The origin and progress of writing, as well hieroglyphic as elementary, illustrated by engravings taken from marbles, manuscripts and charters, ancient and modern : also some account of the origin and progress of printing
Thomas Astle's 1784 palaeography treatise, printed for the author in London and sold through the city's antiquarian booksellers, traces writing from hieroglyphs to movable type for scholars and record-keepers. Engraved plates copy alphabets, decorated initials and charter hands from marbles and manuscripts, some hand-coloured in yellow, giving designers letterform diagrams, beast-headed initials, dotted outlines and specimen scripts.
