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

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Milan Cathedral

A very fine engraving of the exceptionally beautiful Milan Cathedral; the scaled-down versions don’t do it justice. [$]

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...] [$]

Front Cover

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

Title Page, South by South East

The title page uses at least three typefaces in a range of sizes, and includes an emblem for Marcus Ward, the publishers. [more...] [$]

The Catacombs of Naples

The Catacombs of Naples are of great interest even after those of Rome; they are said to extend for several miles underground; and they consist of broad arched passages hollowed out of the rock, containing on either side niches which once contained the bodies of the dead. They were without doubt [says Rodwell] excavated by the early Christians; many [...] original fresco has been covered with a coating of plaster, and a second fresco has been painted over the first, occasionally even a third. (p. 141) [more...] [$]