The first booke of songes, or, Ayres of fowre partes with tableture for the lute : so made that all the partes together, or either of them seuerally may be song to the lute, orpherian or viol de gambo
John Dowland's 1597 songbook of four-part ayres with lute tablature, printed in London by Peter Short for lutenists and singers who could perform the parts with lute, orpherion or viol. The first picture shows a decorated initial and musical staves with lyrics and lute tablature beneath, a layout a designer might borrow for a page combining score and text. The second shows a block of black-letter verse with a large brace and a numbered stanza, useful for hierarchical typographic setting. The third is an armorial achievement with supporters and a motto banner, a model for heraldic emblem design.
