The book, which is now in the public domain, contains example after example of ornate letters, with each page a surprise in the art of calligraphic embellishment. What I love about this book is the sense that each letter (and each page of the book) appears to try and outdo the last. Also, I am especially fond of the unexpected “ghost images” that bleed through from the opposite page.
The book was first published in 1655 by Bey Paulus Fürsten Kunsthändlern daselbst in Nurnberg.
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.01_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.02_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.03_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.04_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.05_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.06_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.07_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.08_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.09_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.10_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.11_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.12_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.13_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.14_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.15_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.16_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.17_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.18_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.19_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.20_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.21_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.22_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.23_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.24_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.25_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.26_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.27_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.28_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.29_525.jpg)
![The Proper Art of Writing in 1655](/media/images/03.03.13.30_525.jpg)
Accidental Mysteries is an online curiosity shop of extraordinary things, mined from the depths of the online world and brought to you each week by John Foster, a writer, designer and longtime collector of self-taught art and vernacular photography. “I enjoy the search for incredible, obscure objects that challenge, delight and amuse my eye. More so, I enjoy sharing these discoveries with the diverse and informed readers of Design Observer.”
Editor's Note: All images are copyright of their original owners.
Comments [2]
I don't think the word "font" is correct in the translation of the title. "Schrifften" would better be translated as "scripts."
People don't write fonts.
03.04.13
08:15
03.06.13
12:56