Il finto paggio, overo, Amare, e non sapere chi : operetta
An Italian printed book, Il finto paggio by Francesco Stramboli, issued in Bologna by the Longhi press and held by the Getty Research Institute, offered here as a small operetta with decorative type ornaments. The three pictures are woodcut printers' ornaments: two large decorated initials, one an I covered in flowers and leaves and one an M framed by foliage, plus a horizontal headpiece with a bearded grotesque mask flanked by scrolling volutes and leafy sprays. A designer could draw on their bold black-and-white carving, dense foliage borders, and grotesque face for period lettering or decorative frames.


