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51.—16th Century A set of decorative initial letters from the sixteenth century; it is missing “J” “O” “W” “X” and “Z” so that there are only 21 letters here, although I have made [...]A has a bird biting a moth; B has a king and a grotesque figure; C has a boar with a bird on its back; D has a log fire; E has a dragon with wings and a forked tongue; F has a flower (a Tudor Rose, perhaps) and a bird; G has a dog; H has an archer or a person walking with a stick; I has a dog biting a bone and also a lizard; J is a modern fake; K has faces sticking out tongues; L has a painter or writer licking a pencil; M has a lion and a thistle; N has a fish wearing a crown and a scarf; O is a modern fake; P has a pelican; Q has perhaps a peacock; R has a dog catching and eating a rat, or maybe a salamander; S has a king as a dinosaur; T has two phoenixes; V has a jester, I think; U has a sun; Y has maybe a tiny dancing dinosaur. [more...] |
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Front Cover |
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Back Cover |
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Title Page The Book Of Ornamental Alphabets, Ancient and Mediæval, from the eighth century, with numerals, including Gothic; Church Text;, Large and Small; German Arabesque; Initials for Illumination, monograms, crosses, &c., for the use of architectural and engineering; draughtsmen, masons, decorative painters, [...] [more...] |
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01. 8th Century. Vatican. |
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2. 8th Century. British Museum. [more...] |
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3. 8th and 9th Centuries. Anglo-Saxon. Calligraphy from England in the 8th and 9th centuries. |
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4.—9th Century. From an Anglo-Saxon MS. Battel Abbey. Today called Battle Abbey. Someone made a font from a Dover reprint of this alphabet—Rob Anderson, I think. There is no coyright statement on the font, which was probably originally a PostScript Type 1 font converted to TrueType. I don’t think [...] [more...] |
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Decorative initial letter “A” from 16th Century This capital “A” is suitable for use as a drop cap (dropped capital) or a decorative initial; there’s also a small version for an avatar or icon. It is taken from a 16th century alphabet, and shows a bird biting a moth. [more...] |
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Decorative initial letter “B” from 16th Century This capital “B” is suitable for use as a drop cap (dropped capital) or a decorative initial; there’s also a small version for an avatar or icon. It is taken from a 16th century alphabet, and features acorns and oak leaves, and a king or two-headed grotesque figure. [more...] |
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Decorative initial letter “C” from 16th Century This capital “C” is suitable for use as a drop cap (dropped capital) or a decorative initial; there’s also a small version for an avatar or icon. It is taken from a 16th century alphabet, and shows a boar with a bird on its back! [more...] |
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Decorative initial letter “D” from 16th Century This capital “D” is suitable for use as a drop cap (dropped capital) or a decorative initial; there’s also a small version for an avatar or icon. It is taken from a 16th century alphabet, and includes a wood-fire. [more...] |
