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![[picture: book cover]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/tn/0000-cover-q50-360x500.jpg "[picture: book cover]")
Images scanned from The Art of Illuminating As Practised in Europe from the Earliest Times by W. R. Tymms, with an Essay and Instructions by M. D. Wyatt, Architect. London. Published April 2nd 1860 by Day and Son, Lithographers to the Queen.
There are 100 full colour plates in the book done in chromolithography, as well as a chromolithographed title page. I have only scanned a few because my scanner damages the binding. The text is by Matthew Digby Wyatt and the images appear to have been made by W. R. Tymms (and not Symms, as this page used to say).
Title: The Art of Illuminating As Practised in Europe from the Earliest Times
Date: 1860
Total items: 133
Out of copyright (called public domain in the USA), hence royalty-free for all purposes usage credit requested, or as marked.
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``A'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/025-eleventh-century-03-a-q75-229x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``A'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “A” from 11th century.
This decorative capital letter A features Celtic knotwork, red, green and blue, with a peach fill. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``E'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/025-eleventh-century-02-e-q75-185x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``E'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “E” from 11th century.
A letter E in a late uncial tradition, complete with drolleries, or humorous creatures, in the vines in the counters, the spaces nside the letter. This E is in red, with a peach light orange filling, on a blue, red and green background. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/025-eleventh-century-05-j-q90-41x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]"){kind=small}
Decorative initial letter “J” from 11th century.
This decorative capital letter J could be used for either “I” or “J”—in either case, with the tail probably going off into the margin. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``Q'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/025-eleventh-century-01-q-q85-124x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``Q'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “Q” from 11th century.
A beautiful rich red letter Q on a deep blue, red and green background, with a delicate peach fill. This is reproduced (in the book) from an 11th century hand-illuminated manuscript. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``X'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/025-eleventh-century-04-x-q75-181x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``X'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “X” from 11th century.
A beautiful rich red letter X on a deep blue background, with a delicate peach fill. This is reproduced (in the book) from an 11th century hand-illuminated manuscript, along with [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/026-eleventh-century-01-j-q75-45x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]"){kind=small}
Decorative initial letter “J” from 11th century.
This decorative capital letter J features Celtic knotwork, with vine-leaves and knots in the tail, and could be used for either “I” or “J”—in either [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``D'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/026-eleventh-century-02-d-q75-226x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``D'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “D” from 11th century.
This decorative capital letter D features Celtic knotwork, vine-leaves and knots, red blue and green colours, and white dots perhaps representing stars; it was a drop cap; see the letter X for more information. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``S'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/026-eleventh-century-03-s-q75-178x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``S'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “S” from 11th century.
This decorative capital letter S features vine-leaves and knots, red blue and green colours, and white dots perhaps representing stars; it was a drop cap; see the letter X for more information. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``U'' or ``V'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/026-eleventh-century-04-u-q90-188x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``U'' or ``V'' from 11th century.]")
Decorative initial letter “U” or “V” from 11th century.
A deep blue with a red and green background and heavy patterning around this Uncial letter U, which has a head like a creature and vines growing inside it, one of which appears to have a cat’s head. [more...] [$]
![[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/026-eleventh-century-05-j-q73-46x200.jpg "[picture: Decorative initial letter ``J'' from 11th century.]"){kind=small}
Decorative initial letter “J” from 11th century.
A deep blue with a red and green background and heavy patterning around this Uncial letter J, whose tail is made of a dragon biting the lower corner of the vertical stem of the [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: 28.---XII. Century No. 1]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/028-twelfth-century-1-q90-135x200.jpg "[picture: 28.---XII. Century No. 1]")
Almost a complete gothic (blackletter or old english) alphabet; I have supplied some rather grotesque monstrosities for “K” and ”V” at the foot of the page. The description in the book is a little confusing, because the scroll-work letters are on following plates; these on this plate, for the [...] [more...] [$]
![[picture: Plate 37.---Thirteenth Century No. 1: Alphabet overview]](https://www.fromoldbooks.org/Tymms-Illuminating/wm/big/037-Thirteenth-Century-no-1-alphabet-overview-q75-128x200.jpg "[picture: Plate 37.---Thirteenth Century No. 1: Alphabet overview]")
Plate 37.—Thirteenth Century No. 1: Alphabet overview
This is an incomplete alphabet taken from a 13th century manuscript (I don’t know whether the book identifies the manuscript; I’ll look when I get home from this trip to Prague). [more...] [$]
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