Initial Letter T With Angels and Devildetails

Initial Letter T With Angels and Devil

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The two winged creatures in this decorative initial letter T are very definitely female and probably intended to be naked. They seem to have fish’s tails rather than legs and feet, so maybe they are Angels of Mermaids? Or just winged mermaids? Or they might be intended to be emenating from the ears of the face below, and be regular angels. The horned and bearded man beneath them, swallowing or regurgitating their legs and presumably feet, could be a devil or a Green Man; the foliage suggests the latter.

This letter was used as a drop cap. It’s likely that it was originally a woodcut, and that thereis a rectangular hole in the middle to allow the typesetter to insert a piece of type, in this case the capital letter T. The letter is above centre in its rectangle suggesting it’s from a regular typeface, with room for descenders.

An initial letter with a decorative frame around it like this is called a passé-partout initial. If the frame is reusable, with a whole in the middle to insert type, the frame is called a factotum.

initials, lettert, angels, devils, mythical creatures, mermaids, vignetted initials, passé partout initials

320-013-letter-t-q70-203x200.jpg

3086 dots per inch (approximately)