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Engravings from “Die Bücher-Ornamentik Der Renaissance” (Book-Ornament of the Renaissance) by A. F. Butsch, Leipzig, 1878. Alfred Butsch was a famous bookseller and a collecter of antiquarian books; the engraved plates in the book reproduce illustrations from early printed books.
I bought my copy of this book (actually Volume II hasn’t arrive yet!) from a bookseller in Germany; there is also a fac simile by Dover, but the reproduction is not of the highest quality, so these images are better, if very incomplete.
I also have Volume II.
Title: Die Bücher-Ornamentik Der Renaissance (Vol. I.)
Published by: Verlag von G. Hirth
City: Leipzig
Date: 1878
Total items: 48
Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.
Foliated chapter-head with geometric border
An Egyptian-inspired geometric border containing a fleur-de-lys in a circle between two vine branches. It was at the head of the first index page. The border style was popular in the nineteenth century, and the [...] [more...] [$]
62j.—Initial capital letter “J” for Dance of Death Alphabet.
The original Dance of Death alphabet lacks the letter J since this is more modern. So I made one, based on another letter. [more...] [$]
62e.—Initial capital letter “E” from Dance of Death Alphabet
This decorative initial letter “E”, or drop cap, is from an alphabet designed by Hans Holbein and dating from 1523. It features a skeleton, representing [...] [more...] [$]
62a.—Initial capital letter “A” from Dance of Death Alphabet
This decorative initial letter “A”, or drop cap, is from an alphabet designed by Hans Holbein the Younger and dating from 1523. It features a skeleton banging a drum (or tabor) with a bone, and also playing a fife, followed by another skeleton waving a banner, or possibly playing a trumpet. Some commentators say they are marching through a graveyard [...] [more...] [$]
62d.—Initial capital letter “D” from Dance of Death Alphabet
This decorative initial letter “D”, or drop cap, is from an alphabet designed by Hans Holbein and dating from 1523. It features a king thrown to the ground and [...] [more...] [$]
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