Books
The Macclesfield Alphabet Book, London
Books
Not so long ago you'll remember our homepage logo was hijacked, albeit in a sexy kind of way - by a pair of burlesque bunny dancers. The animation, entitled 'Love Letters' came courtesy of London graphics studio Airside who to celebrate Wallpaper's inaugural sex issue created an entire illustrated alphabet made up of vixen couples in various Sapphic poses.
See some of Airside's sketches while making the W*font, as well as some previous work
Decorative alphabets have of course been around longer than Airside and a new acquisition by the British Library shows some of the earliest examples in existence. The Macclesfield Alphabet Book, dating from around 1500 had until very recently been languishing somewhat neglected, and unknown to the outside world, in the possession of the Earl of Macclesfield.
See more from the Macclesfield Alphabet Book
The manuscript contains 14 different types of decorative alphabet of a more innocent make-up than Airside's take, but every bit as clever and seductive in their own way. Letters are made from foliage, faces, animals, ribbon and elaborate gothic jags, illuminated in full. The book, likely created to show to prospective customers the skill of the artist's workshop, is now on show to the public in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery of the British Library.
'The typographic-style alphabets in the Macclesfield Alphabet Book may have influenced the style of early printed letter forms,' says Dr Kathleen Doyle, Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library, 'and the decoration of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts continues to inform the design of luxurious books. The variety of the 'A-Z' patterns in the Macclesfield Alphabet Book, from formal Gothic bookhand to fanciful zoomorphic letters, anticipates the 'Arial to Zapf Chancery' design choices available to designers today.'
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- Website
- http://www.bl.uk
- Address
- The British Library
96 Euston Road
London NW1 2DB
