This horrible fate is unfortunately what awaits many old manuscripts sold in auctions to a specific sort of professional dealers. The dealers cut the manuscript

This horrible fate is unfortunately what awaits many old manuscripts sold in auctions to a specific sort of professional dealers. The dealers cut the manuscripts not only into individual sheets, but often cut out miniatures and illuminated initials and sell them individually to philistins. Loosing their original context this scraps are next to worthless for any future historians. It is in the same category as grave robbery, which also tremendously diminishes the scientific value of artifacts, even if they come to light later.