Decorated Initial Letters

The Leighton Library has a number of books which have decorated initial capital letters. These were first used to make the beginning of a book, or start of a section, stand out. The decorated black and white initial letters in early printed books are called "decorated initials." 

These initials add an artistic touch to the text to make the text look more attractive, and sometimes to illustrate something from the text.

 

Click here to download the learning resource about decorated inital letters. This resource was created by Leighton Library Volunteer Guide Malcolm Wilson.

This learning resource contains images of each of the letters of the alphabet drawn from a range of books in the Leighton Library as listed below.

There is an activity to copy the detail of each of the decorated initial letters. There is also an activity to create a decorated inital letter related to any book of choice.

The books in the Leighton Library from which the decorated inital letters have been drawn are as listed below:

Letters F, G, H, S, T from: Cosmographiae uniuersalis lib. VI by Sebastian Munster, published in 1554

Letter U from: The book of common prayer, and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the Church of England, published in 1681

Letters C, J, O, X, Y from: Catena graecorum patrum in beatum lob collectore Niceta Heracleae metropolita, graece nunc primum in lucem edita, & latine versa, opera et studio Patricii lunii.

Accessit ad calcem textus lobi, by Abp of Heraclea Nicetas & Patrick Young, published in 1637 Letter A, B, E from: Novum Testamentum graecum, cum lectionibus variantibus, by Joannes Millius, Ludolf Kuster, published 1723

Letters P, V from: Francisci de Verulamio I summi Angliae cancellarij I Instauratio magna, by Francis Bacon, published 1620

Letter K from: Septuaginta interpretum tomus, by Johann Ernst Grabe, Francis Lee, William Wigan, published in 1707

Letter M from: Index librorum prohibitorum, published in 1667

Letters N, W from: The summe of Christian religion, by Zacharias Ursinus, published in 1617

Letter R from: Aesopi phrygis Fabulae, by Aesop, published in 1619

Letters D, L, P, Q, Z from: Historiae ecclesiasticae scriptores graeci, by John Christopherson, published 1612

Letter I from Conversations nouvelles sur divers sujets, by Madeleine de Scudery, published in 1685