Ornamental Initials

A sourcebook of initials and ornamental letters reproduces designs from the eighth century to the present.

This immediately usable archive of decorative initials contains over 800 different, ornately rendered designs. Assembled by veteran typographer Dan X. Solo, the letters display an astonishing diversity and inventiveness. There are over 40 different versions of the letter "A," for example: bordered by cherubs, in a tableau with a dog and a rabbit, amid frolicking satyrs, set against stylized abstract backgrounds, framing a woman's face, laced with flowers and vines, and in many other clever and attractive representations. The other letters of the alphabet enjoy similar treatment. A wonderfully effective way to draw attention to ads, announcements, bulletins — almost any message — this superb treasury will be welcomed by anyone looking for ways to add pictorial pizzazz to the printed word.

Over 800 ornate copyright-free letters of the alphabet display astonishing diversity and inventiveness. Disk contains all items in book.

Gathers hundreds of art nouveau-style alphabets and discusses the development of these typefaces

This catalogue assembles, for the first time since the sixteenth century, the entire collection of decorative initial letters that Christopher Plantin acquired to embellish his magnificent books. Fifty-eight different series of initials are reproduced here in their original size, and many are also shown in facsimile pages of Plantinian Books. -- vendor description.

First published in 1908, Jennings collates an extensive compendium of thirteen hundred reproductions of ornamental letters dating from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

This exquisite collection of usable, unusual, royalty-free lettering includes 1,685 bizarre and ornamental letters, including 50 full alphabets in a variety of motifs, including 11th centuy Anglo-Celtic, military, silhouettes, mathematics, and many more.

Ornate, bold, fanciful, lavish! From Gothic characters and florid fonts to simple, elegant designs, this magnificent collection — meticulously reproduced from a rare 19th-century portfolio — offers graphic designers a dazzling choice of ornamental alphabets in color and black-and-white. Many feature both upper and lower cases.

145 full-page plates present the best typographical design from the 15th through the 20th centuries, including 60 handsome alphabets, many examples of decorative initials and a dazzling assortment of headings, scrolls and flourishes, rules and panels, ornaments, ribbons, cartouches, borders and more.