a look at its scribal related books, hoping for inspiration. Sadly it’s lacking. 

There is David Harris’ The Calligrapher’s Bible, although The Art of Calligraphy would be more appropriate for a novice. And any SCA scribe must have a copy of Marc Drogin’s Medieval Calligraphy: It’s History and Technique. Sadly missing on this shelf.

There’s little here for illuminators, unless you count watercolor, illustration or drawing techniques. Nothing on history, gouache application, or medieval manuscript terminology.

Therefore, I give you a Cyber-Monday shopping guide for the novice SCA scribal person on your gift-giving list.

• The Art of Calligraphy: A Practical Guide To The Skills And Techniques, by David Harris, Dorling Kindersley, New York, 1995
• A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, by Christopher De Hamel, Phaidon Press, 1997 
• Illumination for Calligraphers: The complete guide for the ambitious calligrapher, by Marie Lynskey, Thorsons, London, 1990
• Medieval Calligraphy It’s History and Technique, by Marc Drogin, Dover Publications, New York, 1989.
• Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work, by Jonathan J.G. Alexander. Yale University Prese, New Haven and London, 1992.
• Understanding Illuminated Manuscripts, A Guide To Technical Terms, by Michelle P. Brown. The J. Paul Getty Museum in association with The British Library, 1994.

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