Architecture, ou, Art de bien bastir
Architecture, ou, Art de bien bastir is a 1618 French translation of Vitruvius's treatise on building, translated by Ian Martin and printed in Paris by Jean de Tournes for readers of architecture. The pictures are four decorated initial letters, each a large capital I or E ringed with interlaced foliage, scrolls and leafy tendrils cut in woodblock, beside lines of French text. A designer could take from them a model for ornamental drop caps, with dense scrollwork framing a bold, simple letterform.
