A-Z: Alphabetic Highlights from the Library's Special Collections
January-May 2025
This is the first installation drawn from the Clark library collections, and it focuses on the building blocks of type and text—the letters of the alphabet. Produced for a variety of purposes, in multiple languages, and spanning seven centuries, these volumes present an introduction to the breadth and depth of the library’s holdings. Throughout literary history, there has been a tradition of applying artistic focus to letters and alphabets. Medieval monks turned letters into works of art as they painstakingly copied texts by hand. Creativity flourished around the first letter in each section of text, with initial letters often drawn larger, more ornate, and more colorful than those that followed. The use of glorified initial letters continued as book creation evolved from script to print in the fifteenth century and beyond.
A-Z: Alphabetic Highlights from the Library's Special Collections
January-May 2025
This is the first installation drawn from the Clark library collections, and it focuses on the building blocks of type and text—the letters of the alphabet. Produced for a variety of purposes, in multiple languages, and spanning seven centuries, these volumes present an introduction to the breadth and depth of the library’s holdings. Throughout literary history, there has been a tradition of applying artistic focus to letters and alphabets. Medieval monks turned letters into works of art as they painstakingly copied texts by hand. Creativity flourished around the first letter in each section of text, with initial letters often drawn larger, more ornate, and more colorful than those that followed. The use of glorified initial letters continued as book creation evolved from script to print in the fifteenth century and beyond.