The Illuminated Alphabet: An Inspirational Introduction to Creating Decorative Calligraphy Hardcover – December 12, 2017

The most charmingest of books, even if you never pick up a pencil/pen to do it - step-by-step instructions for illuminated letters of the various ages - just grand for a gift to an artistic person or older kid who could really get into it. It's a discussion of the history of letter forms, decoration, followed by the instructions for an illuminated piece per alphabet - plus an alphabet to choose from to make your own designs for each font era... and, it's just fun to read and look at.The last few I gave for gifts had to be purchased 2nd hand, so - very glad this is back in print again. It's been out in hardcover & paperback before, used copies were getting rare aka expensive. These new hardcovers are less expensive than used paperback copies...Only complaint - one dustcover was torn in the shipping - enough to make a difference in a gift, so - keep that one for yourself!

This book provides the information you will need as well as the list of materials you will need to learn the lovely art of illumination. The writing is clear, and the plentiful pictures aid your accessing the knowledge necessary to execute beautifully illuminated letters.

This wasn't as extensive as I thought it would be. Nice brief history section. Decent material section, if your already an artist, which I am, so most of the materials I'm already familiar with. There is no information at all about the different styles of initials and how to build the designs themselves. This is a how to trace an already existing letter (like from a book or print out) and transfer it and the step by step is how to paint and gild it, which is the part I wasn't worried about. Again, if you're already an artist then you can read between the lines because every project has a few pages from the artists sketchbook so at least you can see how they practice and build references. Plus it is like a beginning in the categorization of the different styles of lettering which is the base for the initials and designs.So, overall, it's beautiful, well written, easy to understand and follow. Just leaned more towards the painting side. Which is only half the battle.

I took this book out of the library and loved it so much that I wanted my own copy. As an artist, I love the pictures in this book and the instructions are fairly easy. You do have to have some artistic talent to begin with though. I don't ever copy "word for word" anyone else's work, so I mainly use it as a starting point and for a reference. Even if you don't plan on using it, the history and artwork make it a beautiful book to add to your library.

Whether you are interested in creating illuminated alphabets or want the book for other purposes, such as learning something of the history of illuminated alphabets, this is the perfect book. The printing examples are elegant, the colors brilliant and absolutely lovely, and the price, less than $11. for the beautiful paperback, cannot be beat--unless Amazon reduces the price even more. I have my own copy of the book and have today ordered two more to give as Christmas presents to friends that love beautiful artwork.

I used this book in my decorated letter class and cannot say enough good things about it. My teacher, a professional engrosser, recommended it. It contains projects with many excellent examples, and the illustrations are generously sized, clear and colorful. I highly recommend it.

The book came in perfect condition, was very cheap and is very informative of the history of calligraphy and for inspiration in design for present calligraphers, even newbies like me!

This is my go-to book to copy samples of letters for illumination. I wish it had more samples, though.What I like:1. Gives me a little bit of information about the history of Illumination2. Gives me pretty samples, simple and complicated that I can copy: different styles, different colors, different letters.3. Explains easily the technique to use. I, however, don't pay much attention to it since I am quite novice at Illumination and I just use painting and thick paper. But this will be useful if/when I want to move to the next levelWhat I wish were better:1. More diverse samples for all the letters of the alphabet