South by East: Notes of Travel in Southern Europe (page 1/3)

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Front Cover

Red buckram (I think) with gold leaf. [$]

Chapterhead with Mer-Horses

The Hippocampus has the upper body and head of a horse combined with the tail of a fish. They come from Phœnecian mythology and were known in the ancient world by peopls as far apart as the Romans, the Greeks, the Picts of Scotland, and the [...] [more...] [$]

Ornate initial letter “W” with silhouettes of naked women

This ornate capital letter W has a long vertical tail or stem of trellis-work beneath the letter, which is an “inhabited initial” with two women inside it. One of the women, who are drawn as dark shaded silhouettes and face each other, is holding a large shallow bowl. The other woman pours a jug or ewer of liquid into the bowl. it is possible that behind the jug there is a pomegranate. The other initials in this series are religious in nature, so I suspect a libration is involved.

In the book, the large black letter W is five lines of text high, and the stem is another eight and a half lines, giving a total (of course) of thirteen and a half lines. The [more...] [$]

Decorative Initial letter F

A decorative initial capial letter “F” used as a drop cap atthe start of a chapter. It features a Greek urn, a Minotoar or Bull mask, vine leaves, and, at the top, a naked woman riding a creature that has the front of a [...] [more...] [$]

Writing Desk

A small illustration to enliven the space at the end of Chapter VI. A bearded man sits writing at a [more...] [$]