In the history of the book, it was customary by printers to leave their mark by using various techniques to enrich and highlight the text. Among them, the adornment of the editions with elements such as decorated initials, headpieces, marginal compositions, engravings, printer's marks etc.
An initial is the first letter of a text, which was larger than the rest and perhaps calligraphic and richly decorated.
Enlarging the first letter in a text dates back to antiquity, but it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that this trend starts to become an art form. Decorated initials appeared in manuscripts and they originally had a practical purpose, as a form of punctuation, helping the readers understand where they were in the text or calling attention to a certain passage. Eventually, initials evolved into elaborate miniatures and illuminations, nourishing the relationship between text and image. Illuminated manuscripts gradually turned into works of art.
The development of printing saw this codicographic tradition being transferred to the printed book. In the early years, such letters were not printed but added in by hand by calligraphers, so the printed text would leave an empty space for it.
This exhibition contains scholars' initials from as early as the 15th century to 20th century works by Giannis Moralis, from the Onassis Library.
The exhibition contains items from the following institutions:
