#decorative initials

Typography Tuesday

Here are another set of initials used by Theodore Low De Vinne's (1828-1914) De Vinne Press in New York in the early 20th century. The last two images are of chromatic initials to be printed in two or three colors.

These examples come from Types of the De Vinne Press, published in New York by the De Vinne Press in 1907. Theodore De Vinne founded his press in 1883. He was also a co-founder of the prestigious Grolier Club and one of the leading commercial printers of his day, whose enterprise had a profound influence on American printing and typography. This book was intended as a promotional specimen book “for the use of compositors, proofreaders, and publishers,” to demonstrate the wide variety of typographic possibilities that could be available to their clients.

View more posts from Types of the De Vinne Press.

Typography Tuesday

This week we present some lovely hand-colored calligraphic flourishes by California printmaker and illustrator Mallette Dean (1907-1975) for the opening chapters in California writer Gertrude Atherton‘s The Splendid Idle Forties: Six Stories of Spanish California (originally published in 1902) with a preface by Oscar Lewis, printed in Kentfield, California at The Allen Press by Lewis and Dorothy Allen in an edition of 150 copies in 1960. Mallette Dean produced illustrations for several California fine presses, most especially for the Grabhorn Press. 

The text font is hand-set Romanée, designed by Dutch book and type designer Jan van Krimpen, cut by the influential German punchcutter Paul H. Rädisch, and released by the Enschedé type foundry in 1928. Dean’s designs also appear throughout the text, and we are particularly impressed the beautiful Romanée display initials that mark the beginning of every unquoted paragraph. Printed damp on all-rag Rives paper on the Allen’s ca. 1830 Acorn-Smith hand press, the overall impression is one of lithe elegance. Our copy of The Splendid Idle Forties is a gift from our friend Jerry Buff.

View more posts on work by Mallette Dean.

View more posts on work by Jan Van Krimpen.

Manuscript Illumination in The Grammar of Ornament

Today we present examples of manuscript illumination found in Owen Jones’s classic work The Grammar of Ornament, published by Bernard Quaritch in London in 1868. The book features 120 chromolithographic plates of design examples from across time, geography, and culture. In the preface, Jones describes 37 propositions that are “general principles in the arrangement of form and colour, in architecture and the decorative arts, which are advocated throughout this work.” The plates we are highlighting today showcase decorative art patterns found in illuminated manuscripts, tile work, and architecture.

View more posts about The Grammar of Ornament.

Typography Tuesday

We were very taken by these Art Nouveau initials found in Modelli D'arte Decorativa, an Italian art portfolio series published by Bestetti and Tumminelli in Milan in the 1910s. The designs displayed here are by the Italian artists   Angiolo D’Andrea, Guido Fiorini, and Aleardo Terzi.

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A Henty a Week 

I can say with some surprise that crafting a post about a “Henty” this week has caused me no moral stirrings or distress (as I’ve discussed in previous posts). Why? Well, because after seeing the delightful typographical ornamentation in this edition of The Bravest of the Brave: Or, with Peterborough in Spain I didn’t even bother to explore Henty’s text or the subject matter and perspective of this tale.

This particular edition was published simultaneously in London and New York by Blackie & Son, Limited and Charles Scribner's Sons, respectively. The exact publication date is not printed in the book but can be estimated to be around the turn of the 20th century. Typographical ornamentation was far more common in the 19th and early 20th century than it is today. Now, these flourishes are rarely found in the mass produced editions of young adult books and only in those works carefully crafted by fine and small presses. 

If you nerd out about ornament as much as we do, be sure to check out our Typography Tuesday posts featuring Specimens of Types & Borders and Illustrated Catalogue of Printers’ Joinery and Materials. 

Or, you can view more of our Henty a Week posts.

– Katie, Special Collections Graduate Intern

Typography Tuesday

Today we present a few ornamental woodcut initials used by notable sixteenth-century Antwerp printer Christophe Plantin from Series 1 in the ornamental initials collection at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp. The initials are drawn from Ornamental Initials,The Woodcut Initials of Christopher Plantin by the American type designer and stonecutter Stephen Harvard, published in 1974 by the American Friends of the Plantin-Moretus Museum in New York, and printed at the Stinehour Press with design and lettering by Stephen Harvard.

These large 5.25″ x 4.25″ initials were cut in 1570 by Anton Van Leest from designs by Pieter Van der Borcht. The letters were intended for an ill-fated antiphonary commissioned by Philip II of Spain -- letters that were ordered by Plantin before business negotiations were finalized.The monarch later rescinded the order, and apparently only these six historiated initials were completed by Van Leest. The initials were probably too grand to use elsewhere, and so were never published.

Stephen Harvard’s catalogue assembles, for the first time since the 16th century, the entire collection of decorative initials that Christophe Plantin acquired. Fifty-eight different series of initials are reproduced in their original size in the catalogue, and we will be showing more series from the catalogue in future Tuesdays. This publication is another donation from our good friend and benefactor Jerry Buff.

New Post has been published on http://mocco.sk/30-beautiful-ornaments-vector-for-free-download/

30 Beautiful Ornaments Vector for Free Download

For those who are in need of high resolution vector graphics, this post is definitely for you. Today, we have rounded up a collection of pretty ornaments vector which you can download for free. Ornamental designs are decorative elements which are most useful when creating an ornamental website design. These ornamental elements include beautifully curved vector graphics like floral ornamental designs, swirly design mixes, swooshes, flowers and old frame backgrounds. These vector flourishes looks retro thus they are also are great for incorporating a classic feel to your vintage style artworks.

Here are the 30 Beautiful Ornaments Vector for Free Download. These graphics are available in EPS, SVG, AI and other vector file formats. Download them right away and decorate the boarder of your designs with some old style ornaments or create a seamless wallpaper using these vector graphics. Have fun browsing!

Swirl Flower Vector 1

By: t-2-m Source

Floral Ornaments Vector

By: IdealHut Source

Decorative Initials Vectors

By: remittancegirl Source

Ornament Vector

By: PinkOnHead Source

Vector Ornaments Corel Draw

By: ornamento Source

Retro Design Elements

By: webdesignhot Source

Ornaments Flowers

By: umutavci Source

Ornaments

By: mynymyr Source

Set of the Greek Borders

By: oak Source

5 Floral Ornaments Vector Brushes

By: idealhut Source

Wicker Geometric Ornament

By: oak Source

Byzantian Ornament

By: oak Source

Gothic Revival Floral Ornamental Motives

By: oak Source

Traditional Russian Ornaments

By: Zeram Source

Renaissance Ornament

By: Zeram Source

Vector Ornaments Frames

By: Undesigns Source

Beautiful Byzantine Ornament in Vector Format

By: oak Source

Gothic Revival Design Element

By: oak Source

Vintage Ornaments

By: oak Source

Vintage Free Vector Ornament

By: oak Source

Vintage Book Ornament

By: oak Source

Floral Ornament

By: oak Source

Floral Gothic Revival Ornament

By: oak Source

Meander

By: oak Source

Free Vector Russian Embroidery Ornament

By: oak Source

Floral Ornamental Borders

By: oak Source

Spiral Star Ornament

By: oak Source

Gothic Revival Ornament

By: oak Source

Victorian Decorative Ornaments

By: oak Source

Vector Celtic Ornaments

By: oak Source

Do you think that these ornaments vector files will be useful for your future design projects? We would love to hear your responses in the comment section below.