Typography has always fascinated me, and I especially love decorated initial letters that you find in old manuscripts. I love to imagine the old scribes enjoying themselves making tiny little inserts of animals, usually doing something extraordinary!
This is from Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, MS 229, detail of f. 133v. Arthurian Romances [1) Le livre de Lancelot du Lac, part III. Don't you just hate it when someone chews your ear when you are reading!
This one and the following are from a very old family Bible from my husband's family. Every single capital letter at the beginning of each chapter is decorated. There are illustrations on nearly every page, and it is a fascinating picture of how the Victorians viewed Biblical events.
In case you are wondering, this is a capital 'W'. The pages are old and discoloured, and these shots are really the best I could do!
2 comments:
These are so ornate. The Bible must be a treasured family possession.
Those are beautiful, Gilly.
Beinecke is quite the museum!
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