The following year the first edition of the _Cornucopia_ of Perottus
appeared, the first part of which has one of the larger initials on
every twentieth or thirtieth page. Towards the end of the volume they
become much more frequent; not only are they to be met with on every
page, but on some there are half a dozen or more. Another edition of
this work, which was often printed, was published by Rembolt in 1507,
mostly with the same initials, but the P with the Nativity was not used
in the second edition.
The two armorial initials are from a French translation of the _History
of Denmark_ by Saxo Grammaticus, published by Josse Bade in 1514.
Besides these there are three others in the same style, a D, an I,
and a P. The D is like the N in general arrangement, but without the
supporters, and the legend ‘Arma regis Dacie’ is in scrolls with the
letters C. P. and C. L. In the I the central shield is suppressed, and
the shields are framed by banderolles with the legend: ‘Arma regis
Dacie Swecie Norvegie, sclavorum gottorumque anno domini MDXIIII.’ The
P is similar to the two others in being without supporters, and the
legend is slightly modified: ‘Arma regis Dacie Swecie Norvegie.’ These
initials were particularly admired by Dibdin, who calls attention to
their beauty.
Amongst the publications of Trepperel are several editions of the
_Jardin de Santé_, which, in the Latin _Hortus Sanitatis_, is a thick
folio dealing first with birds, beasts, and fishes, and finishing
with an alphabetical account of medicinal plants, and finally stones
(minerals). A treatise, _De urinis_, completes the whole.
Vérard’s edition already mentioned was of the same proportions, but
Trepperel published his as an octavo on plants only. The initials are
not always well printed, rather the reverse. The best are given in our
illustrations. A few of these letters are to be found in a small folio
with woodcuts, entitled _Les œuvres de Justin, vray hystoriographe sur
les faictz et gestes de Troge Pompee_, etc. etc., in much better proof.
In this same book is the L with a harpy, which, together with the M,
the only other letter of the kind we have seen, is to be frequently
met with in the _Chroniques de France_ and in a great many other books
by Philippe Lenoir, finally in a Paris _Missale Carthusiense_. The
two letters with children, inspired by Venetian initials, with the
linear R of the same size and the big ‘philosophus’ Q, are taken from
a work on the Logic of Aristotle by Jacobus Stapulensis, published
by H. Estienne in 1510. In other works the same initial occurs, but
the word ‘philosophus’ is replaced by ‘Aristoteles,’ or by some other
philosopher’s name. We have met with several varieties. The smaller
letters are to be found also in books printed by J. Petit, H. Estienne,
and Josse Bade.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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