Iohannis Saresberiensis policraticus de nugis curialium et vestigiis philosophorum continens libros octo
A 1513 Latin scholarly text by Johannes von Salisbury, a twelfth-century bishop, printed by Fradin and drawn from the C.G. Jung library, written for learned readers of political and moral philosophy. Its pages are dense black-letter type in justified columns, opening each chapter with large decorative initials built from foliage and interlaced ornament, with chapter headings set in capitals and roman numerals. A designer could take from them the rhythm of dense text blocks broken by historiated initials, and the botanical ornament spun into letter forms.















