Alphabets: Odds and ends
Death as a cook
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inally
we will look at those initial letters that
are not mentioned by Douce,
and don't belong in any of the other categories.
To the right, Death stirs a pot like a cook — using a large bone.
The letter is from an alphabet designed by Hans Holbein and cut in metal by Jakob Faber.
Letters from this alphabet appear in August 1520, but the G is from Erasmus' "Familiarium colloquiorum formulae" printed by Froben, 1522.
Death with hourglass
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The letter to the left was
designed by Hans Holbein and cut by Jakob Faber. It is taken from "En Amice Lector, Thesaurum Damus Inaestimabilem" printed by Froben in 1532.
The X functions as a Greek Chi in the word "Christou" — i.e. Christ's.
Skulls and bones
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The letter to the right was
also designed by Hans Holbein. It is taken from "Das Gantz Neüw testament recht grüntlich teutscht" printed by Adam Petri in 1524.
Creation
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The Fall of Man
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The expulsion
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The three letters to the right are from yet another alphabet by Holbein.
The theme is the book of Genesis and
the three first letters repeat motives from Holbein's great dance of death with
Creation, the Fall of Man and the Expulsion.
The letters are big, and the
alphabet appears already in 1524 — i.e. the same year as Holbein's more
famous dance of death alphabet. In fact both the A and the C appeared
in the first book, where Holbein's dance of death alphabet was used.
So-called printer's proof
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The sheet to the left is a so-called "printer's proof". This means that all the 24 initials have been reproduced together on a single sheet,
which is only printed on one side.
These 24 initials are imitations of Holbeins dance of death alphabet, and so is the sheet itself.
Normally these "printer's proofs" didn't have any text, but precisely Holbein's dance of death alphabet
was published with a Bible quote at the top and bottom, and a quote for each initial.
On the printer's proof with Holbein's dance the quotes were translated into German,
but on the sheet to the left they are taken from the Latin Vulgate.
This sheet belongs to the British Museum, who writes:
»Copies of the letters on this sheet, made to the same size, were used in Brunfels' Kraüterbuch (Strasbourg, J. Schott, 1531)«.
The Museum is mistaken in this. The letters may be reminiscent of the ones used by
Hans Schott, but they are not the same.
Landsknechts, A
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The picture to the right is from an alphabet with landsknechts.
This particular initial was obviously inspired by
Holbein's A.
La danse macabre
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La dance macabre
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Let us finish with some different alphabets.
The two images are taken from French reprints from
1862 and 1874.
Alphabet
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Alphabet
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Cook
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Hourglass X
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Creation A
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Fall of man B
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Expulsion C
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Danse macabre
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Dance macabre
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Holbein, F
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Other alphabets
It all started with Holbein's alphabet
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Dances of death
Alphabets
Odds and ends
