Le comedie de'l facetissimo Aristofane
A 1545 Venetian printing of Aristophanes' Greek comedies in Italian, issued by Vincenzo Vaugris and translated by the Rositini brothers for a general reading public. The four pictures are woodcut historiated initials, ornamental capital letters framed in black borders with foliage, scrollwork and grotesque figures set beside lines of italic type. A designer could draw on their dense, framed initial-letter ornament, interlaced acanthus and small figural details for decorative capitals and border work.
