,transcriber's ,notes ,text elements printed in italics have been transcribed between underscores1 small capitals have been changed to ,,all ,,capitals4 ,more ,transcriber's ,notes may be found at the end of this text4 ,,early ,,woodcut ,,initials ,,early ,,woodcut ,,initials ,,containing ,,over ,,thirteen ,,hundred ,,reproductions ,,of ,,ornamental ,,letters ,,of ,,the ,,fifteenth ,,and ,,sixteenth ,,centuries1 ,,selected ,,and ,,annotated ,,by ,,oscar ,,jennings1 ,m4,d4 ,,member ,,of ,,the ,,bibliographical ,,society ,illustration ,,methuen ,,and ,,co4 #cf ,,essex ,,street ,,london ,first published in #aijh ,i ,,dedicate ,,these ,,pages ,,to ,,my ,,wife ,,as ,a ,,slight ,,recognition ,,of ,,her ,,constant ,,patience ,,and ,,devotion ,,preface ,from the number of works that have been published within the last few decades on early printing and the decoration of early books1 it is evident that an increasing interest is taken in these subjects1 not only by those whose studies have specially fitted them to appreciate such researches1 but also by the general educated public4 ,there is1 however1 one variety of engraving that has hitherto attracted but little attention1 and the importance of which1 both from artistic and documentary points of view1 is still unrecognised1 and it may even be said unsuspected by the great majority of students4 ,whilst every engraving that may technically be termed a cut or an illustration is catalogued and recorded in the different monographs on special printers1 those which take the form of initial letters1 often of equal1 if not superior merit1 are represented much more sparsely1 and as having a secondary importance only4 ,in a monograph on fifteenth-century printing in a certain ,german town1 for instance1 the writer1 a professional bibliographer1 gives about ten or twelve initial letters1 whereas the extent of the material upon which he might have drawn may be judged from the fact that a more recent authority1 in his history of one printer only of this town1 has been able to reproduce more than fifty specimens1 many of which are quite equal in interest to illustrations proper1 some of them having been recently pointed out by a ,london expert as constituting the chief attraction of a volume#a with both initials and illustrations which came under his hammer4 #a ,the initials in the ,leben der ,heiligen ,drei ,knige of ,knoblochtzer4 ,the above lines1 written ten years ago1 when ,i first began to collect material for this volume1 are perhaps no longer as true absolutely as when first penned4 ,besides the works of ,butsch1 ,reiber1 and ,heitz which were already in existence1 ,ongania's book on ,venice bibliography contains a great many initials2 ,heitz has devoted a volume to those of ,holbein and other artists of the school of ,basle1 and others to certain initials of ,strasburg and ,hagenau2 and ,redgrave1 ,haebler1 ,claudin1 ,schorbach1 ,spirgatis1 and ,kristeller give a certain prominence to initials in their respective monographs4 ,i still think1 however1 that a special work on the subject is needed to do justice to the richness of artistic material available in this special matter4 ,the woodcuts in early books are often merely illustrative1 that is to say explanatory of the text1 and were not designed as ornaments2 but the initials were intended to be decorative1 and one can see in them a real artistic effort and sentiment4 ,quaritch1 indeed1 has recently called attention to this fact1 of the superiority in some early books of the initials over the woodcuts1 and it is beginning to be recognised also by several great booksellers1 whose catalogues contain increasing numbers of reproductions of ornamental letters in preference to other specimens of early engraving4 ,unfortunately1 circumstances have prevented my completing my first programme1 and what ,i offer here can only be considered as a general introduction to the subject4 ,but such as they are1 these fragmentary notes will not1 ,i hope1 be found entirely devoid of interest4 ,in conclusion1 ,i have to express my thanks to ,mr4 ,a4 ,w4 ,pollard1 the amiable and indefatigable secretary of the ,bibliographical ,society1 for help in seeing this volume through the press1 and for many valuable suggestions and criticisms4 ,,oscar ,,jennings4 ,,contents ,,page ,,preface1 vii ,,introduction1 #a ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,block-,,books3 ,,the ,,invention ,,of ,,printing3 ,,the ,,psalter ,,of ,,mayence1 #f ,,ii4 ,,augsburg1 #ad ,,iii4 ,,ulm ,,and ,,nuremberg1 #bb ,,iv4 ,,basle ,,and ,,zurich1 #bi ,v4 ,l,,beck ,,and ,,bamberg1 #ci ,,vi4 ,,strasburg ,,and ,,reutlingen1 #dc ,,vii4 ,,cologne ,,and ,,geneva1 #ea ,,viii4 ,,venice1 #ee ,,ix4 ,,other ,,italian ,,towns1 #fd ,x4 ,,lyons1 #gc ,,xi4 ,,paris1 #hb ,,xii4 ,,french ,,provincial ,,towns1 #ij ,,xiii4 ,,spanish ,,towns1 #if ,,xiv4 ,,early ,,dutch ,,initials1 #aja ,,xv4 ,,later ,,german ,,initials3 ,,hagenau1 ,,magdeburg1 ,,metz1 ,,oppenheim1 ,,ingoldstadt1 ,,etc4 ,,etc41 #ajc ,,xvi4 ,,english ,,initials1 #ajh;a ,,reproductions ,,of ,,initials1 #aaa ,,index1 #bha ,,introduction ,the ornamentation of books dates probably from the time of their invention1 that is to say1 it goes back to a very remote antiquity4 ,from ,greece1 where the book-trade was flourishing at an early period1 it passed into ,italy1 extending thence to the provinces of the ,empire1 to ,gaul and ,spain1 where book-lovers became more and more numerous1 and as civilisation became more refined1 increasingly particular about bindings and ornamentation4 ,the verse of ,tibullus1 #8,indicet ut nomen littera picta tuum1' shows the extent of the embellishments to which bibliophiles had then become accustomed1 requiring the titles of their favourite authors to be engrossed in coloured or illuminated letters4#b #b ,numerous passages might be quoted from ,latin writers to show how great an interest they took in books1 and how valuable rare1 and what might be called original1 editions had even then become4 ,it would seem1 too1 that they even knew the pleasures of book-hunting1 for ,aulus ,gellius relates how1 having a few hours to spare after landing at ,brindisi1 he spent his time looking through the contents of an old book-stall1 and was lucky enough to discover a very old work on occult science4 ,besides the title1 the headings of chapters and the initial letters were also distinguished in the same way from the rest of the work1 a custom which passed from the ,roman copyists to those of the ,lower ,empire1 and in course of time became generally adopted in the preparation of manuscripts4 ,but this was not all4 ,it is now recognised that book illustration was known to the ,romans1 and that the miniatures of the medival manuscripts only followed the fashion of the rich and sumptuous volumes transcribed by the copyists of ,athens and ,rome4 ,the fourth-century ,virgil1 for instance1 one of the treasures of the ,vatican1 which has been so well described by ,m4 ,pierre de ,nolhac1 is an example of this1 containing as it does a large number of figures4 ,like all manuscripts of the time1 it was written exclusively in majuscules1 very similar to those used in ,roman inscriptions4#c #c ,pliny speaks of a marvellous1 almost divine1 invention by which pictures were added to the book of ,imagines of ,varro--no doubt printed by stamping4 ,the taste for luxury spreading from the third century1 ,byzantium became the centre of the most extravagant and costly elegance in all its manifestations1 and books of that origin have come down to us written on purple parchment in letters of gold4 ,it was not until several centuries later that a reaction took place1 when ,leo the ,isaurian1 in #gda1 considering such refinement as sinful1 put an end to it by burning the public library1 together with its staff of bibliothecarii and copyists1 the survivors finding a refuge for their art in the western cloisters and monasteries4 ,the intelligent protection and encouragement and hospitality afforded to men of letters by ,charlemagne was a great contrast to the bigotry of ,leo the ,byzantine4 ,interesting himself warmly in all questions relating to instruction1 he took a special interest in the copying and transcription of manuscripts1 inviting to his kingdom the ,irish and ,anglo-,saxon monks1 who from the sixth century had made a special study of calligraphy1 and were celebrated all over ,europe for their miniatures and historiation4 ,in consequence of the patronage of ,charlemagne and of ,charles the ,bald1 son of ,louis the ,dbonnaire1 artists of all nationalities1 but more particularly ,germans and ,italians1 who had come from ,oriental schools1 received a warm welcome4 ,at first in the sixth century the initial letter was of the same size as the others1 only distinguished by the difference of colour1 being in minium or cinnabar4 ,a hundred years later1 under the ,byzantine influence1 the letter grows larger1 until it occupies the whole page1 at the same time being painted with the most vivid colours according to the fancy and caprice of the artist4 ,little by little the ,byzantine style first introduced became modified1 and assumed by degrees a national character4 ,the decoration of the initials took the form of interlaced chequer-work or of historiated arabesques1 resembling the mosaics of enamelled specimens of ,gallo-,frank jewellery4 ,then come figures of animals1 in which the imagination of the artist runs riot1 as in the alphabet of which ,montfaucon has given a specimen in his ,origins of the ,french ,monarchy4 ,to quote the opinion of a contemporary writer1 there was nothing under heaven or earth that had not served as a model for designers of ornamental letters4 ,towards the fourteenth century this exuberance of decoration quiets down4 ,fancy is by no means excluded1 but it becomes more regulated and more sure1 to the advantage of art itself1 which speaks through the skill of the painters1 whose names1 however1 with but few exceptions1 unfortunately remain unknown to us4 ,paris was renowned at an early period for the excellence of its manuscripts1 and the talents of its copyists and illuminators4 ,richard de ,bury1 ,bishop of ,durham and ,chancellor of ,england1 speaks in his ,philobiblion of the five libraries he had seen in that town1 and the magnificent books that he had been able to buy4 ,in ,england1 illumination had flourished from before the twelfth to the fourteenth century1 but by the middle of the fifteenth art was dead1 and when handsome miniatures or other decorations were required for books1 it was to ,french artists that it was necessary to apply4 ,in ,italy1 the influence1 as regards book ornamentation1 of ,french art may be judged from the passage of ,dante1 who1 speaking to a miniaturist of his profession1 is obliged to use a periphrase to design it3 #84 4 4 di quell' arte ,ch' alluminare chiamata in ,parisi4' ,the dawn of printing was at hand4 ,manuscripts1 whether handsomely embellished or copied simply without ornament1 were expensive luxuries which only the rich could purchase4 ,with the revival of learning1 for students in general1 for the poorer classes1 for school children1 cheap books costing as little as possible1 but serving the same end as the manuscript1 were necessary1 and the xylograph came at its hour4#d #d ,it should be mentioned that block-books are now considered by some authorities to have come later than the invention of printing with movable type1 i4e4 about #adfj4 ,from the earliest times copyists had used stamps#e and copper stencillings in order to apply initials that recurred frequently1 a practice which contains in it the first germ of printing4 ,playing-cards were printed by the same process and afterwards illuminated4 #e ,passavant4 ,picture-books came next1 with text and illustrations cut on the same block1 the leaves being printed on one side only1 and afterwards gummed back to back4 ,such was the book known as the ,biblia ,pauperum1 #8,figurae typicae veteris atque antitypicae novi testamenti1' a short pictorial history in forty leaves of the ,old and ,new ,testament4 ,another of these block-books is devoted to the history of ,st4 ,john the ,evangelist and his apocalyptic dreams1 of which there are six different editions1 with texts in ,flemish1 ,saxon1 and ,german4 ,the ,ars ,moriendi1 or temptations of the dying1 with terrifying pictures1 shows a moribund man assailed by devils1#f but1 as in all similar productions1 the terrible is relieved by a touch of the grotesque4 ,the ,speculum humanae salvationis is remarkable for being printed partly from blocks and partly with movable characters4 ,this shows the transition from xylography to printing proper4 ,the printer of this work1 in order to economise the composition of twenty-seven leaves1 used the blocks he possessed1 and printed them together with twenty-seven others composed with movable type4 ,the example is not unique4 #f ,see1 under #8,,paris1' the representation of one of these death-scenes in an initial of ,chevallon's4 ,a last variety of xylographic impressions is known under the generic name of #8,donatus4' ,this is a little primer of ,latin grammar first compiled by the grammarian ,aelius ,donatus1 by whose name it was afterwards known4 ,we have mentioned the xylographic publications1 because in a certain number of them ornamental initials are to be met with4 ,these1 as would naturally be supposed1 are of the same style as those found in manuscripts of the same period4 ,it may be observed here1 that whilst books of price were embellished with expensive work1 the less valuable manuscripts were left either without initials at all1 or with ornamental letters of a few stereotyped patterns1 that experience had shown to be most harmonious to the written text4 ,of these patterns the most popular is the ,maiblmchen1 or lily of the valley design1 constantly seen in manuscript books1 and adopted by many of the early printers4 ,this design will be seen in many of the first initials of the ,augsburg printers1 and especially of ,rihel of ,basle4 ,historiated initials are less frequent in the block-books1 the only one we have found being the ,s of an ,ars ,memorandi1 of which a reproduction is given4 ,we have noted briefly the successive changes in the manuscript book1 the different phases of its evolution towards its final formula and expression as an impression from movable type4 ,this brings us to the invention of printing1 but it must be noted that printing1 which revolutionised in so many ways the world1 did not immediately put an end to the professions of the rubricator and illuminator4 ,some printed works of the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth centuries are embellished with miniatures of the very highest merit and illuminated letters of the greatest beauty4 ,,chapter ,i ,,block-,,books3 ,,the ,,invention ,,of ,,printing3 ,,the ,,psalter ,,of ,,mayence ,printing1 with the discovery or invention of which the name of ,gutenberg is intimately associated1 goes back to the year #aded1 or1 if we accept the recent discovery of an almanac which can only refer to #addh1 some six years earlier4 ,this is not the place to relate its general history1 which is to be found in all the special works on the question4 ,we shall set down here only the facts which concern our subject more particularly1 and show the evolution of ornamental letters in books of the first period after the discovery of the new art4 ,it is known that ,gutenberg1 after the expensive experiments that had crippled his resources1 had borrowed money from his fellow-citizen ,fust1 for the purpose of developing his new discovery4 ,his methods were1 however1 incomplete1 and1 according to one of many conjectures1 it was not until two or three years later that ,peter ,scheffer1 presumably a workman in ,gutenberg's office1 perfected it by the invention of punches and matrices1 so discovering a means of founding the type for which he devised a more suitable alloy instead of engraving each letter4 ,this brought ,scheffer into favour with ,fust1 who gave him his daughter in marriage4 ,a quarrel with the original inventor ensued1 and ,gutenberg1 nearly ruined1 was forced to retire1 leaving the two others in possession of the field4 ,the object of the first printers was no doubt to imitate the manuscript book as closely as possible4 ,gutenberg in his ,bible had only attempted to copy the letterpress proper4 ,the two partners gave in #adeg as their diploma piece an edition of the ,psalter with two hundred and eighty-eight capitals in two colours1 besides the great initial ,b1 the whole forming a perfect imitation by the press of a highly decorated manuscript4 ,at the present time an expert could see at a glance that this book is printed1 instead of being written4 ,but in #adeg1 and until the invention of printing had become generally known1 no one could have guessed that it was anything but what it appeared1 a beautifully finished manuscript4 ,of the letters1 which are mostly in red and blue1 the handsomest is the initial ,b at the beginning of the first psalm1 which is surrounded by arabesques1 continued along the margin4 ,besides these ornaments1 figures of a dog and bird are stencilled1 as it were1 in white on the red ground of the letter4 ,writers are by no means agreed as to the way in which these initials were executed1 but until recently the explanation most generally accepted was that of embotement1 each part of the letter being inked separately and afterwards joined4 ,according to ,mr4 ,gordon ,duff1 it is impossible to determine exactly how they were produced1 but in one edition1 that of #aeae1 the exterior ornament has been printed1 while the letter itself and the interior ornament have not4 ,this shows that the letter and ornament were not on one block1 and that the exterior and interior ornaments were on different blocks4 ,mr4 ,blades thought that the design was not printed but impressed in blank1 and afterwards filled in with colour by the illuminator4 ,the last opinion1 that of ,mr4 ,weale1 is that the letters were not set up and printed with the rest of the book1 but subsequently to the typography1 not by a pull of the press but by a blow of the mallet on the superimposed block4 ,it is not1 perhaps1 without interest to note that the white ornaments which have been already mentioned are reproduced on one of the initials of the ,bamberg missal4 ,whether or not this lends additional likelihood to the ,bamberg printer having been a workman of ,gutenberg1 the reader must judge for himself4 ,we have said that the object of the first printers was to produce an imitation manuscript4 ,it has even been suggested that ,scheffer tried to palm off some of the copies of the ,bible as1 and at the price of1 the manuscripts4 ,gabriel ,naud1 in his addition to the history of ,king ,louis ,,xi41 is responsible for this accusation1 which has been reproduced without investigation by several historians4 ,the passage is too long to quote here1 but he states positively that ,scheffer sold the first copies pour manuscrites at seventy-five cus a copy1 selling others afterwards at from twenty to thirty4 ,those who had paid the higher price brought an action against him for survente1 and he had to fly from ,paris to ,mayence1 where not being in safety he took refuge at ,strasburg1 living for a time with ,messire ,philippe de ,commines4 ,the story is charmingly circumstantial but hardly convincing4 ,at any rate1 it is certain that no sharp practice could have been attempted after #adeg1 as the colophon of the ,psalter states the volume #8,venustate capitalium decoratus rubricationibusque sufficienter distinctus adinventione artificiosa imprimendi et characterizandi2 absque calami ulla exaratione sic effigiatus4' ,it has also been said that ,scheffer was not the first to use the ,psalter initials1 which formed part of the stock which ,gutenberg was compelled to relinquish in payment of the money he had borrowed of ,fust4 ,fischer at the beginning of the last century published the description of a ,donatus of #adea with some of these initials1 of which he gave a facsimile1 and which he attributes to ,gutenberg1 but this book is no longer to be found1 and it is supposed that he was the victim of a hoax4#g ,the only copy now known with these initials has come down to us in the shape of a fragment which is preserved in the ,bibliothque ,nationale4 ,the catalogue gives the date as #adfh1 but ,hessels and many other good judges place it at #adef4 ,it is printed in the type of the forty-two line ,bible1 with thirty-five lines to the page4 ,in the colophon ,scheffer makes use of the expression #8cum suis capitalibus1' which ,hessels translates #8with his capital letters1' a rendering1 says ,mr4 ,gordon ,duff1 which is surely impossible4 #g ,according to ,m4 de ,laborde1 #8,bodman archiviste de ,mayence1 tourment par ,oberlin1 ,fischer et tous les bibliographes du temps pour leur trouver quelques nouveaux renseignements sur ,gutenberg1 n'imagina rien de mieux que d'en fabriquer4' ,fischer in his ,essai sur les monuments ,typographiques de ,jean ,gutenberg declares that he found two leaves of a ,donatus1 which was printed by ,gutenberg with the same initials as were afterwards used by ,scheffer4 ,these leaves were in the cover of an account-book dated #adea1 which was discovered in the ,archives of ,mayence by ,bodman4 ,these leaves have since disappeared4 ,two other questions remain to be considered3 ,why ,scheffer should have used the initials frequently until #adfb1 and then 7with the exception of successive editions of the ,psalter7 have given up their use entirely8 ,who was their author8 ,for the first there was a combination of several reasons4 ,the opposition of the ,formschneiders may have had something to do with it4 ,on the other hand1 ,scheffer may have got tired of always using the same initials which had been cut for him by an exceptionally clever engraver1 of whom he had afterwards lost sight4 ,in the third place1 the sack of ,mayence in #adfb1 which led to the dispersion of his workmen1 may have been partly the reason1 but that he did not lose his material is proved by the initials appearing in the antiquarian reprints of the ,psalter4 ,in our opinion the second reason is most probable1 and it is supported by the testimony of ,papillon as to the identity of the artist1 which seems to have escaped recent bibliographers4 ,according to ,heineken1 a certain ,meydenbach is mentioned in ,sebastian ,mnster's ,cosmographia1 and also by an anonymous author in ,serarius1 as being one of ,gutenberg's assistants4 ,heineken on these grounds considers that he accompanied ,gutenberg from ,strasburg to ,mayence1 also that he was probably an engraver or illuminator1 and ,von ,murr thinks he was the artist who engraved the large initials4 ,fischer is convinced that they were engraved by ,gutenberg himself1 #8a person experienced in such work1 as we are taught by his residence in ,strasburg1' which ,jackson declares teaches no such thing4 ,papillon's history is too long to be related here verbatim1 but in substance it is as follows3 ,a ,german who was making the tour de ,france applied to him for work4 ,he stated that his name was ,cocksperger1 and that he was descended from ,peter ,cocksperger who had engraved the initials of the ,psalter of ,mayence4 ,papillon only saw him three times in #agcg1 when he showed him some of his work1 which1 although somewhat coarse1 was well cut1 of a pretty taste1 and not common4 ,his ancestors had lived in ,mayence1 ,cologne1 and ,nuremberg4 ,one of them1 ,peter1 had worked with ,fust and ,scheffer at their first impressions1 and it was a tradition in the family that he was a scribe and miniaturist1 and also engraved neatly on wood4 ,he had been engaged by ,scheffer1 who lodged him in his house1 to design and engrave on wood large initials embellished with ornaments like those he was in the habit of drawing and painting4 ,also that one of his brothers1 ,jacques1 together with a friend named ,thomas ,forkanach who also engraved on wood1 had helped him to engrave the initials for ,scheffer's ,psalter4 ,he showed ,papillon a book of #8figures of the mass1' a xylographic tract printed au frotton4 ,not being able to get acceptable work1 he left ,paris4 #8,this man1' says ,papillon1 was #8franc et de trs bon caractre1' he had means to live quietly at home1 had not l'envie de voyager made him leave ,germany4#h #h ,papillon1 ,histoire de la gravure sur bois4 ,we have not seen any references to ,cocksperger in modern works1 but ,dibdin in one of his books quotes ,papillon's account of him4 ,it would be curious to know whether there was really a family of this name in ,mayence at the date ,papillon gives1 and whether there is any trace there of such a tradition4 ,besides the initials used in the different editions of the ,psalter1 and in some other publications such as the ,rationale ,durandi1 which has the same subscription as the ,psalter1 but with the date changed to #adei1 ,scheffer had a splendid bichrome ,t for the ,canon of the ,mass1 considered by many as quite equal to the ,b of the ,psalter4 ,later in the century polychrome initials1 as these letters in two colours are somewhat incorrectly termed1 are said to have been used in early ,dutch impressions4 ,humphreys in his ,history of ,printing gives the reproduction of a ,q in two colours from the ,dyalogus ,creaturarum1 printed at ,gouda in #adhj by ,gerard ,leeu1 which he supposes to be printed1 and which he considers1 as we think erroneously1 to be quite equal to ,scheffer's ,b4 ,initials printed in one colour are not uncommon4 ,they are to be found1 for instance1 in the ,etymologicum ,magnum of ,callierges1 and sometimes in missals1 such as the ,missale ,olumucense of ,bamberg and the ,rouen ,missal1 #8ad usum insignis ecclesie ,atrebatensis4' ,it has been said that the ,psalter letters ceased to be used in #adfb4 ,whatever may have been the reason for this1 and it is possible after all that it was simply from motives of economy1 ,scheffer's example1 as regards the suppression of ornament1 was followed by the other printers1 and with the exception of ,pfister1 whose impressions from movable characters have every appearance of xylographic productions1 for some years no books were issued with typographical embellishments4 ,it is probable that1 for the two years during which he flourished1 ,pfister's illustrated publications were tolerated because they were generally supposed to be block-books1 and that he was compelled to stop operations by the ,guilds1 as soon as they found out that he was in reality one of the hated printers4 ,for it was not only as craftsmen that the ,formschneiders were hostile to the members of the new trade4 ,the engravers had become the printers of the xylographic books1 then a new and profitable industry1 and they were afraid of the sale of their own productions being interfered with by the illustrated works of the type-printers4 ,from the point of view of ornamental initials there is little to say about the xylographic impressions4 ,before the invention of printing1 the copies of block-books were obtained1 as has been already mentioned1 by what is known as the frotton process1 the paper being placed over the engraved block and rubbed with a special pad4 ,the ink in the originals is of a brownish yellow4 ,after the invention of the press1 certain popular treatises continued to be struck off from xylographic cuts1 but by impression1 like ordinary books4 ,one of these1 the ,mirabilia ,romae1 a guide-book to ,rome at the end of the fifteenth century1 has a large historiated ,s at the beginning4 ,it is remarkable from the fact that the letterpress1 of which a specimen is given with the initial1 is not cut in imitation of type1 but1 as can be seen in our reproduction1 of ordinary hand-writing4 ,another specimen of this kind of printing is the ,p1 which we reproduce with a border1 from a ,donatus1 the first and eighth leaves of which were preserved for centuries in an old binding4 ,this ,donatus1 of which the only leaves remaining belong to the ,leipsic ,museum1 was printed by ,dinckmut4 ,there is another xylographic fragment with a colophon bearing the same name in the ,bodleian ,library4 ,the initial itself represents a schoolmaster surrounded by his pupils1 a subject frequently met with as a frontispiece to books of this class1 and it is prolonged into a border which frames the page4 ,when the initial of a ,donatus does not represent a pedagogue and his class1 the subject is often the ,virgin and ,holy ,family4 ,j4 ,rosenthal has an extremely valuable edition with the ,virgin1 the ,child1 and ,st4 ,catherine4 ,amongst our specimens of ,cologne is a ,donatus without name of printer or date1 but no doubt printed by ,quentell towards #aejj1 in which1 besides the ,virgin and ,child1 there are grotesque profiles in the two left corners which look as if copied from the same source as one of the ,bmler initials1 and the initial with grotesques in the ,ble ,psalters4#i #i ,the ,donatus1 always being in demand1 was generally one of the first books printed at a new press4 ,it was the first work issued by ,pannartz and ,sweynheim when they started at ,subiaco4 ,during the remainder of the fifteenth century there was very little in the way of initial ornamentation in books published at ,mayence1 where ,scheffer1 who was always the chief printer1 seems to have exhausted his possibilities in this direction with his first experiment4 ,there is1 however1 a fine large historiated ,d in a ,german translation of sop--,das ,buch und ,leben des ,fabeldichters sop--without printer's name or date1 but attributed to ,scheffer1 towards #adhj4 ,this initial has already been reproduced in ,muther's ,bcher-,illustration1 and more recently in a bibliography of incunabula and books printed before #aeja1 by ,ludwig ,rosenthal4 ,the only other interesting ornamental letter we are acquainted with of ,mayence origin before #aejj is the ,g at the commencement of ,erhardt ,reuwich's ,breidenbach4 ,during the first two decades of the sixteenth century there is the same dearth of anything like ornament in ,mayence books1 but towards #aebj ,john1 the grandson of the first ,peter ,scheffer1 has several alphabets1 one of very large letters with arabesques of flowers1 foliage1 and birds1 used first in his ,livy of #aeah1 published under the patronage of ,brandeburg1 ,archbishop of ,magdeburg and ,mayence4 ,there is also a smaller one with the most varied subjects1 besides a few letters with children on a black ground1 and one or two linear initials also with children1 copied from ,venetian models4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,augsburg ,from what has been already said1 it seems evident that the aim of the first printers was to produce by the new art as perfect as possible an imitation of the manuscript4 ,scheffer printed books with ornamental letters in the manuscript style4 ,the other printers left them to be added by hand1 which produced the same effect4 ,it was not until the beginning of the seventies that the printed book assumed its definite form1 and that it was recognised that new methods and new processes were necessary4 ,the printed book was henceforth to be a printed book1 and not an imitation manuscript4 ,it was no longer to pass1 for accessory embellishment1 through a number of successive hands1 but to be finished at a single impression4 ,it would not be exact to say that it was ,gnther ,zainer who relinquished the fiction of a printed manuscript1 and who recognised that1 in virtue of the economic principle of which the press itself is a manifestation1 text and ornamental embellishments should be produced as simply as possible4 ,the alteration was brought about by the ,augsburg printers generally1 rather than by any one in particular1 and was a matter of evolution rather than of sudden change4 ,it was hindered1 too1 to a great extent by the opposition of the ,guild of ,engravers1 who saw in the innovation a menace to their privileges1 and who brought an action against ,zainer and ,schussler in #adga to prevent them using wood-engraving in their books1 and even opposed their admission as burgesses4 ,it was only at the intervention of ,melchior ,stanheim1 ,abbot of ,st4 ,ulrich1 that the matter was arranged1 on the understanding that they should insert in their books neither woodcut pictures nor letters1 a prohibition that was only withdrawn after a new arrangement which bound the printers to employ only recognised members of the ,formschneider ,guild4 ,as an example of the jealousy with which these privileges of corporations were maintained1 it may be mentioned that ,albert ,drer was compelled to pay four florins to the ,society of ,painters of ,venice for working at his profession during his stay in that city4 ,gnther ,zainer's first woodcut initials1 if they can be called #8woodcuts1' are merely outline letters without any kind of ornament4 ,they were intended simply as a guide to the rubricator4 ,in the next stage we have a framed initial with an ornamental groundwork1 but the composition is less effective in black and white than when the letter itself is picked out in red4 ,a good example of this is in the alphabet of the ,zainer ,german ,bible1 afterwards used in the ,summa ,confessorum of ,j4 ,friburgensis4 ,in these initials1 what a contemporary authority on lettering calls a #8friskiness' of the design leads to a difficulty of distinguishing between the ornamental prolongation of the different parts of the letter1 and the very similar decorative groundwork1--so much so1 that even the rubricator was sometimes mistaken1 the colour being left unapplied where needed1 and vice vers4 ,finally we come to initials1 of which the specimens that have come down to us are coloured as often as not4 ,these are more effective when not so treated1 and were probably intended to be left as printed4 ,the reader can judge from the specimens reproduced4 ,butsch 7,bcher-,ornamentik7 mentions the ,gulden ,bibel of ,rampigollis1 the ,belial of #adgb1 and the ,glossae of ,salemo1 as the earliest works of ,g4 ,zainer with woodcut initials4 ,the ,belial1 he says1 has a large ornamental initial of arabesque design4 ,our first selections are from the ,summa ,confessorum2 the large ,p is from the ,margarita ,davitica of #adge4 ,the new plan was soon adopted by the other ,augsburg printers1 and spread thence to other towns and countries4 ,as far as ,augsburg is concerned1 it should be noted that the same letters were often used by different printers1 and they are therefore as much illustrative of the town and period1 as of any one particular press4 ,ludwig ,hohenwang1 for instance1 uses the same initials in his ,gulden ,bibel of #adgg1 as does ,j4 ,pflantzmann in his ,glossa of ,salemo of the same year4 ,the two specimens given of these printers might have been taken from either volume4 ,our other examples are taken from works published by ,sorg1 ,keller1 ,bmler1 and ,schnsperger4 ,the ,bmler selection is exceedingly curious as presenting probably the first example1 if our date is correct1 of what was afterwards so common--the grotesque profile4 ,unfortunately we are unable to give their exact origin1 as they form part of a collection of initials1 cut from early books1 but if the attribution #8,bmler1 #adge1' is correct1 they are of the same date as the ,rihel ,bible of #adge1 in which there are two initials with profiles1 but neither of them grotesque4#aj #aj ,there are two pictorial letters in the fifth ,german ,bible 7see the reproductions of both at pp4 #aah1 #aai71 in which the border is formed partly of a grotesque profile4 ,the five specimens given are selected from the thirteen letters comprised in the collection1 and need no description4 ,the others consist of a ,d1 which is in reality the same as our ,c but reversed2 a ,g1 two ,l's1 an ,r1 a ,t1 and a ,v4 ,one of the ,l's has a sun with full face1 and the ,t1 besides being of an unusual pattern1 has also a grotesque profile4 ,unfortunately it has been daubed over by a rubricator too badly for reproduction4 ,the ,s with the two human figures occurs several times in ,rihel's ,latin ,bible1 and was given by us in a former essay#aa as a specimen of ,basle woodcuts4 ,we now class it provisionally with ,augsburg4 #aa #8,on ,some ,old ,initial ,letters4' ,the ,library1 ,january #aija4 ,of ,sorg1 our earliest specimens are of the pure ,maiblmchen pattern1 the ,s without any trace of historiation being from a copy of ,st4 ,ambrosius on ,st4 ,luke of #adgf4 ,other letters of this type are to be found in his ,breidenbach and other works1 but later on they become almost identical with those of ,keller4 ,compare the ,a and the ,h from the ,valerius ,maximus of ,sorg of #adhj1 with the ,e and ,v from the ,keller edition of ,aristotle's ,opera ,nonnulla of #adgi4 ,the ,s with a grotesque profile at each end and the letters ,g ,i ,a dates from #adhj1 and is the first initial we have met with in which the fool1 so popular in the imagery of the period1 here complete with cap1 ass's ears1 bells and cockscomb1 is represented4 ,schnsperger's initials1 of which four reproductions are given1 are a little later1 #adhi4 ,we come now to pictorial initials1 and in this respect the printers of ,augsburg had been anticipated by those of ,ulm and ,nuremberg4 ,it was in #adgc that the fourth ,german ,bible was published at ,nuremberg4 ,it was probably the success of this edition that induced ,gnther ,zainer to bring out the magnificent folio classed as fifth1 which may truly1 from its size and solidity1 be considered as a typographical monument4 ,zainer's first edition 7the fifth ,german ,bible7 was undated1 but was published either in #adgd or #adge4 ,it succeeded so well that another edition1 this time dated and in two volumes1 was published in #adgg1 with small ornamental initials at the beginnings of the chapters1 as well as the large pictorial letters previously used at the commencement of each book4 ,the difference between the ,augsburg and ,nuremberg initials can be seen in our reproductions1 the former being taller and surrounded with accessory ornaments4 ,in the ,nuremberg ,bible1 ,corinthians #a and #b1 ,ephesians1 ,philippians1 ,thessalonians #a and #b1 ,timothy #a and #b1 ,titus and ,philemon1 all have the same initial4 ,hebrews has no initial at all1 nor has ,galatians4 ,in the ,augsburg edition the letters are all different2 ,galatians has its initial1 and ,hebrews begins with a pictorial ,z4 ,in ,sorg's ,bible of #adgg1 the only large historiated letter is the ,b at the beginning of the dedicatory epistle1 with bishop and cardinal in a cell which1 as can be seen in the corresponding ,nuremberg initial1 looks like a third-class railway compartment4 ,there is a smaller ,d1 not worth reproducing4 ,the different books of the ,bible are mostly preceded by small engravings4 ,but ,sorg's best historiated initials1 in fact the only ones with which we are acquainted 7for the ,b in his ,bible is a copy of ,zainer's71 are to be found in a work by ,henricus ,suso1 #8dictus ,amandus1' published in #adhb3 ,das ,buch das heisset ,der ,seusse1 a translation of his ,horologium aeternae ,sapientiae4 ,this book contains a number of engravings on ,biblical subjects1 which are most often painted over beyond the possibility of reproduction4 ,such is the case with the copies both in the ,british ,museum and in the ,paris ,national ,library4 ,besides these illustrations there are three large pictorial initials1 ,c1 ,r1 and ,s1 of which the ,c alone occurs twice1 representing1 the ,c an angel appearing to a woman1 the ,r a saint with a crozier1 and the ,s an eagle1 the background being filled up with ,maiblmchen4 ,towards the end of the century ,ratdolt1 who had returned from ,venice1 was the chief printer at ,augsburg4 ,amongst his other productions1 ,ratdolt printed a number of liturgical works1 the most beautiful that we have seen being the folio ,breviary of #adic4 ,the type is admirable1 and those pages which begin with the large letters1 such as the ,c with the ,pope1 or the ,h 7,all ,saints71 printed as they are with the brilliant black ink of the period1 are particularly effective4 ,the ,b at the beginning of the ,psalter is used again in the smaller ,psalter of #adii1 as are several of the smaller initials4 ,the pars aestivalis begins with the ,u4 ,the ,c with ,st4 ,urban is at the commencement of the section ,de ,sanctis4 ,two of the smaller initials occur in the larger ,psalter1 which are not in the smaller one4 ,a ,d representing a kind of ,indian with a club and feathers is the fool referred to in the opening words of the ,psalm ,dixit insipiens4 ,another ,d has ,jesus kneeling to ,his father 7,dixit ,deus ,domino meo74 ,on the other hand1 the crucifixion initials of the ,psalter of #adii are not in this edition4 ,the ,psalter of #adii1 ,psalterium cum apparatu vulgari familiariter impresso--,lateinisch ,psalter mit dem teutschen nutzlichen dabey gedruckt1 has not the imposing appearance of the earlier folio volume1 but like all ,ratdolt's work is well printed4 ,this would appear to have been taken as a model for ,psalters in the ,vulgate4 ,there are several editions of different towns with the text framed1 as it were1 by a translation in the vernacular in smaller type4 ,the ,psalter of ,furter has the same disposition1 the initial letters1 although different in treatment1 corresponding almost exactly with those of ,ratdolt's ,psalter4 ,knoblouch has a similar ,psalter1 but with non-historiated initials4 ,in the ,metz ,psalter of ,hochffeder1 otherwise on the same plan1 the only initial is on the title-page4 ,in the ,missal of ,frisingen of #adib there are no historiated letters1 and the ornamental initials in the ,venetian style are unfortunately most outrageously coloured in the only copy we have seen4 ,amongst other letters there is in it an extremely curiously designed ,s which is difficult to describe1 but which we would recommend to students of lettering4 ,in the ,d1 which is in the shape of a ,gothic ,german ,q reversed1 and the ,p1 there is a branch-work pattern starting tangentially from a central circle and ending in trifoliated ornaments altogether graceful and harmonious4 ,ratdolt's mark is on the last page1 and above it3 #8,erhardi ,ratdolt felicia conspice signa1 ,testata artificem qua valet ipse manum4' ,ratdolt continued to print liturgical works for some part of the sixteenth century1 but the only other volume of the kind that we have had at our disposal is the ,pars ,aestivalis of the ,breviarium ,constantiense4 ,ratdolt1 ,aug ,vindel1 #aeaf4 ,in this book there are four pages with borders1 one of which is reproduced1 and on the opposite sides are full-page engravings4 ,there are eight initials1 which we reproduce1 and which are also1 we believe1 to be found in his ,ratisbon ,breviary4 ,hitherto1 with the exception of the last-mentioned work1 we have had to do with what may be called the first style of engraving1 in which designs and pictures drawn by the artist were executed by the wood-cutter in linear reproduction only4 ,with ,albert ,drer1 however1 came a new epoch1 and it became the custom for artists not only to design but also to engrave their own work4 ,this practice1 which was commenced by ,drer1 who served a long apprenticeship to the celebrated ,wohlgemuth1 was continued by most of his pupils1 and new technical methods were naturally the consequence4 ,henceforth the more liberal use of shading1 and the invention of cross-hatching1 enabled effects to be produced which had been before impossible4 ,the results may be seen to this day in the magnificent engravings by the great artists of the beginning of the sixteenth century1 which1 notwithstanding the difficulties under which they laboured1 have never been excelled4#ab ,their productions1 even when it comes to initials1 are real compositions with a personal character4 #ab ,at this time the wood employed for engraving was pear1 and the surface of the block was parallel to the fibre4 ,this made cross-hatching most difficult of execution1 and in consequence of the extreme care and attention necessary1 it is said that the work took eight or nine times as long as at present4 ,it is only since the days of ,bewick that boxwood has been used1 and the blocks cut with the fibre of the wood perpendicular to the surface4 ,to mention those only who designed initial letters1 and of whose works we shall give specimens1 there were ,albert ,drer1 ,hans ,burgkmair1 ,hans ,holbein1 ,hans ,schauffelein1 ,anton von ,worms1 ,lucas ,cranach1 ,hans ,baldung ,grn4 ,we have here to speak of the initials generally attributed to ,hans ,burgkmair1 but which1 according to ,dr4 ,h4 ,rttinger1 ought to be assigned to ,hans ,weiditz1 one of his pupils4 ,these initials are to be met with for the most part in the publications of ,heinrich ,steyner in #aeca and the following ten or eleven years1 and come mostly from ,german translations of classical authors4 ,the influence of ,albert ,drer1 of whom ,burgkmair was himself the pupil1 is clearly seen4 ,different treatises and different editions of ,cicero were published in #aeca1 #aece1 #aedj2 of ,herodianus in #aeca2 ,justinus1 #aeca2 ,boccaccio1 #aecb2 ,cassiodorus1 #aecc2 ,plutarch1 #aecd2 ,petrarch1 #aedb1 in all of which we meet with specimens of these letters4 ,the ,z with a fox trying to get at the poultry in the market-woman's basket is from the ,german ,cicero4 ,the ,c 7bagpiper7 and the ,n 7caricature with big head and small legs7 and the ,p with a peacock are from the ,magni ,aurelii ,cassiodori variarum libri xii4 ,the ,e with the monk and nun1 and the ,c and ,h in a different style1 are from the ,german ,petrarch4 ,the other initials are from one or other of the volumes mentioned4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,ulm ,,and ,,nuremberg ,most writers on early bibliography1 amongst others ,bodemann and ,muther1 who both give reproductions of the initial border at the beginning of the ,latin ,boccaccio1 quote ,j4 ,zainer as the first printer in ,ulm to use woodcut initials4 ,the date of the ,boccaccio is #adgc4 ,in addition to the initial border it contains a complete alphabet1#ac of which we give several specimens4 ,from a decorative point of view this alphabet is not very remarkable1 the letters being of small size1 but the book is interesting on account of the very large historiated initial at the beginning1 which is prolonged along the side and upper margins into a floro-foliated border in imitation of the more elaborate decoration of the old manuscripts4 ,the subject represents that very unfortunate incident in the history of the first woman which was the cause of all the subsequent unhappiness of mankind4 ,eve1 who is the heroine of the first chapter of this book on celebrated women1 is represented in the act of receiving the apple from the arch deceiver1 who is ensconced in the branches of the fatal tree with his tail twisted into the letter ,s4 ,above1 in the branches of the tree1 are small personages emblematic of the seven deadly sins4 ,in a ,german edition of the same book of the same year1 the initial becomes a ,d1 and contains the arms of the noble to whom the work is dedicated1 with winged angels at the corners1 being prolonged into borders along the two adjacent margins4 ,in these two instances the initial letter forms part of the general composition4 #ac ,copied from a manuscript of the fifteenth century1 the #8,evangeliare of ,st4 ,udalrich4' ,in another style of border the initial is merely placed in juxtaposition1 and the same design is thus able to serve for any book with any letter4 ,there is a remarkably vigorous folio-floral border with the head and shoulders of a fool with his cap1 bells1 and other insignia1 at the angle of the two margins in the ,liber ,biblie ,moralis1 #adgd4 ,the same composition is used in the ,alvarus ,pelagius the year before4#ad #ad ,in church architecture1 and in early book ornamentation1 which reflects so well the ideas and customs of the time1 the fool did not make his appearance before the middle of the fifteenth century4 ,wright1 in his ,history of ,caricature1 mentions as early instances some sculptures of this date in churches of ,cornwall1 and it was about the same time that this personage is first seen in manuscript decoration4 ,the idea1 however1 was much older1 springing from that taste for the grotesque which characterised the ,middle ,ages1 and the relics of which are seen in so many artistic remains of the period4 ,from the tenth century and even earlier1 companies of fools existed in all large towns1 and on certain occasions ,mother ,folly and the ,lord of ,misrule reigned supreme4 ,the cult of the ass1 whose ears were to become later part of the fool's insignia1 was another outcome of this love of the burlesque4 ,in printed books1 the first engraving we are acquainted with of a fool is in the border to the ,liber ,biblie ,moralis of #adge4 ,in initial letters1 as far as we have been able to ascertain1 this subject was not used before #adhj1 when it is to be found in specimens both of ,augsburg and of ,strasburg4 ,a remarkable portrait of a fool is contained in an ,o in ,schott's ,plenarium1 printed1 as is stated in the colophon1 at #8,strospurg1' in #adha4 ,knoblochtzer's large ,s1 for the ,dyalogus ,solomonis et ,marcolfi1 gives a fool with another personage at full length1 and at last the typical fool1 with a marotte and all other accoutrements1 is met with in initials of different ,psalters1 being well seen in that of ,frter of ,basle4 ,henceforth1 with a face characterised by leering cunning1 the type is to remain unchanged1 and ,brandt1 ,erasmus1 and ,holbein only add to its popularity1 without modifying the general conception4 ,there is a little pictorial initial by ,quentell1 in which the usual expression is replaced by one of extreme finesse1 but coarser cunning is the rule1 and it is under this aspect that the fool is depicted by ,holbein in the ,r of the alphabet of ,death4 ,in the ,quadragesimale of ,gritsch there is a similar border1 but the fool is replaced by a personage with a doctor's bonnet4 ,the letters accompanying these borders belong to the alphabet1 of which we give several reproductions1 and which is the most frequently used in ,j4 ,zainer's works4#ae #ae ,reiber in his ,art pour ,tous gives a similar alphabet of the ,augsburg ,zainer1 which1 he says1 is copied from a manuscript of the tenth century4 ,another great work from the ,ulm press is the ,cosmographia of ,ptolemy1 printed by ,leonard ,holl1 in which there is an alphabet of initials not unlike those of ,schnsperger already given4 ,those of ,l4 ,holl ought to have been preferred as illustrations1 inasmuch as they are earlier than the others1 #adhb1 but they are almost invariably painted and unfit for zincotype reproduction4 ,the chief interest1 moreover1 in the book is in its two large historiated initials on the first two pages1 the first showing the printer offering his book to the ,pope1 the second representing probably ,ptolemy himself4 ,our last specimen of ,j4 ,zainer's engraving is the ,f which begins the dedicatory epistle of the ,latin ,bible of #adhj1 and which is a curious example of the peregrinations of woodcuts through different workshops1 and of the incongruous uses to which they were put4 ,in the ,ulm ,bible the letter is much fresher and the border-line very little broken1 but our reproduction is from an impression made when it was much the worse for wear1 and had passed into the hands of ,hupfuff of ,strasburg4 ,it has been used by him without any kind of apropos1 not as an initial but as a frontispiece to a tract published in #aejg with the following title3 ,canon ,sacratissime ,misse una c2 ,expositione ejusdem ubi in primis praemittitur pulchra contemplatio ante missam habenda de ,cristi pulchritudine4#af #af ,on the title-page of a little pamphlet entitled #8,deploration sur le ,trepas de tres noble ,princesse ,madame ,magdalain de ,france ,royne ,descoce1' of which only one copy is known1 the frontispiece is a ,b showing the ,queen holding up a dagger1 and with the motto #8,memento mori4' ,every student of bibliography has met with instances of the use of illustrations having no reference to the text1 simply to fill up a space and because nothing more suitable was at hand4 ,cuts1 for instance1 from ,brandt's illustrations to ,grninger's ,virgil are to be found in some volumes of ,geyler's ,sermons4 ,the same indifference to the reader's opinion was often displayed in connection with ornamental letters4 ,when the letter is simply ornamental it does not much matter3 a ,c turned over becomes a ,d1 and vice vers4 ,an ,m at a pinch serves reversed as a ,w1 an ,n on its side does for a ,z4 ,but when1 as is sometimes the case1 the letter taken liberties with is pictorial or historiated1 the resulting effect is far from artistic4 ,here there is1 of course1 no absolute incompatibility between text and illustration1 which was probably considered a very satisfactory makeshift for the cut which often adorns the recto or verso of contemporary title-pages1 representing the author presenting his book to a patron4 ,in #adif ,j4 ,reger published books with initials1 of which we have selected the ,m1 the ,c1 and the ,s4 ,they come from the ,obsidionis ,rhodie ,urbis descriptio of ,caoursin1 a work very much sought after on account of its full-page woodcuts1 some of which represent incidents in the siege1 others the entertainment of an ambassador by the ,grand ,master4 ,the ,m and the ,c are the only letters with animated subjects2 the others1 ,r1 ,h1 ,n1 and ,g are simply foliated1 and the proofs are too inferior for reproduction4 ,the same printer has another book of the same date about ,rhodes1 the ,stabilimenta ,rhodiorum militum1 with three interesting initials1 an ,f1 a boy with a dog1 an ,o1 a naked winged babe1 and an ,x1 a bird with foliage4 ,nuremberg4--,if ,zainer at ,augsburg was the first to introduce woodcut letters printed in black ink1 the practice was adopted very soon after at ,nuremberg1 if indeed1 setting aside the outline initials already mentioned1 ,nuremberg has not the priority as regards genuine ornamental woodcutting4 ,for whereas the ,belial of #adgb is the first work mentioned by ,butsch with woodcut letters at ,augsburg1 at ,nuremberg1 where ,j4 ,mller of ,knigsberg 7,regiomontanus71 as is stated by ,panzer1 settled in #adga1 his first publication1 the ,theoricae ,novae ,planetarum of ,georgius ,purbachius1 is embellished with eight initials4 ,these are interesting as affording another example of the fact that the earlier designs were generally taken from manuscripts1 for ,olschki1 in his ,monumenta ,typographica1 gives the reproduction of a manuscript initial which is of the same size and of the same pattern as the ,s we have given from the ,theoricae ,novae1 and which contains besides eight smaller initials1 ,d1 ,l1 ,m1 ,o1 ,p1 ,q1 ,s1 ,v1 measuring #bd centimetres4 ,there is a ,q of the same style and size in the ,astronomicon of ,m4 ,manilius1 published by ,mller in #adgc4 ,mller1 or ,regiomontanus1 as he styles himself in his colophons1 was not only a printer1 but one of the most learned mathematicians of the day4 ,in #adga he printed a ,calendarium of his own with many astronomical figures and woodcut initials4 ,in #adgf ,ratdolt and his partners printed an edition of this with a charming border and initials at ,venice1 and in #adif it was published by ,j4 ,hamman de ,landoia4 ,in #adgc appeared the first ,german ,bible with large pictorial initials1 the ,nuremberg ,bible of ,frisner and ,sensenschmidt1 known as the fourth ,german ,bible4 ,in our opinion the work on these initials is amongst the best of the time1 and often much superior to what is to be found in ordinary illustrative cuts of the same date4 ,the subjects are the same as in the ,augsburg ,bible1 but the initials differ in being wider than tall in the ,nuremberg edition1 and in the absence of the ,maiblmchen decorative border which is a feature of the others4 ,after the ,german ,bible1 we know of no initials of very great interest in ,nuremberg books for some years4 ,koberger1 who reigned supreme in this town1 did not favour their use4#ag #ag ,in a recent catalogue of thirty-seven works published by him1 no woodcut initials occur in any4 ,in #adhi a book was published1 generally attributed to ,g4 ,stuchs1 which is interesting in many ways4#ah ,the title1 which is xylographic1 runs as follows3 #8,versehung leib sel er unnd gut1' anglic3 #8,the way to preserve body1 soul1 honour1 and means1' and on the verso is a remarkable engraving of a sick person in bed surrounded by attendants1 which evidently suggested the cut representing the sick fool in ,brandt's celebrated ,navis ,fatuorum4 ,at the end of the volume is a great typographical curiosity1 which constitutes1 when completed by hand1 an ex-libris4 ,this is a woodcut engraving occupying nearly the whole of the page1 with a shield in blank and two scrolls4 ,on one of these are engraved the words1 ,das ,puch und der ,schild ist1 the corresponding one being intended for the owner's name1 and the shield for his coat of arms4 #ah ,proctor ascribes this work to either ,conrad ,zeninger or ,peter ,wagner4 ,in our copy this book-plate remains in its original condition1 but we have seen another that was filled up at the time1 and which has been the means of rescuing the name of a worthy monk from oblivion4 ,in it1 the first part of the sentence is completed by the addition of the words1 des ,closters zum ,parfusen hat ,eundres ,gewder gemacht1 the whole forming an ex-libris of the ,monastery of ,barefooted ,brothers of ,st4 ,francis1 and testifying to the skill of the #8bibliothecarius1' ,andrew ,gewder1 who engrossed and illuminated it4 ,there are two specimens of this page also in the ,franks collection of book-plates at the ,british ,museum4 ,in one of these the space is blank1 in the other it is filled up with the name of a nun1 ,barbara4 ,the chief interest of this volume1 however1 resides in its initial letters1 after the designs which are preserved at the ,pinacothek at ,munich1 of ,israel von ,mecken4 ,many of them are repeated a great many times1 there being altogether between seventy and eighty impressions2 but these represent only eight different letters of the alphabet1 ,a1 ,d1 ,e1 ,h1 ,i1 ,m1 ,p1 ,s4 ,of these the ,e1 which we give1 is the only letter which is both engraved and printed perfectly1 the ,a being the next best4 ,nearly all the others are flat1 often wanting in depth and relief1 besides being badly printed4 ,altogether this book is one of the most interesting relics of early typography1 and is especially noticeable as being the first volume illustrated by a known artist4 ,in the early sixteenth century1 works published at ,nuremberg were not as a rule well supplied with ornamental initials1 the complicated calligraphic letters that became so common in ,german books1 and that were little used elsewhere1 taking their place4 ,butsch in his reproductions of alphabets of this period does not give any specimens4 ,this is all the more remarkable in that ,nuremberg was the home of ,albert ,drer and the great centre of the wood-engraver's art4 ,the few examples1 moreover1 that we have seen1 are very primitive both in design and in execution1 as the reader can see from the reproductions taken from the ,missale ,pataviense1 printed by ,jodocus ,gutnecht1 #aead4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,basle ,,and ,,zurich ,printing was introduced into ,basle before #adfh1 having been preceded1 as in most other towns of the upper ,rhine1 by xylographic publications4 ,no ,basle book bears a printed date earlier than #adgc1 but the absence of such printed date does not prove that the introduction of printing into ,basle did not take place earlier1 and a note of the purchase in #adfh of a copy of ,st4 ,gregory's ,moralia in ,job1 printed by ,berthold ,rodt or ,ruppel of ,hanau1 shows that he must have been at work at that time4 ,from the point of view of initial letters we will pass over ,berthold ,rodt and ,michael ,wenssler1 to come to the publications of ,bernard ,richel1 the most interesting of which are his ,sachsenspiegel of #adgd and the ,latin ,bible1 which had several editions1 these appearing in #adga-ge-gg4 ,in describing this work1 ,panzer in his ,annales ,typographici remarks that the woodcut initials do not occur in all the copies4 ,in some of them their place is left blank4 ,this is another evidence of the early printer's reluctance to adopt printed ornaments as the definite formula1 and if any further proof is necessary it will be found in the fact that even where woodcut letters are used1 they are often more or less enlivened with colours4 ,we have already alluded to these initials in describing those of ,bmler1 and we have touched upon the point as to who was the first to make use of the historiated ,s which has a certain analogy with the xylographic letter mentioned in a former chapter1 from the ,ars ,memorandi4 ,there are in this ,bible four different sets of letters1 but of none of these is there a complete alphabet1 although but few letters are wanting of the largest4 ,the next nearly complete is the second in size4 ,of the four different sets1 the second in size is of a special design1 different to anything we have met with4 ,the others are pure specimens of ,maiblmchen ornamentation1 and amongst the best of the kind4 ,the three different-sized initials with human faces are the only letters in the volume with any trace of historiation4 ,several ,psalters were published either at the end of the fifteenth or at the beginning of the sixteenth century1 of exactly the same size and general disposition1 two of them with initial letters that correspond in subject although very different in treatment4 ,these are the ,psalters of ,basle and ,augsburg4 ,the latter has been dealt with in a previous chapter4 ,the ,basle ,psalter was published by ,furter in #aeja1 and the initials of the two volumes can be contrasted and compared with those that have just been dealt with4 ,in these letters1 the fool who saith in his heart there is no ,god 7,dixit insipiens71 is represented in the ,d which begins the ,psalm as a jester1 which is not quite appropriate4 ,in the ,mallermi ,bible1 where there is instead of an historiated letter a little cut1 the rendering is more correct4 ,the fool is there1 a man with dishevelled hair1 and having every appearance of having lost his reason4 ,the ,c with ,absalom hanging by his hair is reproduced as an example of ,basle woodcutting in ,muther's ,bcherillustration4 ,there is amongst these initials a nondescript kind of letter which is an example of the carelessness that sometimes occurred in the workshop4 ,it was intended for an ,e1 but the draughtsman forgot that the drawing would be reversed in the printing1 and the printer has arranged matters in the text by turning the letter upside down4 ,in a former essay 7,the ,library1 #aija7 we gave three specimens--,s1 ,t1 and ,v--from a book entitled ,liber ,decretorum sive panormia1 etc4 etc41 as examples of ,furter's ornamentation4 ,letters of this alphabet occur also in an extremely rare book unknown to ,hain1 without date or name of printer1 but undoubtedly printed at ,basle1 the ,decreta ,consilii ,basiliensis4 ,it is1 however1 certain that they were used in a work printed at ,besanon some ten years before the ,liber ,decretorum1 and although the fifth volume of ,claudin's ,histoire de l',imprimerie en ,france in which this work was to be described has not yet appeared1 we have reason to believe that they are to be attributed to this town1 and were to be given in the chapter in which it is mentioned4 ,we shall have to refer later to the frequency of the repetition in some volumes of the same initial4 ,in the ,german ,bibles1 for instance1 the different books most often begin by the word #8,der1' and consequently by an initial ,d4 ,in a book of sermons by that extraordinarily fertile writer1 ,geyler von ,kaisersperg1 not only does every section commence with the letter ,d1 but with the same identical initial4 ,in this volume1 the ,christianliche ,bilgerschaft1 printed by ,adam ,petri in #aeab1 the preface begins by a floral letter of no consequence4 ,after that the ,d1 with a pilgrim and a cross on his shoulder1 is repeated at the commencement of every chapter1 possibly thirty times4 ,the title-page has an illustration by ,urs ,graf with the same subject4 ,the last years of the fifteenth century had passed away1 but the ,german printers1 including even ,ratdolt1 who had returned to ,augsburg from ,venice1 still resisted the influence of ,renaissance art4 ,in the ,narrenschiff of ,brandt of #adic we can see the science of the draughtsmen excellently interpreted1 but the ,gothic facture still holds good against the encroachment of more modern artistic tendencies1 and it is not until towards #aeab or #aeac that the new ideas begin to be more generally accepted4 ,but as a modern writer has said3 #8,ds que la ,renaissance lumineuse a paru1 tranant derrire elle l'admirable cortge de ses matres dlicats1 fils de la ,grce antique qui moulaient la feuille divine de l'acanthe sur le sein d'une vierge endormie1 le vieux monde s'croula et l'ornement gothique fit place la triomphante et potique arabesque devenue l'aurore nouvelle4' ,it is in the ,ritter von ,thurn1 published by ,furter in #aeae1 that we see first this influence in the form of a title by ,urs ,graf1 copied from the ,venetian original1 and ornamented with dolphins and acanthus4 ,besides a great many titles1 ,urs ,graf also engraved a certain number of alphabets1 inspired to a great extent by those of ,tacuinus de ,tridino1 but wanting in originality1 and generally inferior to the originals4 ,the reader can compare the two kinds of initials4 ,but it was the arrival of a young artist of genius that completed the revolution at ,basle in the ornamentation of books4 ,this is not the place to discuss the merit of ,holbein as a painter1 nor to study the long series of title-pages1 borders1 friezes1 and printers' marks which he composed for different printers of ,basle and elsewhere4 ,we are concerned here only with his alphabets2 and of those which bear more particularly the mark of his genius1 the alphabet of ,death occupies the first place4 ,this as a composition is a chef d'uvre1 and it was engraved on wood by an artist of the very highest merit1 ,hans ,ltzelberger4 ,these initials1 notwithstanding their small dimensions1 about twenty-four millimetres square1 can well bear comparison with the larger engravings in ,les ,simulachres et ,histories ,faces de la ,mort which was to appear several years later at ,lyons1 in #aech1 chez les frres ,trechsel ,soubz l'escu de ,coloigne4 ,the alphabet is composed of twenty-four letters1 and several of the original proof-sheets are to be found in different ,continental museums4 ,basle and ,dresden each possess one4 ,the letters of this alphabet may be met with in different works published by ,bebelius1 such as the ,new ,testament in ,greek of #aebe1 that of #aeca1 the ,galen of #aech1 and particularly in the two folio volumes of ,aristotle which appeared in #aecb4 ,in the five first1 ,a to ,e1 the body of the letter is in white4 ,in the others there is a double outline which softens their appearance and reduces their size4 ,each of the letters merits a separate description1 but the reproductions given1 as far as they go1 obviate all commentary1 permitting the reader to judge for himself1 and to appreciate the justice of the praise that has been lavished upon them by art critics4 ,the subjects in the alphabet of ,death are the same as in the celebrated ,basle frescoes4 ,in each of these scenes1 men and women of all sorts and conditions are invited to accompany him by ,death1 who will take no refusal nor hear of any previous engagement2 from ,b and ,c the ,pope and ,emperor1 to ,v the merchant1 from the ,hermit full of years ,w1 to the child in its cradle ,v1 the ,last ,judgment ,z1 finishing the series4 ,the ,latin alphabet 7for there are some ,greek initials7 contains two subjects not to be found either in the frescoes or in the larger illustrations for the well-known satire1 ,v the horseman with ,death sitting behind like black care1 and ,s the courtesan4 ,in the ,greek alphabet of inferior execution1 certainly not the work of ,ltzelberger1 of which we give three specimens1 there are also two other subjects1 the and the 1 a peasant and a smith4 ,curiously enough1 an enlarged copy of this alphabet1 but of much inferior merit1 was used more than ten years before by ,cephaleus of ,strasburg1 who also had a smaller series in the same coarse engraving4 ,some of the letters are given for comparison4 ,a very curious alphabet1 which although not equalling ,ltzelberger's is of more than average execution1 can be but little known to bibliographers1 for as far as we have ascertained it only occurs in a few books published at ,stella1 in ,spain4 ,the scenes are selected from the ,simulachres1 and each letter is a complete little picture4 ,besides these alphabets a certain number of ,dance of ,death letters are to be found in other books of ,basle1 of which the ,v1 with ,death on horseback with an hour-glass1 will serve as an example4 ,they are also to be met with in books of ,cologne4 ,the ,dance of ,death1 although intimately associated with the name of ,holbein1 was not his creation1 the subject having always been a favourite one in the ,middle ,ages1 and having been treated also by ,albert ,drer4 ,it was the general rule to represent ,death1 who although a skeleton was endowed with motion1 with withered muscles4 ,in an extremely precious book1 printed by ,meydenbach at ,mayence1 ,der ,doten ,tantz mit ,figuren ,clage unt ,antwort schon von ,allen ,staten der ,welt1 which is illustrated with forty-one curious cuts with the same subjects as ,holbein's alphabet1 ,death is thus represented1 and the same thing is seen in other ,german editions of this work of the fifteenth century1 and in the numerous ,french editions of the ,danse ,macabre which appeared about the same time4 ,holbein1 however1 preferred to suppress these1 and in so doing exhibited his ignorance of the anatomy of the human frame4 ,not only are the shoulder-blades and pelvis wrongly drawn1 but the arm and thigh are represented each with two bones1 whilst the fore-arm has only one4 ,these mistakes have frequently been pointed out before1 but the fact that they furnish an argument in the controversy about ,holbein's possible sojourn in ,italy seems to have been less noticed4 ,there is no positive evidence on this point1 but arguing from a change in ,holbein's style after a certain period1 in which the influence of ,mantegna and ,leonardo da ,vinci is manifest1 it is said by some of his biographers that he must have studied under these masters4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that in ,italy at this time there were regular schools of painting1 and it is difficult to suppose the masters above-named to have been as ignorant of anatomy as must have been the case had ,holbein been their pupil4 ,if his knowledge was derived1 on the contrary1 from contemporary ,german books1 his mistakes become more comprehensible4 ,the peasants' alphabet1 also composed of twenty-four letters but of a different character1 is another of his best compositions4 ,the museums of ,basle and ,dresden possess proofs of this alphabet4 ,the letters are to be found in the publications of ,froben1 ,cratander1 and ,bebelius1 and ,voltmann in his ,bibliography of ,holbein has given some specimens of them4 ,butsch reproduces the whole alphabet1 as indeed he does several others1 including that of the ,dance of ,death4 ,the realistic scenes depicted in some of the letters1 taken from life1 are not always edifying1 but this is the fault of the models rather than that of the artist4 ,in ,a1 we have musicians playing on their instruments1 ,b to ,k show some couples dancing1 ,l is a love-scene1 ,m a fight with swords1 ,o a boy holding a girl1 while another boy is cooling his ardour by throwing water over him4 ,in ,p the water is being offered to a girl from a pail1 ,v shows a bowling ground1 with a game of nine-pins1 ,w the ride home4 ,our three specimens are taken not from this alphabet but from letters with similar subjects in the ,galen4 ,of the same size as the peasants' is the children's alphabet1 which is treated with the same happiness and talent of observation4 ,holbein must have been especially fond of children1 for they figure in a great many of his compositions1 titles1 borders1 and printers' marks1 and he paints them with a grace that ,ltzelberger1 for it is probable that he engraved them1 has caught most happily4 ,the different incidents of juvenile life1 chiefly games1 are rendered with great realism4 ,sixteen letters of this alphabet can be found in the ,lactantius of ,cratander and ,bebelius of #aecb1 others in various ,basle works4 ,in a larger alphabet1 children are engaged in all sorts of trades--forging1 cooking1 baking1 building1 carpentering1 fishing1 playing at coopering1 at being bath-keepers and tanners4 ,the ,w1 which is rarely met with1 represents a boy taking off a doctor with spectacles on his nose1 whilst another is reading a book1 and the third preparing some physic4 ,this playing at adult occupations has been taken as a subject for alphabets by other artists1 the best being that of ,j4 van ,calcar1 to be mentioned presently4 ,holbein composed two sets of initials for ,valentin ,curio1 whose name appears on publications which are often on philological questions4 ,these letters1 also with children1 are to be found in volumes often ornamented with pictorial borders by the same hand1 our reproductions1 ,c1 ,d1 ,o1 ,q1 being taken from the ,strabo of ,walder1 and others being met with in the ,enchiridion of ,erasmus4 ,from a smaller set by the same printer we select ,a1 ,i1 ,n1 ,q1 ,v1 ,x1 ,y1 ,z4 ,the ,a1 ,c1 ,d1 ,d1 ,h1 ,i1 ,o1 ,p1 ,q1 ,v1 with animals and personages1 are also from the same press4 ,of the many other initials we will mention the ,greek capitals of the ,lexicon ,graeco-,latinum of ,ren ,gelli1 published by ,froben in #aecb1 found also in the ,lexicon ,graecum of ,j4 ,walder1 #aeci1 in which the represents a young woman struggling as she is carried off by ,death4 ,this letter is of singular beauty4 ,this leads us to speak of the four large ,greek initials which we give from the ,galen of #aech1 of ,bebelius and ,cratander1 remarkable from every point of view4 ,the represents ,silenus on a pig1 the ,samson with the jaw-bone of the ass1 the the prodigal son eating at the same trough as the swine1 the a child sailing on a shell4 ,besides these four beautiful letters1 of which there are only five proofs in the work1 one at the beginning of each of the five folio volumes1 the occurring twice1 there are numerous initials from other alphabets scattered through its pages1 such as the series of which we give a with a child and a ram1 and some specimens of the alphabet engraved on metal1 of which we reproduce the ,f representing the ,deluge1 ,noah's ,ark being dimly perceived through the rain1 the ,m ,jacob's ladder1 and the ,q ,joseph and ,potiphar's wife4 ,these initials1 although generally in very bad impressions1 are to be met with in volumes of ,bebelius and others1 and were even copied abroad4 ,they are to be found1 for instance1 in the ,commentaires sur l',histoire des ,plantes printed by ,jacques ,gazeau in #aedi4 ,an alphabet1 of which we give the ,b1 ,i1 and ,m1 is found in the ,cyprianus of ,froben of #aeba1 and in many of his later impressions4 ,the ,i with the three children1 the front one with the basket on his back1 is generally by itself1 that is to say1 not with initials of the same size and character4 ,the ,o1 also with three children1 belongs to one of the alphabets in the same style1 which are no doubt imitated from ,venetian models4 ,we must mention the alphabet of the ,master ,i ,f on a black ground in publications by ,froben after #aeah1 the first letters of which represent the labours of ,hercules1 the following ones different scriptural and classical subjects4 ,the ,b with a child in its cradle1 and the ,e 7a winged child on a sea-horse71 are samples of the initials from ,basle books of the time1 which are possibly by ,ambrose rather than ,hans ,holbein1 as are the ,k and ,z with children and grotesques1 on a black ground with stars4 ,but1 however interesting the work of ,holbein1 however varied and supple his genius1 we cannot do more than give specimens of the whole4 ,the reader who is desirous of fuller documentation can refer to ,woltmann's ,holbein und seine ,zeit1 ,leipsic1 #ahgb2 to the ,bcher-,ornamentik of ,butsch1 or to the more complete collection of ,holbein's ,initials1 recently published by ,heitz4 ,holbein's alphabets and initials were soon adopted by all the printers of ,basle1 and with few exceptions until #aede there is nothing to note of any other artist4 ,it was in this year1 the date of ,holbein's death1 that the ,basle edition of ,vesalius's ,de ,corporis humani fabrica was printed1 a work that may be considered as one of the most remarkable products of the ,german ,renaissance4 ,this book had been previously published at ,venice1 and its success was so great that it was shortly after pirated at ,cologne4 ,vesalius1 in his preface to the ,basle edition1 alludes to the want of international copyright1 to the dishonesty1 and particularly to the vandalism1 of publishers who substituted detestable copies for the wonderful originals of his anatomical plates1 which he would have preferred to lend them4 ,besides these plates1 which have never been surpassed in beauty1 there is the admirable frontispiece by ,j4 van ,calcar representing a lesson on anatomy1 and two series of initial letters depicting children1 who1 with inimitable seriousness1 are acting as medical consultants4 ,in a later edition ,van ,calcar's initials are replaced by a much inferior set by another hand4 ,zurich4--,there are several interesting alphabets in the books published by ,froschouer of ,zurich1 the most important of which is illustrated with scenes from the ,bible4 ,the two ,a's1 the ,d1 the reversed ,d that serves as a ,c1 and the ,f1 are said to be by ,n4 ,manuel1 the ,s with ,jesus overturning the money-changers' tables in the ,temple by ,ambrose ,holbein4 ,,chapter ,v ,l,,beck ,,and ,,bamberg ,lbeck is represented here by two printers1 ,lucas ,brandis and ,bartholomew ,ghotan4 ,in one of his recent catalogues ,j4 ,rosenthal has given the reproduction of an alphabet from a ,herbal1 but the letters are of very little interest1 being about the same size as those of the ,ulm ,boccaccio and with the same kind of ornamentation4 ,as the first letters used in the town of ,ulm1 and one of the first sets used by any printer1 and so showing the evolution of typographical ornamentation1 the ,ulm initials have a certain interest1 but they would not have been worth reproducing from a book dated almost twenty years later4 ,lucas ,brandis published two immense folios1 the ,rudimenta ,novitiorum1 the ,latin original of the ,mer des ,hystoires1 the other the ,history of the ,jews by ,josephus4 ,the first1 which appeared in #adgg1 is a kind of ,history of the ,world1 and1 like the ,nuremberg ,chronicle1 is full of cuts representing towns1 kings1 philosophers1 and other subjects4 ,these1 however1 are much less interesting than the initials1 which are the first examples of what are called passe-partouts1 the central picture being removable at will and adaptable to any frame4 ,some of them are special to one or other volume1 but most of them are to be found in both4 ,the most curious is perhaps the ,i at the beginning of the volume on page #c1 of the purest manuscript character1 and entirely different from anything we have met with elsewhere4 ,the ,q of the ,quinta tas1 with a battle-scene1 is a favourite one for reproduction4 ,dibdin1 who gives it in the ,bibliotheca ,spenceriana1 considers it to be #8the most remarkable' of a #8very splendid and noteworthy book1' and it has lately been reproduced in a monograph on ,lbeck printing1 but a quarter only of its right size1 giving no idea whatever of how it looks in the original4 ,on page #bhi is a ,c with the ,virgin1 unfortunately too badly daubed over in the ,bibliothque ,nationale copy to permit of reproduction4 ,the interior1 the ,virgin and ,child1 is given as a cut by itself without the letter1 on the verso of the same page1 and in other places4 ,of our three other specimens ,mr4 ,pollard has already given one1 the #8,knight ,templar1' in an essay on the subject now reprinted in a volume called ,old ,picture-,books4 ,the ,rudimenta itself was one of the great picture-books at the end of the fifteenth century1 and as in the ,nuremberg ,chronicle1 the same cuts often did duty for more than one subject4 ,on the verso of p4 #djd is a picture representing a few buildings with a windlass behind a wall1 with a gate in it from which a man is emerging2 and in the foreground an imposing draped figure giving directions to three little fellows1 who are severally trundling a wheelbarrow1 carrying a flask1 and flourishing an adze4 ,this is at the beginning of the chapter #8,turris confusionis ,babel4' ,on p4 #ajg the same cut is the foundation of the kingdom of ,assyria4 ,on p4 #aag it serves for the ,constructio ,treveri1 and successively for ,spires1 ,lneburg1 and ,wismaria4 ,athenodorus and ,philo ,judaeus have the same cut1 and the same counterfeit presentment does for ,demosthenes1 ,pericles1 ,parmenides1 ,aristides1 and ,xenophon4 ,another series represents indifferently ,crato1 ,cicero1 ,cato1 ,virgil1 ,simonides1 ,plotinus1 ,theophrastus1 ,menander1 ,paulus1 and ,archephilus4 ,the little ,d would appear to be a first attempt at book ornamentation1 and was used at the beginning of the ,leben des heil4 ,hieronymus by ,bartholomew ,ghotan in #adhf4 ,our other ,lbeck initials are taken from the #adic edition of the ,meditations of ,st4 ,bridget by the same printer1 in which there are altogether ten or a dozen different ornamental letters1 one of them being repeated twice1 another three or four times4 ,this book is chiefly esteemed on account of the engravings1 representing the miracles of the saint1 some of which are full-page size4 ,like all works of the kind1 it was very popular in its day and went through many editions1 but the ,lbeck impression is the most rare1 most of the copies having been destroyed by accident before the book was published4 ,bamberg4--,independently of accessory ornamentation1 the missals printed at ,bamberg by ,j4 ,sensenschmidt1 either by himself or with a partner1 have always been considered by bibliographers as models of beautiful letterpress4 ,lippmann gives amongst his reproductions of early typographical monuments a page of the ,missale ,olumucense with one of the large red initials used only in these ,bamberg missals4 ,the first in which they occur is the ,missale ,freysingense1 printed in #adhg by ,sensenschmidt and ,heinrich ,pelgensteiner2 here the initials would seem to be slightly smaller than in the succeeding volumes4 ,it was in the following year that ,sensenschmidt published the ,missale ,olumucense1#ai in #adhi the ,liber ,missalis ,bambergensis4 ,mr4 ,weale#bj mentions two other editions from this press in the two following years4 ,the letters reproduced here were taken from the copy in the ,bibliothque ,nationale1 in which there are ten of these special red initials1 beginning with the ,a of the opening line of the mass 7,ad te ,dominum71 and comprising one of each of the following3 ,b1 ,c1 ,d1 ,e1 ,p1 ,r1 ,s1 and two different varieties of the ,t4 ,there is besides a large historiated ,t1 in black1 representing the sacrifice of ,abraham1 at the commencement of the ,canon of the ,mass 7,te igitur74 ,this is the only volume that we have been able to examine personally1 but we have seen a ,g in a collection of initials with a different text on the verso1 which probably comes from one of the other editions4 #ai ,see also in ,burger1 ,monumenta ,germaniae et ,italiae ,typographica1 ,deutsche und ,italinische ,inkunabeln4 #bj ,bibliotheca ,liturgica4 ,of other ,bamberg missals with other ornamental letters1 the most interesting is that of ,johann ,pfeyl1 the initials being entirely different in style to any that we have seen elsewhere4 ,the colophon has it3 #8,missale speciale divinorum officiorum secundum chorum alme et imperialis ecclesie ,bambergensis1' and states that it was printed in #aejf #8by the industry and exact diligence of that 8disert0 and expert master ,johann ,pfeyl4' ,in the splendid full-page engraving on vellum1 which in many missals is the chief attraction to collectors1 there is a view in the distance of the town of ,bamberg4 ,the initials are so curious that we have reproduced them all4 ,one or two are repeated2 the ,g1 representing ,jehovah crowning a martyr1 serves for three different saints4 ,the somewhat smaller linear ,t1 of the ,canon of the ,mass1 is a reduced copy of the corresponding initial in the ,sensenschmidt missals4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,strasburg ,,and ,,reutlingen ,with ,knoblochtzer1 ,schott1 and ,prusz1 the first commencing in #adgg1 ,grninger and ,hupfuff at the end of the fifteenth century1 we have printers who made a liberal use of initials4 ,knoblochtzer has been thoroughly explored by ,,mm4 ,schorbach and ,spirgatis1 and a monograph upon ,strasburg book-illustration has been published by ,dr4 ,kristeller4 ,although many of our specimens were known to these bibliographers1 a few of them1 and these by no means the least interesting1 have escaped their observation4 ,one of them1 the splendid ,a representing ,jesus washing the feet of a disciple1 is what one might expect to find at the beginning of a thirteenth- or fourteenth-century manuscript1 and the artist in cutting it has managed to make it retain this appearance4 ,it is to be found in an undated volume without name of printer1 but identified as having been printed by ,knoblochtzer in #adgh1 and entitled ,thomas 7,ebendorfer7 de ,haselpach3 ,sermones dominicales super ,epistolas ,pauli4 ,this ,a at the beginning of the first volume is the only typographical ornament in the book1 and seems to have been entirely unknown to either of the ,strasburg bibliographers4 ,the ,d1 with two armed figures and the two coats of arms1 is given by ,,mm4 ,schorbach and ,spirgatis as the earliest specimen of ,strasburg ornamentation4 ,it occurs for the first time at the beginning of ,knoblochtzer's ,burgundische ,historie1 in which there is no other woodcut4 ,it represents the ,duke ,ren of ,lothringen and ,charles the ,fearless of ,burgundy with their shields at their feet1 and was cut specially for the ,history of ,burgundy1 although it occurs several times also in the ,schachzabelbuch of ,jacobus de ,cessolis4 ,the latter volume contains also the large ,s1 with two personages1 one in a fool's cap1 which also ornaments the first page of the ,dyalogus ,salomonis et ,marcolfi4 ,another handsome initial from the ,knoblochtzer press1 and especially well engraved1 is the ,i1 with an angel with outspread wings above1 ,samson forcing open the lion's mouth below1 and branching ornaments on either side4 ,it is to be found on the first page of the ,belial of #adhc1 and several times in the ,leben der ,heiligen ,drei ,knige2 also in the chess-book of ,de ,cessolis already mentioned4 ,in the last two volumes there are eleven of the twelve initials representing the months of the year1 which are to be found complete in a ,deutscher ,kalender1 having the form of a little volume4 ,there is a calendar printed probably at ,nuremberg1 on a single sheet1 with the whole of the alphabet1 but the letter for ,january is replaced by one having the ,nativity as its subject1 the general disposition being much the same as in the initials of ,geneva or of ,bamberg similarly historiated4 ,these calendar letters are to be met with in a great many ,strasburg publications1 as1 for example1 in the ,tractatus clarissimi philosophi et medici ,matheoli perusini de memoria augda per regulas et medicinas4 ,they also occur in the ,de valore et utilitate ,missar pro defuntis celebratar per sacre theologie professor ,jacob ordinis cartusiensis edita4 ,this little tract1 which contains amongst other initials the calendar ,d representing a man trimming the vines1 is dated #adic1 and as ,knoblochtzer ceased to print in #adhe1 making over his material to ,mathias ,hupfuff1 it is to the latter that it must be attributed4 ,the two ,p's1 one with a doctor1 the smaller with a king1 are at the beginning1 the first of a ,de secretis mulierum1 the second of a tract entitled ,de ritu et moribus ,indorum4 ,the letter itself1 in the smaller initial1 is entirely white1 but in the copy from which it was reproduced it is painted in blue and red4 ,the anthropomorphic letters are to be found in many of the publications both of ,knoblochtzer1 ,schott1 and others4 ,these letters are reduced copies of a very celebrated alphabet known as the alphabet of the master ,e4 ,s4 of #adfd1 specimens of which are given in several works on early engraving4 ,the ,british ,museum has a somewhat similar alphabet1 but with the personages in different attitudes1 printed originally au frotton4 ,some letters of this were given by ,jackson1 and the whole was reproduced a few years since by the trustees of the ,museum4#ba ,one of our reproductions1 the one with a man holding up a dog by the tail1 is from the ,vier und ,zwanzig ,gulden ,harpfen4 ,the ,d with a saint is the only initial in an ,albertus ,magnus of ,knoblochtzer2 the three others were reproduced from two impressions of ,hupfuff1 a ,melusine and a ,boethius of #aejj4 ,in the latter is an ,i of this alphabet which we have not seen elsewhere1 but of which the impression is slightly defective4#bb #ba ,grotesque ,alphabet of #adfd1 with an ,introduction by ,campbell ,dodgson4 #bb ,the six other initials1 the ,m with two dragons1 the ,s with the letters ,p1 ,a1 and a fool's head with cap and bells1 and the four smaller ones1 are from different publications of ,knoblochtzer4 ,the ,m and the ,p1 the ,crucifixion and the ,nativity1 are also taken from a work without date or name of printer1 and have hitherto remained undescribed1 as far as we know4 ,the work is entitled ,commentarius ,sancti ,johannis ,episcopi ,constantinopolitani cognomento ,crisostomi in epistolam ,sancti ,pauli ,apostoli ad ,hebreos4 ,the letters would appear to belong to the same alphabet as the ,c1 representing saints and others being put to the torture1 which is used by ,schott sometimes as a ,d4 ,this latter is to be found twice in a rare book1 the ,scriptum in primum librum ,sentenciarum ,venerabilis inceptoris fratris ,guilhelmi de ,ockam1 dated #adhc1 but without printer's name1 and it occurs as a ,d in an undated ,secreta of ,aristotle4 ,the three letters1 comprising amongst them the ,n with the rabbit1 and the ,o with a fool1 are from a ,plenarium of which we have only seen a fragment1 without printer's name or date1 but said to be of ,strasburg4 ,the rabbit occurs again in the ,plenarium of ,urach of #adha1 with floral letters somewhat larger than those given here1 and also in the ,stella ,meschia printed at ,esslingen1 the first book published with ,hebrew characters4 ,it has also two full-page illustrations4 ,the six large historiated initials which follow are taken from a ,psalter without date or printer's name4 ,van ,praet in his catalogue of books printed upon vellum belonging to the ,king's ,library1 says that it #8comes from a ,german ,press4' ,mr4 ,weale attributes it to ,basle1 and it is interesting to compare these initials with those which illustrate ,furter's ,psalter of #aeja-c4 ,it would seem1 however1 that it is to be attributed to ,j4 ,prusz1 and that it was printed in #adii or #aejj4 ,two of our reproductions are from the copy in the ,bibliothque ,nationale4 ,for the others1 which are defective in this copy1 we are indebted to ,m4 ,jacques ,rosenthal1 who considers that the volume was printed in #adhj4 ,in our own opinion the later date is more probable4 ,the four initials1 of uniform size and style1 ,a1 ,c1 ,e1 and ,s1 the ,e with the ,nativity being certainly one of the prettiest we have seen1 have every appearance of being taken from a missal4 ,we cannot affirm for certain that they have no such origin1 but the book from which they were reproduced is an edition of ,pogge1 printed by ,knoblouch in #aeac4 ,two of them1 the ,e with the ,nativity and another1 occur in an ,interpretatio ,sequentiarum of the same year4 ,other printers used them1 however1 before this4 ,we are unable to give exact references for the whole series1 but the ,e had served already in a volume of sermons of ,geyler von ,kaisersperg1 published by ,matthias ,schurer in #aeje4 ,in this1 with the exception of a floral ,v on the second page1 it is the only woodcut initial4 ,there is a ,psalter of ,knoblouch of #aeac of the same size as those of ,augsburg1 ,basle--and ,metz--,psalterium cum apparatu vulgari firmiter appresso4 ,like the ,metz ,psalter1 it has an initial on the title1 this being ornamented with a moth and dragon-fly and bunches of leaves and flowers4 ,below is a cut of ,david with his harp1 the ,almighty looking down1 and a ,german castle in the background4 ,there are two strips of border1 one on each side of the cut1 but descending lower1 one of a conventional foliated pattern1 the other with strawberry leaves1 flowers1 and fruit4 ,the initial ,b is of the same design2 the other letters have dragon-flies or butterflies1 a ,d has a geometrical pattern something like the ,maiblmchen4 ,grninger began to decorate his publications with ornamental letters at the end of the last decade of the fifteenth century4 ,they are of a very special kind1 and the only other printer who occasionally used them was ,quentell of ,cologne4#bc ,some of them occur in a small folio by ,braunschweig--,liber ,pestilentialis de venenis epidemie1 #aejj1 with pictures on nearly every page1 manufactured according to the system he adopts in many of his illustrated books of bringing three factors of the picture together1 and so obtaining variety with an economy of engraving4 ,the centre of a picture on one page1 for instance1 will be found a few pages later with the two outer thirds replaced by different blocks1 the variety introduced into the general appearance being sufficient for it to pass as a different composition4 ,a few pages later1 it is the centre that is replaced with the same effect4 ,such pictures are to be seen in the different editions of ,braunschweig's ,de ,cyrurgia1 in which there are only insignificant nonhistoriated initials4 #bc ,an ,m with a bear's tooth1 and two others1 a ,d representing a saint sitting on the desert with what looks like a monkey 7perhaps ,st4 ,roch and his dog71 and an ,o with an angel with large wings1 are to be found in the ,tractatus ,consultatorii ,venerandi ,magistri ,henrici de ,gorychum1 printed by ,quentell1 #8anno supra ,jubileum tertio4' ,these initials are generally too smudgy to be copied4 ,in this same book1 the chapter #8,de ,observatione ,festorum' commences with the ,o with a fool's head4 ,grninger's finest picture-book is probably his splendid edition of ,virgil1 with engravings by ,brandt1 the author of the ,ship of ,fools4 ,in this work he makes use of nearly all the letters of this smaller historiated alphabet1 which are also found afterwards constantly in his impressions1 and particularly in the publications of the reformer1 ,geyler von ,kaisersperg4 ,in these1 many of the initials1 as is only appropriate1 represent religious subjects--,david and his harp1 ,st4 ,sebastian full of arrows1 and in a slightly different style1 ,st4 ,laurence carrying his own gridiron4 ,two of them are framed4 ,one of these represents ,adam and ,eve2 the other1 a ,d with a charming little love-scene1 would seem frequently to have excited the reprobation of devout readers1 for in three different works we have found this initial defaced almost beyond recognition4 ,a larger initial of the unframed series1 representing a swordsman1 we have only met with in the #aeja edition of ,boethius1 ,de ,philosophico consolatu sive de consolatione ,philosophiae1 etc41 with commentaries of ,st4 ,thomas4 ,grninger's largest letters would appear to have been reserved exclusively for ,geyler's publications4 ,we have seen them in a great many of his books of sermons and nowhere else4 ,they are most numerous in his ,evangelia1 where there are between thirty and forty different varieties1 but even then they do not constitute a complete alphabet1 as ,geyler's sermons most often commence with the word der or die1 the letter ,d occurring as frequently as all the others together1 and several other letters much more often than the remainder4 ,geyler and ,grninger were evidently made to write and publish for one another1 for whilst the preacher often loses the thread of his subject in amusing but not always relevant anecdotes1 the printer would seem to have set up his copy much on the same principle1 embellishing the sermons with illustrations1 many of which1 inserted apparently at haphazard1 are entirely foreign to the subject4 ,in one of these collections1 for instance1 there are a number of cuts from the ,virgil4#bd #bd ,geyler von ,kaisersperg was one of the most curious figures of the fifteenth century1 a precursor of ,luther1 a #8free preacher1' and for the first twenty years of the sixteenth century his sermons were published by nearly every printer in ,strasburg1 as well as by many others in ,basle and other towns4 ,luther has a more extensive bibliography1 but with ,geyler each item means a volume1 whereas the sermons of the great reformer were published as a rule separately1 and as soon as they were preached4 ,like the celebrated ,maillard1 he did not hesitate to denounce the selfishness of the rich1 the extravagance and coquetry of women1 and the licentiousness and corruption of the clergy4 ,from a documentary point of view1 ,geyler's sermons are most interesting1 for in reprobating the follies of his time he gives a number of details concerning the manners of the period1 which would be difficult to find elsewhere4 ,on the verso1 for instance1 of the initial ,b1 with ,david and his harp1 there is a fragment of one of his discourses on #8bathing1' which gives a good idea of ecclesiastical proprieties at the end of the fifteenth century4 #8,is it1' says ,geyler1 #8allowable1 balnea intrare1 on ,sunday8' #8,dico1' he replies1 that #8pro voluptate' and #8pro luxuria1' it is forbidden at all times1 but it is allowed on necessity4 ,by #8voluptas' he says1 he understands #8superfluous delectation1' which is a sin but not mortal4 ,by #8necessity1' honest and opportune recreation4 ,he next asks1 #8,liceat clericis vel religiosis balnea intrare8' ,again he replies1 #8,dico1 yes1 upon necessity'2 but necessity not only means infirmity1 but also any lawful #8refocillatio' of the body4 ,the apostle ,john1 he says1 #8ingressus est balnea gratia lavandi4' ,the first line of his tertio starts with the question as to whether it was licit to take a bath with a ,jew1 but here the cutting ends4 ,it must be remembered that in the fifteenth century1 hot air and vapour baths were most popular1 but they had anything but a good reputation4 ,it is probable that the prohibitions of ,geyler were directed rather against the place of evil resort1 than1 as would at first seem1 against cleanliness4 ,but the most amusing of ,geyler's publications is a series of sermons1 #8,navicula sive speculum ,fatuorum1' an imitation of ,brandt's celebrated satire on ,fools1 which had recently appeared4 ,in the earliest edition1 each section begins with an initial representing a fool's cap with large bells4 ,in that before us1 each sermon is preceded by an apposite illustration from the work in question1 but there are no ornamental initials4 ,the first concerns foolish aspirants for mitres and birettes4 ,the second1 which is illustrated by the well-known cut representing a spectacled fool in his library--in the original1 the fool who collects books he does not read--here deals with bad judges and senators4 ,the best section1 and that giving the best idea of ,geyler's manner1 is that which treats of the sick fool4 ,beginning with the quotation #8,stultorum infinitus est numerus1' the picture shows the disobedient patient in bed1 in the act of kicking over a table1 whilst the nurse is looking on in astonishment1 and the doctor seems to be reflecting as to what should be done under the circumstances4 ,these fools1 says ,geyler1 are foolish in the first place because they despise medicine3 #8sunt qui medicinam prorsus contemnunt et abjiciunt'2 #8clearly fools1' says ,geyler1 #8stulti plane'6 #8,nescientes quia scriptum est1 eccles4 xxxviii41 ,altissimus creavit de terra medicinam1 et vir prudens non horrebit eam4 ,notate verba--signate mysteria4 ,vir prudens non horrebit eam6 ,non horruit eam beatus ,augustinus de quo legitur3 quod egrotante eo neminem admiserat1 nisi medicos4' ,it will be too long to quote the whole sermon1 but ,geyler has a word to say about those fools1 #8sunt qudam fatuelle1' who1 out of curiosity1 tried to catch their doctors at fault1 #8quas sola curiositas impellit et titillat ad explorandum peritiam medici4' ,but they catch nothing but their own purses1 and it is the doctor who is most tickled1 for he pockets the fee4 #8,tales se decipiunt et bursam3 quod medicus accipit pecuniam4' ,he tells here the tale1 so often related since1 of the patient who in answer to the doctor's question as to what was the matter with him--where he was in pain--how long he had been ill1 #8respondit nescio1' and again and again1 #8respondit nescio4' #8,bene1' replied the doctor2 #8under these circumstances1 this is my prescription3 8,recipe nescio quid3 repone nescio ubi3 et sanaberis nescio quando40' #8,magna stultitia1' remarks ,geyler1 #8nolle obedire medico quem queris3 aut non quesivisses1 et sic pecunie pepercisses4' ,the fifth and sixth follies are to seek help from empirics1 magicians1 and ,jews1 which is expressly forbidden 7if any one else is available7 by the ,decretals4 ,the large series1 two specimens of which are given1 invariably deals with ,biblical subjects4 ,the letters are generally attributed to ,hans ,schufelein4 ,besides the initials already enumerated1 ,grninger has a few historiated letters on a black ground1 of intermediate size and different complete foliated or floral alphabets1 all of them uniformly uninteresting4 ,reutlingen4--,the large ,s1 with a personage in a doctoral bonnet1 is taken from an ,albertus ,magnus1 ,secreta mulierum et virorum1 in the ,paris ,bibliothque ,nationale 7,res4 #hbf71 described in ,mlle4 ,pellechet's ,catalogue des ,incunables under ,no4 #cgb as being without typographical indications4 ,it also occurs at the commencement of a ,physiognomia of ,michael ,scotus1 which is stated by ,mr4 ,proctor to have been printed by ,m4 ,greyff at ,reutlingen1 the date being probably #adhb4 ,we have not seen this volume1 but thanks to the courtesy of ,professor ,ferguson of ,glasgow1 who sent a photograph of the initial1 we have found that it is identically the same4 ,the reproduction does not render exactly the peculiar impression of the ink1 which gives the initial the appearance of having been drawn in fusain4 ,another initial1 the ,p with the ,pope1 is taken from a volume printed at ,reutlingen by ,greyff--the ,de ritu et ,moribus ,indorum--which has exactly the same typographical disposition as the edition printed by ,knoblochtzer at ,strasburg1 a ,p at the beginning with the ,pope1 and a border on the margin of the front page4 ,it may be noted here that in previous chapters no attempt has been made to distinguish between metal-cut initials and those cut on wood4 ,many printers1 such as ,grninger1 ,gering1 and ,rembolt1 etc41 undoubtedly used soft metal1 but this was cut in the same way as wood1 the blocks were inked in the same manner1 and printed in the same way with the type1 so that for all practical purposes they belong to the same class4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,cologne ,,and ,,geneva ,the early printers at ,cologne do not appear to have made much use of woodcut initials1 the first known to us being the ,r of a missal by ,h4 ,quentell of #adid4 ,this1 although cut somewhat roughly1 shows considerable vigour4 ,it is highly probable that the splendid ,p with the ,virgin and ,child and grotesque profiles in two of the corners is of the same or earlier date4 ,the book in which it occurs is an undated ,donatus1 which ,j4 ,rosenthal1 to whom the volume was submitted1 thinks was printed by ,h4 ,quentell towards the end of the fifteenth century4 ,it looks at first sight as if a missal or ,psalter letter had been used1 as was so often the case at the time1 because it happened to be in stock1 but the ,donatus1 as has been said1 often began with an initial of the kind4 ,we have not been able to trace this ,p to any other press or publication4 ,the ,d with a fool's head in cap and bells is to be found frequently in ,quentell's books4 ,the specimen from which it was copied is in a book already mentioned1 the ,tractatus ,consultatorii ,venerandi ,magistri ,henrici de ,gorychum1 printed anno supra ,jubileum tertio4 ,it is to be found at the beginning of the chapter1 ,de observatione ,festorum4 ,on the title-page of a treatise called ,quodlibeta1 by ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 is a curious black ,u4 ,this is also by ,quentell4 ,another class book1 a ,latin verse primer1 entitled ,sequentiarum et hymnorum ,expositio1 etc4 etc41 printed by ,herman ,bumgart de ,ketwyck in #aeja1 has the strangest initials that can be conceived4 ,the book was a very well known one1 and other editions exist with a similar cut on the title-page1 representing a master at his desk surrounded by scholars4 ,but ,cologne1 like other ,german towns1 was now to feel the influence of the ,renaissance1 and adopt for book ornamentation such artists as ,albert ,drer1 ,holbein1 and ,anton von ,worms4 ,in the case of ,holbein1 such ornamental letters as appeared in ,cologne books were copied from models that had been used previously at ,basle1 in the same way that the letters of other artists were copied from books of ,hagenau and elsewhere1 but ,drer and ,anton von ,worms's designs were printed first in works of ,cologne4 ,of the initials attributed to ,albert ,drer1 the finest are those comprising the alphabet used by ,eucharius ,hirtzhorn1 who latinised his name to ,cervicornus4 ,these initials1 which are the largest of their kind1 represent children playing and romping sometimes with animals1 such as horses and monkeys1 and make up a very remarkable set4 ,it is highly probable that ,albert ,drer1 as is generally admitted1 was the designer of this alphabet1 but there is no positive proof1 and a writer on this special question in ,le ,livre1 ,m4 ,glucq1 gives it as his opinion that these letters were designed by ,hans ,burgkmair1 and instances the treatment of the horses' heads in borders by the latter as being identical with the heads in some of the letters4 ,this alphabet was often copied by printers of other towns1 particularly ,lyons1 and by ,hubert de ,crooce of ,bruges1 but the copies are always greatly inferior in execution1 and can be distinguished also by having a wavy linear1 or cribl1 groundwork instead of a black one4 ,the reader can compare the initials given here1 which comprise the most interesting of the set1 with those by ,h4 ,weiditz1 described in the chapter on ,augsburg4 ,for comparison between the ,cervicorn initials and the borders alluded to1 reference can be made to the ,bcherornamentik of ,butsch4 ,the smallest of the ,cologne children's alphabets is to be found almost complete in different works by ,j4 ,gymnicus1 and was designed by the painter ,anton von ,worms4 ,the ,c with a child playing with a snake is an example4 ,the ,d and ,o1 from a somewhat larger alphabet1 are principally found in the works of ,melchior ,novesianus1 as are also those imitated from ,holbein's alphabet of ,death4 ,the largest ,q1 the ,s with the bishop and the symbols of the ,apostles in the corners1 also by ,anton von ,worms1 and the ,q with the death's head1 all come from volumes by ,quentell4 ,the three smallest letters belong to an alphabet used by ,melchior ,novesianus4 ,geneva4--,genevan incunabula are of the very greatest rarity1 and very few initials of that town are mentioned by bibliographers4 ,of very large letters the most curious are two of the calligraphic ,l's that are so popular on the title-pages of ,french impressions1 and the larger of which is evidently inspired by a ,paris or ,lyons ,l of the same general design4 ,our reproduction comes from the ,doctrinal de ,sapience1 printed in #adic1 no doubt by ,bellot1 as the book has two impressions of the ,c of his alphabet4 ,this composition is greatly superior to the ,french original1 known as the ,january and ,may initial1 and if the artist has intended to represent innocence and cunning1 he has succeeded to perfection4 ,compared with it1 that which may be found on the title-page of ,verard's edition of the ,doctrinal de ,sapience and in many other works1 is insipid4 ,the letter with a hooded dog1 or perhaps a monkey holding a book1 with a clerk below1 is accompanied on the title-page by a border representing the birth of ,eve4 ,as regards the volume itself1 which is entitled ,les ,fleurs et ,manires des ,temps passs1 it is without date or printer's name1 but at the beginning of the front page after the title is a ,bellot ,a1 whilst on the verso of the title is the mark of ,loys ,m4 ,cruse4 ,a still earlier ,doctrinal de ,sapience of #adhh1 also without printer's name or date1 has a ,c on the second page of comparatively little interest1 which has been reproduced by ,humphreys in his ,history of ,printing4 ,the ,c reproduced here is at the beginning of the fourth page4 ,a ,kalendrier des ,bergers of ,j4 ,bellot1 #adig1 has a ,q with a cock in the ,lyons style1 a curious ,u1 and the ,p of his fine alphabet4 ,initials are occasionally met with in which the printer's mark is worked into the design1 as1 for instance1 a ,d of ,kobel of ,oppenheim4 ,in a treatise on the right way of preaching1 by that sacratissimus doctor of the ,christian ,church1 ,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas1 ,l4 ,m4 ,cruse of ,geneva in #adhe uses capitals which he embellishes with his own initials4 ,sorg and some ,strasburg printers have ornamental letters with initials on them1 but not corresponding to their own names--most likely to those of the artists4 ,better known than the large historiated letters just described is the alphabet of which we give the ,m1 the ,n1 and the ,t4 ,these letters occur in many of ,bellot's publications1 but in the ,dialogus ,creaturarum it is nearly complete4 ,this is one of the most decorative alphabets of the time1 but good proofs of the ,wagner alphabet of ,nuremberg1 in which the same design had already been used1 are even more effective--compare this ,m1 ,n1 or ,t with the ,wagner ,e4 ,unfortunately1 very few of the latter1 which are on a black ground1 print well4 ,the ,avignon initials given further on are also of this pine-cone pattern1 as are those also in the ,psalterium ,virginis ,marie of ,alanus de ,rupe1 printed1 it is stated1 in the most ,christian kingdom of ,sweden1 cum initialibus ligno incisis1 in #adih4 ,it is quite possible that the later printers copied from ,wagner1 but the design they all use is one that is frequently met with in old manuscripts1 and1 like most other fundamental patterns1 there is no doubt that this was its origin4 ,our last ,geneva specimens are taken from the very rare missal printed by ,bellot4 ,the ,m is from the title-page4 ,the other initials are somewhat in the style of the ,lyons ,catalogus ,sanctorum1 but they are even more like those of a ,troyes missal printed by ,lecoq4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,venice ,it was at ,subiaco1 not far from ,rome1 that printing was first introduced by the ,germans1 ,conrad ,sweynheim and ,arnold ,pannartz1 who commenced operations most probably in #adfd1 their first book being a ,donatus4 ,the second was a ,lactantius1 the earliest book in which legible ,greek characters were used1 for those which appeared in a few words in the ,offices of ,cicero1 printed at ,mayence in the same year1 were mingled with ,roman letters1 and with so many errors1 that it must have needed a clever reader to guess the meaning4 ,the ,lactantius was finished on the #beth of ,october #adfe1 #8in venerabili ,monasterio ,sublacensi4' ,after ,subiaco1 presses were established successively in different towns of ,italy1 first at ,rome1 where ,ulric ,han or ,hahn of ,ingoldstadt1 in ,bavaria 7,gallus in the latinised form of the name71 commenced operations in #adfg4 ,sweynheim and ,pannartz also removed to ,rome at that date1 where they printed for about ten years1 dying respectively in #adgg and #adgh4 ,the next comers were ,george ,lauer of ,wrtzburg and ,giovanni ,filippo di ,lignamine1 whose celebrated ,cronica ,summorum ,pontificum imperatorumque contains interesting information about the first printers of ,mayence1 ,strasburg1 and ,rome4 ,but books with initials printed at ,rome before the end of the fifteenth century are not common1 and even when met with1 if we except some handsome ones used in some of their books in #adgj by ,sweynheim and ,pannartz1 the ornamental letters of this town are relatively of but little interest4 ,it was at ,venice that this branch of typographical art was to reach its highest perfection1 especially in the use of beautiful initials1 and was to make its impressions renowned throughout the world and sought after by collectors in future days4 ,john of ,spire celebrates his arrival on the shores of the ,adriatic in the following lines1 which are to be found at the end of his first production in that town1 ,the ,letters of ,cicero3-- #8,primus in ,adriaca formis impressit aenis ,urbe libros ,spira genitus de stirpe ,johannes4 ,in reliquis sit quanta vides spes1 lector1 habenda1 ,quom labor hic primus calami superaverit artem4 ,,mcccclxviii4' ,john of ,spire was succeeded by his brother ,vindelin4 ,it was in #adgj that the first book appeared with the name of ,nicolas ,jenson--the ,preparatio ,evangelica of ,eusebius--and this was followed soon by other works which are justly considered as chefs-d'uvre of typographical art4 ,according to a story which has passed current for a century and a half1 though its authority is now questioned1 ,jenson had been formerly an engraver at the ,mint of ,tours1 and had been sent to ,germany by the ,french king to investigate the truth about the discovery of ,gutenberg4 ,on his return1 ,charles ,,vii4 having died1 ,jenson met with no encouragement from his successor1 ,louis ,,xi41 and decided to go to ,venice4 ,here he published books by himself for ten years1 taking as a partner in #adhj1 the year before his death1 ,john of ,cologne1 who had come to ,venice about the same time as himself4 ,even in his own days ,jenson was justly celebrated1 ,andrea ,torresano stating with pride in the colophon of the ,lectura in ,i4 et ,,ii4 ,decretalium that he had printed it #8inclytis famosisque characteribus optime 7sic7 quondam in hac parte magistri ,nicolai ,jenson gallici quo nihil prestantius1 nihil melius1 nihil dignius4' ,this ,andrea ,torresano was the head of the new firm #8,j4 de ,colonia1 ,n4 ,jenson1 sociorumque1' and he afterwards married his daughter to ,aldus ,manutius4 ,so great was the success of printing in ,venice at this period1 that more than one hundred and fifty presses were established during the last thirty years of the fifteenth century1 and upwards of fifty were in full work in the year #aejj4 ,aldus had come to ,venice with the intention of publishing works in ,greek1 but this did not prevent him printing in ,latin and ,italian4 ,his most famous book in the latter language was the ,hypnerotomachia ,poliphili1 which besides the most beautiful woodcuts that have ever been printed contains also some ornamental initials generally considered to be in the best taste4 ,an edition of ,aristophanes from the same press also contains large interlaced letters1 which are given by ,ongania4 ,with reference to these initials it is to be remarked that1 although in the best taste and admirably suitable to the work they embellish1 they are less interesting when seen by themselves1 that is to say independently of the text1 than many others4 ,our earliest specimens are taken from the works of ,ratdolt1 whose books are also renowned for their beautiful borders1 which in some cases match in style the initials that accompany them4 ,this style is even more effective in the border than in the letters1 as can be seen by reference to his ,appianus of #adgh1 the first page of which is reproduced in ,butsch's ,bcherornamentik4 ,the three outline initials1 much more artistic in our opinion than the interlacing letters of ,aldus1 are from ,ratdolt's first alphabet in the ,calendarium of ,j4 de ,monteregio of #adgf4 ,the border of this book is frequently mentioned in the earlier monographs upon the first printers as being composed literis florentibus1 the initials being of the same design4 ,it is supposed by ,passavant that these letters were designed by ,ratdolt's partner1 ,bernard ,maler or ,pictor1 i4e4 ,bernard the painter1 and executed by another ,german engraver4 ,ongania1 in his work on ,venetian printing1#be has also reproduced four of these initials1 the whole alphabet1 as far as it is complete1 in ,ratdolt's impressions1 being given in a monograph on ,ratdolt by ,mr4 ,redgrave4#bf ,later on we find this printer preferring larger sized initials with a white pattern on a black ground1 smaller letters of the same general design being used in some volumes4 ,the later publications being also more frequently met with1 these large black initials are also more commonly known and are more characteristic of ,ratdolt's work than the others4 ,they became one of the recognised types for ,venetian typography1 and were imitated more or less by other ,venice printers1 in the same way that the ,maiblmchen pattern was adopted as one of the most suitable for the early ,german press4 #be ,l'art de l',imprimerie ,venise4 #bf #8,erhard ,ratdolt and his ,work in ,venice'--,london ,bibliographical ,society4 ,in a volume by ,jacopo ,publicio called the ,oratoriae artis epitomata2 ars memoriae1 ars epistolandi1 and which has numerous other cuts1 there is a curious alphabet in which each initial is represented by an emblem serving to fix the letter on the memory4 ,as far1 however1 as we know1 this alphabet1 which is engraved on one block1 consists of specimens of letters useful in mnemonics1 but which have never served in books as ornamental initials4 ,they are only mentioned here as a typographical curiosity4 ,subsequent printers adopted a design with white leaves on a black ground1 the white ornament standing out very sharply1 and often with an exceedingly brilliant effect4 ,in other initials1 in white on a black ground1 we have children playing at all sorts of games by themselves or with dogs1 monkeys1 dragons1 lizards1 and dolphins2 sometimes there is a large bird looking like a wild goose4 ,in some cases there is a combination of the two last mentioned compositions1 such as a child playing with a dog1 with a foliated background4 ,there is a very effective ,f of this kind1 and an ,o with a child making a dog sit up and beg1 in the ,epigrammata of ,j4 ,b4 ,cantalycius1 printed by ,matteo ,capcasa4 ,the brothers ,de ,gregoriis used various kinds of initials4 ,the large ,a and ,v are from their ,herodotus1 the first page of which is ornamented with a magnificent border1 which has often been reproduced4 ,several other initials in different styles are from books by these printers1 amongst others the large outline ,p and the smaller ,a and ,e4 ,an interesting alphabet1 most of the letters of which represent children playing with different kinds of animals1 is taken from a small treatise on ,geography by ,zacharius ,lilius1 entitled ,orbis breviarium1 etc41 printed at this press4 ,sessa1 whose mark consists of a cat with a mouse in her mouth on a crowned shield with the initials ,i ,b ,s1 has some of the letters just described4 ,ongania gives amongst others1 as coming first from a #adif edition of ,marco ,polo's ,de le ,maravigliose cose del mondo1 the ,d with two children and a dog1 the ,p with the children and bird1 and a ,p with the portrait of a man1 here printed in red1 but which is found elsewhere1 like all the other letters1 printed in black4 ,the very small initials1 mostly with heads1 the ,h with a rabbit and the ,t with rabbits dancing1 are also to be found in ,sessa's impressions4 ,several very large letters1 two more particularly1 the ,m and the ,s1 were used by ,bernardinus ,benalius and ,matteus ,capcasa in #adih1 and often printed in red4 ,they were afterwards adopted by the ,paris printer ,josse ,bade4 ,of the linear initials used in the missals1 the beautiful ,b representing ,mary ,regina clorum amongst others1 appeared for the first time in the ,missale ,romanum of #adii by ,george ,arrivabene4 ,our reproductions are taken from missals and breviaries of ,lucantonio di ,giunta1 himself especially a printer of music1 but who edited a great many liturgical works4 ,the largest in size of all our initials are from another missal of ,giunta1 the ,missale ,vallisumbrose of #aejc4 ,the first letter of this series has been given by ,mr4 ,pollard in an essay on #8,pictorial ,initials4' ,an alphabet of large letters of an interlacing pattern is to be met with in several works1 first in ,plutarch's ,lives1 translated by ,guarino of ,verona and published by ,melchior ,sessa and ,petrus de ,ravenis in #aeje4 ,they have been described as of great elegance and finished beauty1 but they are as a rule badly printed and do not look well in reproduction1 as can be seen by reference to ,ongania4 ,the alphabet of children already mentioned is more or less completed by letters from different works published by ,tacuinus de ,tridino1 amongst others the ,euclid of #aeag and several earlier volumes4 ,the ,c with a child on a dolphin1 the ,l with one child riding another1 and the ,n with children and dog2 the grotesque ,o1 the ,p also with children and a dragon1 are one from the #aeag ,euclid1 others from a ,justinian1 the remainder from works of ,horace by the same printer4 ,the ,c with a child on the back of a horse is first met with in a ,practica of ,serapion by ,bonetus ,locatellus1 #8mandato ,octaviani ,scoti1' the outlines ,c1 ,p1 and ,s with children or amorini having the same origin4 ,an alphabet1 remarkable from the fact that it is generally found complete1 by ,bernardino ,vitali1 serves as a rule in publications of ,sessa to initial the index4 ,it is to be found serving this purpose at the beginning of this printer's edition of the ,lives of ,plutarch and also for the index to the works of ,pliny4 ,pliny's ,natural ,history was a popular book at this time1 and two editions of it have the large interlaced initials used in the ,plutarch4 ,in a third1 in ,italian1 by ,sessa and ,petrus de ,ravenna in #aeaf1 there are a number of ornamental letters with children3 a ,p1 with child and dragon1 precedes the eighth book2 an ,s1 with a child above and a bird below1 the tenth and thirty-second books2 the thirty-first having what at first appears to be the same1 but which is really a copy4 ,the letters ,c1 ,g1 ,r1 ,n are also with children1 either by themselves or with birds or dogs4 ,as an example of the indifference to appearances1 a historiated ,a is used upside down as a ,v1 in ,tacuinus de ,tridino's ,homer of #aejc4 ,a fine ,v with children does duty as an ,a1 and an ,e all the way through as an ,f1 in the ,justin of #aejh of the same printer4 ,the ,l with a satyr1 and the very handsome ,g1 are from the same book4 ,the ,p with a child and bird is repeated eleven times in this volume1 and from the dilapidated condition the block is its chief disfigurement4 ,in the ,horace of ,guglielmo ,fonteneto ,monteserrati1 we find it at the beginning of the ode #8,phoebe silvarumque potens ,diana1' but the bird is changed into what is apparently a goose4 ,the children have older faces1 and there is a slight difference in the ornament4 ,in their original condition1 these children initials are most decorative1 but many of the copies are greatly inferior4 ,these are to be found not only in ,venetian impressions by other printers1 but also in some books printed in provincial towns1 and they evidently inspired many of the children's alphabets that were used afterwards in ,basle1 ,cologne1 ,hagenau1 and one or two initials we have given of ,paris4 ,at ,turin some of them were used in the ,epistole ,heroidum of ,ovid published by ,f4 ,silva in #aeaj1 in which we find that the ,l with the satyr1 the ,p with a bird1 the ,t with children playing with a skipping rope1 an ,m with an eagle1 the ,n with a child and dolphin1 and the ,g1 but of much coarser execution than the original4 ,from a documentary point of view these letters are perhaps not so interesting as the alphabet used currently half a century later by ,giolito and other ,venetian printers1 in which the games then in vogue are represented in linear engraving upon a white ground4 ,but the introduction of animals in the earlier alphabet is not entirely fanciful1 and the classical student will no doubt be able to understand many of the allusions4 ,the ,a1 for instance1 with a boy riding upon the back of a dolphin1 is a case in point and no doubt refers to the tale of ,arion told by ,herodotus1 and more fully by ,ovid in the ,fasti4#bg #bg ,in the eighth chapter of his ninth book1 ,pliny speaks of a dolphin that had conceived a wonderful affection for the child of a poor man4 ,at whatever hour of the day he might happen to be called by the boy1 he would instantly fly to the surface1 and sportively taking him up on his back1 he would carry him over a wide expanse of sea to the school at ,puteoli1 and in like manner bring him back again4 ,other instances of the same kind are related1 which he says give an air of credibility to the one that is told of ,arion4 ,we give a somewhat numerous selection from a work which has hitherto remained but little known to bibliographers1 by a printer whose publications are far from common1 the ,vita di ,sancti ,padri vulgare historiada of ,otino da ,pavia de la ,luna1 #aeja4 ,in an earlier edition1 also very rare1 the initials are insignificant1 and the chief interest of the volume is in the little cuts which precede the lives of the different saints4 ,the edition from which our initials are taken is on the contrary a perfect storehouse of interesting ornamental letters4 ,at the commencement of each book there is a half-page engraving representing an incident in the life of the first saint whose history follows1 and this is surrounded by a handsome ornamental border which sometimes surrounds the whole page4 ,each book commences by an initial of larger size than the others4 ,some of these are given--the ,c with a saint holding a bag to another1 the ,d with a dog1 the ,l with four ecclesiastics1 and two ,u's1 one with a monk tempted of the devil in the form of a beautiful woman4 ,the smaller letters1 of which there are sometimes as many as three or four on a single page1 also represent incidents in the lives of the different saints1 the devil being often the subject of the picture4 ,the title-page has on it the mark of ,otino da ,pavia de la ,luna in black and red4 ,some of the initials of this volume afterwards found their way into the possession of ,bernardino ,vitali1 who used them in an ,omiliario quadragesimale1 published in #aeah4 ,we have not seen this volume1 but ,ongania gives reproductions of its principal typographical ornaments1 amongst them a ,p and a ,u from the ,otino da ,pavia de la ,luna alphabets4 ,of the initials not yet mentioned1 the ,d and the ,q1 the former with a monk wearing spectacles1 are from a treatise on animals by ,aristotle1 printed by ,sessa4 ,the curious ,l1 with a personage in a turban1 looking at a castle on the walls of which are the heads of three of its defenders1 comes from an edition of the ,legendario de ,sancti of ,jacobus de ,voragine1 printed by ,nicolo ,domenico dal ,gesu4 ,we are almost sure1 however1 that we have met with it in an earlier missal1 and it was subsequently used in at least one impression of ,lyons4 ,the remaining letters are by different printers4 ,the two large initials with portraits of a much later date represent respectively--the ,c1 ,cosmo de ,medici2 the ,p1 ,pius ,romae ,pontifex4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,other ,,italian ,,towns ,rome ,we have alluded in the preceding chapter to the paucity of woodcut initials in early works printed at ,rome1 and it is well known that the opinions of the clergy were divided with respect to the propriety of adding decorative embellishments to books4 ,some church dignitaries considered it a pious occupation1 whilst others1 who looked upon the copying of manuscripts as a sure way of attaining salvation1#bh were entirely against book ornamentation4 ,it is probably on account of some such hostility on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities that ornamental initials are so seldom met with in books of the early ,roman printers4 ,in a list1 for instance1 of seventy-nine works published by ,planck1 only one1 a ,pontificale of #adhe1 is mentioned as having woodcut initials2 in the same list1 of thirty-nine books by ,eucharius ,silber1 there is one only with ornamental letters4 ,lastly1 of one hundred and seventy-eight other works by seventeen known and six unknown printers1 only two are reported as being so embellished4 ,of the earlier printers1 ,sweynheim and ,pannartz used some very handsome initials in a few of their publications after #adgj1 the ,d reproduced being from their ,suetonius1 ,vit ,csarum4 ,we give also a ,p from one of ,e4 ,silber's publications1 and a ,c with the portrait of ,ariosto from a work published by ,jacobus ,mazochius1 #aeae4 #bh ,a propos of manuscript copying1 there was an anecdote current in ,scriptoria concerning a brother who had sinned very constantly whilst in the flesh1 and who was challenged by ,st4 ,peter at the ,gate of ,paradise4 ,the tally at first seemed to go against the applicant1 but at last it was found that he had been for some time a scribe2 written letters were checked against sins1 and the frater was found to have a small but sufficient balance in his favour4 ,siennese impressions are anything but common1 and as the early typography of this town still awaits a historian1 a short account of a few works from its chief press will not be out of place4 ,the most important is no doubt the ,datus1 printed by ,simeon ,nardi in #aejc4 ,the title consists of two lines in small ,gothic characters1 ,augustini dati senensis opera1 and underneath come three sonnets by admirers of ,datus 7for the name is spelt indifferently1 ,datus or ,dathus71 in each of which he is compared to ,cicero4 #8,read through1' says ,angelus ,fundius1 #8this venerable volume of the facund ,dathus1 but take care ,i advise you to glance first at the title page4' #8,nam si forte vagus legeres1 mihi crede putares non esse hoc ,dathi sed ,ciceronis opus4' ,the others are equally complimentary4 ,the volume is a folio collection of speeches and essays on all kinds of subjects1 and consists of fourteen preliminary1 followed by two hundred and ninety numbered leaves1 or twice as many pages4 ,there are sixty lines to the page of small1 clear ,roman type1 pleasantly relieved by curious little capitals4 ,the colophon gives #8,impressum ,senis ex ,architypo per ,symeonem ,nicolai ,nardi1 ,anno salutis ,,mdiii ,sexto ,kal ,novembris1' and on the verso is ,nardi's mark representing a child holding a banneret astride a wolf1 which is suckling another child beneath4 ,the whole is surrounded by a highly ornamented border4 ,the most interesting feature1 however1 of the book is its series of large initials1 which1 taking into consideration the two different states of the ,q1 are fourteen in number4#bi ,the most characteristic1 and perhaps the most effective1 are those on a black ground1 but the others are equally free and vigorous in treatment4 ,one of them1 the ,r1 has the same subject 7,romulus and ,remus with the wolf7 as the printer's mark1 a subject which is used in other volumes as a pictorial title-page4 ,the reason of this is explained in the motto at the bottom of the mark in another book1 #8,,romae ,,que ,,origo ,,senae ,,insignia4' #bi ,in some of the proofs the ,q is a white letter1 the original block being cut away4 ,unfortunately1 as is so often the case1 the impressions are not all equally good1 but it is easy to see that where anything is wanting1 it is the fault of the printing and not of the artist4 ,the letters of this series were much used in subsequent publications1 but with the exception of an ornamental ,m of the same style which comes from a book of poetry published by ,simon ,rubeo in #aeac1 and an ,i in a tract by ,marcellus ,beringhuccius not of the same merit1 we have not seen any ,sienna letters that are not in the ,dathus4 ,it is to be remarked that the volumes which have an ornamental title-page have no printer's mark1 and vice versa1 the first not occurring in publications before #aeci4 ,two of the ,nardi initials1 the ,p and the ,c1 are to be met with in a quarto volume1 #8,c ,plinio de li homini illustri in lingua senese traducto et brevemente commentato1' which is printed in the ,inclyta ,excelsa citta di ,sena by that accurate man ,symeone di ,nicolao ,carrolaro ,senese1 #aejf4 ,the mark is different in some details1 although practically the same as in the ,dathus4 ,the ,vespertin lectiones of ,marcellus ,beringhuccius has the ,h and some others4 ,the printer's name varies again1 being given as #8,impressum per ,calistrum ,symeonis ,senen4 ,ad instantiam ,ioannis ,alixandri ,libraio #aeaa4' ,the title is surrounded by a border of oak leaves and acorns4 ,on the verso of the first page the dedication to ,cosmo de ,medici begins with the handsome ,h1 and is followed on the next page by an interesting cut representing the burial of ,christ4 ,the text on the verso of this page begins with the ,l4 ,the second part of the book1 #8,for the comfort of those who wish to live well1 etc41' begins with the historiated ,n1 #8,impresso in ,siena per ,calisto ,francese di ,simeone ,bindi1 #aeda4 ,ad instantiam d',giovanni di ,alisandro ,libraio4' ,another volume of ,vespertin lectiones of the same author was published in #aeci1 the printer's name being given in the same way1 and the same bookseller being mentioned4 ,it has the ,n and the ,d1 as well as a new ,i1 mentioned above4 ,the book1 published on the #eth of ,march1 has a title-page with a border of foliated branches that spring below from a common trunk and meet together above4 ,the lower third is occupied by the ,siennese wolf and children1 with a town in the distance4 ,two tracts of ,marcus ,antonius ,belarmatus on legal subjects were published by ,symeon ,nicolai in #aeci1 with the same ornamental border4 ,in one of them the only large initial is the ,n4 ,in the other1 the title is printed in black1 and the ,d and the ,q of the white variety complete its ornamentation4 ,the last book chronologically in which we have met with the ,nardi initials is a ,life by ,feo ,belcari of ,beato ,columbini da ,siena1 #8fondatore del ordine di poveri giesuati4' ,like so many of the ,venetian ornaments1 the borders and initials of ,fossombrone are mostly with a black ground1 but this is cribl in a special manner4 ,the most important book of this town1 where printing was introduced in #aeac by ,ottaviano dei ,petrucci1 is a treatise by ,paul de ,middelburg with beautiful borders and initials1 ,on the right way of celebrating ,easter1 and the day of the passion of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 a work of great rarity and filled with singular researches for fixing ,easter ,day1 and the date of the death of our ,saviour4 ,the initials have branching ornaments1 and children playing with one another1 one holding up a mask1 or with birds4 ,one of them can be seen in ,butsch4 ,the principal printer of ,pavia1 at the beginning of the sixteenth century1 was ,jacobus ,paucidrapensis de ,burgofranco1 whose books have very handsome ornamental and historiated initials1 the latter with portraits of celebrated men4 ,his ,hyginus de ,stellis1 published in #aeac at the expense of the heirs of #8that late nobleman ,octavianus ,scot and his associates1' has several4 ,the ,d given here is from this volume4 ,the ,o with another portrait1 and the four other letters ,f1 ,l1 ,n1 ,p1 are also specimens of this press1 but we have not been able to identify them more particularly4 ,j4 de ,burgofranco also uses a smaller alphabet in the same style of ornament4 ,printing was introduced at ,como in #aeba1 the seven initials given being taken from the first book printed there1 the treatise of ,vitruvius on ,architecture4 ,in this remarkably handsome volume1 full of architectural diagrams and plans1 there is1 amongst others1 an #8elevation' of the cathedral of ,milan4 ,como had long been celebrated for the beauty of its situation1 for the colophon1 after giving the names of the #8magnificent' and #8noble commentators1' #8emendators1' and #8castigators1' states that the volume was printed by ,gotardus de ,ponte in the ,amoena delecteuole citate de ,como4 ,in one of the initials1 a ,d1 there is a view of a lake with sailing boats in a shower of rain1 no doubt intended to be ,como4 ,the ,u with the ,crucifixion and the ,o representing ,st4 ,jerome are our only specimens of the press of ,guillaume le ,signerre1 a ,rouen printer who set up at the beginning of the sixteenth century at ,saluzzo4 ,the book from which they are taken is an extremely handsome edition of the ,aureum ,opus of ,vivaldus1 so often reprinted1 and it has a full-page engraving with ,st4 ,jerome1 the same subject as in one of the initials1 and on another page the portrait of ,le ,signerre's patron2 at the end the printer's mark4 ,the colophon states that it was printed at ,saluzzo by the most deserving brothers1 ,le ,signerre of ,rouen1 at the expense of that most illustrious and clement prince1 ,lodovicus1 ,marquis of ,saluzzo1 and viceregent of ,naples4 ,with the exception of an insignificant floral letter at the beginning of the preface1 the two initials given are the only ones in the book1 the ,t with the ,crucifixion occurring twice4 ,the brothers ,signerre would appear to have tried their fortune elsewhere before going to ,saluzzo4 ,in #adif they were printing at ,milan1 giving the ,practica ,musice of ,franchini ,gafori1 with fine borders and initials4 ,ferrara1#cj ,milan1 etc4--,one of the most celebrated books of its day was the ,de plurimis claris selectisque mulieribus of ,philip ,bergomensis1 described as being revised and #8castigated' with great diligence by that #8great doctor in theology1 ,master ,albert de ,placentia and brother ,augustinus de ,casili maiori1' ,ferrarie impressum opera et impensa magistri ,laurentii de ,rubeis de ,valencia4 #cj ,ferrara is known to art students in connection with initial letters by the alphabet of ,fra ,vespasiano ,amphiareo1 a ,renaissance calligraphist1 which is often reproduced in works on manuscript ornamentation4 ,for the general student this work1 which took rank at once as one of the most artistic publications of the time1 is chiefly interesting on account of the portraits of the celebrated women whose histories it relates1 but besides these there is a nearly complete alphabet of initials which harmonise perfectly with the woodcut engravings4 ,although different in treatment1 the design is very similar to that used by ,regiomontanus of ,nuremberg1 but with the addition of an occasional mascaron1 or head of a dolphin4 ,very decorative1 although simple1 on the printed page1 they lose some of their effect when brought together as an alphabet4 ,the volume begins with a linear ,m representing the ,virgin and child4 ,the other set of initials1 of an entirely different kind1 is taken from the ,missale ,carthusiense1 printed by the monks at their monastery at ,ferrara in #aejc1 and generally known as the ,missal of ,ferrara4 ,missale secundum ordinem ,carthusiensem4 ,impressum in ,monasterio ,carthusie ,ferrarie ,diligenter emendatum per ,monachos ejusdem ,domus ,regnante ,excellentissimo ,d4,d4 ,duce ,hercule ,esten4 ,anno a nativitate domini ,,mccccciii4 ,in many of the other ,italian towns1 although printing was established at an early date1 the ornamentation of books was comparatively neglected1 and there are few or no initials of interest to be mentioned4 ,foligno1 for example1 was one of the first places where the art of printing was introduced4 ,j4 ,neumeister1 one of the workmen and associates of ,gutenberg1 published there in #adgj a superb folio1 ,leonardi ,aretini ,bruni de bello italico adversus ,gothos4 ,at ,milan1 ,philip of ,lavagna gave a small quarto1 the ,miracoli de la ,gloriosa ,verzene ,maria1 dated #adfi2 but this date is a mistake1 and it was really in #adgd or #adgi that the tract appeared4 ,zarotus was printing at this town in #adga1 and three years later ,christopher ,valdarfer began operations4 ,when initials occur in the books of these printers they resemble somewhat those of ,venice1 but they are of unequal merit1 some being coarsely cut and merely curious1 others of the highest artistic excellence4 ,of the first1 the ,m and ,t from the ,opus auree et inexplicabilis bonitatis et continentie1 printed by ,joannes de ,castellione in #aeac1 will serve as an example4 ,the six other letters are from works by ,gotardus de ,ponte1 and are to be found also in a book called ,calipsychia of #aeaa2 in the ,life of ,saint ,veronica by ,isidorus de ,isolanis1 of #aeah2 also in an ,opus auree which seems to have been printed everywhere1 dated #aeac4 ,the ,q with a very black border1 a circle of white dots1 an ornament in each corner1 and a saint with crozier looking to the right1 comes from the ,sermons of ,st4 ,bernard1 ,milan1 ,leonard ,pachel1 #adie4 ,the smallest series is from a volume of ,decretals by ,ulric ,scinzenzeller4 ,at ,florence printing was introduced in #adga by ,bernardo ,cennini1 who commenced at once the composition of the ,commentaries of ,servius on ,virgil1 which was published the following year4 ,to ,giovanni ,tedesco we are indebted for editions of the ,philocolo of ,boccaccio and the ,trionfi of ,petrarch4 ,but the most celebrated ,florence printer of the fifteenth century was ,nicolo di ,lorenzo 7,nicolaus ,laurentii7 of ,breslau1 the publisher of the celebrated ,dante with engravings of #adha4 ,books printed at ,verona at the beginning of the sixteenth century are not common1 and woodcut initials are even more seldom met with1 but we have been able to find one or two in a tract printed by ,lucas ,antonius1 or ,luc ,antonio ,giunta1 of ,florence1 in #aejd1 which is extremely curious in many ways4 ,the text on the title-page is arranged in the form of a cross1 and runs as follows3 ,delitiosam explicationem de sensibilibus deliciis paradisi a ,d4 ,celso ,mapheo ,veronense ,canonico regulari editam hoc libello lector agnoscere poteris et ipsa plurimum oblectari valebis4 ,on the verso of the last page is a very fine mark of ,lucas ,antonius4 ,the ornamentation of the book is completed by numerous woodcut initials of various sizes1 but mostly as badly cut as printed4 ,there are several letters of an interlaced pattern1 but the two we have selected are the most interesting1 the ,c with the gladiator and lion occurring at the beginning of the first chapter1 the ,q being repeated twice4 ,there is also a historiated ,p with a child1 a little smaller4 ,books of the beginning of the fifteenth century published at ,brescia have a few good initials1 more or less in the ,venetian style4 ,an ,s1 with a winged child with bow and arrows1 probably a ,cupid1 is to be met with in several impressions4 ,the ,p1 with a saint in the same style1 and a somewhat larger ,p1 prolonged as a border1 have the same origin4 ,the very wide ,c1 with a monk at a latticed window1 is from a volume of ,brescia1 in which there are also three or four insignificant floral initials in the style of ,grninger's least interesting letters1 an engraved title-page with the portraits of celebrated men in compartments1 and on the verso of the last page a ,virgin and child with irradiating flames4 ,the title1 ,theophrasti ,natalii ,cychuthoe ,teutonici ,invectivae1 ,maxima cum diligentia ,brixiae impressum1 it is said1 but without giving the printer's name4 ,at ,vicenza initials were also mostly in the ,venetian style1 but inferior as a rule to the originals4 ,in one volume1 a ,catalogus ,sanctorum1 printed by ,henricus de ,sancto ,urso in #adic1 there are two typographical eccentricities which1 as they have to do with initials1 are worth pointing out4 ,in some early volumes ornamental initials are occasionally met with of such primitive execution1 that the only possible explanation is1 that the necessary letter being wanting1 it was cut on the spur of the moment by an entirely unskilled hand4 ,amongst the initials which occur the least often at the beginning of ,latin paragraphs are the ,b and ,g1 and of course such letters as ,x1 ,y1 ,z4 ,it is probable that when this ,catalogus was being set up1 there was no ,g amongst the ornamental alphabets available1 for no other paragraph in the book begins with this letter4 ,to meet this contingency1 the required initial was cut forthwith1 the result being the ,g in question1 roughly representing a human face4 ,the other singularity is an instance of the transposition of letters1 of which examples have been already given1 but here1 instead of turning an ,a or a ,c upside down to serve as a ,v or a ,d1 it is an ,f that does duty both for an ,f and an ,e4 ,at the beginning of the eighth book there is an ,e for ,st4 ,ezekiel1 which has evidently been made from an ,f1 the lower transversal part having been cut afterwards1 as can be seen by the rough execution and the disturbance of the general ornamentation4 ,but the transposition of an ,f into an ,e is a thing that often occurs4 ,the peculiarity here is that at the tenth book1 which begins with the feast of ,all ,saints1 ,festivitas omnium ,sanctorum1 an ,f being required1 the same block is used as for ,ezekiel1 the letter being restored to its first condition by a plug1 but showing clearly traces of its transformations4 ,,chapter ,x ,,lyons ,by its geographical situation1 by its proximity to ,basle1 by its condition as a free town1 and through the fairs that attracted within its walls the merchants from other parts of ,france1 as well as from ,germany1 ,italy1 and ,holland1 ,lyons became at once a typographical centre of the first importance1 even preceding ,paris as regards book illustration4 ,in #adgc ,barthelemy ,buyer1 a rich ,lyons merchant1 founded the first press with the help of ,william ,leroy1 publishing first the ,compendium of ,lotharius1 then ,la ,legende ,dore1 six months before the appearance of the ,chroniques de ,saint ,denis at ,paris4 ,ornamental letters occur for the first time in the ,mirouer ,hystorial4#ca ,the specimens given were used by ,leroy in #adgi1 and are known as lettres tourneures fleuronnes4 ,on the title-page of the ,prestre ,jehan of the same publisher is a historiated ,p showing the three companions travelling in the land of ,prester ,john1 arriving before a castle of the #8paynims4' ,the text begins with a smaller initial1 also a ,p with a serpent's head which forms part of the alphabet of the ,statuta ,lugdunensia1 and takes the place of the larger initial on the title-page of a later edition4 ,the initials of the ,statuta ,synodalia are very much like those occurring in the ,quatre ,fils ,aymon and in the ,dechier de ,nobles ,hommes et ,femmes1 a translation of the ,de casibus illustrium virorum of ,boccaccio 7,mathieu ,husz and ,jean ,schabeler1 #adhc71 and1 although differently treated1 the same subjects1 grotesque profiles1 are to be found in the first ,paris letters of ,dupr and ,vrard4 ,for the other letters of these early alphabets1 of which specimens are not given here1 the reader is referred to ,claudin's great work on the ,history of ,printing in ,france1 unfortunately left incomplete by the death of the author1 but of which the third volume1 the first of the two intended to relate to ,lyons1 is finished4 #ca ,mr4 ,pollard speaks of an edition of #8,beaudoin1 ,comte de ,flandres1' of #adgh1 with rude printed initials4 ,it is chiefly in the ,french books of this period that we meet with those large calligraphic initials for title-pages1 generally taking the form of the letter ,l in the style of the tenth century1 which are said by ,claudin to be known as lettres de forme1 dites cadeaux4 ,the two largest are to be found in the ,mer des ,histoires1 printed first by ,le ,rouge in #adhh1 the initials of which were copied by ,dupr in #adia4 ,they exceed the dimensions of this page1 and are consequently too tall for reproduction here4 ,m4 ,thierry ,poux in his ,origines de l',imprimerie en ,france1 and ,claudin 7op4 cit471 have given good copies4 ,they represent knights in armour1 probably ,st4 ,george or ,st4 ,michael spearing the dragon1 with different accessory ornaments along the margin4 ,the most common of all these initials is the one which occurs on the title-page of the ,doctrinal de ,sapience1 and of this we have preferred the ,geneva copy4 ,the ,french composition which is known as the ,january and ,may ,l1 and is much more insipid1 would appear to have been most popular1 recurring in a great many books both of ,paris and ,lyons4 ,another ,l frequently seen1 of which ,mr4 ,pollard in his ,early ,illustrated ,books gives a copy1 was first used for the ,livre du ,faulcon2 the top of the letter curves down to end in the head of some imaginary bird1 between the two grotesque profiles4 ,in some books this part has been removed1 the letter presenting the appearance of having been cut down4 ,of our selections1 the ,l with two heads on the left and a collection of dragons on the right1 one of which is disgorging a fool complete with cap1 bells1 and marotte1 is from the title-page of a ,melusine1 but is met with in other books4 ,the letter with the two heads1 a monkey and two birds1 which occurs also in other publications1 was taken from the ,somme ,rurale of ,pierre ,boutellier4 ,the ,l with only one human head and a bird separated by the head and neck of an imaginary reptile can be seen in ,demandes d',amour1 ,le ,cordial1 ,les ,quinze1 ,joies de ,marriage1 ,le ,doctrinal des ,femmes maries4 ,as to the initial with ,eve1 it is to be found on the title-page of the ,livre des ,marchands1 of the ,legende ,dore1 as well as on some others4 ,as a last example of these large calligraphic letters1 we give the large ,l with three profiles4 ,in an entirely different style is a magnificent ,q on a black ground1 representing ,st4 ,george and the ,dragon1 from an edition of the ,mer des ,hystoires by ,michel ,topie1 without doubt one of the most effective of the ,lyons initials4 ,there is a well-cut ,a at the commencement of ,breidenbach's ,sainct voyage de la cit de ,hierusalem1 which ,claudin attributes to ,gaspard ,ortuin4 ,this book contains the first specimens of ,arabic characters printed in ,france4 ,we now come to a series of letters from the missal of ,pierre ,hongre of #aejj1 some of which had been used in the missal of ,uzs1 published by ,jean ,neumeister and ,michel ,topie in #adig4 ,this lending or hiring of typographical ornaments was very common amongst ,lyons printers1 as can be seen by a comparison of the books of different publishers1 and as is proved by an agreement of the time1 between ,michel ,topie and an ,angevin printer1 discovered by the ,abb ,requin amongst some old notarial deeds4 ,the letters of ,pierre ,hongre's missal represent1 as usual1 ,biblical scenes1 and although of an archaic type1 the attitudes are true1 and they are animated by a sincere and artistic sentiment4 ,the subjects of the different letters speak for themselves4 ,the ,t1 as usual1 is the sacrifice of ,abraham2 the ,c the martyrdom of ,st4 ,stephen2 the ,d the ,nativity1 etc4 ,many of these are to be found afterwards in other missals1 such as the missals ,narbone1 ,aquensis1 ,matisconensis1 etc4 ,the historiated initials from the ,saccon ,missal1 also of #aejj1 all of the same type1 are interesting from the fact that we are able to give the name of the engraver4 ,in our collection of cut initials there is1 amongst others1 the ,s with several personages1 and from the same book from which it is taken1 and in the same type as on the verso of this initial1 is a #8dixit' of five lines which speaks for itself3-- #8,petrus ,bertorius edidit ,lambertus ,campester illustravit ,joannes ,cobergerus erogavit expensis ,jacobus ,sacconius expressit ,amor veritatis persuasit4' ,good missal initials are to be found also in the ,missale secundum ordinem ,carthusiensem of ,simon ,bevilaqua1 #aeag1 such as the ,c 7saints with a palm-leaf71 and the ,d 7the ,good ,shepherd74 ,the ,missale secundum ordinem fratrum predicatorum of ,moylin1 #aeae1 has also interesting ornamental letters4 ,of the two large ,a's1 one is from a missal1 the other from a ,catalogus ,sanctorum of ,saccon4 ,the ,g and the smaller ,p are both from ,lyons missals4 ,the three little pictures1 one of which represents the expulsion of a devil1 the two others the ,apostles in a boat1 are in reality ornamental initials with the letter1 an ,i1 in the right border1 and belong to a volume of homilies printed by ,j4 ,poullet in #aeje1 in which every paragraph begins with the same letter4 ,the fourth is one of those little cuts that are sometimes used in missals in the place of pictorial initials1 and which1 according to ,dibdin1 are to be classed with initials4 ,it is not often that we meet with complete alphabets from single books1 except in the case of works arranged by alphabetical order and dictionaries4 ,such is the case with the ,catholicon1 of which ,j4 ,wolff published an edition in #aejc4 ,unfortunately the alphabet is not uniform1 either in size1 style1 or subject1 and some of the letters are of minor interest4 ,we have selected the most curious and most uncommon4 ,the four initials of the same kind1 the halberdier ,u1 the standard-bearer ,o1 the page ,p1 and the king ,d1 are sometimes found in other volumes--in the ,aureum ,opus1 for example4 ,it is from the prologue of an edition of this work1 printed for ,gueynard in #aeje by ,de ,vingle1 that we have taken the very interesting ,q of ,st4 ,jerome1 which is also the subject of the first initial in the ,saluzzo edition4 ,we only know of one other letter of this size in the style of the ,catalogus series4 ,as can be seen from our reproduction1 it represents the ,virgin1 and is to be found at the beginning of a very rare and curious plaquette entitled #8,plusieurs gentillesses pour faire en toutes bonnes compaignies4 ,et aussi plusieurs bonnes et utiles receptes esprouves par ,maistre ,symon de ,millan4 ,on les vend a ,lyon en la maison de feu ,barnab ,chaussard4' ,the two curious ,l's are from the title-page and from the beginning of one of the chapters of a ,lyons ,proprietaire1 wanting the last page1 but of which we have not seen any other copy4 ,the ,l with a profile and crowned lion is from the title-page4 ,the other letters1 ,d1 ,h1 ,m1 are from the treatise on men and women at the end of the volume1 arranged according to the signs of the ,zodiac4 ,the ,m shows the author meditating the effect of his opening remarks4 ,the ,d and the ,h are at the beginning of a paragraph referring to ,virgo and the ,gemini respectively4 ,the two large letters ,c and ,d1 representing the ,viaticum and the ,nativity1 with the seven smaller ones1 are to be found in an edition of the ,regimen ,sanitatis1 with comments by ,magnini1 attributed by ,claudin1 on the strength of an initial on the title-page with a bird1 to ,fradin1 #aeje4 ,this is no doubt correct1 for the large ,c 7a priest carrying the host71 with several of the smaller letters1 is to be found in an undoubted edition by that printer of ,platina's ,de ,honestate ,voluptate of #aeje4cb #cb ,the ,g1 ,c1 and ,i1 with profiles and grotesques1 were used two years before in a ,lyons edition of the ,rommant de la ,rose1 by ,g4 ,balsarin1 #aejc4 ,from a technical point of view1 from the elegance of the design and the delicacy of the execution1 the series taken from works by ,blanchard and others1 with masters and scholars in costumes of the time of ,louis ,,xii41 is particularly interesting1 the ,s with pope and cardinals being quite remarkable4 ,the children's alphabet was used by ,fradin and four or five different printers1 perhaps by more4 ,a certain number of children's letters1 but enlarged to the size of the initials of ,cologne of ,albert ,drer1 are in the ,graduale ,viennense of #aecd4 ,one of them1 the ,r1 is a coarse copy of the same ,drer letter1 and has been given under ,cologne for the sake of comparison4 ,the others1 eleven in number1 although not exact copies of the smaller letters1 are very much like our smaller reproductions and are treated in the same manner1 but the best proofs we have seen of the specimens we give are in a copy on vellum of the ,narbonne ,missal of ,fradin of #aebh1 from which the ,p with the ,nativity1 the smaller ,p with a saint about to be beheaded1 and the ,r with ,death1 are also taken4 ,there is a very similar set in the ,german ,psalter of ,nuremberg1 printed by ,j4 ,petreius in #aebe4 ,the ,f with a portrait of ,st4 ,ambrose is from a translation of ,st4 ,jerome by ,erasmus1 of whom an excellent portrait is also seen in another initial4 ,two of the most characteristic sets of ,lyons letters are those taken from the ,biblia cum ,summariis et cum ,concordantiis1 printed by ,john ,moylin for ,stephen ,gueynard in #aeaf1 and from the ,catalogus ,sanctorum of ,saccon of #aead4 ,the ,bible letters represent necessarily scenes in ,scripture history1 often being inspired by the initials in the ,bibles of ,nuremberg and ,augsburg4 ,the initials used in the different books of ,lives of the ,saints1 the chief of which were the ,golden ,legend1 the ,catalogus ,sanctorum1 and the ,lives of the ,holy ,fathers1 are miniature pictures1 and1 although of small size1 they contain quite as many details as the larger engravings that illustrate some of the more pretentious editions4 ,it may be noted that when there are historiated letters1 there are no pictures properly so called1 but1 as the numerous editions testify1 those with pictorial initials1 which the unlearned were able to understand1 as well as the illustrations proper1 were amongst the most popular of the publications of the beginning of the sixteenth century4 ,in an edition of the ,golden ,legend now before us1 printed in #aead for ,martin ,boillon1 by ,gilbert de ,villiers1 the same year as the ,catalogus ,sanctorum of ,saccon1 of which we give the letters1 the text begins with a large ,a1 representing the ,advent of ,christ1 of the same size as the ,bible initials4 ,a little further on1 another ,a stands for ,st4 ,andrew with his cross4 ,next comes an ,n1 for the patron of children1 ,st4 ,nicholas1 who is depicted with three of them apparently in a pickle tub4 ,as the letters nearly always correspond to the saint's name1 the historiated initials1 for those who knew their alphabets1 were even more useful than the large engravings1 which required for their comprehension a competent knowledge of the attributes of the saints4 ,proceeding further1 an ,n with an ass1 a cow1 a child in a cradle1 and a star1 stands for the ,nativity4 ,saint ,john the ,evangelist has an ,i1 with his eagle4 ,another ,i1 with three soldiers1 one of them stabbing a child1 and a woman with another child on her lap1 represents the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 and both for composition and execution it is superior to the larger cuts of the illustrated volumes4 ,st4 ,paul the ,hermit1 and ,st4 ,remy1 may be recognised by the bird which is bringing them a ring4 ,the ,m with a naked saint shows ,st4 ,macarius in the desert1 where for killing a gnat #8nudus sex mensibus in deserto mansit et inde a scabronibus totus laceratus exivit4' ,the first letter1 with the saint kneeling down1 and a soldier about to wield an immense sword1 is an ,f1 for ,st4 ,fabian1 and this subject with variations recurs frequently1 ,st4 ,longinus1 ,st4 ,gregory1 and many others being so represented4 ,in the ,b of ,st4 ,basil we see for the first time the ,father of ,evil in the shape of a dog-faced monkey1 so often depicted both in the architecture and in book ornamentation of the period4 ,he is disputing with ,st4 ,basil about the kneeling child1 but of course gets the worst of the argument4 ,the same ,b does for ,st4 ,benedict2 the ,a with two devils with hair standing on end is for ,st4 ,amandus4 ,the same initial does for ,st4 ,ambrosius4 ,george of ,england is shown on horseback with the slaughtered dragon4 ,an ,s1 with a number of people lying down1 is for the seven sleepers4 ,in another ,s1 what looks like a crowd of students illustrates the section #8,de septem fratribus qui fuerunt filii beati felicitatis'2 ,st4 ,christine is looking at what appears to be a house on fire4 ,the ,m of ,st4 ,macarius recurs to illustrate the nakedness of ,st4 ,mamertinus1 who is left in that condition by robbers1 and the ,n of the ,nativity does again for the ,nativity of the ,virgin4 ,the two medical saints1 ,st4 ,cosmo and ,st4 ,damian1 are shown together as usual in a ,c1 one of them holding in his hand a flask of special shape4 ,of the remainder1 the most interesting are the ,m of ,st4 ,michael the ,archangel1 who is attacking with his sword a devil with horns and a very pointed nose2 ,st4 ,denis1 who is carrying his head in his hand2 a ,p1 for the ten thousand martyrs1 two of whom are shown with swords coming through their bodies from underneath1 just as in one of the ,schott initials of ,strasburg4 ,in the initial for the eleven thousand ,virgins1 one girl is about to be beheaded whilst two others are looking on4 ,st4 ,eustace is at his anvil1 with fire and bellows in the background4 ,st4 ,martin is shown1 with his cloak1 on horseback1 and ,st4 ,elizabeth of ,hungary with a castle in the background4 ,the last with a pictorial initial is ,st4 ,bernardinus1 to whom the ,virgin and ,child are appearing in a vision4 ,there is another edition of the ,catalogus ,sanctorum with only one large introductory initial1 but in which the different chapters are preceded by little woodcuts4 ,in one of these1 which is repeated several times1 the saint is shown with an instrument for execution on the same principle as the modern guillotine4 ,of ,saccon's many other alphabets the two outline initials1 two ,q's1 one a monkey riding a monster1 the other an owl1 five other letters with heads1 and the little black animal letters1 must serve as examples4 ,the ,l with two peasants looking at an angel in the clouds is to be found in a ,bible and on the title-page of a ,liber ,cathonis4 ,an amusing little set comes from a printer whose name is unknown to us1 the book being entitled ,morale ,reductorium ,petri ,berthorii4 ,the ,c is probably a convent cellarer1 whilst the ,n is a study in contemporary costume1 and remarkable for the number of details that have been condensed into so small a space4 ,the ,c with the ,crucifixion is an example of the extraordinary incongruity that is sometimes seen between ornaments and text4 ,in a book of devotions we sometimes meet with the most scabrous subjects2 here the reverse is the case1 this reproduction1 whatever may have been its origin1 being taken from a military treatise published by ,jacques ,modernes1 ,vallo1 ,du ,faict de la ,guerre et ,art militaire4 ,the other letters in the work are from worn-out blocks from the stock of ,saccon4 ,although of later date than the majority of our reproductions1 our remaining initials are so frequently found in ,lyons books that they are representative1 as it were1 of ,lyons ornamentation4 ,there are several different-sized alphabets of philosophers1 but the one given is by far the best in execution4 ,our reproductions are as good as possible1 but the proofs in the original are of a greyish colour which1 taken together with the clear way in which they are printed1 is most ornamental4 ,the mythological letters are from a book of ,italian poetry1 #8,stampato in ,lione1 per ,jacopo ,fabio4 ,appresso ,bastiano di ,bartholomeo ,honorati1 #aeef1' and1 with the exception of the ,s1 which is signed with the initials ,h ,f 7,hans ,frank71 the other letters are attributed to the ,petit ,bernard4 ,the three large lettres parlantes1 ,d for ,diana1 etc41 are from ,lyons impressions of about the same time4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,paris ,as with ,lyons1 the material upon which one could draw for ,paris is almost inexhaustible4 ,dibdin considers the initials of this town to be the finest that can be found1 and gives the letters of ,josse ,bade with branches growing out of the heads of the personages as examples4 ,as regards book illustration1 however1 ,paris was behind ,lyons1 where the earliest attempts at decoration were made in #adgh4 ,the first book printed in ,paris with ornamental letters was the ,vies des ,anciens ,sainctz ,pres of ,dupr1 which appeared in #adhf1 that is to say1 eight years later4 ,mr4 ,pollard thinks that these initials1 of which there are only eight1 five of which we reproduce1 afforded the first hint for the first calligraphic initials used for title-pages1 of which several have been given under ,lyons4 ,dupr was one of the printers who worked for ,vrard1 who was chiefly a publisher4 ,an alphabet of small calligraphic initials was frequently used in the volumes printed for him by the ,lerouges of ,paris and ,troyes1 and is to be found complete in the ,jardin de ,sant4 ,pen-letters1 as they are called1 of this type1 are of frequent occurrence in manuscripts4 ,of the large calligraphic initials a sufficient number of specimens have been given under the heading of ,lyons1 and1 as a rule1 they are more quaint than those used by ,paris printers4 ,the huge initials already spoken of in the ,mer des ,hystoires are too large for our format4 ,in the same work is a serpentine ,s equally out of proportion to this volume1 an ,i with a picture of ,christ1 and a ,p of similar size in the style of those that often occur in works of ,vrard1 representing a scribe at work1 and recalling the cuts so often seen on the verso of title-pages4 ,for these initials1 which are too large for reproduction in this volume1 the reader is referred to ,claudin's ,history of ,french ,printing and ,monceau's monograph on the ,lerouges4 ,of those more moderate in size1 the ,january and ,may initial on the title-pages of the ,doctrinal de ,sapience1 the ,quinze ,joyes du mariage1 and many other works by ,vrard1 ,trepperel1 and ,lenoir1 is the best known 7see under ,geneva74 ,the ,livre du ,faulcon has an initial with two grotesque profiles1 also very frequently met with on other title-pages4 ,this1 together with the ,l with three monkeys1 is reproduced by ,mr4 ,pollard in his ,early ,illustrated ,books1 to which the reader is referred4 ,shortly before the end of the fifteenth century1 in #adig1 ,bocard published an edition of ,robert ,gaguin's ,de origine et gestis ,francorum1 with a few large grotesque initials1 and a very pretty one of the ,virgin of the same size1 as well as an alphabet of smaller letters4 ,the first leaf of this book begins with an initial which is badly coloured in the only original at our disposal1 but which is interesting as forming at the same time an ex-libris4 ,the letter in question is an ,f1 and in each of the segments 7separated by the central bar7 is a scroll1 in which an early owner of the volume had written his name4 ,in the ,nef de ,sant et ,condemnacion des ,banquetz of ,trepperel are some other grotesques1 found also in others of his publications4 ,about the same time the use of ornamental initials was commenced by ,rembolt and ,gering4 ,gering1 who was one of the earliest ,german printers to settle in ,paris1 published with his partner1 in #adii1 a book entitled ,divi ,augustini in sacras ,pauli epistolas ,interpretatio1 with the large ,p1 representing1 no doubt1 ,st4 ,augustine preaching to his followers1 which occurs at the beginning of almost every chapter1 and a number of smaller ones4 ,it is in the smaller initials of ,gering and ,rembolt that we have some of the best examples1 as far as historiated letters are concerned1 of those compound animals so often met with in the ornamentation of the fifteenth century4 ,if we look at the records of antiquity1 such as ,egyptian hieroglyphs1 ,roman medals and pottery1 and other artistic remains1 it will be seen that from a very early time it was considered humorous to represent animals carrying on the occupations of men1 or doing the duties of other animals4 ,by a natural extension of this idea1 men were depicted in the roles of animals who had usurped their supremacy1 and who are represented as treating their tyrant in the way that they themselves were accustomed to be treated4 ,wright and ,champfleury in their ,histories of ,caricature have given numerous examples4 ,in an ,egyptian papyrus1 a cat is seen walking erect and driving a flock of geese1 a fox is carrying a basket and playing the flute1 and the lion and the unicorn are playing at chess4 ,in a thirteenth-century tile1 a rabbit going a-hunting is riding his hereditary foe the dog1 and in a manuscript of the fourteenth1 a dog with his paws tied is being conveyed in a cart drawn by two rabbits and led by a third1 towards a hill on which a gallows has been prepared for him4 ,in a carving of the same period1 another example of #8the world turned upside down1' four geese are shown hanging their old enemy the fox4 ,roman statuettes still exist1 in which the personages represented are satirised by their heads being replaced by those of animals1 such as rats or wolves4 ,these fancies1 which are said to have come from ,greece1 led to the creation of such beings as the ,sphinx1 the most celebrated of the compound animals of antiquity1 and later on to the ,chimerae and ,grylli1 which were the predecessors of the innumerable fantastic hybrids that the imaginations of the artists of the ,middle ,ages called into existence4 ,these creatures have already been represented in our ,lyons initials4 ,in one of ,saccon's letters there is a kind of armadillo with a human head1 and amongst the reproductions from the ,regimen ,sanitatis there are two copied from ,gering and ,rembolt originals1 which are also given4 ,in these latter the ,r1 with a monster with a neck ending in a human head1 is particularly noticeable1 as it occurs frequently in the borders of the same printers1 and the ,books of ,hours of other presses4 ,it is to be remarked that the belief in the existence of these unnatural monsters was quite general4 ,wright quotes ,giraldus ,cambrensis as describing animals in ,ireland1 some half bulls1 half men1 others half stags1 half cows1 others half monkeys1 half dogs4 ,the dog-faced monkeys had always been worshipped in ,egypt1 and for this reason possibly had become an object of suspicion to the medival clergy1 who made them figure as devils both in church architecture and manuscript decoration4 ,it is in this rle that they are constantly represented in woodcut initials4 ,the following year the first edition of the ,cornucopia of ,perottus appeared1 the first part of which has one of the larger initials on every twentieth or thirtieth page4 ,towards the end of the volume they become much more frequent2 not only are they to be met with on every page1 but on some there are half a dozen or more4 ,another edition of this work1 which was often printed1 was published by ,rembolt in #aejg1 mostly with the same initials1 but the ,p with the ,nativity was not used in the second edition4 ,the two armorial initials are from a ,french translation of the ,history of ,denmark by ,saxo ,grammaticus1 published by ,josse ,bade in #aead4 ,besides these there are three others in the same style1 a ,d1 an ,i1 and a ,p4 ,the ,d is like the ,n in general arrangement1 but without the supporters1 and the legend #8,arma regis ,dacie' is in scrolls with the letters ,c4 ,p4 and ,c4 ,l4 ,in the ,i the central shield is suppressed1 and the shields are framed by banderolles with the legend3 #8,arma regis ,dacie ,swecie ,norvegie1 sclavorum gottorumque anno domini ,,mdxiiii4' ,the ,p is similar to the two others in being without supporters1 and the legend is slightly modified3 #8,arma regis ,dacie ,swecie ,norvegie4' ,these initials were particularly admired by ,dibdin1 who calls attention to their beauty4 ,amongst the publications of ,trepperel are several editions of the ,jardin de ,sant1 which1 in the ,latin ,hortus ,sanitatis1 is a thick folio dealing first with birds1 beasts1 and fishes1 and finishing with an alphabetical account of medicinal plants1 and finally stones 7minerals74 ,a treatise1 ,de urinis1 completes the whole4 ,vrard's edition already mentioned was of the same proportions1 but ,trepperel published his as an octavo on plants only4 ,the initials are not always well printed1 rather the reverse4 ,the best are given in our illustrations4 ,a few of these letters are to be found in a small folio with woodcuts1 entitled ,les uvres de ,justin1 vray hystoriographe sur les faictz et gestes de ,troge ,pompee1 etc4 etc41 in much better proof4 ,in this same book is the ,l with a harpy1 which1 together with the ,m1 the only other letter of the kind we have seen1 is to be frequently met with in the ,chroniques de ,france and in a great many other books by ,philippe ,lenoir1 finally in a ,paris ,missale ,carthusiense4 ,the two letters with children1 inspired by ,venetian initials1 with the linear ,r of the same size and the big #8philosophus' ,q1 are taken from a work on the ,logic of ,aristotle by ,jacobus ,stapulensis1 published by ,h4 ,estienne in #aeaj4 ,in other works the same initial occurs1 but the word #8philosophus' is replaced by #8,aristoteles1' or by some other philosopher's name4 ,we have met with several varieties4 ,the smaller letters are to be found also in books printed by ,j4 ,petit1 ,h4 ,estienne1 and ,josse ,bade4 ,it may be here observed that the ,paris printers had quite a specialty for missals1 and in some of them initial letters of the most varied origin are mixed together4 ,in one of them1 the ,missale ad consuetudinem insignis ecclesie ,parisiensis1 by ,wolfgang ,hopyl1 in #aejd1 the initials belong to different alphabets4 ,the best are the ,a 7,annunciation71 the ,p 7,nativity71 another ,p 7the ,circumcision71 an ,e 7visit of the wise men71 ,s 7,pentecost71 ,c 7a priest saying mass71 and when the proofs are perfect it would be difficult to imagine anything more effective4 ,but the handsomest set is in the ,missale ,leodiense1 also printed by ,wolfgang ,hopyl1 in #aeac4 ,these initials are used in other missals1 but are here in their best condition4 ,some of them are to be found in the #aebf edition of the ,lige missal by ,marnef and ,hopyl1 and again in the ,missel de ,chartres of ,kerver1 #aebi4 ,in most works of this kind the subjects of the histoires are of a ,biblical nature1 particularly incidents in the lives of the saints1 although relieved sometimes by a touch of the grotesque4 ,in other missals the grotesque reigns supreme1 showing how intimately it was associated with the idea of ,church ,art1 as is well seen in the beautiful ,books of ,hours by ,philippe ,pigouchet and others1 in which the borders are a mixture of the grotesque and the macabre4 ,one of the books most frequently reprinted at this period was the ,propritaire1 the translation of the work of ,bartolomus de ,glanville1 ,de proprietatibus rerum1 which was the book on which ,caxton worked at ,cologne4 ,it is a kind of general encyclopdia1 beginning with a disquisition on the ,trinity1 and ending with a chapter on ,astrology4 ,it is from this work that we have reproduced the twelve letters1 amongst others the ,q with a bagpiper1 and an ,l representing a person in a fool's cap giving a baby pap4 ,these occur in a great many other works of ,philippe ,lenoir4 ,in the treatise #8,on ,men and ,women1' the different sections are preceded by initials which correspond to the signs of the ,zodiac1 as in the ,lyons copy1 of which we have given specimens4 ,but in the ,paris edition1 curiously enough1 the first two sections1 ,aries and ,taurus1 have no initials1 although ornamental letters with a ram and bull respectively1 and entirely inappropriate anywhere else1 are to be found in other books published by this printer1 such as the ,chroniques de ,france and the ,saint ,graal4 ,the two large initials1 one of them with a portrait1 formed part of the alphabet of ,vascosan1 used in1 amongst other books1 the work of ,oronce ,fine1 or ,fine1 as he is variously called4 ,the vignette of the ,o is said to be his portrait4 ,it is authenticated by the initials ,o4 ,f4 ,josse ,bade has some large initials in the ,venetian style1 with intertwisting bands and no historiation1 generally described in book catalogues as #8magnificent ornamental letters4' ,we admit to a predilection for initials with personages1 and prefer to give here some of the smaller set1 sometimes printed in red in the original1 which particularly excited ,dibdin's admiration1 and which are graceful1 even when not historiated4 ,they are to be found in a great many of this printer's productions1 as well as in those of ,simon de ,colines and others4 ,the missal letters of two sizes1 beginning with an ,a representing the ,trinity1 are considered by experts to have been designed by ,geoffroy ,tory or members of his school4 ,they form part of a fragment consisting of eight or nine pictorial pages1 such as are to be met with in the missals4 ,several have the ,crucifixion surrounded by an ornamental border1 in one of which is the mark of ,tory's atelier--the cross of ,lorraine4 ,on these leaves1 which have not been identified--they were perhaps only proof-sheets--the letters did not serve as initials1 but were placed end to end1 to form a compartment border4 ,in two instances where initials were used at the beginning of the text1 they came from an alphabet of one of the missals given above4 ,the smaller of the two remaining sets1 with the little ,d dated #aebf1 was used in the publications of ,simon de ,colines and others4 ,a similar initial used by ,chevallon at the beginning of a treatise of diseases of women by ,hippocrates is dated #aebd1 but after #aede the date is replaced by the letters ,c4 ,g41 the initials of ,chevallon's widow1 ,charlotte ,guiard4 ,in a large folio edition published by ,chevallon in #aebh of the ,digesta seu ,pandectae ,juris ,civilis1 most of the initials are too badly printed for reproduction4 ,one of them1 however1 is of good impression1 and besides that is supremely interesting1 as it forms a little picture representing a scene from one of the xylographic ,ars ,moriendi4 ,it is the only letter of the kind we know1 and this is the only time we have met with it4 ,in the original the initial is of the smaller dimension1 but it is so interesting that we have had it enlarged4 ,in the block books1 scrolls are generally seen emerging from the mouths of the devils1 with the suggestions printed on them by which they attempt to turn aside the dying soul from thoughts of piety4 ,this miniature composition is too small for such insertions1 but the attitude of the arch fiend shows that he is ready to seize any opportunity that may present itself4 ,there are a great many more alphabets of ,paris printers that we should have liked to reproduce1 had it been possible to multiply our examples indefinitely--amongst them that of ,kerver1 of which we give the ,c with a knight in armour4 ,the three others1 ,b1 ,c1 and ,l1 are coarse copies of ,kerver letters used in ,england1 these being taken from a medical work by ,bullein4 ,of the next three1 the ,l with a saint is a copy of the same letter of ,rembolt1 the two others from ,philip le ,noir both recurring frequently in his impressions4 ,the ,p with a master and pupils is from the press of ,n4 de la ,barre4 ,the three little pen letters are from the same source4 ,we cannot bring this short selection of ,parisian letters to a close without mentioning the ,royal letters designed by ,geoffroy ,tory and used by ,robert ,estienne in a ,bible and in other books after #aecf4 ,independently of the accessory ornamentation1 the letters themselves have since served as models of proportion4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,french ,,provincial ,,towns ,of provincial ,french towns after ,lyons the most important as regards the history of printing are ,troyes and ,rouen4 ,in the former the chief printers using initial letters were the ,lerouges and ,j4 ,lecoq4 ,the five large letters1 ,c1 ,c1 ,d1 ,l1 ,s1 with ,chinese-looking dragons and birds1 together with the ,b of an entirely different character representing ,david and his harp1 no doubt the initial letter of some ,psalter1 were used in the impressions of the ,lerouges1 and were taken from one of their finest books1 ,la thoison d'or4 ,these printers worked for ,paris publishers1 particularly for ,vrard1 and the calligraphic alphabet of the latter1 given above1 formed part of their material4 ,of ,lecoq we give two sets4 ,the specimens1 with grotesque profiles1 are from a monumental ,graduale ,trecense in which there are altogether between twenty and thirty different varieties1 from the ,vie de ,monseigneur ,st4 ,bernard1 printed for ,mac ,panthoul1 and from a ,statuta synodalia of the #8,state and ,diocese of ,troyes1' printed by order of the ,reverend ,bishop ,odard ,hennequin4 ,the ,i1 the ,q with a fool and his accoutrements1 the ,s with a profile on each side and a bird's head and upper beak above1 the larger ,f and the ,v also with two profiles and a face with porcine snout on the top1 are only to be found in the ,statuta ,synodalia4 ,it may be here observed that it has been our constant practice to reproduce our specimens exactly as they appear in the original1 in order to give them the documentary interest that they lose when retouched4 ,in this case these initials were too badly daubed over with paint for gillotype reproduction1 and the first nine were obtained by photographing on wood and then engraving4 ,they are good facsimiles of the originals1 but without what may be called their patine4 ,it was subsequently ascertained that the colour in most instances was easily removable1 and the other five letters were copied in the usual way4 ,the reader can compare the results of the two processes4 ,the smaller alphabet1 engraved also on wood1 is complete in the ,vie de ,monseigneur ,st4 ,bernard1 but occasional letters are to be met with in many of ,lecoq's later impressions4 ,amongst these may be mentioned an excessively rare little ,latin primer on the plan of the ,donatus1 with ,lecoq's marque parlante on the title-page1 and with the ,e of this alphabet at the beginning of the title1 which runs as follows3 ,epithoma sive breviarium octo partium orationis gramaticalis adiectis grmatice principiis ad completam grammaticam introductori4 ,rouen was an important centre of printing at the beginning of the sixteenth century1 a great many publishers in other towns and countries having the works which they edited printed in this city4 ,this was often the case with books apparently of ,caen4 ,we shall have to speak of a ,histoire de ,commines1 supposed to have been printed at ,paris1 but really printed at ,rouen4 ,the earliest work from which we have made reproductions is an exposition of the ,psalms by ,petrus de ,harentals1 with a very long title beginning ,psalterii expositio ,petri de ,harentals viri religione clarissimi1 etc42 at the end #8,impressum in officina ,laurentii ,hostingue et ,jameti ,loys1' #aejd4 ,it is stated1 moreover1 to be sold at ,paris by ,j4 ,petit and ,robert ,mac1 the large mark of the latter occupying the verso of the last leaf4 ,from this book the series of letters with heads1 curious little animals1 and compound monstrosities are taken4 ,the large ,p with a man holding up his hand is on the title-page4 ,in another volume1 the ,singularissimum et eximium opus universis mortalibus sacratissimi ordinis ,seraphici patris nostri francisci1 etc41 printed by ,martin ,morin in #aeji1 are the ,i with two dragons1 the ,h corresponding to it1 and the second ,h with a woman in a ,norman bonnet such as the peasants wear to this day4 ,the only remaining initial we have met with of this style and size1 the ,p with a man with a pointed cap and tassel1 is to be found on the first page of the text of a ,coustumier de ,normandie1 belonging to ,mr4 ,quaritch4 ,the large calligraphic ,m with the arms of ,normandy adorns the title-page of the missal of ,arras1 ,missale ,atrebatense1 and also that of the ,missale ,noviomense of #aejf1 both of which were printed by ,martin ,morin1 and the twelve initials in red comprise most of the ornamental letters distributed through the two volumes4 ,there are also some grotesque lettrines similar to those found in many ,rouen impressions1 and such as have been given from the ,psalterium of ,harentals4 ,another large calligraphic initial1 and nine smaller ones1 are from a ,rouen edition of the ,propritaire1 printed for ,francis ,regnault by ,jacques le ,forestier1 which1 unlike the ,lyons and ,paris editions of the same date1 #aebj-cj1 is without the series of twelve ,zodiac letters that precedes the paragraphs of the little treatise #8,on ,men and ,women' at the end of the volume4 ,the three smaller initials of the same size1 ,a1 ,b 7,david and his harp71 and ,r1 the two somewhat larger--a ,d with a compound animal with a long snaky neck1 and a ,p with a grotesque1 together with the ,p with a schoolmaster armed with his birch and about to operate1 are from another edition of the ,coustumier de ,normandie of #aebc4 ,the ,a1 surmounted by a crown with a saint below1 with the ,d1 a swan1 and the ,s with two animals1 are met with also in other books1 but were reproduced from the ,opera ,guilelmi ,monachi ,valladii1 without name of printer or date1 but printed at ,rouen by ,hostingue in #aeje4 ,the ,m is the same as in the missals of ,m4 ,morin1 and there is the same ,p as in ,harentals' ,psalter1 but in very bad proofs4 ,our last specimens are from the alphabet of ,jacques ,forestier1 or rather of ,jacques le ,gentil4 ,most of the letters are to be found in a #aebe edition of ,commines which had always1 on the authority of ,brunet1 passed for having been printed at ,paris4 ,claudin1 however1 noticed that the verso of the last page had the arms of ,rouen and the mark of ,jacques ,forestier1 and the recto says #8,imprim par ,j4 ,g4' ,this ,j4 ,g4 was ,jacques le ,gentil1 son-in-law to ,j4 ,forestier1 to whose business he succeeded1 using for a time his father-in-law's mark4 ,in the ,commines there are sixteen different initials1 but neither of the two with profiles1 ,d and ,g4 ,these1 with some of the others1 are to be found in the ,grand ,coustumier du ,pays et ,duch de ,normandie of #aebc1 already mentioned1 and in a book entitled ,divi ,gregorii ,magni et ecclesie doctoris precipua opera1 printed at ,rouen in #aeba at the expense of that most honest man and most famous bookseller1 ,francis ,regnault of ,paris4 ,from a typographical point of view ,avignon is interesting on account of the claim that has been made for it as the birthplace of printing by the ,abb ,requin4 ,this is based upon notarial records of #addd1 but the invention1 in the opinion of the late ,m4 ,claudin1 was in reality a primitive form of typewriting4 ,the chief printer there at the beginning of the sixteenth century was ,jean de ,chauny1 and our specimens of initials are from two volumes printed by him for ,jehan ,franois de ,saint ,nazaire1 otherwise called ,de ,ripa4 ,the first is a small quarto with a curious ornamental title-page1 ,de ,peste libri tres1 dedicated by the #8celeberrimus atque acutissimus' author to the citizens of ,avignon2 the other1 ,interpretationum et responsorum acutissimi atque clarissimi jurisconsulti dmi ,joan francisci de ,sancto ,nazario cognomento de ,ripa libri tres1 is a very large quarto printed in #aebg4 ,like most books of the kind1 both volumes commence by complimentary verses1 the carmen #8,jacobi ,meigroni ,novensis1 ad studiosos legum juvenes1' being a good specimen of the punning panegyric of the period4 ,in a similar composition mentioned under the heading #8,sienna1' ,dathus is preferred to ,cicero4 ,according to ,meigronus1 ,de ,ripa is more reliable than the ,delphic oracle4 ,of the larger ,avignon initials two only occur in the larger volume1 the ,f reproduced in the text at the beginning of the privilege1 and an ,s at the beginning of the third book1 which is somewhat imperfectly printed4 ,the smaller letters are much more numerous1 especially in the ,libri ,interpretationum et responsorum4 ,a very important work#cc has been devoted to the early printing of ,poitiers1 one volume of which consists chiefly of facsimiles4 ,as a rule the initials are devoid of interest1 but there is a large grotesque ,l from a ,costumier de ,poitou printed by ,j4 de ,marnef1 a ,p from a missal1 and a few with human faces1 such as the one that we reproduce4 #cc ,monuments de l',imprimerie ,poitiers1 par ,a4 ,claudin4 ,later in the century a legal work was published with a nearly complete alphabet representing the different occurrences that might happen to an accused person1 such as the stocks and the rack4 ,they are1 however1 as a rule1 too poorly printed1 and the copies we have seen are not worth reproducing4 ,in books printed at other ,french towns we have discovered but few initials4 ,there is a large but uninteresting one at the beginning of a ,chambry edition of the ,roy ,modus4 ,on the only leaf that has come down to the present time of a ,limoges missal1 and which forms the subject of a memoir by ,m4 ,claudin1 is an ,r1 with the ,resurrection4 ,in an early ,albi edition of sop1 with cuts1 in what is called the manire raille1 which look as if executed by scratching the block with a rusty nail1 there are some initials of which the ,n will give an idea of the raille manner4 ,in a later tract1 ,la vie et lgende de ,mme4 ,ste4 ,petroine1 there is an ,a1 which may possibly have been used first for a missal4 ,in the chapter about ,basle1 mention has been made of an alphabet which is nearly complete1 used by ,furter in his ,liber ,decretorum sive ,panormia1 and which also occurs in a much rarer book without date or printer's name1 the ,decreta ,consilii ,basiliensis4 ,this alphabet1 it now seems1 was used in #adhh1 at ,besanon1 in the ,speculum ,humanae ,vitae of ,rodoricus ,zamorensis4 ,sotheby1 in his ,typography of the ,fifteenth ,century1 has given a reproduction of one of the pages on which there is the very characteristic serpentine ,s1 which is here given with the ,t and the ,v4 ,printers in the other towns would seem to have been supplied with the worn-out initials of the ,rouen and ,lyons presses4 ,in the few books with ornaments printed at ,caen1 ,rouen letters are found2 whilst in those published in the south of ,france1 there are chiefly the floral initials from the presses of ,saccon1 ,de ,vingle1 and other ,lyons printers4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,spanish ,,towns #8,spanish books1' says ,mr4 ,pollard1 #8are distinguished by the excellence of their initial letters1 which are always as plentiful as they are good1 the great majority of books after #adhe being fully provided with them4' ,our own experience confirms this statement1 but we have found that they are as a rule ornamental rather than historiated1 and that there is1 moreover1 a certain sameness about them4 ,for this reason we shall only give six specimens of the first variety1 but these will serve to give an idea of the initials of this kind usually met with in ,spanish books4 ,the ,c and the ,m are taken from a volume printed by ,g4 ,castilla at ,valencia1 the ,e from a ,comento di ,eusebio1 printed in #aebb by order of the ,reverend ,archbishop of ,toledo1 at the noble town of ,salamanca1 by ,hans ,gyffer ,aleman di ,silgenstat4 ,the origin of the three others1 ,l1 ,p1 ,u1 is uncertain1 but is referred to further on4 ,the seven smaller initials1 or #8lettrines1' as they are called1 are taken from the ,eusebius4 ,our historiated specimens are much more numerous4 ,the first set of nine letters is taken from a work of the very greatest rarity1 to which ,mr4 ,pollard has called attention1 the ,compilacion de ,leyes1 printed at ,zamora in #adhe4 ,this consists of eight different sections and a preface1 each of which is preceded by one of the initials4 ,in the ,i1 which is the first in the book and precedes the preface1 there is amongst others a personage with a black rod1 probably symbolising the dignity of the ,court4 ,on the first page of the text is a ,p with the ,king and ,queen1 ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 #8,the first section of the laws1' says ,mr4 ,pollard1 #8treating of the ,santa ,f1 has an initial ,e showing ,god the ,father upholding the ,crucified ,christ2 the second section sets forth the duty of the ,king to hear causes two days a week1 and begins with an ,l in which he is unpleasantly closely pressed by the litigants4 ,two knights spurring from the different sides of an ,s head the laws of chivalry2 a canonist and his scholars in ,a preside over matrimony2 money-changers in a ,d over commerce2 while a luckless wretch being hanged in the centre of a ,t warns evil-doers what they may expect under the criminal law4' ,we may add that in the other ,e there is a representation of what is probably a prison4 ,unfortunately1 the proofs of these initials in the ,british ,museum copy1 from which we have reproduced them1 are most defective4 ,as ,mr4 ,pollard says1 #8,they must have been designed and executed by clever artists whose work is so fine that the printer in most instances has failed to do justice to it4' ,in some of these letters there is in parts only the faintest impression of the design1 and it has been necessary in this case to have them retouched4 ,of our other historiated specimens1 some have been reproduced from a collection of initials1 some photographed by ourselves1 and some are from books no longer at our disposal1 and not having been able to refer always to the volumes from which they were taken1 we give some of their origins sous toutes rserves4 ,such is the case with the ,e and ,p with ,biblical scenes1 which1 notwithstanding the nature of the subjects1 come from a medical book1 with another pair of initials with ,biblical scenes ,a and ,e1 the ,p with a portrait1 and the three ornamental letters of the same kind1 ,l1 ,p1 ,u1 given above4 ,we can only say that the two first and three last come from one or other of the following books3-- ,the ,epilogo en ,medicina y en cirurgia conveniente a la ,salud1 ,pampelune1 #adie2 the ,libro di ,medicina llamado1 etc41 ,cromberger1 ,seville1 #aeag2 and the ,medicina y cirurgia of ,burgos1 #adie4 ,the large ,e with the initials ,s4 ,m4 7,st4 ,mark7 is from a book printed by ,juan de ,varila at ,seville2 the ,g by ,j4 ,alvera of ,coimbra4 ,of the five others1 the ,s and the ,t each representing the ,almighty1 the ,l with a child on a branched groundwork1 and the ,a and ,u of the same size with saints1 we can only affirm the ,spanish origin1 without being able to give fuller particulars4 ,the large ,p with a scribe at his desk is in the ,eusebius of ,salamanca already mentioned1 the only historiated initial in the four large volumes4 ,the ,a with a king kneeling1 the ,n with a doctor exhorting a student1 and the ,t1 are from two books printed in the same type1 but only one of them has the name of a printer4 ,this1 the ,libellus de beneficiis in curia vacantibus1 from which the ,n is taken1 was printed at the most noble and loyal city of ,seville by ,jacob ,cromberger1 in #aeab4 ,the two others are from a work with a long title beginning ,clarissimi cesarei juris doctor ac in studio ,salmantino primarii regentis ,didaca de ,segura solemnis et elegantissima repetitio4 ,it is curious as containing a warning on the title-page to dishonest booksellers and printers against infringing the author's rights3 ,cautum est a ,serenissimis principibus nostris ut nemo avidus ,bibliopola nec quicunque alius audeat imprimere sub poena in privilegio contenta4 ,the four letters from an alphabet of ,death occur in several books printed in the town of ,stella4 ,according to different authorities1 ,stella corresponds to what is now known as ,estella4 ,deschamps says #8,voyez ,flavonia1' and under this heading #8,flavonia 7,merula ,cosmograph74 ,compostella 7,mariana7 ,santiago di ,compostella4 ,st4 ,jacques di ,compostella1 town of ,spain in the dependence of ,la ,carogne 7,galacie74' ,this information is not very explicit1 but it is supplemented by the statement that ,stella was celebrated amongst other things by a book published in #afic against the abuse of escatados1 that is the fashion amongst ladies of cutting their dresses low between the shoulders4 ,the alphabet of which the ,e1 ,f1 ,n1 and ,v form part1 is a copy not of ,holbein's alphabet of ,death1 but of the little pictures that illustrate his ,simulachres or faces histories de la ,mort4 ,some of them occur in a book entitled ,series totius historiae sacri ,evangelii autore ,petro ,trurozqui ,navarro 7,stellae1 ,adrian ,anverez1 #aeeg71 which contains also most of the letters of an alphabet copied from the ,biblical series of ,froshover of ,zurich1 mentioned in its place4 ,another book without printer's name1 but dated #aeee1 in which they occur1 merits from us a more particular description1 inasmuch as it consists almost entirely of initial letters4 ,the title of this typographical curiosity is ,libro ,sotilissimo y provechoso para deprender a escrevir y contar el qual lleva la misma orden que lleva un maestro con su discipulo en que estan puestas las cinco reglas mas principales de guarismo y otras cosas sotiles y prouechosas4 ,each page of the little volume is surrounded by a woodcut border4 ,on the verso of the title1 the notice to the reader begins with the ,m of the ,dance of ,death alphabet4 ,the two succeeding pages have little pictures of the saints4 ,on the verso of the fourth page begins the same ,biblical alphabet as in the other volume1 the first letter1 ,a1 representing ,eve and the tempter with the ,tree of ,knowledge1 the alphabet1 the letters of which are used as illustrative cuts and not as initials1 being continued one letter per page with about five lines of text underneath2 ,b 7,abraham71 ,c 7,jacob71 ,d 7,david71 ,e 7,absalom71 and so on4 ,when the ,biblical alphabet is finished1 the ,dance of ,death letters take its place1 two on a page with a cul de lampe underneath the border1 but no text4 ,they are twenty-three in number1 occupying twelve pages1 the last being accompanied by the ,a 7,eve and the ,tree of ,life7 of the other series4 ,then come the remaining letters of the first alphabet1 this time two by two1 one under the other1 without any text1 but with a woodcut border4 ,the last page but one has two little cuts of saints on each side1 the last one having four still smaller on the recto which entirely fill it1 but nothing on the verso4 ,in the language of typography the town of ,alcala de ,henares was styled ,complutum1 and one of its chief printers was ,arnaldus ,guilelmus ,brocart1 who1 before coming here1 had been established at ,pampeluna1 where he printed1 amongst others1 liturgical works4 ,the two large linear initials are taken from a book of this kind1 the ,passionarium cum ,lamentationibus ,jeremie atque ,benedictione cerei ,paschalis1 published in #aeaf4 ,they are the only letters of the size in the volume1 the ,p recurring thrice4 ,there are some smaller initials in the same style1 but not of much interest1 besides a number of the pen-letters with more or less grotesque profiles in the style1 although coarser1 of the alphabet of ,vrard4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,early ,,dutch ,,initials ,the early typography of the ,low ,countries has been made the subject of a most interesting monograph by ,j4 ,w4 ,holtrop1 chief librarian at the ,hague1 ,monuments ,typographiques des ,pays-,bas au ,quinzime ,sicle1 and it is from this work that we have reproduced most of the initials in this section4 ,the first specimen given by ,holtrop is the ,g of the ,fasciculus ,temporum1 printed at ,utrecht by ,j4 ,veldener in #adhj--;an immense initial more than eight centimetres square4 ,the page is surrounded by a folio-floral border in the same style4 ,it has also been reproduced by ,bodemann4 ,in the ,summa ,experimentorum sive ,thesaurus ,pauperum of ,thierry ,martens1 who printed at ,alost and afterwards at ,antwerp1 is the large ,a with a profile4 ,passing over the initials of ,ludovicus de ,ravescot of ,louvain1 the next printer mentioned by ,holtrop is ,g4 ,leeu of ,gouda1 who published in #adha a ,dyalogus ,creaturarum with illustrative cuts1 a very black ,s1 not unlike the large one reproduced1 and an ornamental border4 ,the thirteen smaller initials of the same type are from an impression by ,godfrid de ,os of ,gouda1 and furnished ,caxton1 who copied from different continental sources1 with the models of some of his initials4 ,mr4 ,w4 ,blades1 in his ,biography and ,typography of ,w4 ,caxton1 gives a plate of woodcut initials from ,caxton's books1 two of which are of ,french origin--,dupr and ,vrard--the ,a of the ,order of ,chivalry1 ,italian in style1 whilst an ,o with a grotesque face is the ,q given in our series with the tail cut off4 ,there is also an ,h with a profile on the left1 evidently inspired by the ,p given here4 ,of our remaining reproductions1 the large ,s is to be found in books published by ,jacob van der ,meer of ,delft4 ,the ,p of nearly the same size belongs to a series of five large initials which comprises also the profile ,a1 already mentioned1 of ,thierry ,martens4 ,these letters1 together with a smaller alphabet in the style of the letters of ,godfrid de ,os1 are to be found in editions of ,g4 ,leeu at ,antwerp1 as is also the ,d of pine-cone pattern copied from the alphabet of ,israel von ,mecken4 ,the large initial with a portrait1 which is said by ,holtrop to be that of ,philip le ,bel1 is by ,godfrid ,back of ,antwerp4 ,the ,p representing the miracle of ,st4 ,veronica is to be found in a book by an unknown printer of ,schiedam1 ,johannis ,brugman ,vita almae virginis ,lydwinae ,sciedammitae4 ,the ,g given here with the same subject is evidently copied from this letter1 and ornaments a leaf of an early black-letter ,english prayer-book1 found in the binding of a sixteenth-century volume4 ,louvain initials of any interest are extremely rare1 and the only historiated one that we have seen is an ,n of a fifteenth-century missal1 all the other capitals of which are painted by hand4 ,the calligraphic ,g and the ,h1 both with grotesque profiles1 are early specimens of initials of ,antwerp from the title-pages of books4 ,the ,g is from a ,belial1 circa #aejj1 the ,h from a small ,leyden tract of the same date4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,later ,,german ,,initials ,hitherto we have devoted each chapter to special towns and their printers4 ,in this1 the final one1 we shall deal with ,german initials that have not found a place elsewhere4 ,before1 however1 proceeding to their enumeration1 we wish it to be understood that if certain towns or presses have not been given1 it is because we have not wished to go beyond a certain limit4 ,and for this reason we have preferred using the documents at our disposal to reproducing specimens of these presses from other sources4 ,were it otherwise1 and had this recueil of initials been intended to be entirely representative1 we should have considered it necessary to give specimens of the large letters used by ,johann ,scheffer in his ,livy1 of those designed by ,cranach for ,luft of ,wittemberg1 and of those used by ,kobel of ,oppenheim and of many others4 ,it should be said1 moreover1 that the greater number of what may be termed representative alphabets--those that occur most frequently in the publications of the time--have been already reproduced in works on ,renaissance book ornamentation1 whereas our initials have been selected because less generally met with1 and consequently less known4 ,we have already given specimens of initials printed in red1 which nearly always are found in missals2 the three following are taken from the ,missal of ,spires1 printed at the expense of that honest #8dominus ,peter ,drach1' and dated #aejj4 ,in the copy of the ,bibliothque ,nationale there is a fine engraving1 before the ,canon1 of the ,crucifixion with the date #aeaf1 but these pictures were often added afterwards4 ,although a comparatively small town1 ,hagenau towards the end of the first quarter of the sixteenth century had become an important printing centre1 two printers at least making use of typographical ornaments4 ,those used by ,heinrich ,gran are not of the very first merit1 as can be seen by reference to ,butsch1 who reproduces one of his title-pages4 ,thomas ,anselm de ,bade1 on the contrary1 has title-pages and initials from two different sources of the very greatest interest1 as our reproductions show4 ,the nine very large letters1 with the very much smaller ,e1 are met with in several missals published after #aeah1 the most important of which is known as the ,benedictine ,missal1 the ,missale ,bursfeldense4 ,missale denuo diligentissime castigatum et revisum ordinis sancti ,benedicti reformatorum nigrorum ,monachorum ,bursfeldensium4 ,as the reader can see1 they differ in character from those found in any other missal1 and have been attributed to ,hans ,baldung ,grn1 who also designed ,anselm's printer's mark4 ,nothing can be more charming than the little ,e with the children which commences so appropriately the verse beginning ,ex ore infantium1 and which gives still another example of the alliance so frequently met with between the serious and the grotesque4 ,there is another set of initials in the same style1 slightly smaller1 in which the incidents on the ,t are reversed1 the sacrifice of ,abraham being on the left4 ,they are to be found in the ,strasburg ,missal of ,hagenau of #aeah4 ,another very good ,hagenau series is the children's alphabet used by the same ,thomas ,anselm in his ,plinius of #aebj1 and said by ,weigel in his ,altdeutsches ,holzschnittalphabet to have been designed by the elder ,heinrich ,vogtherr4 ,it is on a somewhat smaller scale than the ,drer alphabet1 and about the same size as that of ,urs ,graf4 ,artistically it occupies a middle place between the two4 ,these letters1 which nearly form a complete series1 were almost at once copied by ,franc ,birckmann of ,cologne1 the only difference being that the ,m and the ,r are on a black instead of a white ground1 as in the ,hagenau original4 ,some of the letters were used in books published by ,lucas ,alantius of ,vienna4 ,in the ,m1 which is reproduced from a ,vienna copy1 there are some further modifications4 ,the shield under the child's left arm has been added1 and there would appear to be a monogram between the pendent grapes and tassel not in the original4 ,the five letters1 ,c1 ,e1 ,i1 ,m1 and ,o1 the last representing the ,massacre of the ,innocents1 belong to a collection where they are classed as coming from the missal of ,magdeburg1 which we have not been able to verify4 ,they are said to be the only ones in the volume of this size1 and are accompanied by a small ornamental series in the style of ,cranach1 who may very likely have designed the larger letters4 ,in the missal of ,posen 7,posnaniense7 of #aebd there are only five ornamental letters1 of which three are given1 the ,t being a picture of the cathedral of the town as it was at the time4 ,the two ,apocalyptic initials are typical specimens of the style of ,cranach1 and come from the ,missale ,evangeliare of ,luther1 printed by ,lufft of ,wittemberg in #aebe4 ,we have mentioned above the alphabet of ,cranach which is given by ,butsch in his ,bcher-,ornamentik4 ,there are several smaller alphabets in the same style1 in one of which is an initial representing a donkey sitting up with spectacles1 no doubt a satire on the doctors of the church with whom ,cranach had often to do4 ,wittemberg was one of the chief centres of the ,lutheran controversy1 and inundated ,europe with tracts on the subject4 ,a great many of these have ornamental title-pages1 many of which were designed by ,cranach in a style quite different from his initials4 ,those with children1 which equal anything of the period1 are particularly charming4 ,nothing could be more fantastic than the subjects in the series of initials1 seven or eight altogether1 of which the ,c1 ,l1 and ,t are specimens4 ,what1 however1 they mean exactly we do not pretend to say4 ,in the ,t there are apparently two ,satyrs dancing a saraband1 but the personage in the ,c would appear rather to be one of those weird creations that grow out of foliage under the pencil of the artist4 ,these letters are to be found no doubt in other publications of the same press1 but those given here were taken from the ,elegantiae of ,laurentius ,valla1 printed in #aebb by ,lazarus ,schurer of ,schlestadt4 ,the complete series is known as the alphabet of ,pilgrim #8le matre aux ,bourdons1' ,waechstein4 ,besides the ,c1 ,l1 and the ,t there are seven others in the ,elegantiae2 an ,h with a lion's head1 an ,i1 two winged children2 ,p and ,q each with a child1 ,r and ,s in the same style as the ,c1 the latter having the head of a fantastic animal4 ,there is also a smaller ,d with an extraordinary kind of winged satyr1 and a ,q with a couple of children4 ,chronologically1 we should have mentioned before the ,missale ,pataviense of ,vienna1 printed by ,j4 ,winterberger in #aeab1 which has initials of several dimensions1 but most of them too indistinct for reproduction4 ,those chosen1 ,c1 ,p1 ,s1 ,t1 are the best of the smaller series4 ,we have described in their proper places the ,psalters of ,ratdolt of #adii2 of ,furter of #aeja-c2 and of ,knoblouch ten years later1 all of them exactly uniform in size and arrangement1 the two latter with ,german commentary framing the text4 ,in all of these1 ornamental initials are used occasionally1 those in the two first-named volumes having exactly the same historiation1 whilst in the ,strasburg ,psalter they are simply ornamental4 ,the ,psalter of ,metz1 printed by ,caspar ,hochffeder in #aeac1 is on the same general plan1 but without any woodcut initials in the body of the volume2 on the title-page1 however1 is the ,p given here1 which is the only initial of this origin that we have been able to discover4 ,the four initials1 comprising an ,o with the portrait in costume of a young girl1 an outline ,t representing a money-changer's office1 and two others1 are from a ,pogge by ,knoblouch1 who printed several works of this author4 ,we have already had occasion to remark about the incongruity between certain books and the initials that embellish them1 and the two ,d's1 one with a personage magnificently costumed1 the other with a mandoline player1 afford another example of this peculiarity4 ,the volume from which they are taken is the ,magdeburg ,bible of #aedb1 printed by ,h4 ,walther4 ,in this edition the different books of ,scripture are preceded by initials of the same size as the reproductions1 but nearly always with ,biblical subjects corresponding to the text that is to follow4 ,in ,genesis1 ,adam and ,eve are being chased by an angel with flaming sword from ,paradise1 and so on4 ,the chapters of the books begin by smaller initials1 with children romping and playing1 in one letter torturing a cat1 in another fighting a cock2 whilst in a third a child is armed with a pewter squirt1 apparently in no way different to the squirt of fifty years ago4 ,besides initials1 this ,bible is embellished with cuts1 in some of which ,german castles of the fifteenth century serve as a background to ,biblical scenes1 and ,jews and infidels sometimes wear costumes of the same period4 ,scheffer's large ornamental letters have been mentioned at the beginning of this chapter4 ,in #aeah he was using a small alphabet in some of his publications1 and a few initials of intermediate size1 four of which are given by ,butsch4 ,there is an ,a with a naked woman sitting on the ground1 two ,c's with children1 and an ,s1 also with children1 one of whom is playing on a kind of horn4 ,the ,b1 reproduced in the same style1 not given by ,butsch1 is less frequently met with1 ,latin paragraphs rarely beginning with this initial4 ,ingoldstadt is known to bibliographers chiefly by the ,astronomicon ,cesareum of #aedj1 a folio volume with movable astronomical diagrams4 ,on the verso of the title are the arms of ,charles ,v4 and ,ferdinand1 to whom the book is dedicated4 ,the last page is entirely covered by the arms of the printer1 ,p4 ,apianus1 which serve as his mark4 ,throughout the volume are the geometrical initials designed by ,michael ,ostendorfer1 of which we give the best specimens1 some of them occurring only once1 others two1 three1 and four times1 the ,c occurring on ten occasions4 ,there are twenty-two different letters in all1 including a ,greek 4 ,another smaller alphabet of children occurs chiefly towards the end1 to which set belongs a compound double initial1 much wider than it is tall1 which contains the letters ,q1 ,u4 ,besides these1 there are four ,i's with the four ,evangelists1 each one with his special symbol4 ,although undoubtedly a pictorial initial1 the ,c with which we terminate our ,german selection is not reproduced from a book1 but was taken from a document of which we have seen several copies1 a licence to marry within prohibited degrees4 ,in this document the body of the text is printed in ordinary black-letter characters1 with blanks for the names of the persons wishing to contract marriage4 ,above the text is a line of ornamental #8bullatic' letters1 as they are termed1 preceded by the ,c here given1 which form together the word #8,collegium1' the meaning of the historiation being no doubt that ,st4 ,peter with his key has delegated his power to open the ,paradise of ,matrimony4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,english ,,initials ,with very few exceptions the decorative and pictorial initials reproduced from foreign books on the preceding pages have been chosen from works printed before #aebe1 and in most cases before #aejj4 ,in ,germany1 ,italy1 ,france1 and the ,netherlands1 schools of cutters and engravers in wood and soft metal with strongly marked local characteristics came into existence before #adij--;in ,germany some twenty years earlier--and during the last decade of the century numerous finely illustrated books were issued from the chief continental presses4 ,the good work of one country or town might be imitated1 slavishly or freely1 in another2 here and there also the work produced was quaintly or stupidly bad1 and good designs were often spoilt by clumsy cutting4 ,but despite all such individual failures1 there was abundance of originality and executive skill1 and this is true also1 though in a less degree1 of ,switzerland and ,spain4 ,when we turn our eyes homewards1 we find a totally different state of affairs4 ,the few ,english illustrated books of the period with which this monograph is mainly concerned have been divided by specialists into three groups3#cd those with cuts borrowed outright from the ,netherlands or ,france 7e4g4 ,caxton's ,horae cuts1 the illustrations in ,pynson's edition of ,lydgate's ,falls of ,princes1 etc472 those slavishly copied1 mostly1 but not always1 very badly1 from foreign originals 7e4g4 ,caxton's ,aesop1 the editions of the ,castell of ,labour1 ,art of ,good ,living and ,good ,dyeing1 the ,ship of ,fools1 and most of the odd single cuts72 lastly1 a scanty residue of native origin1 illustrating books like the ,canterbury ,tales or ,morte d',arthur1 for which no foreign models could be found4 ,some of these are almost incredibly bad1 others merely wooden1 a very few1 like the cut to ,fisher's funeral sermon for ,henry ,,vii41 fairly neat4 ,but1 again speaking generally1 it is evident that ,english printers could enlist the services of no designers of any skill and of few woodcutters able to rival the average journeyman-work in foreign books4 #cd ,consult an extremely interesting paper on this subject1 #8,initial ,letters in ,early ,english ,printed ,books1' by ,charles ,sayle4 ,bibliographical ,society's ,transactions1 #aijd4 ,good initials demanded little less skill from their designers1 and certainly no less from their cutters1 than the larger forms of book-illustration4 ,the great continental centres of printing prove abundantly that good initials are the natural accompaniments of good illustrations1 and thus there is no room for surprise that in ,england1 where there was no competent native school of book-illustration1 there was also no competent native school of initial-cutters4 ,of the fact there can be no doubt4 ,caxton possessed only one initial of any size1 the ,a shown among our facsimiles1 which he used in one or two of his later books4 ,his contemporaries possessed none at all4 ,after ,caxton's death in #adia1 for the next half-century and more the history of ,english initials is as the history of our book-illustrations--they are imported from abroad1 copied from foreign originals1 or of no artistic value4 ,an early instance of importation is the large grotesque ,h1 shown in facsimile1 which ,de ,worde acquired early in his career from ,govaert van ,os when the latter was moving to ,copenhagen2 in the same way ,julian ,notary obtained a few letters from ,andr ,bocard4 ,though it may be thought churlish to look outside ,england when we find a rebus on an ,english name1 it can hardly be doubted that the initials cut for ,pynson's ,morton ,missal1 of which specimens are given1 were made for him in ,france4 ,certainly no one could claim these letters as starting an independent ,english school1 and most of those subsequently used by ,pynson and ,de ,worde are direct copies1 or imitations1 from the ,french4 ,thus it is only by transcending our bounds that we can offer a few examples of ,english initials which have at least more independence than these early ventures4 ,it1 perhaps1 shows some rashness to include among them the excellent ,h from ,grafton's edition of ,halle's ,union of the two ,houses of ,york and ,lancaster 7#aedh71 for this may perchance have been inspired by those in the ,paris edition of the ,historia ,danica of ,saxo ,grammaticus 7see pages #he and #bcj74 ,nevertheless the book is important1 because it was on heraldic lines that some of the best later work was produced4 ,much of this may be connected with the name of that excellent printer ,john ,day4 ,the pictorial initial to the ,bible of #aedi1 showing ,edward ,becke1 the promoter of the edition1 presenting a copy to ,edward ,,vi41 is full of life1 and the portrait initial of ,elizabeth from ,foxe's ,book of ,martyrs is excellent work4 ,between these two books ,day had issued1 in #aeei1 a fine edition of ,cunningham's ,cosmographical ,glasse1 and this is adorned by an admirable heraldic ,d with the arms of the ,earl of ,leicester1 and by some pictorial initials connected with the subject of the book1 the authorship of these being still undiscovered1 despite the letters ,,ib1 ,,ic1 ,,id1 found on some of them4 ,at a later date work of the same style appears in his edition of ,ascham's ,schoolmaster4 ,it is a pity that ,day1 not being the royal printer1 could not be entrusted with printing the ,bishops' ,bible of #aefh1 which came from the press of ,jugge and ,cawood4 ,but his patron1 ,archbishop ,parker1 had1 of course1 a large share in its superintendence1 and some of the heraldic initials in the volume are almost as good as the ,leicester ,d4 ,that which has been chosen as a sample shows the arms of ,archbishop ,cranmer1 a pleasing compliment from ,parker to his predecessor4 ,the ornamental title-page to the ,bishops' ,bible is not woodcut but engraved on copper1 and the fact is significant4 ,under ,day's guidance ,english printing and book-illustration lifted up their head1 but the effort came too late4 ,after about #aehj woodcuts became unfashionable1 copper engravings gradually took their place1 and the change was fatal to the production of fine initials1 of which no more were produced4 ,,reproductions ,,of ,,initials ,,ulm ,illustration ,,initial ,,with ,,border ,,from ,,the ,,xylographic ,,donatus ,,of ,,dinckmut ,,initials ,,from ,,block ,,books ,illustration ,,from ,,an #8,,ars ,,memorandi' ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,mirabilia ,,romae' ,,mayence ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,sop ,,of ,,scheffer ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,breidenbach ,,of ,,erhardt ,,reuwich ,,augsburg ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,g4 ,,zainer',s ,,sixth ,,german ,,bible ,,and ,j4 ,,friburgensis' #8,,summa ,,confessorum' ,illustration ,,from ,g4 ,,zainer',s #8,,margarita ,,davitica' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,sorg ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,keller ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,hohenwang ,,and ,,pflantzmann ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,sch,,nsperger ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,b,,mler ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,g4 ,,zainer',s ,,german ,,bible ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,g4 ,,zainer',s ,,german ,,bible ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,sorg',s #8,,suso ,,dictus ,,amandus' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,ratdolt',s ,,breviary1 #adia ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,ratdolt',s ,,breviary ,,and ,,psalter1 #adia-adii ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,ratdolt',s ,,constance ,,missal1 #aeaf ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,hans ,,weiditz ,,in ,,different ,,works ,,published ,,by ,,steyner ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,hans ,,weiditz ,,in ,,different ,,works ,,published ,,by ,,steyner ,,ulm ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,j4 ,,zainer',s ,,boccaccio ,illustration ,illustration ,,other ,,initials ,,of ,g4 ,,zainer ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,cosmographia ,,of ,,ptolemy--,,leonard ,,holl1 #adhb ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,ulm ,,bible1 #adhj ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,j4 ,,reger1 #adif ,,nuremberg ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,peter ,,wagner1 #adhi ,illustration ,,initial ,,of ,j4 ,,regiomontanus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,fourth ,,german ,,bible ,,of ,,frisner ,,and ,,sensenschmidt ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,fourth ,,german ,,bible ,,of ,,frisner ,,and ,,sensenschmidt ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,fourth ,,german ,,bible ,,of ,,frisner ,,and ,,sensenschmidt ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,pataviense' ,,of ,j4 ,,gutnecht ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,pataviense' ,,of ,j4 ,,gutnecht ,,basle ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,richel',s ,,latin ,,bible1 #adge ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,furter',s ,,psalter1 #aeja ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,urs ,,graf ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,christianliche ,,bilgerschaft' ,,of ,,adam ,,petri ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of #8,,dance ,,of ,,death' ,,by ,l,,tzelberger ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,greek #8,,dance ,,of ,,death' ,,initials ,illustration #8,,dance ,,of ,,death' ,,initial ,,from ,,alphabets ,,by ,,hans ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,strasburg ,,copies ,,of ,,the #8,,dance ,,of ,,death' ,,alphabet ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,peasants ,,from ,,the #8,,galen' ,,of ,,bebelius ,,and ,,cratander ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,children',s ,,alphabet ,,in #8,,lactantius' ,,and ,,other ,,works ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,larger ,,children',s ,,alphabet ,,from ,,alphabets ,,by ,,hans ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,valentin ,,curio1 ,,from ,,alphabets ,,by ,,hans ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,valentin ,,curio1 ,,from ,,alphabets ,,by ,,hans ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,galen' ,,of ,,bebelius ,,and ,,cratander ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,greek ,,lexicon ,,of ,,ren ,,gelli ,,from ,,alphabets ,,by ,,hans ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,other ,,initials ,,by ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,from ,,alphabet ,,by ,,ambrose ,,holbein ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,van ,,calcar ,,from ,,vesalius ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,van ,,calcar ,,from ,,vesalius ,z,,rich ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,,froschouer ,l,,beck ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,rudimenta ,,novitiorum' ,,and ,,josephus ,,of ,,lucas ,,brandis1 #adge ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,rudimenta ,,novitiorum' ,,and ,,josephus ,,of ,,lucas ,,brandis1 #adge ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,leben ,,des ,,heil4 ,,hieronymus' ,,by ,,bartholomew ,,ghotan1 #adhd ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,meditationes ,,sanct ,,brigitt' ,,by ,,bartholomew ,,ghotan ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,meditationes ,,sanct ,,brigitt' ,,by ,,bartholomew ,,ghotan ,,bamberg ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,olumucense' ,,of ,,sensenschmidt1 #adhi ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,olumucense' ,,of ,,sensenschmidt1 #adhi ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,bamberg ,,missal ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,bamberg ,,missal ,,of ,j4 ,,pfeyl1 #aejf ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,bamberg ,,missal ,,of ,j4 ,,pfeyl1 #aejf ,,strasburg ,illustration ,,from ,t4 ,,de ,,haselpach',s #8,,sermones' ,illustration ,,from #8,,burgundische ,,historie' ,illustration ,,from #8,,dialogus ,,salomonis ,,et ,,marcolfi' ,illustration ,,from #8,,belial' ,,and ,,other ,,books ,,from ,,various ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,knoblochtzer ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,deutscher ,,kalender' ,,and ,,other ,,books ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,de ,,secretis ,,mulierum' ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,de ,,ritu ,,et ,,moribus ,,indorum' ,,from ,,various ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,knoblochtzer ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,anthropomorphic ,,letters ,,used ,,by ,,various ,,printers ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,from ,,the #8,,scriptum' ,,of ,g4 ,,de ,,ockam1 ,,and ,,the #8,,commentarius ,,sancti ,,johannis1' ,,printed ,,by ,g4 ,,schott ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,letters ,,from ,,the #8,,plenarium' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,other ,,strasburg ,,initials ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,psalter ,,by ,j4 ,,prusz1 #adih ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,knoblouch',s #8,,pogge1' #aeac ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,various ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,gr,,ninger ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,various ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,gr,,ninger ,illustration ,,from #8,,sermones' ,,of ,,geiler ,,von ,,kaisersperg ,illustration ,,from #8,,sermones' ,,of ,,geiler ,,von ,,kaisersperg ,,reutlingen ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,g4 ,,gryff ,,geneva ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,doctrinal ,,de ,,sapience' ,,of #adhh ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,doctrinal ,,de ,,sapience' ,,of #adic ,illustration ,,from #8,,les ,,fleurs ,,et ,,mani,,res ,,des ,,temps ,,pass,s' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,dialogus ,,creaturum' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,missal ,,of ,,bellot ,,cologne ,illustration ,,from ,,quentell',s ,,missal1 #adid ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,donatus ,illustration ,illustration ,,from #8,,sequentiarum ,,et ,,hymnorum' ,,expositio ,,by ,,bungart ,,de ,,ketwyck ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,other ,,initials ,,by ,,quentell ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,by ,,melchior ,,novesianus ,illustration ,,by ,j4 ,,gymnicus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,alphabet ,,of ,,albert ,d,,rer ,,in ,,books ,,by ,,cervicornus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,alphabet ,,of ,,albert ,d,,rer ,,in ,,books ,,by ,,cervicornus ,illustration ,a ,,lyons ,,copy ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,macabre ,,initials ,illustration ,,copied ,,from ,,the ,,venetian #8,,breviarum ,,orbis' ,,of ,,lilius ,,venice ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,ratdolt1 #adgf ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,missals ,,and ,,breviaries ,,by ,,george ,,arrivabene ,,and ,,lucantonio ,,di ,,giunta ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,missals ,,and ,,breviaries ,,by ,,george ,,arrivabene ,,and ,,lucantonio ,,di ,,giunta ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,missals ,,and ,,breviaries ,,by ,,george ,,arrivabene ,,and ,,lucantonio ,,di ,,giunta ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,book ,,printed ,,by ,,bonetus ,,locatellus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,books ,,by ,,matteo ,,capcasa1 ,,tacuinus ,,de ,,tridino1 ,,bonetus ,,locatellus1 ,,and ,,others ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,books ,,by ,,matteo ,,capcasa1 ,,tacuinus ,,de ,,tridino1 ,,bonetus ,,locatellus1 ,,and ,,others ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,vallisumbrose' ,,of ,,giunta ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,vallisumbrose' ,,of ,,giunta ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,vallisumbrose' ,,of ,,giunta ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,venetian ,,impression ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,edition ,,of ,,aristotle ,,by ,,sessa ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,vita ,,di ,,sancti ,,padri' ,,of ,,otino ,,da ,,pavia ,,de ,,la ,,luna ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,vita ,,di ,,sancti ,,padri' ,,of ,,otino ,,da ,,pavia ,,de ,,la ,,luna ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,sessa ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,breviarium ,,orbis' ,,of ,,zacharius ,,lilius ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,venetian ,,impression ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,works ,,by ,,various ,,printers ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,de ,,gregoriis ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,de ,,gregoriis ,illustration ,,portrait ,,of ,,cosmo ,,de ,,medici ,illustration ,,pius ,,romae ,,pontifex ,,rome ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,vit ,c,,sarum' ,,of ,,suetonius ,,by ,,sweynheim ,,and ,,pannartz1 #adga ,illustration ,e4 ,,silber1 #aejg ,illustration ,,jacobus ,,mazochius1 #aeae ,,sienna ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,opera ,,dathi' ,,of ,,nardi1 #aejc ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,opera ,,dathi' ,,of ,,nardi1 #aejc ,,como ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,vitruvius ,,of ,,gotardus ,,de ,,ponte ,,pavia ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,j4 ,,de ,,burgofranco ,,saluzzo ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,aureum ,,opus' ,,of ,,le ,,signerre ,,verona ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,work ,,by ,,celsus ,,mapheus ,,vicenza ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,catalogus ,,sanctorum ,,brescia ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,invectivae' ,,of ,t4 ,n4 ,,cychuthoe ,,ferrara ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,de ,,claris ,,mulieribus' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,carthusiense1' ,,printed ,,by ,,the ,,monks ,,at ,,their ,,convent ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,carthusiense1' ,,printed ,,by ,,the ,,monks ,,at ,,their ,,convent ,,milan ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,lettrines ,,by ,,scinzenzeller ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,opus ,,auree' ,,of ,,zarotus1 #aeac ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,sermons ,,of ,,st4 ,,bernard1' ,,leonard ,,pachel1 #adie ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,works ,,printed ,,by ,,gerard ,,ponticus ,,lyons ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration #8,,lettres ,,tourneures ,,fleuronn,,es' ,,of ,w4 ,,leroy1 #adgi ,illustration ,,from #8,,le ,,prestre ,,jehan' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from #8,,les ,,quatre ,,fils ,,aymon' ,,of ,w4 ,,leroy ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,statuta ,,synodalia' ,,of ,w4 ,,leroy ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,boccaccio ,,of ,,mathieu ,,and ,,jean ,,schabeler1 #adhc ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,breidenbach ,,of ,,gaspard ,,ortuin ,illustration ,,from #8,,la ,,mer ,,des ,,hystoires' ,,by ,,michel ,,topie ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,melusine ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,lettres ,,rustiques ,,of ,,mathieu ,,husz ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,livre ,,des ,,marchands' ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,somme ,,rurale' ,,of ,,boutellier ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,cathon ,,en ,,fran,,oys' ,illustration ,,lyons ,,copy ,,of ,,an ,,initial ,,from ,,the ,,boece ,,of ,v,,rard ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,saccon',s ,,missal ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,missal ,,of ,,pierre ,,hongre ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,missal ,,of ,,pierre ,,hongre ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,missal ,,of ,,pierre ,,hongre ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,j4 ,,poullet1 #aeje ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,missal ,,of ,,narbonne1 #aebh ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,lyons ,,missal ,illustration ,,from ,a #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catholicon' ,,of ,j4 ,,wolff1 #aejc ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catholicon' ,,of ,j4 ,,wolff1 #aejc ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,unidentified #8,,proprietaire' ,illustration ,,from #8,,aureum ,,opus' ,illustration ,,from #8,,plusieurs ,,gentillesses' ,,etc4 ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,magnini',s #8,,regimen ,,sanitatis1' ,,by ,,fradin ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,blanchard ,,and ,,other ,,printers ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,children',s ,,alphabet ,,by ,,fradin ,illustration ,,from ,,works ,,of ,,st4 ,,ambrose ,illustration ,,portrait ,,of ,,erasmus ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,lyons ,,bible ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,biblia ,,cum ,,summariis ,,concordantiis1' ,,etc41 ,,by ,,john ,,moylin ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,biblia ,,cum ,,summariis ,,concordantiis1' ,,etc41 ,,by ,,john ,,moylin ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,biblia ,,cum ,,summariis ,,concordantiis' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,catalogus ,,sanctorum' ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,of ,,saccon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a #8,,morale ,,reductorium ,,petri ,,berthorii' ,illustration ,,letter ,,used ,,by ,,jacques ,,modernes ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,alphabet ,,of ,,philosophers ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,alphabet ,,of ,,philosophers ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,mythological ,,initials ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,mythological ,,letters ,,of ,,jacopo ,,fabio ,,paris ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,vies ,,des ,,anciens ,,sainctz ,p,,res' ,,of ,,dupr ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,calligraphic ,,alphabet ,,of ,v,,rard ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,nef ,,de ,,sant' ,,of ,,trepperel ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,in ,,books ,,by ,,bocard ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,in ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,rembolt ,,and ,,gering ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,in ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,rembolt ,,and ,,gering ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,in ,,books ,,printed ,,by ,,rembolt ,,and ,,gering ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,denmark ,,by ,,saxo ,,grammaticus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,in ,,the #8,,jardin ,,de ,,sant' ,,by ,,trepperel ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,aristotle ,,of ,h4 ,,estienne ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,parisiense' ,,by ,,wolfgang ,,hopyl ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,missals ,,by ,,wolfgang ,,hopyl ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,missals ,,by ,,wolfgang ,,hopyl ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,,philippe ,,lenoir1 ,,trepperel1 ,,and ,,others ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,unidentified ,,missal ,,attributed ,,to ,g4 ,,tory ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,unidentified ,,missal ,,attributed ,,to ,g4 ,,tory ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,paris ,,missal ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,grotesque ,,missal ,,initials ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a #8,,proprietaire' ,,of ,,philippe ,,lenoir ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,,josse ,,bade ,illustration 7,original size7 ,illustration 7,enlargement7 ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,,chevallon ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,vascosan ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,simon ,,de ,,colines ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,royal ,,letters ,,designed ,,by ,,geoffroy ,,tory ,illustration ,,from ,,kerver',s ,,alphabet ,illustration ,,from ,,de ,,la ,,barre',s ,,press ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,english ,,copies ,,of ,,kerver ,illustration ,,copy ,,of ,,rembolt ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,philip ,,le ,,noir ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,pen ,,letters ,,of ,,philip ,,le ,,noir ,,troyes ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from #8,,la ,,thoison ,d',,or' ,,by ,,the ,,lerouges ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,graduale ,,trecense' ,,and #8,,statuta ,,synodalia' ,,by ,,lecoq ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,little ,,letters ,,of ,,the #8,,vie ,,de ,,monseigneur ,,st4 ,,bernard' ,,of ,,lecoq ,,rouen ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,psalterii ,,expositio' ,,of ,,petrus ,,de ,,harentals ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,various ,,works ,,by ,,martin ,,morin ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,atrebatense' ,,of ,,martin ,,morin ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,atrebatense' ,,of ,,martin ,,morin ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,commines' ,,of ,j4 ,,forestier ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,proprietaire' ,,of ,j4 ,,forestier ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,opera ,,guilelmi ,,monachi ,,valladii' ,,by ,,hostingue ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a #8,,coustumier ,,de ,,normandie' ,,of #aebc ,,avignon ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,works ,,printed ,,by ,,jean ,,de ,,chauny ,,poitiers ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,poitiers ,,missal ,illustration ,,from ,a #8,,coustumier ,,de ,,poitou' ,illustration ,,used ,,in ,,impressions ,,of ,,poitiers ,,france ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,limoges ,,missal ,illustration ,,from ,,toulouse ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,limoges ,,missal ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,sop ,,of ,,albi ,illustration ,,from #8,,la ,,vie ,,et ,l,,gende ,,de ,,mme4 ,,ste4 ,,petroine' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,besan,,on ,,spanish ,,towns ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,valencia1 ,,by ,g4 ,,castilla ,illustration ,,from ,,seville1 ,,by ,,juan ,,de ,,varila ,illustration ,,from ,,coimbra1 ,,by ,j4 ,,alvera ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,origin ,,uncertain ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,compilacion ,,de ,,leyes1' ,,printed ,,at ,,zamora ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,j4 ,,cromberger ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,medical ,,book ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,book ,,printed ,,at ,,burgos ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,origin ,,uncertain ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,dance ,,of ,,death ,,initials ,,from ,,the #8,,libro ,,sotilissimo' ,,printed ,,at ,,stella ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,comento ,,de ,,eusebio' ,,of ,h4 ,,gyffer1 ,,salamanca ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,passionarium' ,,of ,,brocart1 ,,complutum ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,epilogo ,,in ,,medicina' ,,early ,,dutch ,,initials ,illustration ,,used ,,by ,,jacob ,,van ,,der ,,meer ,,of ,,delft ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,used ,,by ,,godfrid ,,de ,,os ,,of ,,gouda ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,lydwinne' ,,printed ,,at ,,schiedam ,illustration ,,english ,,adaptation ,,of ,,the ,,preceding ,illustration ,illustration ,,used ,,by ,,thierry ,,martens ,illustration ,,used ,,by ,g4 ,,leeu ,,of ,,antwerp ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,early ,,louvain ,,missal ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,title-,,page ,,of ,a #8,,belial' ,,of ,,antwerp ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,leyden ,,title-,,page ,illustration ,,portrait ,,of ,,philip ,,le ,,bel1 ,,from ,a ,,work ,,published ,,by ,,godfrid ,,back ,,of ,,antwerp ,,later ,,german ,,initials ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,missal ,,of ,,spires ,,by ,,peter ,,drach ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,benedictine ,,missal ,,of ,,hagenau ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,benedictine ,,missal ,,of ,,hagenau ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,benedictine ,,missal ,,of ,,hagenau ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,benedictine ,,missal ,,of ,,hagenau ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the ,,benedictine ,,missal ,,of ,,hagenau ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,unidentified 78 ,,magdeburg7 ,,missal ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,posnaniense' ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,evangeliare' ,,of ,,luther1 ,,by ,,krafft ,,of ,,wittemburg ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,at ,,dresden ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,by ,,pilgrim ,,in ,,the #8,,elegantiae' ,,of ,,laurentius ,,valla1 ,,by ,,schurer1 ,,schlestadt ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,missale ,,pataviense' ,,of ,,winterberger1 ,,vienna ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,works ,,printed ,,by ,,knoblouch ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,metz ,,psalter ,,by ,,caspar ,,hochffeder ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,plinius ,,of ,,hagenau1 ,,used ,,afterwards ,,at ,,cologne ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,a ,,magdeburg ,,bible ,illustration ,,by ,,scheffer ,,of ,,mayence ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,astronomicon ,,cesareum' ,,of ,,apianus ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,the #8,,astronomicon ,,cesareum' ,,of ,,apianus ,illustration ,,from ,,an ,,ecclesiastical ,,document ,,english ,,initials ,illustration ,,caxton',s #8,a' ,illustration ,,wynkyn ,,de ,,worde',s ,,borrowed #8,h' ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,from ,,pynson',s ,,morton ,,missal ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,illustration ,,initials ,,used ,,by ,,john ,,day ,illustration ,,initial ,,with ,,arms ,,of ,,archbishop ,,cranmer1 ,,from ,,the ,,bishops' ,,bible ,illustration ,,initial ,,with ,,arms ,,of ,,henry ,,vii41 ,,from ,,grafton',s ,,edition ,,of #8,,halle',s ,,chronicle' ,illustration ,,initial ,,with ,,arms ,,of ,,the ,,earl ,,of ,,leicester1 ,,from ,,day',s ,,edition ,,of ,,cunningham',s #8,,cosmographical ,,glass' ,illustration ,,portrait ,,of ,,queen ,,elizabeth ,,from ,,day',s ,,edition ,,of ,,foxe',s #8,,book ,,of ,,martyrs' ,,index ,,page sop1 initial from ,scheffer's edition1 #aab ---- initial from ,albi edition1 #ie1 #beb ,albi1 initial in the manire raille1 from sop printed at1 #ie1 #beb ,alvarus ,pelagius of ,j4 ,zainer1 border used in1 #bc ,alvera1 ,j41 initial used by1 at ,coimbra1 #bec ,ambrose1 ,st41 portrait initial of1 #baa ,antwerp1 initial from title-page of book printed at1 #ajb1 #bfb ---- initials used in books printed by ,g4 ,leeu at1 #ajb1 #bfa ,apianus1 ,p41 initials from ,astronomicon ,cesareum printed by1 #ajg1 #bgd sq4 ,apocalypse1 different editions of the block-book1 #d ,arion1 initial representing the adventure of1 #fa ,aristotle1 ,opera ,nonnulla printed by ,keller1 #ag ---- initials in editions of1 by ,h4 ,estienne1 #bcb ,arrivabene1 ,george1 initials from missals printed by1 #ei1 #aga sqq4 ,ars ,memorandi1 historical initial in the1 #e1 #aab ,ars ,moriendi1 the block-book1 #d ,astronomicon ,cesareum printed by ,p4 ,apianus at ,ingoldstadt1 #ajg1 #bgd sq4 ,augsburg1 #e ---- initials used by printers1 #ad1 #aac-abb ,aureum ,opus1 initials from edition of1 by ,de ,vingle1 #gg1 #bjh ,avignon1 initials from volume printed at1 #ic1 #bea ,aymon1 les ,quatre ,fils de1 initials used in ,lyons edition of1 #aie ,back1 ,godfrid1 initials used by1 #bfb ,bade1 ,josse1 armorial initials in ,history of ,denmark printed by1 #he1 #bcj ---- ---- other initials of1 #bch ,bamberg1 initials from missal of ,johann ,pfeyl of1 #da1 #aeb sq4 ---- initials from ,missale ,olumucense of1 #da1 #aej sq4 ,bmler1 ,johann1 initials from works printed by1 #af1 #aag ,basle1 initials reproduced from books printed at1 #acd-ade ---- psalter of #aeja by ,furter1 initials from1 #cj1 #ace ,bebelius1 ,joannes1 initials of ,holbein in works published by1 #cc ,bebelius and ,cratander1 initials of ,holbein in works by1 #cf ,bellot1 ,jean1 initials from volumes printed by1 #ec ,benedictine missal printed at ,hagenau1 initials used in1 #ajd1 #bfd sqq4 ,bernard1 le ,petit1 initials attributed to1 #ha ,berthorius1 ,petrus1 initials from ,morale ,reductorium of1 #ha1 #bbb ,besanon1 printers of1 use same initials as ,furter of ,basle1 #ie ---- initials of1 #beb ,bible1 initials from ,g4 ,zainer's editions of1 #ae1 #bd1 #aac1 #aae1 #aah sq4 ---- ,latin1 of ,basle1 initials from1 #bi1 #acd ---- initial from ,ulm edition1 #adhj1 #abg ---- initial from a ,lyons1 #baa ---- ,german edition1 pictorial initials of the fifth1 #ag1 #aah sq4 ---- fourth edition by ,frisner and ,sensenschmidt1 #bf1 #abi sq4 ---- initials from ,nuremberg edition1 #abi sq4 ---- the ,bishops'1 initials in1 #ajh;c1 #bgi ,bibles1 ,augsburg and ,nuremberg1 compared1 #ag ,biblia cum ,summariis et ,concordantiis of ,jean ,moylin1 initials of1 #gh1 #bab sq4 ,biblia ,pauperum1 the block-book1 #d ,birckmann1 ,franc1 ,hagenau initials copied by1 #aje ,blanchard1 remarkable initials used in works by1 #gg1 #baj ,block-books1 initials from1 #aaj ,bocard1 ,andr1 initials in books printed by1 #hc1 #ajh;b ,book-hunting in time of ,aulus ,gellius1 #a ,book-plate forming part of early ,nuremberg impression1 #bg ,brandis1 ,lucas1 initials from ,rudimenta ,novitiorum and ,josephus of1 #ci1 #adf sq4 ,breidenbach1 ,bernard von1 initial from ,reuwich's edition of his ,peregrinationes1 #ge1 #aab ---- initials from ,ortuin's ,lyons edition1 #aih ,brescia1 initials from works printed at1 #ga1 #ahi ,bridget1 ,st41 ,meditationes1 initials used in ,lbeck edition of1 #adh sq4 ,brocart1 ,arn4 de1 initials used by1 #bei ,bumgart de ,ketwyck1 initials used by1 at ,cologne1 #afe ,burgofranco1 ,j4 ,p4 de1 initials in ,hyginus de ,stellis printed by1 #fg1 #ahh ,burgos1 initial used at1 #bef ,byzantium1 books of1 on purple parchment1 #b ,calcar1 ,j4 van1 initials of1 in ,anatomy of ,vesalius1 #cg1 #add sq4 ,calligraphic initials from ,paris title-pages1 #hc ,capcasa1 ,matteo1 initials from works published by1 #eh1 #agd sq4 ,cassiodorus1 initial from works of1 by ,steyner1 #ba ,castilla1 ,g41 initial used by1 at ,valencia1 #bec ,catalogus ,sanctorum of ,saccon1 #gf1 #bad sqq4 ,catholicon of ,j4 ,wolff1 selected initials from1 #gf1 #bjf sq4 ,caxton1 ,w41 initials used by1 #ajh;b1 #bgg ,cervicornus or ,hirtzhorn1 ,euch41 initials in works published by1 #eb1 #afh sq4 ,charlemagne invites ,irish and ,anglo-,saxon monks to his kingdom1 #b ,charles the ,bald welcomes foreign artists1 #b ,chauny1 ,jean de1 initials from works printed by1 #bea ,chevallon1 ,claude1 initial representing scenes from ,ars ,moriendi in work published by1 #hh1 #bch ,children1 initials with1 used by ,venice printers1 #fa ---- copied by printers of ,basle1 ,cologne1 and ,hagenau1 #fa ,cicero1 initials from ,german edition of1 by ,steyner1 #ba ,cocksperger1 ,peter1 and the ,mayence ,psalter initials1 #aj ,coimbra1 initials used by ,j4 ,alvira of1 #ih1 #bec ,cologne1 initial from ,donatus of1 #ea1 #afe ---- other initials used at1 #afe sq4 ,como1 initials of ,vitruvius printed at1 #fh1 #ahg ,compilacion de ,leyes1 initials from ,zamora edition1 #bee ,complutum 7,alcala de ,henares71 initial used in liturgical works printed by ,brocart at1 #ajj1 #bei ,cosmographia of ,ptolemy1 initials from1 #bd1 #abg ---- of ,sebastian ,munster1 account of ,psalter initials in the1 #i ,cranmer1 ,archbishop1 initial with his arms1 #ajh;c1 #bgi ,cromberger1 ,j41 initials used by1 #bef ,cross-hatching1 invention of1 #bj ,cunningham1 ,william1 initials in his ,cosmographical ,glasse1 #ajh;c1 #bgi ,curio1 ,valentin1 initials used by1 at ,basle1 #cf1 #adj sq4 ,dance of ,death alphabets used at ,basle1 #acg ---- ---- alphabet1 ,strasburg copies of1 #cc1 #ach ---- ---- alphabet in books published at ,stella1 #ih1 #beg ,dante1 praises ,french miniaturists1 #c ,day1 ,john1 initials used by1 #ajh;c1 #bgh sq4 ,delft1 initial used by ,jacob van der ,meer at1 #ajb1 #bfj ,deutscher ,kalender1 initials from1 #dd ,dinckmut1 ,conrad1 initial and border from ,donatus printed by1 #ab1 #aaa ,doctrinal de ,sapience1 initial from title-page of1 #ec1 #afc ,donatus1 ,aelius1 ,latin primer of1 #d ---- initial from edition of1 by ,quentell1 #ab ---- with ,psalter initials attributed to ,gutenberg 7#adef71 #i ---- initial from xylographic impression by ,dinckmut1 #ab1 #aaa ,drach1 ,peter1 initials in red from missal of ,spires printed by1 #ajc1 #bfc ,dresden1 initial used at1 #bgj ,dupr1 ,jean1 ornamental letters in the ,vies des ,anciens ,saincts ,pres of1 #hb ,drer1 ,albert1 makes innovation in engraving1 #bj ---- ---- ornamental letters attributed to1 #eb1 #afh sq4 ,elizabeth1 ,queen1 portrait-initial of1 #ajh;c1 #bhj ,english copies of initials by ,kerver1 #bda ,erasmus1 ,desiderius1 initial with portrait of1 #gh1 #baa ,esslingen1 initials in works printed at1 #df ,estienne1 ,h41 initials from work published by1 #hf1 #bcb ,etymologicum ,magnum of ,callierges1 coloured initials in the1 #aa ,eusebio di ,comento1 initials from ,salamanca edition of1 #if1 #bhh ,ex-libris1 initial forming1 from book printed at ,paris1 #hc ,fabio1 ,jacopo1 mythological letters in works published by1 #ha1 #bbe ,ferrara1 alphabet of initials from work of ,joh4 ,philippus ,bergomensis printed at1 #fi1 #aij ---- initials from ,missale ,carthusiense of1 #fi1 #aia sq4 ,fin1 ,oronce1 initial with portrait of1 #hg ,fool1 first engraving of a1 in a woodcut border1 #bc ---- first example of the1 in woodcut initials1 #ag ---- in church architecture and early book ornamentation1 #bc ,forestier1 ,jacques1 specimens of alphabets used in a ,commines printed by1 #ic1 #bdh ,formschneider1 opposition of1 to the use of woodcut initials1 #ae ,fossombrone1 initials in work published by ,ottaviano dei ,petrucci of1 #fg ,foxe1 ,john1 portrait-initial of ,queen ,elizabeth1 in his ,book of ,martyrs1 #ajh;c1 #bhj ,fradin1 ,franois1 children's alphabet used by1 #gh1 #baa ---- initials from the ,regimen ,sanitatis of ,magnini printed by1 #gg1 #bji ,frank1 ,hans1 initial signed by1 #ha ,friburgensis1 ,johann1 ,summa ,confessorum1 ,augsburg1 ,g4 ,zainer 7#adgf71 initials used in1 #ae1 #aaa ,frisner and ,sensenschmidt1 initials from fourth ,german ,bible by1 #bf1 #abi sqq4 ,froben1 ,johann1 initials of ,holbein in works by1 #cg ,froschouer1 ,johann1 initials in books printed at ,zurich by1 #ch1 #ade ,frter1 ,michael1 initials from books printed by1 #ca1 #ace ,fust1 ,johann1 association of1 with ,scheffer1 #f ,galen1 initials from ,basle edition of1 #aci1 #adb ,gelli1 ,ren1 initials in ,greek lexicon of1 #adb ,geneva1 large calligraphic initials from books printed at1 #ec1 #afc ---- other initials used at1 #afd ,gering1 ,ulrich4 ,see ,rembolt and ,gering4 ,ghotan1 ,bartholomew1 initials used by1 at ,lbeck1 #dj1 #adg sqq4 ,giunta1 ,lucantonio di1 initials from missals and breviaries printed by1 #ei1 #aga sqq41 #agf sqq4 ,gouda1 initials used by ,godfrid de ,os at1 #aja1 #ajh;b1 #bfj ,graf1 ,urs1 initials by1 #acf ,gregoriis1 ,g4 and ,j4 de1 initials from ,herodotus and other works printed by1 #ei1 #ahc sq4 ,grotesque1 the1 in book ornamentation1 #hg ---- profiles1 earliest example of1 #af ,grninger1 ,johann1 initials from works printed by1 #df-dg1 #dh1 #afj sq4 ,gutenberg1 ,johann1 invention of printing by1 #f ,gutenberg ,bible sold by ,scheffer as a manuscript1 #h ,gutnecht1 ,jodocus1 initials in ,missale ,pataviense of1 #bh1 #acb1 #acc ,gyffer1 ,hans1 of ,silgenstat1 initials from works published at ,salamanca by1 #if1 #bhh ,gymnicus1 ,j41 alphabets in works printed by1 #ec1 #afg ,hagenau1 initials of ,benedictine missal printed at1 #ajd1 #bfd sq4 ---- initials from ,plinius printed by ,thomas ,anselm at1 #ajd1 #bgc ,halle's ,chronicle1 initials in1 #ajh;c1 #bgi ,harentals1 ,petrus de1 initials used in an ,expositio ,psalterii by1 #bde ,heineken1 ,c4 ,h4 von1 attributes ,psalter initials to ,meydenbach1 #i ,henry ,,vii41 initial with his arms1 #bgi ,heraldic initials4 ,see ,initials1 ,armorial4 ,hochffeder1 ,gaspard1 initial from ,psalter of ,metz printed by1 #ajf1 #bgb ,hohenwang1 ,ludwig1 initials used by1 #aaf ,holbein1 ,ambrose1 initials by1 #add ---- ,hans1 alphabets of1 #cb1 #aci sqq4 ---- ---- children's alphabet by1 #ce1 #aci ---- ---- ,dance of ,death alphabet by1 #cb1 #acg ---- ---- initial of1 in books by ,valentine ,curio1 #cf ---- ---- mistakes in anatomy1 #cd ---- ---- peasants' alphabet by1 #ce ---- ---- the four ,greek initials from the ,galen of #aech1 #cf ,holl1 ,leonard1 initials in work printed by1 #bd1 #abg ,holtrop1 ,j4 ,w41 early ,dutch initials copied from works published by1 #aja ,hongre1 ,pierre1 initials from missal of1 #bjb sqq4 ,hopyl1 ,wolfgang1 initials used by1 #hf1 #bcb sq4 ,hostingue1 ,l41 and ,j4 ,loys1 initials from work published by1 #ia1 #bej ,hupfuff1 ,m41 initials in works printed by1 #de ,husz1 ,mathieu1 initials used by1 at ,lyons1 #aig1 #aii ,imagines of ,varro1 described by ,pliny1 #b ,ingoldstadt1 initials of ,m4 ,ostendorfer used at1 #ajg ,initials1 anthropomorphic1 of ,strasburg printers1 #de ---- armorial1 #he1 #ajh;c1 #bcj1 #bgi ---- coloured1 used by ,roman copyists1 #a ---- from the ,libro ,sotilissimo1 a typographical curiosity printed at ,stella1 #ii ---- large calligraphic1 on title-pages of books printed at ,lyons1 #ge1 #bjj ---- mythological1 #bbd sq4 ---- in minium or cinnabar of sixth century1 #b ---- of chequer work1 #c ---- resembling ,gallo-,frank jewellery1 #c ---- vagaries in use of1 #bd ,israel von ,mecken1 initials by1 #bg ,italy1 influence of ,french art in1 #c ,josephus1 initials from ,lbeck edition of1 #adf ,josse ,bade4 ,see ,bade4 ,kaisersperg1 ,geyler von1 initials in works of1 #df1 #di1 #afa sq4 ,keller1 ,ambrose1 initials from works printed by1 #af-ag1 #aae ,kerver1 ,thielmann1 initials by1 #bda ,knoblochtzer1 ,heinrich1 initials from works printed by1 #dc1 #aee sq4 ,knoblouch1 ,johann1 initials in works printed by1 #df1 #ahi1 #bgb ,lecoq1 ,jean1 alphabet from ,la ,vie de ,monseigneur ,st4 ,bernard by1 #ia1 #bdd ---- letters with grotesque profiles from different works printed by1 #ij1 #bdc ,leeu1 ,gerard1 initials used by1 #ajb1 #bfa ,leicester1 ,earl of1 initial with his arms1 #ajh;c1 #bgi ,lenoir1 ,philippe1 initials in works published by1 #hg1 #bcd1 #bcg1 #bda ,leo the ,isaurian burns the public library1 #b ,lerouges1 les1 initials from ,la ,thoison d',or printed by1 #ij1 #bdb ,leroy1 ,guillaume1 initials used by1 #gc1 #aie sq4 ,le ,signerre1 ,guillaume1 initials used by1 at ,saluzzo1 #ahi ,lettres parlantes in ,lyons impression1 #ha ---- tourneures fleuronnes used by ,leroy in #adgi1 #gc ,liber ,biblie ,moralis of ,j4 ,zainer1 initials in1 #bc ,lilius1 ,zacharias1 initials from the ,breviarium ,orbis of1 #ahb ,limoges1 initials from missal printed at1 #id1 #beb ,locatellus1 ,bonetus1 initials used in works printed by1 #fj1 #agd sq4 ,louvain1 historiated initial from fifteenth-century missal printed at1 #ajb1 #bfa ,lbeck1 initials from works published at1 #ci1 #adf sqq4 ,lufft of ,wittemberg1 initials used by1 #aje1 #bgj ,ltzelberger1 ,hans1 ,dance of ,death initials engraved by1 #acg ,lyons1 initials from books printed at1 #aid sqq4 ,lyons missals1 initials used in different1 #ge ---- copy of ,cologne initial1 #afi ,macabre initials used at ,cologne1 #agj ,maiblmchen or lily of the valley design in early books1 #e ,mainz4 ,see ,mayence4 ,margarita ,davitica1 initial of ,g4 ,zainer from1 #af1 #aad ,marriage licence1 pictorial initial from1 #ajh1 #bgf ,martens1 ,thierry1 initials used by1 #ajb1 #bfa ,mathieu ,husz and ,jean ,schabeler1 initials used in ,boccaccio of1 #gd ,mayence1 initial in ,erhardt ,reuwich's ,breidenbach1 #ac1 #aab ---- initial in ,scheffer's sop printed at1 #ac1 #aab ---- later ,scheffer initial1 #bgc ,mazochius1 ,jacobus1 portrait of ,ariosto in work published by1 #fe1 #ahe ,medici1 ,cosmo de1 initial with portrait of1 #fc1 #ahd ,meditations of ,st4 ,bridget1 initials from ,lbeck edition of1 #dj ,meer1 ,jacob van der1 initials used by1 at ,delft1 #bfj ,melusine1 initials from ,lyons edition of1 #aii ,milan1 initials from works printed at1 #gj1 #aib sq4 ---- initials from works printed by ,joannes de ,castellione at1 #gj ,miniatures in books of ,athens and ,rome1 #b ---- in medival manuscripts1 #b ,mirabilia ,romae1 historiated initial of the1 #ab1 #aab ,missale ,atrebatense1 initials from1 #bdf1 #bdg ---- ,bambergense1 initials from the edition by ,j4 ,pfeyl1 #aeb sq4 ---- ,benedictinum1 initials from ,hagenau edition of1 #bfd sqq4 ---- ,evangeliare of ,wittemberg1 initials from1 #aje1 #bgj ---- ,olumucense1 coloured initials of the1 #aa-da1 #aej sq4 ---- ,pataviense1 pictorial initials from1 #acb sq41 #bga ---- ,vallisumbrose1 large pictorial initials from1 #ei1 #agf sqq4 ,missals printed at ,lyons1 initials from1 #bja sqq41 #bje ---- printed at ,paris1 #bcb sqq4 ---- printed at ,rouen1 #bdg sq4 ,modernes1 ,jacques1 curious initial in work on ,military ,art printed by1 #ha1 #bbb ,monks1 ,irish and ,anglo-,saxon1 celebrated for miniatures and historiations1 #b ,montfaucon1 alphabet of animals of1 #c ,morin1 ,martin1 calligraphic initial from missal printed by1 #ib1 #bdf ---- ---- initials from other works published by1 #ib-ic1 #bdf sq4 ,morton1 ,archbishop1 initial with his rebus1 #ajh;c1 #bgg ,moylin1 ,jean1 initials from his ,latin ,bible1 #gh1 #bab sq4 ,mller1 ,johann1 or ,regiomontanus1 works by1 #be ,murr1 ,c4 ,g4 von1 and the artist of the ,psalter initials1 #aj ,nardi1 ,simeon1 initials from ,datus published by1 #fe1 #ahe sq4 ,naud1 ,gabriel1 accusation against ,scheffer1 #h ,normandie1 ,coustumier de1 curious initials from a1 #ib1 #bej ,novesianus1 ,melchior1 imitations of ,alphabet of ,death in works printed by1 #ec ---- ---- other initials used by1 #afg ,nuremberg1 curious work attributed variously to ,stuchs1 ,zeninger1 and ,wagner published at1 #bf1 #ed ---- initials from books printed at1 #abh sqq4 ,ornamentation of early books1 #a ,oronce ,fin4 ,see ,fin4 ,ortuin1 ,gaspard1 initial from ,breidenbach's ,peregrinationes1 #ge1 #aih ,os1 ,godfrid de1 initials used by1 #bfj ,otino da ,pavia de la ,luna1 initials in the ,vita di ,sancti ,padri of1 #fb1 #agi sq4 ,pachel1 ,leonard1 initials used by1 at ,milan1 #aic ,papillon1 ,j4 ,b4 ,m41 testimony of1 concerning the artist of the ,psalter initials1 #aj ,paris1 renowned for its manuscripts and copyists1 #c ---- initials used at1 #bbf sqq4 ,pavia1 initials used at1 #ahh ,peter1 ,st41 portrait initial of1 #bgf ,petrarch1 initials from ,german translation of his ,de remediis utriusque fortun1 by ,steyner1 #ba ,petri1 ,adam1 repetition of same initial in books printed by1 #ca ---- ---- pilgrim initial used by1 #acf ,petroine1 ,la vie et lgende de ,mme4 ,ste41 initials from1 #ie1 #beb ,pfister1 ,alb41 impressions of1 resembling block-books1 #aa ,pflantzmann1 ,j41 initials from books printed by1 #af1 #aaf ,philip le ,bel1 portrait initial of1 #bfb ,philosophers1 alphabets of1 #ha1 #bbc sq4 ,pius ,,ii41 ,pope1 portrait initial of1 #ahd ,playing-cards1 method of printing1 #d ,plenarium1 initials used in ,strasburg edition of1 #aeh ,pogge1 ,j4 ,f41 initials from edition of1 printed by ,knoblouch1 #df1 #aei ,poitiers1 initials from books printed at1 #id1 #bea ,polychrome initials in early books1 #aa ,ponte1 ,gotardus de1 initials from ,vitruvius printed by1 #ahg ,poullet1 ,j41 initials used by1 #bjd ,prestre ,jehan1 historiated initial from title-page of1 #gc1 #aie ---- ---- initials from ,paris edition of1 #bcg ,propritaire1 initials from ,rouen editions of1 #ib1 #bdi ---- letters from ,lyons edition of1 #gg1 #bjh ,prusz1 ,johann1 initials used by1 at ,strasburg1 #df1 #aeh ,psalter of ,mayence initials1 ,bodman hoaxes ,fischer concerning1 #h ---- initials from ,furter's ,basle edition of1 #ace ---- initials from edition by ,j4 ,prusz of ,strasburg1 #df1 #aed ---- initials said to have been used by ,gutenberg1 #h ---- opinions as to the initials of1 #g ,ptolemy1 initials from ,ulm edition of the ,cosmographia1 #bd1 #abg ,pynson1 ,richard1 initials from his ,sarum ,missal1 #ajh;b1 #bgg ,quadragesimale of ,gritsch1 pictorial border of the1 #bc ,quentell1 ,heinrich1 initials from volumes printed by1 #ec1 #afe sq4 ,ratdolt1 ,erhard1 initials from ,calendarium of ,j4 di ,monteregio 7,johannes ,regiomontanus7 by1 #eg1 #aga ---- ---- initials in ,brevarium ,constantiense of #aeaf by1 #ai1 #abc ---- ---- initials in breviary by1 #ah1 #aba sq4 ---- ---- initials in psalter of #adii by1 #ah-ai1 #abb ---- ---- ,latin couplet on1 #ai ,rationale ,durandi1 ornamented with some of the same initials as ,psalter of ,mayence1 #aa ,reger1 ,johann1 initials in works printed by1 #be1 #abh ,rembolt and ,gering1 initials from volumes printed by1 #hc-hd1 #bbh sqq4 ,reutlingen1 initials in works printed at1 #di1 #afb ,richard de ,bury praises libraries of ,paris1 #c ,richel1 ,bernard1 initials from ,latin ,bible of1 #bi ,rome1 initials used at1 #ahe ,rouen1 initials used at1 #aa1 #bde sqq4 ,royal letters designed by ,geoffroy ,tory for ,robert ,estienne1 #hi1 #bdj ,rudimenta ,novitiorum1 initials from ,lbeck edition of1 #adf sq4 ,saccon1 ,jacques1 initials in ,catalogus ,sanctorum of1 #gh1 #bad sqq4 ---- ---- different initials in works printed by1 #hj1 #bja1 #bje1 #bji1 #bbb ,salamanca1 initials used at1 #beh ,saluzzo1 initials in ,aureum ,opus of ,vivaldus printed by ,le ,signerre at1 #fh1 #ahi ,sarum missal1 initials from ,pynson's edition of1 #ajh;b1 #bgg ,saxo ,grammaticus1 armorial initials from ,history of ,denmark by1 #he1 #bcj ,schabeler1 ,hans1 initials used by1 at ,lyons1 #aig ,schufelein1 ,hans1 initials by1 #di ,scheffer1 ,peter1 association of1 with ,fust1 #f ---- ---- initials used by1 #ajg1 #aab1 #bgc ,schiedam1 initial used by unknown printer of1 #ajb1 #bfa ,schlestadt1 initials of ,pilgrim1 from book printed by ,lazarus ,schurer at1 #ajf ,scinzenzeller1 ,ulr41 initials used by1 #aib ,schnsperger1 ,johann1 initials from works printed by1 #af1 #aaf ,schott1 initials in works printed by1 #de1 #aeg ,sessa1 different initials met with in impressions by1 #ei1 #aha ---- initials from ,aristotle printed by1 #fb1 #agh ,seville1 initials from books printed by ,jacob ,cromberger at1 #ih ---- initials from book printed by ,juan de ,varila at1 #ih1 #bec ,sienna1 initials in books published at1 #fe-ff1 #ahe ,silber1 ,eucharius1 ornamental letter from book published1 #fe1 #ahe ,sorg1 ,anton1 historiated initials from ,das ,buch das heisset der ,seusse of ,suso1 #ah1 #abj ---- ---- initials from works printed by1 #af-ag1 #aae1 #abj ,spanish initials1 #bec sqq4 ,speculum ,human ,salvationis1 a transition from xylography to printing1 #d ,spires1 initials used at1 #bfc ,stamps used for applying initials by early copyists1 #d ,statuta ,synodalia1 alphabet used in the ,troyes edition of1 #gc1 #bdc ,stella1 copies of the ,alphabet of ,death used by ,adrian ,anverez at1 #ii1 #beg ,steyner1 ,heinrich1 initials in works published by1 #bj1 #abd sq4 ,strasburg1 initials used at1 #aed sqq4 ,summa ,confessorum1 initials of the1 #ae-af1 #aac ,suso1 ,henricus1 initials from ,das ,buch das heisset der ,seusse1 #abj ,sweynheim and ,pannartz1 initial from the ,suetonius of1 #fe1 #ahe ,theoricae ,novae1 initial from1 #be ,tibullus quoted1 #a ,topie1 ,michel1 initial from ,mer des ,hystoires of1 #ge1 #aih ,tory1 ,geoffroy1 initials from missal attributed to1 #hh1 #bce sq4 ---- ---- royal letters attributed to1 #bdj ,toulouse1 initial used at1 #beb ,trepperel1 ,jean1 grotesque initials in books published by1 #hc1 #bbg ,trepperel1 initials from ,jardin de ,sant of1 #hf1 #bca ,tridino1 ,tacuinus de1 initials in works published by1 #fj1 #agd ,troyes1 initials used at1 #bdb sqq4 ,ulm1 initial with border from ,donatus printed at1 #ab1 #aaa ---- initials from other works printed at1 #abf sqq4 ,valerius ,maximus of ,sorg1 initials from1 #ag ,varila1 ,juan de1 initial used by1 #bec ,vascosan1 ,michael1 initials by1 #bci ,venice1 initials from works published at1 #ee1 #aga sqq4 ,vrard1 ,antoine1 calligraphic initial from the ,jardin de ,sant of1 #hb1 #bbf ,verona1 ornamental letter from book printed at1 #gj1 #ahi ,vesalius1 initials of ,van ,calcar in ,anatomy of1 #cg1 #add sq4 ,vicenza1 example of typographic eccentricities in work printed at1 #ga1 #ahi ,vienna1 initials from ,missale ,pataviense printed by ,j4 ,winterberger of1 #ajf1 #bga ,virgil1 the ,vatican copy described by ,m4 ,pierre de ,nolhac1 #b ,vita di ,sancti ,padri1 initials from the1 of ,otino da ,pavia de la ,luna1 #fb1 #agi sq4 ,vitali1 ,bernardino1 alphabet by1 used in publications by ,sessa1 #fj ,vitruvius1 initials from ,como edition of1 #ahg ,walther1 ,h41 initials from ,madgeburg ,bible printed by1 #ajg1 #bgc ,weiditz1 ,hans1 initials attributed to1 by ,dr4 ,h4 ,rttinger1 #bj1 #eb1 #abd sq4 ,winterberger1 of ,vienna1 initials used by1 #bga ,wittemberg1 apocalyptic initials from the ,missale ,evangeliare printed at1 #aje1 #bgj ,wohlgemuth1 ,m41 his new technical methods1 #bj ,worde1 ,wynkyn de1 initial used by1 #bgg ,worms1 ,anton von1 children's alphabets designed by1 #ec ,zainer1 ,gnther1 first used woodcut initials at ,augsburg1 #ae ---- ---- examples of his letters1 #aac sq41 #aah sq4 ---- ,johann1 of ,ulm1 initials in ,boccaccio of1 #bb1 #abf ,zamora1 initials from ,compilacion de ,leyes printed at1 #if1 #bee ,zarotus1 ,antonius1 initials used by1 at ,milan1 #aic ,zodiac1 initials representing the signs of the1 #hg ,zurich1 initials in books published by ,froschouer of1 #ch1 #ade ,,finis ,illustration3 ,,edinburgh3 ,t4 ,,and ,a4 ,,constable ,,printers ,,to ,,his ,,majesty3 ,,mcmviii ,transcriber's ,notes ,the spelling1 capitalisation and hyphenation of the source document have been retained 7including those of proper names and book titles71 except as listed under ,changes made below4 ,depending on the hard- and software used to read this text1 not all elements may display as intended4 ,the book appears to contain several contradictions between the descriptions given and the illustrations4 ,these have been retained as printed in the source document without further correction or comment4 ,page #fa1 8,at ,turin 444 we find that the ,l with the satyr103 as printed in the source document2 the sentence appears to be incomplete1 or 8we find that the ,l 4440 might have to be corrected to 8we find the ,l44404 ,page #bch1 8,original size0 and 8,enlargement03 ,based on a quarto book size of around #bi cm1 the 8,original size0 would be around #d4a #d4a cm 7#a4f #a4f74 ,changes made ,some obvious minor typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected silently4 ,footnotes have been moved to under text paragraphs4 ,page #ci3 8,,lubeck0 changed to 8,l,,beck04 ,page #ib3 8,psalterum of ,harentals0 changed to 8,psalterium of ,harentals04 ,page #ii3 87,b ,abraham70 changed to 8,b 7,abraham704 ,page #acg3 8,,lutzelberger0 changed to 8,l,,tzelberger04 ,page #adb3 captions 8,,from ,,the ,,greek ,,lexicon ,,of ,,ren ,,gelli0 and 8,,from ,,the #8,,galen' ,,of ,,bebelius ,,and ,,cratander0 interchanged4 ,page #beb3 8,,bezan,,on0 changed to 8,,besan,,on04 ,page #bhb3 8,zamara0 changed to 8,zamora04 ,page #bhd3 8,leo the ,isaurian burns the public0 changed to 8,leo the ,isaurian burns the public library04 ,index3 some page numbers corrected or inserted to conform to the text4