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Some images from Alphabets and Numbers of the Middle Ages by Henry Shaw, 1845. I have a fac simile of this out-of-copyright work, and the fac simile is itself out of copyright.
This book is also online (with a much lower-quality scan) at Google Books; if you see a page you would like me to scan from my fac simile copy, let me know. Unfortunately, the colour printing in the fac simile uses the four-colour screening process, so I cannot provide high-resolution scans for some of the colour images, although they will be fine for Web or print use in most cases.
See also Symms on Illuminating for some beautiful colour decorative initials, and Delamotte on Alphabets for some beautiful alphabets.
Title: Alphabets & Numbers of the Middle Ages
City: London
Date: 1845
Total items: 36
Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.
![[picture: clipart: initial letter M from late 15th century printed book]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Shaw-Alphabets/wm/big/065-alphabet-end-of-15th-century-letter-M-q75-183x200.jpg "[picture: clipart: initial letter M from late 15th century printed book]")
clipart: initial letter M from late 15th century printed book
A decorative initial “M” taken from a late 15th century alphabet. You could use it as a drop capital, an avatar, or something to colour in. If you use it, let me know what you did! [more...] [$]
![[picture: clipart: initial letter U from beginning of the 16th Century]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Shaw-Alphabets/wm/big/071-alphabet-beginning-of-16th-century-letter-U-q75-187x200.jpg "[picture: clipart: initial letter U from beginning of the 16th Century]")
clipart: initial letter U from beginning of the 16th Century
Wood cut of a decorated initial letter “U” (e.g. for a drop cap or ornamental capital letter), from the beginning of the 16th Century. There is a white calligraphic capital “U” with interwoven leaves, on a black ground with white dots, known as a criblé effect. [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: Badge of Saint John the Evangelist]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Shaw-Alphabets/wm/big/091-IHS-apostles-detail-symbol-of-saint-john-q85-200x200.jpg "[picture: Badge of Saint John the Evangelist]")
Badge of Saint John the Evangelist
A detail from Sacred Monogram and Badges of the Apostles, the badge of St. John, depicted here as an eagle and a scroll. [more...] [$]
![[picture: clipart: initial letter D from late 15th century printed book]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Shaw-Alphabets/wm/big/065-alphabet-end-of-15th-century-letter-D-q85-182x200.jpg "[picture: clipart: initial letter D from late 15th century printed book]")
clipart: initial letter D from late 15th century printed book
A decorative initial “D” taken from a late 15th century alphabet. You could use it as a drop capital, an avatar, or something to colour in. If you use it, let me know what you did! [more...] [$]
![[picture: Initial Letter M With Crucifixion Scene]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Shaw-Alphabets/wm/big/091-crucifix-initial-m-q85-217x200.jpg "[picture: Initial Letter M With Crucifixion Scene]")
Initial Letter M With Crucifixion Scene
This decorative initial capital letter “M” is made from the crucified Jesus, complete with a face at his feet probably meant to be a skull representing Golgatha, the name of the skull-shaped hill where the crucifixion happened, and a person on either side of the crucified Christ: probably they are the disciple whom Jesus loved, and Mary the mother [...] [more...] [$]
Some images from Alphabets and Numbers of the Middle Ages by Henry Shaw, 1845. I have a fac simile of this out-of-copyright work, and the fac simile is itself out of copyright.
This book is also online (with a much lower-quality scan) at Google Books; if you see a page you would like me to scan from my fac simile copy, let me know. Unfortunately, the colour printing in the fac simile uses the four-colour screening process, so I cannot provide high-resolution scans for some of the colour images, although they will be fine for Web or print use in most cases.
See also Symms on Illuminating for some beautiful colour decorative initials, and Delamotte on Alphabets for some beautiful alphabets.
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