Books in the Lettering, Calligraphy, Typography series

The noted Victorian-era designer Karl Klimsch excelled in the use of clean lines, shading, and three-dimensional effects in rendering the elements of decorative alphabets. His exceptional skills are notably evident in this comprehensive compilation of more than 2,000 elegant two-letter monograms, originally published in a German edition in 1869. Imagination, ingenuity, and a disciplined freedom distinguish these inventive initials, ideal for use on scrolls, certificates, awards, and other printed announcements in need of calligraphic excitement. The handsome Victorian-styled monograms are easily reproduced and copyright free, ready for immediate use in art, needlework, crafts, and other decorative projects.

Famous treasury of English roundhand calligraphy of 1740. Alphabets, decorated pages, scrolls, frames, cupids, similar material.

Ninety-one complete alphabets -- medieval to modern -- include 3,924 decorative initials, including Victorian novelty and Art Nouveau. These alphabets were obtained from rare, out-of-print books, generally available only in libraries or in the rare-book market. They were reproduced directly from the pages of a large and expensive collection that was made specifically for the production of this volume. Since they are direct reproductions, they will all reproduce again excellently.The book has been carefully arranged and annotated so that the students of letters and types may have a complete understanding of decorative alphabets and initials. The work is divided into three parts. Part One deals entirely with manuscript initials as they were used from the 8th to the 15th century. It includes Celtic initials, rare designs from the Bible of Charles the Bald, and incised letters from the monument of Richard II in Westminster Abbey. Part Two contains initials from printed books, starting with the 15th century and running through the 18th. Here are the fanciful creations of the 16th-century woodcutters: initials illustrated with children, cherubs, birds, beasts, flowers, legends, and grotesque heads. The works of the later engravers, writing, masters, and baroque and rococo designers follows in order. Part Three attempts to arrange the great weeds jungle of Victorian letters and types and concludes with the 20th-century alphabets such as the distinctive wood engravings of Edward Wadsworth. Each section has an historical introduction and each plate has a descriptive caption.