#fancy initials

Typography Tuesday

On Sunday we showcased the designs and illustrations from Green Arras written, illustrated, and designed by Laurence Housman (1865-1959) and published in London by John Lane The Bodley Head and in Chicago by Way and Williams in 1896. Another visual element in this volume is the use of elaborate, Arts and Crafts-style initials found throughout the book. Today we are showcasing all the initial letters used in the publication.

Their design is uncredited, but we suspect they were probably designed by Housman himself as they bear the same design elements found on the cover and in the borders for the frontispiece and title page that Housman designed.

View more posts on initials.

Typography Tuesday

Last week we presented a 1900 edition of The Confessions of St. Augustine with illustrations by Paul Woodroffe (1875-1954) and a title-page border designed by Laurence Housman (1865-1959), all engraved in wood by Houseman's sister Clemence Housman (1861-1955). Another visual element in the book is the use of elaborate, wood-engraved, Arts and Crafts-style initials found throughout the book. Today we are showcasing all the initial letters used in the publication.

Their design is uncredited, but it is possible that they could have been designed by Woodroffe as he was deeply influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement. Two years after illustrating this book, Woodroffe was elected a member of the Art Workers' Guild, an organization of artist and designers associated with the ideas of William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, and in the same year he became closely associated with Charles Robert Ashbee and his Guild of Handicraft and Essex House Press, institutions closely allied with the movement. Again, it's conjecture, but we would like to think that Clemence Houseman had a hand in engraving these initials.

View more posts with wood engravings by Clemence Housman.

View other posts with illustrations by Paul Woodroffe.

View a few other posts with books in the Arts & Crafts style.

Typography Tuesday

Last week we brought you some sample pages from our type specimen book Specimens of Types & Borders and Illustrated Catalogue of Printers’ Joinery and Materials, published in London by the iconic H.W. Caslon & Co. in 1915. This week we bring you some fancy-pants initials from this same display book for your Tuesday delight! Read more about the Caslon company in our previous post.