Full text of "Alphabets old and new, for the use of craftsmen : with an introductory essay on Art in the alphabet"

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ALPHABETS OLD cS- NEW

I'KX I- HOOKS OF ORNAMKM Al DKSIGN

ALrilAIJKTS OLD & NEW

CONTAINING OVER ONE HUNDRED AND EIFTV
COMPLETE ALTIIABETS, THIRTV SERIES OF NT-
MERALS, AND NUMEROUS FACSIMILES OF ANCI-
ENT DATES, ETC., FOR THE USE OF CRAFTS-
MEN, WITH AX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON
"ART IN THE ALrHAP.ET."

r,V

L I-: W" I S l-. DAY.

AtlTHOROF "EVERY-HAY ART,' "NA-
TURE IN ORNAMENT," AND OTHER
TEXT-HOOKS OF ORNAMENTAL PESION.

LONDON :
B. T. P.ATSl'OR]). ()4 1 1 Kill IIOLHORN

189S

^/^^

LONDON :

PRINTED BV WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,

STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

PRHFAC I-:.

This is a book »)f Alphabets; but of alphabets
selected with a purpose — that, namely, of, in the
first place, showing the development of letter-
forms, and the sha{>c they took at ditTerent periods;
and. in the second, of su^gestin^ the endless varia-
tions which may yet be played upon shapes more
or less fixed for us by custom.

The ancient lettering illustrated in these p.i^cs
has been taken, as far as might be, from original
sources, and drawn with every care to keep the spirit
of the original. I have not scrupled, however,
to supply the letters missing in old manuscripts
or inscriptions. For. presumptuous as this may
appear to the scholar, he is not likely to be per-
plexed by it, knowing well the letters which would
not occur in the original script ; on the other hand,
the practical workman, to whom this volume is
addressed, will be thankful perhaps for alphabets
as complete as possible. No pretension is made
to t ' raphic learning ; and, even on the jK>int
of uvbiLTii, It should be understood that I do not

vi Art in the Alphabet.

presume to lay down the law, but am only ex-
pressing personal opinions, which the reader must
take for what they are worth to him.

The old examples have been in great part
chosen, and many of the modern ones designed,
with the purpose of showing the influence of the
implement employed by the workman, and of the
material in which he worked, upon the character
of his lettering — a point upon which sufficient
stress has not hitherto been laid by compilers of
alphabet-books.

Sixteen pages are devoted to the illustration
of Numerals, old and new. These do not, for
obvious reasons, exactly correspond with any given
Alphabets ; but, by comparing letters with figures,
observing of course the dates of each, it should not
be difficult to determine which numerals would
best go with a particular alphabet.

The present volume deals with the Alphabet,
that is to say, with the forms of letters. The con-
sideration of the use of Lettering in Ornament is
a question apart, and is reserved for a separate
and quite independent book, which has long been
in hand.

LEWIS F. DAY.

13 Mecklenburgh Square, London :
Aligns/, 1898.

XOTE.

Tfianks are due to Mr. George Clulo^o for the use
of his 7'aluable collection of old Writing Books, etc.; to
Messrs. Matt he-c Bell, W. J. Pearce, J. Vinycomh, Brindley
^^ Weather lev, Marats Ward Sr* Co., F. Basserutann, and
I'thers, 7i'ho have kindly permitted the reproduction here of
alphabets drawn or copyrighted by them ; and to the artists
-•'/'' have designed alphabets especially for this book.

DKSCRIPTIVI- LIST OF 1 1 I A'STRATIONS.

1. c.REKK Ai.i'HAiiKT— From an MS. --characteristic of the pen.

Comjxire the B with 32 and 34, and observe the likeness
of the n t«> W. 9th century.

2. COPTIC MS.— loth centur)- or earlier. \

3. COPTIC .MS.— I2th century. [ Compare with (ireek.

4. COPTIC MS.— 14th century. )

5. MOK.si.w MS. — Characteristically pcnwork. 4lh century.

6. ROMAN MS. — Penwork. A has no cross-stroke. Upstroko

tliick and thin. Compare 30. 4th century.

7. MS. — Penwork. Round D and M. G has a tail. 7th century.

8. ROMAN UNCIALS— Penwork. Sth century.

9. "RCSTlc" ROMAN— Penwork. A has no cross-stroke. F and

L rise above line. K, I, T not easy to read. 5th century.

!.-> ROMAN CA P I TAL.S— Penwork. R has thin upstroke. 0th
century.

II. RO.MAN lAPiTAi^ — Penwork. Compare square O with 17, 18,
36. Note "dilation" of strokes. 6th century.

i.:. UY/ANTINE CAPITALS— 7th century.

13. F.NOLisH INSCRIPTION- From a monument to the sister of

Willi.im the Conqueror. 1085.

14. FRANCO-GALLIC CAPITALS— Heading of an MS. Penwork,

of which the curly quirks are indicative. 7th century.

15. visir.ormc ms. — Moresque influence perceptible. Note long

and short letters, loth century.

X Descriptive List of Illustrations.

16. SAXON ILLUMINATION (Caroline)— Qth century.

17. ANGLO-SAXON engraved forms.

18. ANGLO-SAXON pen-forms — 9th century.

19. LOMBARD— From the Baptistery at Florence, incised in marble

and inlaid with cement. Compare 41, 85, 86. 1 2th century.

20. ITALIAN MS.— Compare with 74. Beginning of 13th century.

21. LOMBARD WRITING of about 1250. Freely rendered.

22. CAPITALS— 15th century.

23. GERMAN GOTHIC minuscule or black letter— Rounded form.

15th or 1 6th century.

24. GERMAN GOTHIC minuscule or black letter— Squarer form.

15th or l6th century.

25. BLACK LETTER— Squarer form. 15th or i6th century.

26. ROMAN CAPITALS cut in stone— Wetzlar. About 1700.

27. MINUSCULE ITALICS— i6th century.

28. GREEK— From an Athenian stele. Marble. Cut in with a

chisel. Characteristically rightdined. Certain strokes fall
short of the full length. The two sides of the stroke not
always parallel, but inclining occasionally to wedge-shape.
The top stroke of T is not stopped by cross-cut, but runs
out. 394 B.C.

29. GREEK INITIALS— From a book printed at Basel. Wood

engraving. The serif fully developed. 16th century.

30. ROMAN— From fragments in the British Museum. Cut in

stone. In E, F, L, P, R, T strokes run out. Note variety
in rendering the same letter. 2nd and 3rd centuries.

31. ENGLISH, IRISH, OR ANGLO-SAXON — From illuminated MSS.

Curves inclined to take a spiral direction. Considerable
freedom of penmanship. Various forms of the same letter.
Note long tails and unequal length of letters. 6th century.

32. FROM A CODEX in Latin— Written between ruled marginal

lines. Considerable variety in the form of the same letter.
Note the square C and G, and the deep waist of the B and
R, which compare with alphabet i. 7th or 8th century.

Descnptti't' Lht of Illustrations. xi

JJ. s.WuN ANU ANiW.O-SAXUN MSS. — The outline pfliiKM iii.l
•illcil 111 with various lints. The >cribc has not made up
his miiul as to any lo(;ical use of thick and thin iitrokes.
Note square C and S, and looser T and U. 7th, 8ih.
yth centuries.

j4 i:allican CAPITALS — MSS. Compare B and k with alphabets
I and 32. Sth century.

35. IK ISM — From the Book of Kclls. Illuminated. Note square

form> of certain letter— the curious I)-shapcd O and the
jjeneral thickening of the uprijjlit strokes at the starting-
point. Various forms of same letter. Sth century.

36. ANGLO-sAXo.N — Various .M.*^.S. Forms sometimes rigidly

square, sometiiues fantastically flowing. .Strokes developing
occasionally into spirals, or into interlacing, which ends
|)crhaps in a grotesque heail. b'th and 9th centuries.

37. IRISH MiS. — Fantastically flowing initials. 9th century.

38. MS. LETTERS— More nearly resembling the orthodox Roman

character, with exception of D, F, CI, I', U, in which
(jothic char.icteri>tics begin to appear, and jjcrhaps a hint
of future ininu-cule forms, lotli century.

39. FRENCH MS. — Initials in colours. More Gothic than Roman,

flourishing into tails of foliation. 12th century.

40. utRMAN MS. — Initials. Distinctly penwork. Departing again

widely from the square Roman form. 12th centur}-.

41. kkf.nl H— From the doors of the cathedral at Lc Puy. \Vo<kI,

simply grounded out. .Several vaiicties of letter. The
curved lines characteristically cusped. Probably I2th century.
Compare with 19.

\z. MS. LKTIEKS— Typically Gothic capitals. "Closed" letters.
SjKjrtive finishing strokes. 14th century.

43. PEN WORK — Severe and straight beginning of a type which

eventually becomes excessively flowing and florid. 1420.

44. ITALIAN CAriTAl.s — Drawn by J. Vinycomb. 14th century.

45. INCISED GOTHIC CAPITALS — From Italy, Spain, and south of

France. .About 1350.

xii Descriptive List of Illustrations.

46 and 47. GOTHIC INSCRIPTIONS — From Nordhausen. Cut in
brass. I395-I397-

48. ENGLISH INITIALS — From MS. in the British Museum. On a

background of delicate ornament penned in red. About 1400.

49. GOTHIC MINUSCULE — From the Church of St. Francesco at

Prato. Simple forms incised in marble and filled in with
cement. About 1410.

50. ENGLISH — Gothic inscriptions. Stone. From monument of

Richard II. in Westminster Abbey, and others of same
date. About 1400.

51. GERMAN MSS. — Gothic initials. 15th century.

52. GERMAN MSS. — Gothic initials. The thickening of the curved

strokes is characteristic. The swelling is not gradual, but
sudden. This occurs in other German MSS. of the same
period. 1475.

53. GERMAN — From an inscription on a monument to Greoricus

de Lewenstein in the cathedral at Bamberg. Cut in brass.
Something of a compromise between majuscule and minu-
scule lettering. 1464.

54. MS. INITIALS — The terminations again rather frisky. But

letters of this kind (compare also 42, etc.) being usually in
colour, most often red, their tails etc. do not cause the
confusion in the ranks of writing which they would do if they
were in black. About 1475.

55. FRENCH — From an inscription on a picture-frame in the

Louvre. The slight but characteristic curling and twisting
of the points of serifs comes of the use of the brush. Note
the recurrence of the square C, more characteristic of an
earlier period. 1480.

56. FROM AN INSCRIPTION on a brass to Duke Albert of Saxony,

Meissen. Something of a compromise between Roman and
Gothic types. 1500.

57. FLEMISH MINUSCULE — From a memorial tablet at S. Jacques,

Bruges. Cut in stone. There is a suggestion of turning
over and interlacing the strokes of the letters, which was
very usual in engraving of the period, whether on brass or
stone. 16th century.

Dfscnptiiu- List of lUu^lrahons. xiii

5S Ami 59. GOTHIC MINUSCULE— Frt.m monumental ljra»»rt.
Severe and simple forms. Knd of 15th century.

tw. (iKRMAS I.NITIAI^ — From a IxH.k published at Aun»l)urt; '.y
Joh. Uoccatius. The mitlinr |irintcd, the colours fillc*' in
by hand. .An example of the cciumon practice of clothing
letters in foliage, or even making; foliage or grotc><|ue animal
fornjs take the form of lettering, more or Ic^s. 1473.

61. i;oniic CAnTAi.s—i6tIi century.

62. INITIALS — Framed in delicate ornanunt, pcnm-d in red. i6lh

century.

03. ITALIAN — (iothic initial:*. From a c :rale at Monte Ca»ino.
Framed in |>cn\vork in colour. l6th century.

64. tiAl.lA.v INITIALS — Broail pcnwork of late (Iothic character,

neither so rigid nor so florid as the typical German wri'ing of
the period. 15th and l6th centuries.

65. t.OTHiC CAriTALS— By .Mhrecht Diirer. IVnwork. (Compare

with 67 and with 66, opposite.) Early l6th century.

66. ITALIAN i;oTllic CAl'iiALS— After Ludovico Curione. I'en-

work. (Compare with German, opiK>sitc.) 16th century.

67. GKRMAN MINUSCULK— Albrecht Diirer. (Com|^>are with Italian,

op|X)site.) Early l6th century.

68. ITALIAN MIM>CLLE — By Vicentino. From the original

Writing Bixjk. The j)enmanship is florid, but not quite in
the way of German flourish. (Compare with German,
opposite.) 16th century.

69. ITALIAN <;oriilc ( AlMTALs — After Vopasiano. Penmanship.

l6th century.

70. ITALIAN MINUSCULK— From the original Wiiting Book, by

Ludovico Vicentino. A g<x>d specimen of the so-caIlc<l
"ribbon letter." When once the carver or engraver began
to consider the broad strokes of his "black letter " as straps,
and to suggest by ever so slight a cut that they were turned
over at the ends (compare 57), it was inevitable that he
should arrive eventually at thi> kind of thing. Florid indeed,
but fanciful. Any form of letter might be so treated, but
the treatment is |>eculiarly suited to the black-letter form.
l6th century.

xiv Descriptive List of lUtistratioiis.

71. ITALIAN MINUSCULE — From the original Writing Book by

Vespasiano. These letters are exceedingly well shaped .
Observe the second variety of the letter r. i6th century.

72. ITALIAN GOTHIC MINUSCULE— From the original Writing

Book by Palatine, Straight-lined, with elaborately flourish-
ing extremities. It suggests the engraver. 1566.

73. ITALIAN CAPITALS — From the original Writing Book by Lud.

Vicentino. The outline of the letters deviates into inter-
lacings. But the knotting occupies approximately the natural
thickness of the letter ; and, though the outline is thus broken,
the form of the letter is sufficiently preserved. This splitting
of the letter, as it were, into ribbons in its thickest parts was
not uncommon in 16th-century initials. It is obvious that
any form of letter might be elaborated after this fashion.
i6th century.

74. ITALIAN INITIALS — From the original Writing Book by G. F.

Cresci, This is a fanciful and rather elegant elaboration
of forms common in Gothic writing. The familiar outline
is, as it were, ornamentally fretted. (Comp. with 20.) 1570-

75. ITALIAN GOTHIC CAPITALS — From the original Writing Book

by G. F. Cresci. Apparently to some extent influenced by
the Roman character. 1570.

76. ITALIAN MINUSCULE — From the original Writing Book by G.

F. Cresci. Roman in character. 1570.

77. SPANISH GOTHIC CAPITALS — From the Writing Book by Juan

Yciar, The forms of the K and Y are unusual. i6th
century.

78. GOTHIC INITIALS— Woodcut. Used with printed type. End

of l6ih century.

79. GERMAN CAPITALS — By Daniel Hopfer. Renaissance .or

"Roman" in character, but not without traces of lingering
Gothic influence. 1549.

80. TYPICALLY ITALIAN RENAISSANCE— " Roman " capitals, by

Serlio. i6th century.

81. GERMAN — From inscriptions at Bingen and other towns. Cut

in stone, showing some licence on the part of the mason.
1576, 1598, 1618.

Dt'scnfttivc List of Illuslyations. \\

S2. I TALK s— The .»lopii)(; form came, nf ojursc, from the um: of
the jH-n, but it was larj;cly adoplctl by the mavmi of the
lyih ami iSth ctnturics, who co|>iciI even the most elaborate
llourisho "f ill'- writini; in.isitr. (( ninp.ui- S^l i7lh
ccntuiy.

^3. ENGLlsit ITALIC WRITING — From inscriptions on monuments
in Wi-stminstcr .\bl)cy. Sionc-cuttini; in imitation of
I>cnwork, not characteristic of ihc chisel. 1665.

54. KNULISH RUMAN I ETTERlNi; — From engraved stone slabs at

Chip|)cnham and elsewhere. 1697.

85. (-.EKMAN CATITALS— From the Germanischcs Museum, Nurcm-

iK-rg. I'aintcd on the wooden drug-drawers of an old
a|>othecar)'> shop. Hiushwork. Ol)servc the bulging of the
curbed strokes. (Compare with 86 and 19.)

86. r.ERMAN CAPITALS— Hy J. II. Ticmroth, of Arnstadt. Pen-

work. From the titles of a series of w.itcrcolour paintings
of Uitanical sjHicimens. Observe the swelling of llie curved
strokes, and compare with 85 .nnd 19. Here and there a
letter shows an inclination to fall into Italics. 1738-48.

'i>-. r.KRMAN MiMscut.K Roman letters — From Hamlxrrg, en-
graved on bra.ss, the background cut away. Observe the
spur on the edge of the long strokes, designed to accentuate
the parallelism of the line of lettering. 161 3.

55. c.bRMAN LEI IKRING— F'rom inscriptions at 0>nabriick. Halting

l)etween i\i.iiii^ ulf and inimi>cule forms. Incisetl in stone.
1742-56.

89. GERMAN MINUSCULE — From a monument at NVurzburg cathc-

draJ. Incised in slate. 1617.

90. GERMAN— From a monument at NViirzburg. Incised in slate.

Occasional capitnl letters are mixed wy with the minuscule.
1784.

91. ROMAN cAl'lTALs -From the lace-book of Cjuis.inni O^taus,

adapted to working on a s«iuare mesh. Characteristic of
the mclhotl of execution, and not of any pcricKl. (Compare
142) 1590.

92. ITALIAN CAi'lTALi— A survival of (jothic forms, not cha-

racteristic of the period. 17th century.

xvi Descriptive List of Illustrations.

93. FRENCH — Of the period of Louis XV., by Laurent. This is a

case in which Rococo scrollwork and flowers are compelled
to take the form of lettering, more or less — in this case the
form of current writing. i8th century.

94. FRENCH — A more reticent example of the period of Louis

XV., by E. Guichard, in which it would, perhaps, be more
accurate to say that the shape of the letter is broken up
into ornament. i8th century.

95. ENGLISH COURT HAND — From Andrew Wright's "Court

Hand Restored," a book designed to assist the student in .
deciphering old deeds, etc. This book was published in
1815; but the character is at least as early as the 14th
century, and may have been in use a century or more
before that.

96. HEBREW ALPHABET.

97. HEBREW ALPHABET — Ornamental version. From Sylvestre's

" Faleographie." Almost identical with an Itahan version
of the i6th century.

98. ENGLISH — Roman capitals and numerals, by William Caslon.

Printed type, "old face." 1 8th century.

99. ENGLISH — Roman lower case, and italic upper and lower case,

by W^ Caslon. Printed type, "old face." i8th century.

100. MODERN ROMAN, MAJUSCULE AND MINUSCULE, of French

type, elegantly shaped and spurred. Drawn by J. Viny-
comb.
loi. MODERN ROMAN CAPITALS of French type, elongated. This
one instance is enough to illustrate the way in which
variations are made upon any given type by elongating or
compressing the letter. Such elongation or compression
is seldom an improvement upon the normal proportion ;
' it is a too convenient way of adapting an inscription to
the space it has to occupy.

102. MODERN ROMAN, MAJUSCULE AND MINUSCULE, SanS Serif.

These thin letters, all of one thickness, are sometimes
described as "skeleton."

103. MODERN ROMAN CAPITALS— A version of the French type

(100). L. F. D.

Descriptive List of Illustrations. xvii

104. .MODERN ROMAN ITALICS, inajusculc ADcl minusculc, in mHaI

prinlcrN call " revival old slylc."

105. MODKRN ROMAN I TAl.lf capitaN, witli something of a cutTUVc

character. L. F. D.

106. MOi>r.KN MAjtrsil'UK ANi> MiNt/scuI.E lettering anil nume-

rals, with more curvature in the strokes than in the typical
Roman character. J. W. Wcckes.

107. MODKRN ROMAN lAl'iTAi.s, not fjuitc of the u>ual character

anil pro|)ortion. (Compare So.) L. F. I).

loi>. MODKRN ROMAN CAriTAl.s AND NUMEKAl.-. — .Suggestive rather
of the chisel than of the pen. J. Cromar Watt, architect.

109. MODERN ROMAN CAilTAl.s AND LOWER CASE— Rather further

rcmovctl from orlhovloxy than the last. J. \N'. Wcckes,

1 10. MODERN r.KRMAN version of Roman cajiitais. • )lto IIupp.

From " .Mphabctc uml Ornamcnlc.''

111. MODERN ROMAN " HLOCK," Or sans serif, majuscule and

minuscule, miscalled " Fgyptian." I. W. Weckcs.

112. MODERN VARIATION UI'ON ROMAN CAriTALS- Blunt bru>h-

work. L. F. n.

113. MODERN CAPITALS— Twistctl, blunt l)rush\vork. Could easily

be worked in *' couched "' cord. L. F. IJ.

114. MOi>KRN "iilock" CAPITALS— Baseil chiefly on Roman.

W.J. I'earce. From " Painting and Decorating.'

115. MODERN CAriTAl.s — Inspired by Gothic. W.J. Pcarce.

1 16. MODERN GKRMAN BLACK LETTER, majusculc and minuscule—

By Otto Hupp. From " Alphabclc und Ornamcnte."

117. MODERN GERMAN GOTHIC capitals. Otto IIupp. From

"Alphabclc und OrDamente."
iiS. MODERN VARIATION OF MINUSCULE GOTHIC— Intentionally
rather fant.istic, but n- "y departing so far from

familiar forms as to l>e ul.

110. MODERN GOTHIC CAPITALS — Again meant to be fanciful, but
not to do any great violence to accepted form. An alpha-
bet in which there is the least approach to design is always
in danger of lieing ci>"-!'l'rc.1 illegible. Legibility is fur the

xviii Descriptive List of Illustrations.

most part the paramount consideration ; but there are cases,
however rare, in which it is permitted even to hide the
meaning so long as it is there, for those whom it may
concern.

120. MODERN CAPITALS AND NUMERALS — Patten Wilson.

121. MODERN CAPITALS— More or less playful variations upon

familiar forms of lettering. L. F. D.

122. MODERN CAPITALS derived from Gothic, yet more playfully

treated than 121. L. F. D.

123. MODERN CAPITALS— Rather Gothic than Roman, which break

out (as was common in old work) into foliation which forms
a sort of background to the letter. L. F. D., designed for
Mr. Matthew Bell.

124. MODERN GERMAN MINUSCULE — Fancifully treated. After

Franz Stuck, compiled from various designs by him, in
" Karten und Vignetten."

125. MODERN CAPITALS AND MINUSCULE drawn Straight off with

the pen. L. F. D.

126. MODERN VERSION OF EARLY GOTHIC CAPITALS —Adapted for

engraving on metal. L. F. D.

127. MODERN VERSION OF EARLY SPANISH LETTERS— Adapted for

cutting with a single plough of the graver. L. F. D.

128. MODERN CAPITALS adapted for engraving. L. F. D.

129. MODERN CAPITALS adapted for execution with single strokes

of the pen. L. F. D.

130. MODERN LETTERS of fanciful character adapted for direct

execution with the brush. L. F. D.

131. MODERN TWISTED LETTERS adapted for cutting with a single

plough of the graver. L. F. D.

132. MODERN ROMAN majuscule and minuscule Penwork.

Roland W. Paul, architect.

133. MODERN RATHER GOTHIC CAPITALS— Penwork. R. K.CowtaU.

134. MODERN architect's ALPHABETS, majuscule and minuscule,

with numerals and wording, to show the adjustment of each
letter to letters adjoining. Designed to be characteristically
penwork. A. Beresford Pite, architect.

DtHrif>tive J. I si oj 1 1 lit si rat torts. xix

IJ5. MODKRN MAjl^CflK ANH MINUSCULE— R. K. CoMtan.

136. MOOKRN MAjUSCULK ANO MINUSCULE, appruacllin)' Id run-
ninj; luiul. K. K. Cowtan.

I ^7. MUDKKN GERMAN i;oTiiic < All TALs (Facliirschrifi) — I'cHWotk.
Otto liu|>|). In thr Liter Grnnnn ch.iracier pcnnian«hi|>
ran wil<l. The li-tUiin^ is often (|(iitc inrxtiicaMc from the
tanj;lc of flourishes in which it i> involvcl. Ilerr llupp \\9ls
AVtiideii the utmost extravagance of the national style. To
any one acquainted with the German character, it i» clear
enough which of his sweeping; str<ikes mean ' •, and

which are merely ^ul»illiary penmanship. Tl _ _ mean

is, of course, to make ornament against which the letter
tells plainly cnoujjh. That is attempted also in 123.

ijS. MODERN MAjrscf I F. AND MINI'SCULR, directly written witli
the simplest stroke of a quill |>en. Walter Crane.

139. MODERN GOTHIC CAPITALS, cxccutcd also with a quill. The

forms doigncil for execution with two strokes of the pen.
Walter Crane.

140. MODERN CArn Al„-;, sha|)cd with delilxjratc view to direct and

cxsy expression with the chisel, the cuneiform character
of the .Assyrian inscriptions l>ein(j taken as a suggestion
that a wc'lge-shapcd incision was about the easiest thing to
cut in stone. (See p. 28.) Alfred Carpenter and L. F. 1).
141 MODERN CAPITALS, designetl for wood-carving, the ornament
typic-il of the Eli/.abclhan, Jacol>ean, and Henri II. periods
l)eing taken as cvitlence of the ease with which strap-like
forms may be cut with a gouge. I.. F. I>.

142. KMHRoiDF.RED Al.PllABKT, (ounded u{K)n some letters in an

old English sampler. The peculiar angularity of the forms
follows naturally from working on the lines given by the
mesh of the canvas, and i> characteristic of a certain class
of very simple ncetllework. L.F.I). (Comjxtre with 91
and 146, .ind with what is said in reference to 144.)

143. MODERN CAPITALS AND LOWER CASES — Scratcheil straight ofi'

in moist clay, afterwards baked. The form of the letters
is such as could l>c most easily incised with a |>oint or
stylus, and is characteristic of the way of working out of
which it comes. L. F. D. (Compare with It.:. 113.
127. 131. >

XX Descriptive List of Illustrations.

144. MODERN CAriTALS, suggested by the facility with which they

could be traced with a brush (compare 112, 113). The
brush in this case was charged with gesso, and the blunt-
ness of the forms — a natural consequence of the thick
creamy composition of glue and plaster used — is character-
istic of the method of work. To have tried for sharp lines
w^ould have been futile. Such lettering might equally well
be executed in needlework with stout corded silk or gold
thread, "couched." There is good reason for the avoidance
of square lines in embroidery, which does not (compare 142)
follow the weaving of the material embroidered. The
flowing line is here dictated by the conditions, and curls
and flourishes are excusable. L. F. D.

145. MODERN CAPITALS EMBOSSED on thin shcet-metal, the form

and fashion of the letters suggested by the ease with which
they could be beaten up. L. F. D.

146. MODERN ALPHABET IN RIGHT LINES, suggested by the

square form of Chinese writing. L. F. D. (See p. 29.
Compare with 142.)

147. MODERN ALPHABET, exprcssive of the brush, suggested by

brush forms in Japanese writing. L. F. D. (See p. 29.)

AMPERZANDS.

148. AMPERZANDS from various MSS., dating from the 7th to the

15th centuries.

149. AMPERZANDS — Free renderings of instances dating from the

i6th century to the present day. In the top row may be
traced the connection between the accepted & and the
letters ET, of which it is a contraction.

Note. — Other examples of amperzand occur in illustrations
83. A.D. 1665.
98. CASLON TYPE.

100. MODERN FRENCH.

101. ,, ,, ELONGATED,
104. ,, " OLD STYLE " ITALIC.

109. ,, J. W. Weekes.

120. ,, Patten Wilson.

125. ,, L. F. D.

Descriptii'c /.i>i vj i UtistratwHi. xxi

.NUMKRALS.

i;o. r.KRMAS. cur is stone -The pccttliar form of 4 it of the
l>cricKl ; ihc 7» ha%"c, »o lo s|)«ak, fallen forward. 1477.

151. VARIOUS I5TII-CENTURV DATK4 —Flemish and '

I4')i i> ctrvcd ill wood and (jroandeti out. 1439 i- i.u; m
^l •no, I4>9 in lira>s.

15J. UKrKKNTH CENTURY— German. Cut in Alone.

153. OATKS FROM 15JO-1515— Chiefly cut in hra** or bronze.

The figures in relief ami gmundcd out.

154. FiKrKKNTll rKMTiRY Numerals, 1520-1531, etc. German.

Cut in bronze or hrnis.

1$). M'RKMiiF.Rr. — Bronze. AIkiuI 1550.

156. OF.RMAN — Bronze, l^ijo.

157. ITALIAN — Painted on faience. Hrushwork. 1560.

158. iiRi;sH\voRK — l6th or 17th century.

150. ITALIAN — From a corale. Penwork. Compare 64 and 71.
16th century.

160. GILT FIGURES on a dark ground— Brushwork. 154S .'

l6i. INCISED IN WOOD— 1588.

162. iiRA>s, r.ROUNDKD oUT — Inin century.

163. PAINTF.D ON <;lass— i6th ccntury.

164. BRUSHWORK— l6fh or 17th century.

I''.?. RoTiiKMiURC— Cut in stone. The 4 suggests ihe orii-in
of the 15th-century sha(>c. It is .in ordinary- 4 tume'!
w.iy round. 1634.

|66. ROM.NN Ni'MK V Fr<>n» a bronze dial. b\viv>. figures

in relief, gr u: . ut. i^>4".

167. CUT IN STONE— 1692.

168. VARIOUS DATES — 1633, wood in relief. 162$. wood inci«eU.

The rest on bra.v« (grounded! out) or cut in Mone. The I in

167" ' ' -L >••--- . tincommon occurrence

in I

XX ii Descriptive List of Illustrations.

169. VARIOUS 18TH-CENTURY NUMERALS— The Complete series
from an English writing-book (Curtis), 1732. The Dates
incised in stone.

\~o PROBABLY SWISS — Inlaid in wood. 1664.

171. DATES FROM MONUMENTS — Stone and brass. i8th century.

172. NUMBERS FROM AN OLD MEASURE— Inlaid in brass wire On

hard brown wood. I740-

173. VARIOUS DATES — 1573, Flemish, engraved on steel. 1747,

German, twisted brass wire inlaid in wood.

174. FANCIFUL NUMERALS. L. F. D.

175. MODERN.

176. MODERN— (Compare with 113, 144.) L. F. D.

177. MODERN — (Compare with 119.) L. F. D.

178. MODERN GERMAN— (Compare 116.) Alois Miiller.
Other numerals occur in illustrations —

83. A.D. 1665.

84. A.D. 1697.
98. CASLON TYPE.

iq6. MODERN. J. W. Weekes.

108. „ J. Cromer Watt.

120. ,, Patten Wilson.

134. ,, A. Beresford Pite.

ART IN run alimiabf.t

Thekk arc two conditions on wliich the artist may
be permitted to tamper with the alphabet : what-
ever he docs ought, in the first place, to make
rcadint; run smoother, and, in the second, to make
writing satisfactory to the eye. Neither of these
desirable ends should, however, be sought at the
expense of the other.

The way to make reading easier is to mark
whatever is characteristic in the letter ; to develop
what is peculiar to it ; to curtail, or it may be to lop
ofT, anything which tends to make us confound it
with another ; to emphasize, in short, the individu-
ality of each individual letter, and make it unmis-
takable. .At the same time, there is no reason
why reading should not be made pleasant as well
as easy. Heauty, that is to say, is worth bearing
in mind. It must not, of course, interfere with use ;
but there is not the least reason why it should.
Hcauty does not imply elaboration or ornament.
On the contrary, simplicity and character, and the
dignity which comes of them, arc demanded in
the interests alike of practicality and of art.

2 Art in the Alphabet.

It is impossible judiciously to modify the letters
of the alphabet as it is, or as at any given time it
was, without thoroughly understanding how it came
to be so. The form and feature of lettering are
explained only by its descent.

All writing is a sort of shorthand. It is inevitable
that the signs used to represent sounds should be re-
duced to their simplest expression. They become
in the end mere signs, as unlike the thing which
may have suggested them in the first instance
as a man's signature, which is yet honoured by
his banker, is unlike his name : enough if writing
convey what we are meant to understand : the
business of a letter is to symbolize a definite sound.

We arrive, then, by a process of what has been
termed "degradation" of such natural forms as
were first employed in picture-writing (call it rather
adaptation), at an alphabet of seemingly arbitrary
signs, the alphabet as we know it after a couple of
thousand years and more. So well do we know it
that we seldom think to ask ourselves what the
letters mean, or how they came to be.

The explanation of these forms lies in their
evolution.

Our alphabet is that of the Romans. We speak
of it to this day as Roman, to distinguish it from
Gothic or black letter. The Romans had it from
the Greeks, or, if not immediately from them,
from the same sources whence they drew theirs.

Certainly the Greek, Etruscan, and old Roman

,'l r/ I ft n:e Alphabet. 3

alphabets were all very much alike. The)- resembled
one another in the inimber of letters they contained,
in the sound-value of those letters, and in the form
they took. There were sixteen letters common to
(ireeks, I'.truscans, ami IVlasgians : AbrAKIKl-M
N()IIPl'I"t ; ami this number sufficed always for

l-^flKliXMUMllO

PTYy<|)Xxt^v

I. GREEK MS. OTH CENTIRV.

the i:truscans, the race dying out before ever it
had need of more. The Greeks had no longer
(as the Egyptians had) any signs to represent
syllables, that is to say combinations of vowels
and consonants, but they grafted on to the old
Pclasgian or native alphabet (whenccsoevcr that
may have been derived) sundry new letters neces-
sary to express new words, borrowed from the

4 Art in the Alphabet.

jV MM

aMOvpcp^

xpcepoeic
Gpoo^

2. COPTIC MS. 5TH TO lOTH CENTURY.

Phoenicians. Naturally they took the letters also
from them. These same Phoenicians had probably
adopted from the Egyptians signs to express
foreign sounds new to their own language, without
knowing or caring anything about the pictorial
origin of such signs. There was thus no reason
why they should not modify what they regarded
as arbitrary expressions of sound-values, and every
reason why they should reduce them to the very
simplest and most conveniently written shape —
which they did ; and so it comes about that we
to-day are in all probability directly indebted to
ancient Egypt for at least a portion of our alphabet,
far removed as it may be from the hieroglyphics

. //■/ /// the Alphabet. 5

of the l'har.it>hs. That, liowcvcr, is by the way,
aiul, besides, a lon^ way off. I'or present purposes
we need not fjo further back than to ancient (jrccce.
The four IMnenician letters first incorporated with
the (ireek alphabet were /, O (///). «I» (///), \ {eh),
and eventually there were added also tiic letters
II ^ee\ 12 (<'<'). 4^ (ps), S {ks).

The Romans dropped all compound conso-
nants, usini; at first the two consonants which
most nearly expressed the sound equivalent to
that of the Greek double letter ; for example. I'll
in place of «I». Hut they proceeded also to devise
single letters for sounds which until then had
been expressed by two ; F, for example, instead
of PH. and O for CV.

•-•^

<|7 H c: f 1 MX c: o i^-l

3. COFTIC MS. I2TH CENTURV.

4- COPTIC MS. I4TH CENTURY.

.Irt in the A I f> ha hit 7

A (.jrecK anjh.ibcl <if the )i;ar j'^4 i..'-. i> ;;iswn
ill alphabet JS. and a loih-ccntiiry version in 29.
The more cursive form employetl by the «^th-
ccntury scribe is shown in the manuscript Ictft rs
( I ) on page 3.

It is interesting to comp.irc with these tlie
Coptic writing (2, 3, 4), which is obviously only
a variant upon the Greek ; for the Christianized
Eg)ptians, when they accepted Christianity,
adopted the Greek alphabet, just as the Turks
took the Arabic character at the time they ac-
cepted the Koran : and when, in the ^»th ccntur\'.
the new faith was firmly established at Alexandria,
Coptic writing supplanted the old Kg>ptian. So
it happens that the Coptic alphabet is Greek,
except for seven extra signs, taken from the
ancient demotic alphabet, to express Egyptian
sounds for which the Greeks had no equivalent.

Akin to the Coptic lettering is the Mocsian
alphabet of the 4th century (5), which bears on the
face of it the evidence of the broadly cut pen with
which it was written.

The early Roman or Latin alphabet differed
very little from the Greek. The latest comers
in it were G H K ( J X V Z.

In its adaptation to the Latin language, Greek
gamma or G becomes C. G is, in fact, almost
equivalent to luini C. To the not too subtle ear
the two sounds are like enough to pass one for
the other, just as soft C may be made to do duty

8 Art in the Alphabet.

for S. When G came to be used as a separate
letter, distinct from C, then C in its turn was used
for K, though K did not go quite out of use.

The Greek H {heta) stood for EE ; but at the

"V ■• «* >=—-»» Wk ...-^a ^ _ MS'-m. 1- '^

L\ O *-%►

MHOpQ

R ST u iiiXy Z

5. MOESIAN MS. 4TH CENTURY.

beginning of a word it answered the purpose of
the aspirate. The Romans used it for the aspirate
only ; that is to say, practically just as we use it
now, for H.

The letter J did not exist either in the Greek or
in the ancient Roman alphabet. It is equivalent
to II. Place one I over the other and you get a

long |. Eventually the initial developed a tail,

and became J. Towards the 15th century the
initial I was pretty generally written J.

The Greek Y (jipsilon) becomes the Roman V —
whence the confusion, until modern times, of the
letters U and V, long used indiscriminately. They

.Irt in the Aip/iaifft. 9

were considered as iiiterchaiv^c.ible ; one or other
of thcin ini^ht be used, or both at once in the
same wonl in the same sense. It was not until
the loth century that the custom arose of rcscrvin^j
\' for the bcj^inniuij of a wonl, and elsewhere
usint; U.

12 i>mt\^a) stood for 00, and in the minus-
cule form. »ii looked like it, thus shcncitig its deriva-
tion ; but in the cntl it was used for UU, or W .
It appears that in some Greek dialects it is used
for OU. It is (juitc certain that in the 9th
century (sec p. 3; omega was xcriltrn precisely
like a \V. When you come to think of it, the
sounds arc very nearly alike. Take any word
beginning; with W, change the double L' into
double O, and then try and pronounce it — say.
for example, not wnv, but OOIIV. Is it not much
tlie same thing?

The alphabet, as we know it, owes something
also to Scandinavia. The Runic writing, as the
script of the Scandinavian and other Northern
European priesthood was called, dates back to
legendary' days. It was the invention, they say,
of Odin himself. If so, Odin, to judge by internal
evidence, must have derived it from some earlier
Greek or Roman source. What we know is, that
it was in use from the time of the first intercourse
between Scandinavians and Romans. The Chris-
tian Church forbade its use, and with the triumph
of Christianity- it passed out of currency- ; but it

lO Art in the AlpJiabet.

abcdeFchiIm

n0pq.jxstvit

b. ROMAN MS. 4TH CENTURY.

lived long enough to affect in some degree our
Anglo-Saxon writing.

It will be well now to mark the more decided
steps in the progress of the alphabet. The type
we use takes, as every one knows, two forms — a
larger and a smaller, a major and minor, or as
printers put it, "capitals" and " lower case" or the
small letters which, being most continually in
request, it is convenient to keep near at hand, in
the lower part of the case from which the com-
positor, so to speak, feeds himself. Our written
character takes the form of a "running" hand,
and is known by that name, or by the more high-
sounding title of "cursive."

Now, the printer's "lower case," or "minuscule,"

NOpqUSTUlUXZ

7. MS. 7TH CENTURY.

Arf in the Alphahd. \ i

Nopc)Kr>TCivy

8. ROMAN UNCIAL"?. 8TH CF.NTlfKV.

as it is also called, is practically the book form
of running hand, except that the letters are
ijuite separate, not conjoined as they are in what
pretends to be only the hand of the ready writer,
and does not claim to be beautiful at all.

The earlier form, whether of Greek or Roman
letter, was the capital, the square shape, with rela-
tively few curveil lines, which could conveniently
be cut in stone or engraved on metal. This is,
in fact, the monumiittal style— adapted to, and,
what is more, inspired by, the chisel or the graver.
Vou have only to look at it 28. 30) to see how

A&CDlfoKlLA\

9. ROMAN "RfSlIC \SKUl.N'.. 5111 CENTURY.

12 Ai'-t in the Alphabet.

ABCDlfGHllM
NOPQRSTVV

lO. ROMAN MS. CAPITALS. 6tH CENTURY.

precisely fit it is for its purpose. There is no
mistake about it, it is incision.

Manuscript writers adopted for book writing a
different character, or rather they adapted the
square capital letter to more ready execution with
the pen, and so evolved a rounder kind of letter
which is known by the name of uncial — not that it
was invariably inch-long, as the term is supposed
to imply.

The uncial form of writing is intermediate, you
will see (8), between the monumental writing and
the "current" hand of the ready writer. It is, if
not the step between the two, a compromise
between them — no matter which ; what it concerns
us to know is that calligraphy took that direction,
which goes to explain many a later form of letter
widely differing from the original square type. The
relationship between these uncial letters and the
cursive Greek (i) is obvious.

The uncial character does not so much affect the
modern printer ; but it is the form of letter from
which the artist who prefers his own handiwork

.'//-/ /// tlu- Alphabit.

aa\cdefiLm

rpRS T V

II. MS. lAITTAUS. 6TII «KNTUR^.

to that of the printing press has perhaps most to
learn.

A squarcr form of capital employed by the
Romans in manuscripts of the 5th and two follow-
'\x\^ centuries, is known by the name of "rustic ;"
not that there was anythinfj rustic about these
capitals in our sense of the word ; but the Latin
word was used in the sense of free and easy, saus
i^^ne. The character of the writing is not so formal
as was supposed to befit the town. It is a kind of
countrj' cousin ; it stands, let us say, for the Roman
capital in a loose coat and a soft hat. The charac-
teristic points about it 9) are that the vertical
strokes are all ver>' thin, and the cross-strokes
broad. These cross-strokes take the form of a kind
of tick, tapering at the ends ; ami similar ticks are
used to emphasize the finishing of the thin strokes.
That all oi this is pen-work is self-evident. But.
as before sai».l, the more usual form of penmanship
at that time was the uncial letter.

14 Art in the AlpJiabet.

ABCDEFGHIK
LNOPR5TYX

12. BYZANTINE CAPITALS. 7TH CENTURY.

Even when the Roman manuscript writers used,
as they sometimes did, the square capital form, they
did not confine themselves (ii) to the severely
simple shapes which came naturally to the lapi-
daries. The unequal strength of the lines, the
thickening of the strokes at the ends, and the
spurred or forked shapes they take, all speak of
the pen ; not the steel pen, of course, nor yet the
more supple quill, but the reed pen — rather blunter
than a quill, but pliant enough, and not given to
spluttering. Moreover, it did not tempt the writer
to indulge in unduly thin upstrokes.

Capitals, Greek and Roman alike, represent,
roughly speaking, the first accepted shapes, en-
graver's or carver's work. Uncials stand for MS.
writing, scribe's work, growing by degrees rounder
and more current. The smaller minuscule was
evolved out of the running hand of the mercantile,
as distinguished from the literary, scribe. It was
not used by the ancient Romans, and it was not
until towards the 8th century that running hand
was thus reduced to order. The greater part of
what is called cursive writing scarcely concerns

.-//-/ /// (hi .lipJiitOit. 15

ABCDGFGMN
OPaRSTVX

llic calligraphcr ; it miLjht cquall)- be called dis-
cursive, so apt is it to run wild, in which case it
tells less of the progress of writin;^ than of the
caprice or carelessness of the iiidi\ itlual writer.

That was not the case with the various ceremonial
versions of runniiv^ hand employed by the writers
of Papal Hulls and Royal Charters. Such " diplo-
matic " hands, as they are styled (because diplomas
were written in thcm),and the so-called "Chancery "
hands, are highl\- elaborate, and in a .sense orna-
mental, but thev are so unlike our writing as to
be, practically speaking, illegible. They are ver\'
suggestive for all that. A specimen of I-'nglish
Court hand is given in Alphabet 95.

With the decline of the Roman empire came
naturally the demoralization of the Roman
character, capital or uncial ; and just in proportion
as Rome ceased to be the one centre of the world,
and other nations rose into importance, so their
writing began to show signs of nationality. At
the loss of some refinement, we get thenceforth

Art in the Alphabet.

variety of character. By the beginning of the 8th
century distinctly national styles of lettering were
evolved.

To subdivide these styles so minutely as the
learned do, is rather to bewilder the poor student
by their multitude. The important European races
were, the Latins, the Franks, the Teutons and
Anglo-Saxons, and the Visigoths ; and from them
we get respectively the Lombard, the Prankish,

14. FRANCO-GALLIC MSS. HEADLINES. 7TH CENTURY.

the Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon, and the Visigothic
types of writing, all of which eventually merge
themselves in what we call Gothic, in which,
nevertheless, we still find traits of nationality,
English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, as the
case may be.

First as to the Lombardic character, which pre-
vailed in Italy from the 8th to the nth century.
It was not, as its name might be taken to imply,
the invention of the Lombards. They were just
long-bearded conquerors, and invented nothing.
The character was not even confined to Northern

Art in tlu ^l I p habit, \ 7

Italy , only it happcncil tirst It) be dcvclupol there,
and so all later Latin wriliui; Rafter the I'.mnjrc)
came to be called '* Lombardic."

It has already been explained how uncial writinj^
was transitional between square " caps" and rounder
pen-forms. The Lombardic shows a further staj;c
of transition. The penman had not (juite made up
his mind between straight lines and curved ; he
hesitated between the sciuarc-lined .M and N and
the rounded forms (19, 20, 40). ICventually he
decided in favour of the bulj^ing shapes, which in
their later development we distinguish by the name
of Lombardic capitals ^^42).

There is a broken-backed version of the Lombard
\\\\n\\i>c\.\\c, '' Lombard brist'c" the I'Vcnch call it,
which, though not intrinsically beautiful, is inte-
resting as foreshadowing the later form of Gothic
" lower case" which we call " black letter."

Our own "lower case" we get more or less
directly from Charlemagne. He found, perhaps
his friend the Pope told him. that writmg had
degenerated by the time he came to the throne
^.A.D. 8cx)) to a state unworthy of a mighty emperor.
Accordingly he ordained its reformation. He went
so far as to compel bishops and other important
personages who could not write decently, to employ
scribes who could. In this way he revived the
small Roman character, which we eventually adopted
for our printed type.

The scribes of Charlemagne (and for some time

1 8 Art in the Alphabet.

after him) did not yet manage to fashion very
satisfactory capitals. They still mixed up letters
all of one thickness with others in which thick and
thin strokes, or diminishing strokes, were used in a
most illogical and awkward way (33) — indicative, of
course, of a period of change. But they did arrive
at a satisfactory and very characteristic rendering

^ T

ptEDK

HERTOFSE

trefatioksIhq^

eXPR'WTVRHVMIIlS

15. VISIGOTHIC MS. lOTH CENTURY.

of minuscule lettering. A conspicuous feature in
it was the elongation of the longer limb of the
1 p g q f d — tails, that is to say, came into fashion,
and long ones, as much as four or five times the
length of the body of the letter. The letter s took
also the long form, f. The letter t, on the other
hand, does not rise much above the line, sometimes
not at all.

. /// /// flu- Alf^haiut

»9

If. SAXON IMl'MINATION (<*AR0I.INK). QTH c;r'-'~v

That cloiif^ation of up and-dowti strokes is
characteristic of I'rankish ami \'isigothic lettering
pcncrall)'. It occurs even in the case of capitals, as
in the headlines of the loth-ccntiiry MS. on p. I8.
There the I, tiic H, and the L rise high above the
heads of their fellows, whilst, on the other hand,
the V-shaped U in the word OPVSCVLVM is
reduced to more than modest proportions.

There appears to be in Visigothic lettering, of
which that is a good example, usually a trace
of Moorish influence, betraying itself in the liberties
taken with the proportion of the characters ; the
Moors had by that time overrun Spain.

AU^l5CD()ErQ
hlLttfmniklHOS

0PqRXS8Taux

17. ANi;LO-SA.\ON.

20 Art in the Alphabet.

l8. ANGLO-SAXON MS. 9TH CENTURY.

There is something very whimsical about the
character of Anglo - Saxon capitals ; at times
mechanically square in form, at others excep-
tionally flowing and even frisky (i6, 17, 36, 37).
Anglo-Saxon lettering was affected by lingering
traces of an obsolete alphabet derived perhaps at
some remote period from the Gauls, which, to
judge by internal evidence, must have been some-
thing like the Greek. In the minuscule character
(18) there is a curious twist in the long stroke of
the b and 1,

By the 13th century the Gothic style had formed
itself. In the next hundred years or more it was
perfected. At the end of the 15th century it was

ACDeeEiiMiMfiopa

aRSTUV

19. ILORENTINE, INCISED AND INLAID. I2TH CENTURY.

./// /;/ ////• Alf^halut. 21

still flourishinjj — flourishinfj was the word literally
— in the K>th letters were sometimes nearly all
flourish : it takes an expert to read them.

The (lothic variations iij)on the Roman capital
form arc characteristic : the thick strokes arc not
even-sided, but expanded at the two ends or
narrowed towards the centre ; the curved strokes
tlo not swell so f^ratlually as before, but buljjc

AVoDDeHL

IMNDOPRSy

20. ITALIAN MS. KARLY IJTH CKNTURV.

more or less suddenly ; the tails of sundry letters
break insubordinate from the ranks ; and the ex-
tremities arc often foliated or otherwise orna-
mented (39, 40-42). Markedly characteristic of
Gothic of the 13th and 14th centuries are also
the "closed" letters, of which examples occur in
Alphabets 45, 46, 47, 48, etc.

W hat are called Lombardic capitals were used,
not only as initials, but for inscriptions throughout.
In fact, it was not until the 15th century that

2 2 Art in the Alphabet.

inscriptions were commonly written in minuscule
letters. In many cases these Lombard capitals
were not written with a pen, but with a brush, from
which results something of their character. The
brush lines were fatter than pen strokes.

Gothic characteristics, however, only gradually

21. FREE RENDERING OF LOMBARD MSS. AKOUT I250.

asserted themselves, and individual scribes clung
tenaciously to the older forms. The alphabet
opposite, for example, though of the 15th centur}',
only mildly represents the period to which by date
it belongs.

Gothic letters lend themselves to more variety
in design than Roman, not being so perfect in
themselves. To some, perhaps, they are more

Art in Iht- A I f^ It a he t 23

interesting on that very account : perfection palls
upon us. Anyway, the (iothic forms arc often
very beautiful. 1 he Roman letter is classic, and
therefore fixed — or, shouUl it ratlicr be said, it is
fi.xcd, and therefore classic ?

With rcf^ard to the Gothic minuscule character
(23, 24, 25), the even perpendicularity of the broad,
straight strokes gives at a glance the character
distinguished as " black letter," because it is rcia-

ABCDCFQhULr'l
NOPQRSTVXZ

22. CAriT.\LS. i;tii rrNTfKV

tively much heavier than the Roman minuscule.
Vou have only to compare the two to see that
the "black letter" is blacker.

The Germans marked this form of lettering for
their own, and persevered in its use long after the
rest of the world, in pursuance of the fashion of
classicism prevailing in the i6th centur\-. had
abandoned it for the Roman style of lettering.

The mediaeval German version of black letter
was stronger than that of other countries, the
I'rench more fanciful, the Italian more refined,
more perfect, but perhaps never so Gothic.

The old "black letter" varied, as will be seen.

24 Art in the Alphabet.

a6ct)cfgfti
f(mno^qr2

23. GERMAN GOTHIC MINUSCULE.

very much in character. The rounder form (23) is
freer, easier to write, more cursive. The more
regular and straight-backed letter (24, 25) went
rather out of fashion for a while ; but it was
revived by the printers, who saw in it what they
could best imitate.

The type we use nowadays has shaped itself in a
more or less accidental way. In the first place, it
was a copy of manuscript forms. That was in-
evitable. Possibly printers were anxious to palm
off their printed books as manuscripts. But, apart
from any such intent on their part, their text was
bound to follow the written page, or no one would
have been able to read it. And as, at the time of

■trf in the Alphahet. 25

Itlmtiopqt

X4. GF.RMAN GOTHIC MINL'SCULK.

the introduction of printing, two styles of writinj;
were in use for manuscripts, there arose naturally
two styles of printed type—" Roman " and " black-
letter." In printing;, as in manuscript, however,
black letter cjave way to the Roman character,
but not all at once ; there was a period of tran-
sition during which some very interestin^j and
characteristic types were used. We in our day
have arrived, by a process of copyinf^ the copies of
copies of copies, from which all the virtue of vitality
and freshness has died out, at a Victorian type
(look at the newspapers^ which compares most
unfavourably with the early printing::. The modern
form of letter i< in a measure fixed for us by

26 Art in the Alphabet.

alirDrf0l)i
f$tuftai|p

25. GOTHIC MINUSCULE.

circumstances ; we cannot conveniently depart far
from it ; but something may be done. There is
no need to revive mediaeval lettering, no occasion
to invent new lettering all out of our own heads, if
that were possible ; any new departure of ours
must be very much on old lines ; but at least we
might found ourselves upon the best that has been
done, and go straight to that for inspiration.

Type, as before said, was based on manuscript
forms. These manuscript forms had been shaped
with a view always to easy writing. What was
difficult to pen dropped out of use, and lettering
became what the scribe made it. The considera-
tions, however, which guided the writer no longer
concern the printer. It is time, perhaps, he took
stock of the alphabet — looked over it with a view

Art in the Alphalut. 2

- 1

to its perfection, since one sliapc is about as easy
to print as another. The chanjjcs which have
taken place in our printed type duriti^' the last
three hundred years or so may very likely have
been on the whole in the direction of easy reading,
but they have not been in the direction of beauty ;
and it is quite likely that it may be worth while
restoring some obsolete forms of letter now that wc
have not to write them. There is inconvenience
in departing in any appreciable degree from the
accepted form of letter; but wc have arrived to-day
at a period when everyone is so familiar with the
printed page that, prejudiced as we may be against
any modification of it, there is no danger of our
finding any real difficult)- in reading an improved
type. Lettering is none the more legible because
it is ugly : beauty is compatible with the very
sternest use.

The earliest writing was most probably scratched
with a jK)int upon whatever came handiest to the
scribe — skins, palm leaves, or the bark of trees, and
especially upon clay, a material which had only to
be burnt to become more lasting than stone.

If. in scratching upon firm clay, the writer begins
his stroke with a dig and then drags out the tool,
it results in a wedge-shaped scratch. I hat seems
to be the way the cuneiform character came about;
but the lettering upon the early Babylonian
"bricks," as they are called, is so precisely defined
that it must have been done with a sharp graver-

28 Art in the Alphabet.

like point. These " wedge-shaped " or " arrow-
headed " characters came to be copied, as we know,
in stone, in which again they were about the simplest
thing to cut. Three, or at most four, direct cuts
give the Ninevite character, as we know it in the
famous bas-reliefs. It is descended from clay forms,
but its own mother was the stone out of which
it was cut. The chisel was its father. Even in
inscriptions as late as the eighteenth century or
thereabouts, the stone-cutter lapses, as may be seen
opposite, into more or less wedge-shaped incisions ;
the chisel tempted him, and he yielded to its
persuasion.

From the cuneiform character to simple Greek
(28) or Roman (30) capitals, as square as well
could be, is not far ; and the clear-cut inscriptions
on classic monuments are still typically chisel
work. Very early Greek inscriptions are, however,
not much more than scratched in the granite or
whatever it may be. The small Greek character
on the famed Rosetta stone is mere scratching.

Writing done with a stylus on tablets of wax was
naturally blunt. Penwork at first was also much
blunter than modern writing — owing partly, no
doubt, to the use of the reed pen, partly to the
texture of papyrus, and partly to the consistency of
the ink. The strokes of early lettering in Egyptian,
Greek, and Latin manuscripts alike, are rather thick,
and rounded at the angles, not sharply turned.

It was a reed pen with which the Arabs wrote,

.-//-/ in tilt Alphabet. 29

liuklin^ it more or less hori/ontally so as to retain
the ink, and slopin^i; the paper or papyrus at .1
convenient an<^lc ; ami it was in writing' the Roman
letters u ilh a reed pen that the mcdiajval scribes
i;ave it its (iothic character. U was not until the
(|uill (which held the ink better) came into use that
ihc Italians developed their minuscule letter with
its thick and thin strokes.

A glance is sometimes enough to tell whether an
early Egyptian manuscript was written with a pen

AdBCDEFGCHI

KLMNOPPaQR

5J"TUVWXy2

yj. I Ku.M INai^KUIlONa Cf T IN blO.NL. AliOU 1 IJUO.

(ix with a brush. The Arab penmen, who took
great pride in their art, wrote with a wonderfully
elastic pen, and got out of the reed forms which
remind one at times of brushwork ; but the ncskhi
character is as obviously the pen form of writing
as the squarer ^/(/ff is the monumental. So also we
hnd among the Chinese and Japanese one form of
lettering which is characteristically brushwork, and
another almost rectangular, which last is clearly
the monumental manner.

30 Art in the Alphabet.

Even in late Gothic lettering we find a minus-
cule which is of the pen (23), and another (24, 25)
which is monumental, adapted, that is to say, to
precise and characteristic rendering with the graver
upon sheets of brass. It is curious that out of this
severe form of writing the florid ribbon character
(70) should have been evolved. But when once the
engraver began to consider the broad strokes of
his letters as bands or straps, which, by a cut of
the graver, could be made to turn over at the
ends, as indicated in Alphabet 57, it was inevitable
that a taste for the florid should lead him to
something of the kind. The wielder of the brush
was in all times induced by his implement to make
flourishes (55), in which the carver had much
less temptation to indulge. The sloping or " italic "
letter (27) is, on the face of it, the product of the pen.

We find, then, that the implement employed,
stylus, reed-pen, brush, or whatever it may have
been, goes far to account for the character of
ancient lettering. So soon as the writer ceased
to be satisfied with mere scratching or blunt
indentation, and took to the use of the chisel, he
felt the need of a square cross-cut to end the
stroke of his letter. If that was broad, there was
no occasion for the cut to go beyond the width of
the stroke itself. If it was narrow, the easier
thing to do was to anticipate the danger of over-
shooting the mark, and frankly extend the end
cut. This method of finishing off the broad line

Arf in tht- Alf>hah'l. 31

by a projecting cross-line is technically called
truncation, though litcr.illy that (»nly nuMiis
cutting off Slight but appreciable difference
in character results from the ant^lr at which the
strokes arc truncated or cut off.

Ill working with a pen, this diflkulty of ending
the stroke occurs only in the case of very bold
lettering, in small writing the strokes naturally

ah c d e f of)
I kl m 11 op If

r fs t uj: yz.

27. ROMAN ITALICS.

take pen-shape. They start square and gradually
diminish, or vice versii, or they thicken in the
middle, according to the pressure of the pen, which
it is dilTicult to keep quite equal from end to end
of the stroke.

It should be observed that the pressure is not
naturally in the middle of the stroke, but at one
end ; the {jcnman docs not naturally get the

symmetrical Roman O. but the Gothi Q

32 Art in the Alphabet.

That is the pen-born shape. The even-sided O was,
if not easier to cut in stone, at least as easy ; there
was nothing to prevent symmetry, which was
accordingly the rule in sculpture. It is rather
futile to aim at that kind of thing with a pen ;
much better let the pen have its way ; and its way
is otherwise (129, etc.). We get so much more out
of our tools by going with them, that it is rather
stupid to strive against them.

In very bold writing, even with a pen, the
necessity for truncating the thick strokes occurs.
You cannot easily, with one stroke of the pen,
make a thick line which begins and ends square.
It wants trimming ; and the easiest way to trim
it is by means of a fine cross-stroke extending
beyond its width. This cross-stroke T helps to
preserve and to accentuate the regularity of the
liize of lettering, for which a writer worth the name
naturally has a care. The broad stroke being
rather loaded with ink, the fine cross-stroke is
inclined, in crossing it, to drag a little of the ink
with it, rounding one angle of it. The obvious
way of rectifying that is to round the opposite
angle also — and so we have the familiar finish T.
which is equivalent to the " spur " of the chiseller
mentioned just now (100).

The angle at which the cross-line joins the
stroke may be softened until it disappears, and
the stroke appears to be curved on either side —
" dilates," to use another accepted term, at the

. /r/ /// the .llp/uibt't. 33

iiiils, ni>toriciilly. wr arrive at that in Lombardic
ami other writing as early as the Sih century (y \^

AnticipatiiiL; this ihlatioii, the penman eventu .: ,
niade strokes in which the elementary slraij^ht line
altogether ilisappcars (54). I'urther elaborating,
he arrivetl at the rather sudden swelling of the
curved back of the letter, familiar in work of the
13th century and later \\, 5J1. With the forking;
of the terminations, and the breaking (»f the out-
line in various ways (20), \vc arrive at fantastic
variation to which there is no conceivable end (46.
47, 51, 52. 74). I-ew examples, therefore, of the
elaborate ornamentation of lettering arc here illus-
trated (60, "Ji, 93, etc.), preference having been
given to alphabets in which the ornamental design
is in the construction of the letters themselves.

With the use of thick and thin strokes comes a
difTiculty. Which shall be thick, and which thin ?
The scribes were a long while making up their
minds on that point, and they contrived some very
awkward combinations \},i). The solution we have
at last come to is probably the best that could be
found. We need scarcely bother ourselves about
tr>*ing to improve upon modern practice in that
res|x:ct ; it has been a case of the survival of the
fittest.

Out of the use of thick and thin strokes arises
the necessity for graduated strokes, there being no
other way of treating the curved lines intermediate
between the two. Then, if the thick strokes arc

34 Art ill the Alphabet.

truncated, the thin lines appear to want corre-
sponding accentuation at the ends ; and so the
" serif" runs all through the alphabet (80, 100, etc.).

The further influence of the writing tool upon
the form of the letter is illustrated in various
Alphabets, and particular reference to it is made in
the descriptive list of illustrations. A number of
these Alphabets have been deliberately designed
with a view to execution in a specific material.

With regard, now, to Numerals. Until the 15th
century, the letters M, D, C, L, X, V, and I were
in general use to express numbers.

The Arabic numerals, as they are called, found
their way into Europe some time during the 12th
century, but did not come into general use before
the 15th, nor indeed much before the introduction
of printing, which diffused the knowledge of them.
Their adoption in England was more tardy than
on the continent, the beginning of the 17th century
being given as the date of their universal accept-
ance here. The numerals, as we know them, or
even as they were written in the 15th century, do
not bear any marked resemblance to the genuine
Arabic ; numbers i and 9, and the all-important
cypher, o, are the only Eastern figures which seem
to claim direct oriental ancestry.

The figures of the 15th century are not always
at first sight very easily legible ; the 7, for example
(150), presents anything but a familiar appear-
ance, but upon examination that inverted V proves

Arf in (lu Alf^hahd. '^

to be rcall>- ati cijual-liinbcil 7 placed (,as it wouM
naturally fall) so as to rest upon its two ends : it
is not the fipure that is chani^cd, but its |)osition.
Much more jjuzzlin^ is the early form of 4 (150.
151. 152). a loop with crossed ends upon which it
stands. The popular explanation of the figure as
'• half an ci^ht," is anylhinj^ but convincinj^, and it
appears to have no Kastern prototype. There is a
17th-century version of it. however, in the Francis-
kaner Kirche, at Rothcnburfj (165). which, had
it been of earlier date, might have been accepted
as a satisfactory explanation. There the loop has
a square end, and the fii^ure rests, not upon its two
loose ends, but partly on its {K)int. Iina<;ine this
fif^ure stanflinp uprij^ht, one j)()int facint^ the left, and
it is seen to be a 4 of quite ordinary shape. This
may not be the genesis of the form ; but. if not, it is
ingeniously imagined by the 17th-century mason.

Writers have from the first made use of con-
tractions, the read\- writer in order to save time
and trouble, the caligrapher, sculptor, and artist
generall)-. in order to perfect the appearance of
his handiwork, and, in many cases, to make it ht
the space with which he has to deal. The ends
of art are not satisfied by merely compressing the
letters, or reducing them to a .scale which will
enable the writer to bring them all into a given line
(lOl). We, in our disregard of all but what we call
practicality, have abandoned the practice of con-
traction. excej)t in the case of diphthongs, and in

36 Art in the Alphabet.

the exceptional instance of the word "et." The
"amperzand," as printers call it (143, 149) still
lingers in his founts of type, and is used even more
habitually by the ordinary penman of to-day.

To what does all this investigation of the
alphabet lead ? It is of no use trying to evolve
brand-new alphabets out of our inner conscious-
ness. No one would understand us, and we want
to be read. Originality is what we all desire ; but
it is scarcely the thing to seek consciously, least of
all in lettering ; it comes of its own accord if ever
it comes. We are original or we are not.

While the alphabet is alive there will be changes
in it, but they must inevitably be gradual ; we
can only creep on to new forms. Practically, what
we have to do is to take an alphabet and modify
it according to our wants or inclinations, without,
as a rule, interfering much with its legibility. A
man may, if he knows what he is about, make it
more legible, as well as in other ways bettering it.
But to do that intelligently, he should know some-
thing of the descent of the lettering on which he
founds himself. That is why it has been thought
worth while to discuss the subject at such length
here.

An important consideration in the design of an
alphabet — if design be not too pretentious a word
to use in speaking of what can scarcely be much
more than a variation upon orthodox forms — is

Art in llu Aif^h.iht't.

that the letters -.hniUl In- s) ^icuKiticaiiy treated.
They aire more likely to be all of one family if \vc
derive them from one source, liut there is no
reason why we should not cross the breed in
lettering;, if thereby we can improve the stock.
An alphabet, however, should not look hybrid.
The artist is free to do what he can ; but the test
of success is that his creation should look as if it
must be so, and could not have been othersvisc.

Why. it is asked, should any one trouble himself
about hand-drawn letterin<;. when he has ready to
his use type, which is so much truer and morr
|xrrfect } Truer, perhaps, it may be, in the sen.se
of being more mathematically c.vact, but it is not
necessarily so truly uniform in effect ; for the un-
yielding letters of the type-founder come together
as best they may. and if they come awkwardly he
can't help it. The writer can, and indeed he should.

There is no denying that many an artist who
ventures to introduce lettering into his design,
docs it ill, docs it so carelessly, ox is so easil)-
satisfied with \cx\ indifferent penmanship, that
of the two evils hard and fast letterpress would
have been the lesser. None the less true is it that
an artist who has been at the pains to learn to
write, can, if he aim at what pen or brush will
do, and refrain from entering into foolish and in-
eflectual rivalry with the printing press, i!<> what
that cannot do, and do better.

Looking at an early printed book, you arc

8 Ai't in the Alphabet.

astonished, each time afresh, at the beauty of the
page. But if you go from that straight to a fine
manuscript, you realize that, after all, printing,
even such printing as was done by the great
printers, is a makeshift. It is a makeshift we
have to put up with, and we may as well make the
best of it ; merely petulant complaint is childish ;
but when occasion does occur, let us have the real
thing, and don't let us be persuaded by readers
so greedy of print as to have lost all appetite for
beautiful writing, that there is no flavour or artistic
savour in it. It is not good manuscript, but their
spoilt palate, which is at fault.

Having perfected machinery, we are doing our
best to make ourselves into machines. Until that
happens — which God forbid ! — man's hand is still
the best, in art at all events ; and were it not the
best, it would still have the charm of character,
that individual quality for which a public brought
up exclusively on printed type has no relish.
Print, with its mechanical smoothness and pre-
cision, has gone far to distort the modern ideal of
lettering, just as photography, with its literalness,
has degraded the ideal of art. There are people
who resent as a sort of impertinence anything in
lettering which the printing press cannot do. They
are ready to take offence at whatever is unfamiliar.
Really the impertinence is in a makeshift thing
like type usurping any kind of authority in a
matter quite beyond its scope.

.-/r/ /// thi- Alf^habct. 30

The K'^''^ iliiKJcmc between old lellcrmg .nm
new is that in days before stereotyping the scribe
was free to pla\- variations on the well-known
alphabetical air, whereas our print is inon(»tonous
as the tunc of a barrel or^.iiv

I'cdants are never happy until everything is
fixed. Hut nothinL,' is fixed until it is dead. Life
is in movement. Philosophy has long since given
up the search for pcrj^etual motion, but that is
the secret of it — life ; and that is the evidence and
sign of life — motion. Ihe tjuestion is : Are we
.dive }

28. GRF.EK. FROM A STELK M ATHENS. B.C 3«M-

29. GREEK INITIALS, PRINTED AT BASEL. i6TH CENTURY.

nru

OPPPP

3a ROMAN. FROM SCULPTURES IN THK BRtTISH Ml'SBL'M.
A.D. 150 TO 300.

Bee

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31. ANGLO-SAXON? 6tH CENTURY.

k_JL M m .

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3a. FROM A CODEX. 7TH OR 8tH CF.NTUmV.

33- SAXON AND ANGLO-SAXON MSS.
7TH, 8th, AND 9TH CENTURIES.

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34. UALLICAN M>. 8tH CENTL'RV

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35. IRISH MS. FROM THE

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36. ANGLO-SAXON MSS.

StH and 9TH CENTLRItS.

37- IRISH MS. 9TII CENTURY,

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38. MS. lOTH CENTURY.

39- FRENCH MS. I2TH CENTURY.

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4a GERMAN MS. I2TJI > F.VTt'RV.

lis

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41. LE PUY. WOOD. ABOUT I2TH CENTURY.

42. M$S. I4TH CEXTLRV

43- MS. 1420.

44- ITALIAN. J. VINYCOMB. I4TH CrStTlRY.

MOPiSI

45. INCISED GOTHIC CAPITALS. ABOUT I350.

46. NORDMAUStN. FROM
A HRASS. 1395.

immmti

47. NORDMAUSEN. FROM A BRASS. I397.

48. ENGLISH MS.

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49. PRATO. INCISED AND FILLED WITH CEMENT. I4IO.

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51. GERMAN MSS. 15TH CENTURY,

52. UK.KMAS ■•. - ' »0

53. BAMBERG. FROM A BRASS. I464.

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54. MS. AHOfT M*--

55- FROM A PICTURE-FRAME IN THE LOUVRE. PAINTED. I480.

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56. MKISSKN. FROM V i.hA^-. 1 50O

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57. FLEMISH. STONE. i6tM CENTffcV.

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58. FROM A BRASS. END OF 15TH CENTURY.

59- FROM A RRASS. END OF ISTH CEMl »V.

6o. AUGSBURG. , JOH. BOCCATIUS. I473.

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63. ITALIAN. FROM A CORALE AT

66. ArrER ludomco cutiortr i6th centvrv.

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67. ALBRECHT DURER. i6tH CENTURY.

68 ITALIAN. VICEJIllNU. l6iM CfcMt»V.

69. ITALIAN, AFTER VESPASIANO.

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70. ITALIAN. LUDOVICO

VICENTINO. i6TH CENTIRY.

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71. ITALIAN. VESPASIANO. i6tH CENTURY.

73. ITALIAN. PALATINO. 1566.

173- ITALIAN. LUDOVICO

VICKNTIXO. |6tH • iNTiRY.

74. ITALIAN.

G. F. cprsci. 157a

75- ITALIAN. G. F. CRESCI. 1570.

76. ITALIAN. G. K. CitbCl I570-

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77. SPANISH. JUAN YCIAR. i6tH CENTURY.

78. rRISTED BOOKS. END OF i6tM CENTl'RT.

79- GERMAN. DANIEL

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84 KNCLt&H. CHirrENHAM. INCISED. I69;

85. GERMAN. PAINTED. I727.

S6. GKRMAN. PENWORK. J. U. TIEMROTH. I7J8-4S.

afel.

87. BAMBERG. BRASS. 1613.

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so. WtRZBURii. aLATE. I784

91. FROM THE LACE-BOOK OF GIOVANNI OSTAUS. 159O.

92- ITALIAN MS. IJTH CtHTURY.

93- FRENCH. LAURENT.

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95. ENGLISH COURTIIAMD. FROM A. WRIUHT'S "COURTMAND.

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96. HEBREW ALPHABET.

97- HKBRF.W ALMIABET. BY STLVtSTBE.

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98. CASLON TYPE.

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100. "FRENCH." J. VINYCOMB.

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102. "SKELETON." J. VINVCOMB.

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104. "old style" italics. J. VINYCOMB.

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no. OTTO HUPP, "alphabete and ornamente.

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111. * sANs sikMiF. j. V,. V.k.kKij.

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112. L.F.D.

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114. MODERN ]>LOCK CAPITALS. W. J, PEARCE.

115- GOTHIC CAPITALS. W. ;. PBARCK.

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117. OTTO HUPP. "ALPHABETE AND ORNAMENTE.'

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124- FROM DESIGN

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126. ENGRAVrNG. ADAPTED FROM MEDIEVAL GOLDSMITH'S WORK.

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127. SCRATCHING. ADAPTED FROM OLD SPANISH. L.F.D.

I2S. PF.Sir.VF.D FOR KNORAVINO OX METAI. ; BUT NOT
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130. BRUSHWORK. L.K.D.

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131. SCRATCHED. L.F.D.

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132. PENWORK. ROIJlNn \V. I'AII., ARCHITECT. C

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135. PENWORK. R. K. COWTAN.

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140. INCISED. ALFRED

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CARPKNTKR AND UK.D.

141. WOOD-

CARVIV ' 1^ ".

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142. NEEDLEWORK. ADAPTED. L.F.D.

143- SCRAFFITTU. UK I.

144- GESSO, L.F.D.

145' BEVTEN MKTAt.. L. K. D

146. SQUARE-CUT. L.F.D.

147 BRUSHNSORK. UK.D.

148. AMPERZANDS. JTH TO 1 5TH CENTURIES.

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149. AMrF.R/VND>. i6tM -ESTUaV, KTC, mtSLV RU(OUU>

ISO. CUT IN STONE. 1477.

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151. STONE AND BRASS. I439-I491.

152. CUT IN STONE. I492.

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153. CHIEFLY BRANbf'' •3-"-'i4j

154 BRASSES.

675^0

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6r$90

1520-159S.

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155- BRONZE. ABOUT 155O.

156. BRONZE, ABOUT 1 560.

157- IRfSlI WORK. l6TH-rFNTt'RY FAItNCK.

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15S. HRisM work; i6t(i ..r 17TM cexTuav.

159. ITALIAN MS. i6tH CENTQRV.

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160. GILT, ON BLACK, BRUSH-WORK. 1 548?

l6l. INCISED IN WCX)!). GERMAN. I588.

(57390

162. BRASS. I 6th CEMTVKY.

678 pO

163. BRUSH-WORK. i6tH CENTURY.

( 234-5

164. ABOUT 1700.

165. CUT IN STONF.. 16J4

A
V7

t66. RRLIRF IN BRASS OR BRONZE. 1647.

167. STONr. I''>03.

l68. BRASS AND WOOD. I563-I707.

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169. I 8th CBNTUtV

I70. WOOD

INLAY. 1664.

' 3723

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177'

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171. BRASSES, ETC. I716-I783.

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I7i. HRASS WIRK INLAY ON \VO«>n. I74O.

IS73

173. RNGRAVBD OX STKEL, <)R INLAID IN \VI»». OX WOOD.

1573-1747

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174. L.F.D.

175- MODERN.

176. L.F.D,

177. l.F.D.

176. Au-is ML'LLXR.

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^yoy

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