South by East: Notes of Travel in Southern Europe (page 1/3)

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Milan Cathedral

A very fine engraving of the exceptionally beautiful Milan Cathedral; the scaled-down versions don’t do it justice. [$]

Ornate initial letter “W” with silhouettes of naked women

This ornate capital letter W has a long vertical tail or stem of trellis-work beneath the letter, which is an “inhabited initial” with two women inside it. One of the women, who are drawn as dark shaded silhouettes and face each other, is holding a large shallow bowl. The other woman pours a jug or ewer of liquid into the bowl. it is possible that behind the jug there is a pomegranate. The other initials in this series are religious in nature, so I suspect a libration is involved.

In the book, the large black letter W is five lines of text high, and the stem is another eight and a half lines, giving a total (of course) of thirteen and a half lines. The [more...] [$]

The Columbarium.

It is a funeral procession: the mourners walk in line down the steps and into the columbarium where the ashes of the dead will be placed. The chamber is lit by torches carried by mourners and also by narrow shafts of sunlight from above. In the walls are niches for the ashes. The bereaved kneels ready to receive the ashes; on the righ, two musicians [...] [more...] [$]

Title Page, South by South East

The title page uses at least three typefaces in a range of sizes, and includes an emblem for Marcus Ward, the publishers. [more...] [$]

Decorative Chapter Head

A decorative panel above the opening of Chapter VI. A man and a woman—more properly a merman and mermaid—meet in the centre. And don’t tell me the man isn’t gay with that wrist, darlings! [more...] [$]