Specimen historiae Arabum, sive, Gregorii Abul Farajii Malatiensis, De origine & moribus Arabum : succincta narratio, in linguam Latinam conversa, notisque è probatissimis apud ipsos authoribus, fusiùs illustrata
A 1650 Latin translation of Bar Hebraeus's history of the Arabs, printed at Oxford by H. Hall for Humphrey Robinson, aimed at scholars of Arabic literature and language. Its two pictures are decorative printed head- or tailpiece bands: the upper one has a crowned central cartouche flanked by thistles and roses in symmetrical scrollwork, while the lower one carries a looping vine of tulips, carnations and leafy tendrils. A designer could take their symmetrical border structure and botanical scroll patterns as period-style ornament for frames or dividers.
