62a.—Initial capital letter “A” from Dance of Death Alphabetdetails

This decorative initial letter “A”, or drop cap, is from an alphabet designed by Hans Holbein the Younger and dating from 1523. It features a skeleton banging a drum (or tabor) with a bone, and also playing a fife, followed by another skeleton waving a banner, or possibly playing a trumpet. Some commentators say they are marching through a graveyard or cemetary, probably from the skulls lying on the ground.

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