Bref de N.S. Pere la Pape Gregoire XIIII. envoyé a Monseignevr l'Euesque de Plaisance. Contenant la premiere resolution de sa Saincteté sur les affaires du royaume de France & de lal ville de Paris.
A 1591 papal brief from Pope Gregory XIV, printed in Paris by Robert Nivelle and Robert Thierry and addressed to the Bishop of Piacenza about French affairs. The two pictures are decorated historiated initials: a large woodcut letter B with a small figure standing beside it, and a letter V framed by foliage and two putti at its base. Their scrollwork and classical figures suggest ornamental letterforms a designer could adapt for display type or drop caps.
