Hortorvm libri triginta
Hortorvm libri triginta is a Latin treatise on gardens and trees, printed at Lyon in 1560 by Joannes Tornaesius and written by Benoît de Court for scholars and learned readers. Its pages show decorated historiated initials, with the letters A, S, I and C framed by dense scrollwork of leaves, tendrils and small faces set in square black blocks beside Roman type. A designer could take from them a model for ornamental drop caps built from interlaced foliage and a dark square field.
